Tag:

Bhutan

Flowers of Bhutan — 1326 plant species documented across the Bhutanese Himalaya, from dense broadleaf and conifer forests to alpine scrub and meadows. Bhutan’s largely intact wilderness shelters an exceptional diversity of orchids, rhododendrons, primulas and Himalayan poppies, many of them regional endemics. Each species page includes a botanical description, distribution, habitat and flowering time, with the original photograph and its recorded altitude and locality.

Araliaceae

Heptapleurum griffithii

by G & P Jürgens

(Seem.) ined.

Sikkim 2006 482 ergebnis
Sikkim 2006 481 ergebnis
India West-Bengal, Chaana 1750m, May
Sikkim 2006 310 ergebnis
India West-Bengal, Chaana 1750m, May

Description

Heptapleurum griffithii is an eastern Himalayan araliad documented from Bhutan and adjacent south-western China, the GBIF record being sparse with only about three georeferenced occurrences, reflecting both its restricted range and limited collection. It grows in moist, broad-leaved evergreen and mixed montane forest, often as an epiphyte or hemiepiphyte on tree trunks and mossy rocks, or as a free-standing shrub, in the warm-temperate zone. The plant photographed at Chaana in West Bengal at 1750 m in May occupied this humid mid-elevation forest belt, where high atmospheric moisture and shade favour its establishment.

It is a glabrous shrub or small tree, sometimes epiphytic, with stout greyish branchlets. The leaves are alternate and palmately compound, the long petiole bearing a whorl of several leaflets; the leaflets are elliptic to oblong-lanceolate, leathery, entire, acuminate at the apex and cuneate at the base, with prominent lateral venation and a sheathing petiole base. The inflorescence is a large terminal panicle of umbels; the small flowers are greenish to creamy, with five petals, five stamens and an inferior ovary crowned by a low stylar disc. The fruit is a small subglobose drupe, ribbed when dry and containing several pyrenes.

GBIF lists the name as a synonym while retaining Heptapleurum griffithii as accepted; the species was long placed in Schefflera, and the recircumscription of that polyphyletic genus has returned many Asian species to Heptapleurum. As a forest-canopy and epiphytic component it contributes to structural diversity, its fleshy drupes dispersed by birds. Given its narrow documented range, intact mid-montane forest is important to its persistence.

Author: (Seem.) ined. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China Vol. 13, Flora of Bhutan Vol. 2, Flora of Nepal, A Generic Revision of Araliaceae (Schefflera and allies)

Araliaceae

Heptapleurum rhododendrifolium 

by G & P Jürgens

(Griff.) G.M.Plunkett & Lowry

Sikkim 2006 482 ergebnis
India Sikkim, Ringi Chu 1900m, May
Sikkim 2006 310 ergebnis
India Sikkim, Ringi Chu 1900m, May

Description

Heptapleurum rhododendrifolium is an epiphytic to semi-epiphytic shrub distributed across the eastern Himalayas and into Southeast Asia, with records from Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, northeast India, Myanmar, southern China, and extending to Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia. GBIF documents 136 occurrences across this broad range. The species inhabits subtropical and warm-temperate evergreen forests at elevations of 1,200–2,500 m, where it typically grows as an epiphyte on mossy tree trunks and branches, or occasionally as a terrestrial shrub on steep, humus-rich banks in areas of persistent cloud immersion and high rainfall.
Heptapleurum rhododendrifolium is an evergreen shrub, 1–4 m tall, with stout, sparsely branched stems. The leaves are digitately compound, clustered near the branch tips, with 5–9 coriaceous leaflets. Leaflets are oblong-elliptic to oblanceolate, 8–20 cm long, glossy dark green above and often pale or ferruginous-tomentose beneath, with entire margins and a prominent midrib — the overall appearance recalling Rhododendron foliage, hence the epithet. Petioles are stout, 10–20 cm long. The inflorescence is a terminal, compound umbel of numerous small, greenish-white flowers, each 3–4 mm across, with 5–7 petals and an equal number of stamens. The ovary is inferior, 5–7-locular. The fruit is a subglobose drupe, 4–6 mm in diameter, ripening to dark purple or black, with persistent style remnants.
This species was long placed in Schefflera sensu lato, but recent molecular phylogenetic studies by Plunkett and Lowry have led to its transfer to the reinstated genus Heptapleurum, which accommodates the Asian and Pacific clade formerly within Schefflera. The photographed specimen from Ringi Chu in Sikkim at 1,900 m represents a typical mid-elevation epiphytic occurrence in one of the wettest valleys of the eastern Himalayas. The species plays an ecological role as a provider of fruit resources for montane bird communities. Its broad distribution from the Himalayas to the Pacific islands reflects an ancient tropical Asian lineage with considerable dispersal capacity.

Author: (Griff.) G.M.Plunkett & Lowry · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China Vol. 13, Flora of Bhutan Vol. 2, Plunkett & Lowry (2018) — Phylogenetics of Araliaceae

Apiaceae

Heracleum candidans var. obtusifolium

by GP Jürgens

(Wall. ex DC.) F.T.Pu & M.F.Watson

BhutanPG2011 769 01 01
Bhutan Chele-La, 3900m July

Description

Heracleum candidans var. obtusifolium (Wall. ex DC.) F.T.Pu & M.F.Watson is treated by GBIF as a synonym, with the accepted name being Heracleum candicans obtusifolium. It is a Himalayan umbellifer recorded from China and Nepal, GBIF documenting 44 occurrences, and is a plant of the upper subalpine and alpine zones. It occupies open slopes, meadow flushes, shrubberies and forest clearings, typically between about 3000 and 4200 m. The photographed plant at the Chele-La in western Bhutan, at roughly 3900 m in July, illustrates its association with the moist, high-elevation grasslands of the eastern Himalaya during the summer flowering season.

The plant is a robust, tomentose perennial with a stout rootstock and erect, ridged, hollow stems. The leaves are large and pinnately divided, with broad, lobed segments that are densely white-woolly beneath, the obtuse leaf segments giving the variety its epithet. The inflorescence is a large compound umbel with numerous rays subtended by deciduous bracts; the small flowers are white, with the marginal flowers often radiant and the outer petals enlarged and bilobed. The fruit is a dorsally compressed, broadly winged schizocarp bearing conspicuous oil ducts (vittae), the typical mericarp of the genus.

Heracleum is a taxonomically difficult genus in the Himalaya, with a continuum of closely allied entities; this taxon has been variously ranked as a species, subspecies or variety, and its placement under H. candicans reflects ongoing molecular and morphological reassessment of the group. As with other species of the genus, the foliage and sap contain furanocoumarins that may cause phototoxic dermatitis. The taxon is not regarded as threatened, though it occupies the narrow, climate-sensitive alpine belt of the central and eastern Himalaya.

Author: (Wall. ex DC.) F.T.Pu & M.F.Watson · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Flora of Nepal, Pimenov & Leonov genera of Umbelliferae

Orchideaceae

Herminium clavigerum

by GP Jürgens

(Lindl.) X.H.Jin, Schuit., Raskoti & Lu Q.Huang

Bhutan2012 839
Bhutan Trontsa 2850m, October

Description

Herminium clavigerum is an alpine terrestrial orchid distributed across the eastern and central Himalaya and adjacent ranges, with documented occurrences in Nepal, China, India, Bhutan and Russia (GBIF logs roughly 220 records). It favours open grassy slopes, moist alpine meadows and the margins of shrubberies, typically between about 2800 and 4000 m. The photographed plant near Trongsa (Trontsa) in central Bhutan at 2850 m, flowering in October, reflects its late-season autumnal anthesis at the lower end of its altitudinal range, where it grows among damp turf in cool, humid montane conditions.

The species is a slender, glabrous geophyte arising from small ovoid or globose tubers. The erect stem bears a few cauline leaves that are narrowly oblong to lanceolate, sheathing at the base and gradually reduced upward into bracts. The inflorescence is a lax to fairly dense terminal raceme of small, greenish to yellowish-green flowers. The lateral sepals are oblong and spreading, the petals narrower; the labellum is the diagnostic organ, deeply three-lobed with elongate, often clavate (club-thickened) lateral lobes, and the spur is short and saccate. The column is short, bearing distinctive clavate caudicles, and the fruit is a small ellipsoid capsule releasing dust-fine seed.

Long placed in the genus Herminium, the species was recombined as Platanthera clavigera by Jin, Schuit., Raskoti & Lu Q.Huang following molecular studies that redefined generic limits within subtribe Orchidinae. Like many Orchidaceae it depends on mycorrhizal associations for germination and is pollinated by small insects. Though not assessed as threatened, its restriction to fragile alpine grassland renders it sensitive to grazing and habitat disturbance.

Author: (Lindl.) X.H.Jin, Schuit., Raskoti & Lu Q.Huang · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Bhutan, Flora of China (Orchidaceae), Pridgeon et al. Genera Orchidacearum

Orchideaceae

Herminium edgeworthii

by G & P Jürgens

(Hook.f. ex Collett) X.H. Jin. Schuit., Raskoti & Lu Q.Huang

Bhutan2012 195
Bhutan Haar-Valley, 3300m September

Description

Herminium edgeworthii is a terrestrial Himalayan orchid distributed across Pakistan, Nepal, northern India, Bhutan and the wider western to eastern Himalayan arc, documented by around 161 GBIF records. It inhabits open alpine and subalpine meadows, grassy slopes and forest clearings in the temperate to lower alpine zone. The plant imaged in the Haa (Haar) Valley of Bhutan at 3300 m in September shows the species in characteristic high-meadow habitat, flowering toward the end of the monsoon growing season when many terrestrial Himalayan orchids reach anthesis.

It is a slender, glabrous terrestrial herb arising from one or two small subterranean tubers. The stem bears a few basal to lower-cauline leaves that are linear to narrowly oblong-lanceolate, sheathing at the base. The inflorescence is a slender, many-flowered terminal raceme of small, greenish to yellowish-green flowers. Each flower is non-resupinate or subresupinate, with a hooded arrangement of sepals and petals and a characteristically lobed, often forward-projecting lip; the column is short and the pollinia are attached to small viscidia, as is typical of the genus. The fruit is a small, erect, dehiscent capsule releasing abundant dust-like seeds.

This taxon, originally described under Herminium and long treated in segregate genera (its full citation reflecting a transfer by Jin, Schuit., Raskoti and Huang), illustrates the considerable nomenclatural revision the Herminium-Platanthera complex has undergone in light of molecular phylogenetics; the himalayaflora link to platanthera-edgeworthii records its earlier placement. Ecologically the species depends on intact montane grassland and, like all orchids, on mycorrhizal associations for establishment. It is widely distributed and locally frequent, not assessed as threatened, but is sensitive to meadow degradation and grazing pressure.

Author: (Hook.f. ex Collett) X.H. Jin. Schuit., Raskoti & Lu Q.Huang · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Bhutan, Flora of China, An Annotated Checklist of the Orchids of Nepal, Pridgeon et al. Genera Orchidacearum (monograph)

Orchideaceae

Herminium himalayanum

by GP Jürgens

(Renz) X.H.Jin, Schuit., Raskoti & Lu Q.Huang

BhutanPG2011 621
Bhutan Ludlow-Sherriff-Trail Kem-La, 4300m July

Description

Herminium himalayanum is a small terrestrial orchid of the high Eastern Himalaya, documented in occurrence records principally from Bhutan, where it is a rare and infrequently collected alpine plant. It inhabits the alpine zone, growing among short turf, mossy banks, damp meadows and the margins of scrub above the treeline, where the flowering individual shown was photographed on the Ludlow–Sherriff trail near Kem-La in Bhutan at 4300 m in July, during the brief monsoon-season flowering of these high pastures.

The plant is a slender, glabrous perennial arising from small subterranean tubers that store reserves through the dormant season. The stem is erect and bears one or few narrow, lanceolate to oblong leaves, often somewhat basal, sheathing at the base. The inflorescence is a slender, few- to several-flowered raceme of small, greenish to yellowish-green flowers. As in Herminium the floral segments are narrow and the labellum is characteristically lobed, frequently three-lobed with elongate divisions and lacking a developed spur or with only a slight saccate base. The column is short, bearing two pollinia attached to viscidia, and the fruit is a small erect capsule liberating dust-like seeds.

The accepted placement of the species follows a molecular recircumscription of the Herminium alliance, the taxon having previously been treated under the segregate genus Bhutanthera, as reflected in its earlier name Bhutanthera himalayana; subsequent phylogenetic work transferred it to Herminium. As a narrow high-alpine Eastern Himalayan endemic with very few known localities, it is of biogeographic interest and should be regarded as data-deficient and potentially of conservation concern given its restricted range and fragile habitat.

Author: (Renz) X.H.Jin, Schuit., Raskoti & Lu Q.Huang · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, The Orchids of Bhutan (Pearce & Cribb), Flora of Bhutan, Jin et al. phylogeny of Herminium and Bhutanthera, CITES Appendices

Orchideaceae

Herminium jaffreyanum

by G & P Jürgens

King & Pantl.

Nepal 99 706 ergebnis
Nepal Pugmo 3210m, July

Description

Herminium jaffreyanum is a terrestrial orchid native to the central and eastern Himalayas, distributed across Nepal, northeast India (Sikkim, Darjeeling), Bhutan, and adjacent parts of southern China (Xizang). The species occurs in montane meadows, grassy slopes, and open scrubland at elevations of 2,800–4,200 m, favouring well-drained, humus-rich soils. It is a component of the subalpine herbaceous flora, as evidenced by collections from Pugmo in Nepal at 3,210 m, where it flowers during the monsoon season in July.
The plant arises from a small, ovoid tuber and produces slender, erect stems 10–25 cm tall. The basal leaves are typically two, oblong-elliptic to lanceolate, 3–8 cm long, sheathing the stem at the base. The inflorescence is a lax, elongate raceme bearing numerous small, greenish-yellow flowers approximately 3–4 mm across. Each flower has a trilobed lip with a short, saccate spur; the lateral lobes are linear and divergent, while the mid-lobe is tongue-shaped. The column is short with two widely separated pollinia. Fruits are small, erect capsules containing dust-like seeds.
Herminium jaffreyanum belongs to a taxonomically complex genus within the subtribe Orchidinae, and its delimitation from allied species such as H. mackinnonii requires careful examination of lip morphology and spur structure. The species is relatively poorly collected, with only about 25 occurrence records documented in GBIF, suggesting it may be genuinely scarce or under-surveyed across its range. Its dependence on intact subalpine grasslands makes it potentially vulnerable to overgrazing and habitat conversion. Like all orchids, it falls under CITES Appendix II, and further field surveys across the Nepal–Sikkim corridor are needed to clarify its conservation status.

Author: King & Pantl. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Bhutan Vol. 3, Pearce & Cribb: The Orchids of Bhutan (2002), King & Pantling: The Orchids of the Sikkim-Himalaya (1898)

Orchideaceae

Herminium josephi

by GP Jürgens

Rchb.f.

BhutanPG2011 125
Bhutan Tsochenchen, 3500m June
BhutanPG2011 262 scaled
BhutanPG2011 624 scaled
Bhutan Tsochenchen, 3500m June
Bh09 196 G335
Bhutan above Thimphu, 3000m June

Description

Herminium josephi is a small terrestrial orchid of the alpine and upper subalpine Himalaya, recorded from China, Nepal, India and Bhutan, with 259 GBIF occurrences clustered along the high mountain chain. It is a plant of open alpine turf, grassy slopes and the moist margins of meadows above the treeline, generally between about 3000 and 4300 m. The illustrated material was gathered in Bhutan at Tsochenchen at around 3500 m and on the slopes above Thimphu at about 3000 m, both in June, when these short-grazed alpine swards flower in the brief window after snowmelt.

The plant arises from one or two small ovoid or globose tubers and produces a slender, erect stem with a few narrow, lanceolate to linear leaves toward the base. The inflorescence is a slender, cylindrical, many-flowered spike of tiny green to yellowish-green flowers. The individual flowers are inconspicuous and somewhat hooded, with the dorsal sepal and petals connivent over the small column; the lip is narrow and characteristically lobed, and the genus is distinguished by its minute flowers and, in many species, a very short or saccate rather than spurred lip. The fruit is a small erect capsule.

Herminium is a genus of tribe Orchideae centred on temperate Asia, with the Sino-Himalayan alpine zone forming a major centre of diversity; H. josephi, described by Reichenbach f., is one of its characteristic high-elevation members. The minute green flowers suggest fly or small-insect pollination typical of the genus. As a widespread alpine species it is not considered threatened, though heavy grazing and climate-driven shifts of the alpine belt may affect local abundance.

Author: Rchb.f. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, The Orchids of Bhutan (Pearce & Cribb)

Orchideaceae

Herminium lanceum

by GP Jürgens

(Thunb. ex Sw.) Vuijk

Sikkim2003 380 G536
Sikkim Tista valley 3300m August

Description

A terrestrial orchid of remarkably wide distribution across temperate and montane Asia, from the Himalaya through China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan to South-East Asia and Australasia, with nearly 1950 GBIF occurrences spanning India, Nepal, China, Japan, the Philippines and beyond. It grows in grassy slopes, open meadows, forest clearings and herb-rich banks, generally between about 1000 and 3500 m. The illustrated plant was recorded in August in the Tista valley of Sikkim at around 3300 m, a moist, grassy subalpine setting typical of its summer flowering.

The species is a slender tuberous geophyte arising from one or two small, ovoid root-tubers. The erect stem bears a few narrowly lanceolate to linear, sheathing leaves clustered toward the base and grading into bracts above. The inflorescence is a long, slender, densely many-flowered cylindrical raceme of small green to yellowish-green flowers. Each flower has spreading sepals, narrow petals and a distinctive three-lobed labellum with elongate, often divergent lateral lobes and a short to spurless base; the column is short, bearing two pollinia attached to viscidia for insect removal. The inferior, twisted ovary ripens into a small erect, ribbed capsule releasing dust-like seeds.

Accepted by POWO and GBIF, H. lanceum is the most widespread member of the genus Herminium, the muskorchids, and shows considerable variation in stature and floral detail across its enormous range, with several segregate varieties recognised by some authors. Its small green flowers are adapted to inconspicuous insect pollination, and like all orchids it depends on mycorrhizal fungi for germination. Despite habitat loss in places, its vast range and abundance render it secure; it is listed under CITES Appendix II as a member of Orchidaceae.

Author: (Thunb. ex Sw.) Vuijk · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Pridgeon et al. Genera Orchidacearum

Orchideaceae

Herminium latilabre

by G & P Jürgens

(Lindl.) X.H.Jin, Schuit., Raskoti & Lu Q.Huang

Bhutan2012 1324
Bhutan Pemagatse, 1800m October
Bhutan2012 1323
Bhutan Pemagatse, 1800m October

Description

Herminium latilabre is a terrestrial orchid widely distributed across the Himalaya and Sino-Himalayan region, recorded from China, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan and Myanmar, with GBIF logging 414 occurrences, making it among the better-collected taxa in this group. It grows in moist montane forest, grassy slopes, mossy banks and forest margins. The illustrated plant was photographed at Pemagatse in Bhutan at about 1800 m, flowering in October, a humid mid-montane setting under partial shade.

It is a small, slender tuberous geophyte arising from a subterranean tuberoid. One or a few narrow, lanceolate to elliptic leaves are borne low on the stem, which terminates in a slender raceme of numerous small, greenish to yellowish-green flowers. The flowers are non-resupinate to weakly so, with a broad, often expanded labellum (the epithet latilabre, broad-lipped) and a reduced or absent spur, the column short and characteristic of the genus. The fruit is a small dehiscent capsule releasing dust-like seeds.

The species is accepted. Its present circumscription reflects recent molecular and morphological work by X.H. Jin, Schuiteman, Raskoti and colleagues, who have reorganised the boundaries between Herminium and allied genera such as Androcorys and Monorchis. Like most temperate terrestrial orchids it depends on mycorrhizal fungi for germination and establishment, and is pollinated by small insects attracted to the inconspicuous flowers. Its broad range and frequency suggest a secure status, though grassland conversion poses local pressures.

Author: (Lindl.) X.H.Jin, Schuit., Raskoti & Lu Q.Huang · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Raskoti's Orchids of Nepal