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.

Asteraceae

Ligularia virgaurea

by GP Jürgens

Mattf. ex Rehder & Kobuski

BhutanPG2011 799 01 01
Bhutan 2011
Sikkim2003 537 G747
Sikkim, 08.2003

Description

Ligularia virgaurea is a robust perennial of alpine meadows and grasslands centred on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and extending into the Himalaya, with native records from China, Russia, Bhutan, Nepal and India; among the 777 occurrences, the European and other extra-regional points reflect garden cultivation rather than wild range. It forms extensive colonies on moist meadows, marshy pasture, riverbanks and open slopes, typically between about 2600 and 4700 m, and can dominate overgrazed grassland as an unpalatable increaser. The material documented from Bhutan in 2011 and Sikkim in August 2003 places it in the well-watered subalpine to alpine zone of the eastern Himalaya.

The species is a clump-forming herb with a stout rootstock and erect, glabrous to thinly hairy stems. The basal leaves are long-petiolate, with elliptic to ovate-oblong, entire or denticulate blades and sheathing petiole bases; the cauline leaves are reduced and clasping. The capitula are numerous, small and radiate, borne in a dense, narrow, racemose to spike-like synflorescence. Each head has a cylindric involucre of few phyllaries, a small number of yellow ray florets and yellow tubular disc florets. The cypselae are cylindric, glabrous and ribbed, crowned by a pappus of reddish-brown to whitish barbellate bristles.

Ligularia is a large Old World genus of the Senecioneae, richly developed on the Tibetan Plateau, distinguished from the closely allied Cremanthodium by its erect, non-nodding capitula. L. virgaurea is notably variable in leaf shape and inflorescence density, and several infraspecific forms have been recognised. Its tissues contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids and other deterrents, so livestock avoid it, allowing the species to expand under heavy grazing. It is widespread and abundant and is of no conservation concern.

Author: Mattf. ex Rehder & Kobuski · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China Vol. 20-21, Flora of Bhutan, Flora of Nepal, Liu Revision of Ligularia

Apiaceae

Ligusticopsis wallichiana

by GP Jürgens

(DC.) Pimenov & Kljuykov

Sikkim2003 98 P135
Sikkim below Dzongri 3700m 08.2003
Sikkim2003 161 P214
Sikkim below Dzongri 3900m, August

Description

Ligusticopsis wallichiana is a Himalayan umbellifer ranging from Pakistan and northern India through Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan into south-western China and Myanmar. The 406 GBIF records lie chiefly within this native arc, the European and North American points reflecting herbarium and garden material. It occupies subalpine and alpine meadows, forest clearings, open slopes and streamsides, generally between about 3000 and 4300 m, where it is a characteristic tall herb of moist Himalayan grassland. The plants photographed below Dzongri in Sikkim at 3700 to 3900 m in August illustrate the species at the height of the monsoon flowering season on these damp, herb-rich slopes.

It is a stout, glabrous perennial herb arising from a thick, aromatic rootstock, with erect, ribbed, often purplish stems. The leaves are large and several times pinnate (ternate-pinnate), the ultimate segments lanceolate to ovate and toothed, the lower leaves long-petiolate with sheathing bases. The inflorescence is a terminal compound umbel with numerous rays, subtended by narrow bracts and bracteoles; the small flowers are white. The fruit is an oblong-ellipsoid, dorsally compressed schizocarp with prominently winged lateral ribs, splitting into two mericarps.

Long familiar as Selinum wallichianum (its WordPress URL preserves that name), the species was transferred to Ligusticopsis by Pimenov and Kljuykov in their revision of the Selinum-Ligusticum complex, reflecting carpological and molecular evidence. The aromatic root has a history of use in Himalayan folk medicine. Common and widespread across its range, it is not considered threatened and forms a conspicuous element of high Himalayan meadow vegetation.

Author: (DC.) Pimenov & Kljuykov · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Bhutan, Flora of China, Pimenov & Kljuykov Umbelliferae revision

Liliaceae

Lilium nanum

by GP Jürgens

Klotzsch

BhutanPG2011 250
Bhutan Tsochenchen, 3800m June
Nepal 99 123 ergebnis
West-Nepal South of Rara-Lake 3650m, June

Description

Lilium nanum is a diminutive alpine lily of the Himalaya and adjoining China, recorded from China, Nepal, India, Bhutan and Myanmar, with GBIF documenting some 410 occurrences (outlying records reflecting cultivation). It grows in subalpine and alpine meadows, open Rhododendron and juniper scrub, grassy slopes and stabilised screes, generally between 3000 and 4500 m. The photographed plants were found in Bhutan at Tsochenchen at 3800 m and in West Nepal south of Rara Lake at 3650 m, both in June, when this early-summer flowerer nods amid the freshly greening alpine sward soon after snowmelt.

It is a small bulbous perennial, the bulb ovoid with few lanceolate scales, giving rise to a slender, erect, unbranched stem rarely exceeding a hand-span in height. The leaves are scattered, linear to narrowly lanceolate, sessile and grass-like. The plant bears a solitary (rarely paired), nodding, broadly campanulate flower with six free, recurved-tipped tepals coloured pinkish-purple to deep purple, often tessellated or veined darker within and yellowish at the base. There are six stamens with versatile anthers and a superior, three-locular ovary topped by a slender style; the fruit is an erect, ribbed, loculicidal capsule producing flat, winged, wind-dispersed seeds.

The species belongs to genus Lilium (Liliaceae) and is among the smallest of all true lilies, sometimes treated with var. flavidum, a yellow-flowered variant of the eastern Himalaya. Prized by alpine gardeners, it is challenging in cultivation owing to its high-altitude requirements. While its broad range buffers it against extinction, local populations face pressure from grazing, bulb collection and warming-driven habitat shifts.

Author: Klotzsch · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Flora of Nepal, The Genus Lilium (Comber/McRae)

Liliaceae

Lilium nepalense

by GP Jürgens

D.Don

BhutanPG2011 703 01 01
Bhutan Luksor, 2700m July
Nepal 99 900 ergebnis
West-Nepal Sepka 2700m, July
Nepal 99 1005 ergebnis
West-Nepal Sepka 2700m, July
Nepal 99 1006 ergebnis
West-Nepal Sepka 2700m, July

Description

Lilium nepalense is a striking Himalayan lily native to Nepal, Bhutan, northern India and south-western China, extending into Myanmar; GBIF records (around 206 occurrences) also reflect numerous cultivated and naturalised collections in Europe and South-East Asia, as it is widely grown as an ornamental. In its natural range it inhabits cool, humid temperate to subalpine slopes, growing among shrubberies, in forest clearings, on grassy banks and along the margins of oak, rhododendron and conifer woodland on rich, well-drained humic soils. The collections from Luksor in Bhutan and Sepka in western Nepal, both near 2700 m in July, illustrate its mid-montane elevation and monsoon-season flowering.

The plant grows from a stoloniferous bulb with loosely imbricate white scales, the underground stem often wandering before emerging. The erect, leafy aerial stem bears scattered, lanceolate to ovate, sessile or shortly petiolate leaves with prominent parallel venation. The flowers, borne singly or few in a lax raceme, are large, nodding and broadly funnelform to trumpet-shaped; the six recurved tepals are luminous greenish-yellow to pale chartreuse with a dramatic deep maroon to purple-black throat blotch, giving the species its horticultural celebrity. The six stamens carry large versatile anthers, and the slender style ends in a capitate three-lobed stigma. The superior ovary develops into an erect, oblong, three-valved capsule with numerous flat, winged seeds.

Described by D. Don, Lilium nepalense belongs to a Sino-Himalayan group of trumpet lilies and is prized in cultivation for its colour contrast and fragrance, having earned horticultural recognition in temperate gardens. Its stoloniferous bulb is an adaptation for vegetative spread through loose montane soils. While locally frequent, wild populations face pressure from over-collection of bulbs, grazing and habitat disturbance, making sustainable propagation important for relieving demand on natural stands.

Author: D.Don · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Bhutan, Flora of China, Stainton Flowers of the Himalaya, The Genus Lilium (Jefferson-Brown)

Liliaceae

Lilium sherriffiae

by G & P Jürgens

Stearn

A3EB14BDCA574E78ABE6D96A22255803
Bhutan Tsochenchen, 3550m June

Description

Lilium sherriffiae is a slender bulbous perennial endemic to the eastern Himalaya, restricted to Bhutan and adjacent Nepal and known from only about 13 documented occurrences, making it one of the rarer Himalayan lilies. It grows among subalpine scrub, in open coniferous forest, on grassy slopes and at meadow margins, typically between 3000 and 3900 m. The illustrated material was gathered at Tsochenchen in Bhutan at 3550 m in June, during the short alpine flowering season that follows snowmelt at these elevations.

The plant arises from a small ovoid bulb of imbricate scales and produces a single erect, wiry stem 30-70 cm tall bearing scattered, narrowly linear-lanceolate leaves. The flower is usually solitary and pendent, the perianth campanulate with six segments that are strongly recurved only at the tips. The colouring is highly distinctive: the segments are dull purplish-maroon outside and conspicuously chequered or tessellated with yellow-green within, recalling a Fritillaria. The six stamens bear versatile anthers and the superior ovary develops into an erect, ribbed loculicidal capsule containing flat, papery, wind-dispersed seeds.

Named for the collector George Sherriff, the species is prized horticulturally yet remains scarce in cultivation owing to its specialised requirements. Its fritillary-like nodding flower is adapted to pollination by bumblebees active in the cool subalpine climate. Given its narrow geographic range, small number of known populations and the pressures of grazing and collection, L. sherriffiae is of genuine conservation concern and merits formal assessment and in-situ protection.

Author: Stearn · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Bhutan, Annotated Checklist of the Flowering Plants of Nepal, The Genus Lilium (Jefferson-Brown), RHS Lily species monograph

Liliaceae

Lilium wallichianum

by G & P Jürgens

Schult.f.

Bhutan2012 515
Bhutan Wangdi 2600m, September
Bhutan2012 516
Bhutan Wangdi 2600m, September

Description

Lilium wallichianum is a tall, trumpet-flowered lily of the Himalaya, ranging from northern India and Nepal through Bhutan to Myanmar, with naturalised or cultivated occurrences elsewhere; GBIF records (c. 217) reflect both its native distribution and its presence in cultivation. In the wild it grows on grassy and shrubby slopes, in forest clearings, scrub and along the margins of temperate forest, generally between about 1500 and 2700 m. The photographed plant from Wangdi (Wangdue Phodrang) in Bhutan, at 2600 m and flowering in September, is characteristic of its late-summer to autumn flowering in mid-elevation montane vegetation.

The plant arises from a stoloniferous, white, scaly bulb and produces a stout, erect stem up to 1–2 m tall bearing scattered, narrowly linear to linear-lanceolate leaves. The flowers are large, solitary or few, long-tubular to trumpet-shaped and powerfully fragrant; the six perianth segments are white, often flushed greenish or rose-purple externally, recurving at the tips. The flowers are typically held horizontally or somewhat declined, with six stamens bearing versatile anthers and a long, slender style ending in a three-lobed stigma. The fruit is an erect, oblong, loculicidal capsule containing numerous flat, papery, wind-dispersed seeds.

Lilium wallichianum belongs to the trumpet- or Aurelian-lily group (section Leucolirion / Lilium), the Asiatic trumpet lilies prized in horticulture for their fragrance and elegant form; it has contributed to the breeding of garden trumpet hybrids. The epithet commemorates Nathaniel Wallich, the Danish botanist who pioneered the study of Himalayan flora. Although locally not uncommon, wild populations of showy lilies are vulnerable to bulb collection and grazing, warranting habitat protection.

Author: Schult.f. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Bhutan, Flora of Nepal, The Genus Lilium (Liberty Hyde Bailey / Comber classification)

Plantaginaceae

Lindenbergia grandiflora

by GP Jürgens

Benth.

Nepal 95 249 P429 ergebnis
Nepal Valley of Buri Gandaki, Kholabensi 2100m October

Description

Lindenbergia grandiflora is a Himalayan herb ranging from Nepal and northern India through Bhutan into south-western China, with naturalised or introduced records noted elsewhere (including Italy and Vietnam among the catalogued occurrences). It is characteristically a plant of rocky places, old walls, dry banks, cliff ledges and other lithic, sun-exposed habitats at low to mid elevations, broadly between about 700 and 2,400 m. The plant photographed in the valley of the Buri Gandaki at Kholabensi, Nepal, at 2,100 m in October, captures its autumn flowering on the steep, well-drained slopes of an inner Himalayan river gorge.

It is an erect, branched, glandular-pubescent perennial or biennial herb with somewhat woody-based stems. The leaves are opposite below, ovate to lanceolate, with crenate-serrate margins and a softly hairy surface. The flowers are borne in the upper leaf axils, forming a leafy terminal raceme; the corolla is comparatively large for the genus, bright yellow, weakly two-lipped with a short tube and spreading lobes, the throat often bearing reddish markings. The calyx is campanulate and five-toothed; stamens four, didynamous. The fruit is a septicidal capsule with numerous small seeds.

Lindenbergia, formerly placed in Scrophulariaceae, is now referred variously to Orobanchaceae or, as here, to Plantaginaceae depending on classification; molecular studies place it among the basal, non-parasitic lineages near the Orobanchaceae, unlike its hemiparasitic relatives. The genus is a small Old World group centred on tropical Asia and Africa. The species is locally frequent on suitable rocky substrates and is not regarded as threatened.

Author: Benth. · Sources: POWO (Kew), Flora of China Vol. 18, Flora of Bhutan Vol. 2, GBIF, Fischer: Scrophulariaceae (Genera Orobanchaceae & allies)

Plantaginaceae

Lindenbergia muraria

by G & P Jürgens

(Roxburgh ex D. Don) Brühl

Bhutan2015 73
Bhutan Wangdi Phodrang 1500m, October
Bhutan2012 410
Bhutan Wangdi 2700m, September
Bhutan2012 654
Bhutan Tserang 1200m, September

Description

Lindenbergia muraria is a widespread herb of warm-temperate and subtropical Asia, recorded across India, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Pakistan and into parts of Arabia and Africa; GBIF logs 585 occurrences over this broad range. As its epithet implies, it is a colonist of old walls, rock crevices, stony banks, roadsides and waste ground, generally from the lowlands up to about 2700 m. The illustrated plants come from several Bhutanese stations, Wangdue Phodrang at 1500 m in October, Wangdue at 2700 m in September and Tsirang at 1200 m in September, spanning the autumn flowering of this ruderal species across a wide elevational band.

The plant is an erect to ascending annual or short-lived perennial herb, the stems softly pubescent and often glandular-hairy. Leaves are opposite below and sometimes alternate above, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, with a serrate margin and short petiole. The flowers are solitary or paired in the upper leaf axils, forming a leafy terminal spike-like inflorescence; each has a tubular, five-toothed calyx and a yellow, two-lipped corolla with a short tube, the lower lip three-lobed and often marked. There are four didynamous stamens, and the superior ovary ripens into a small, ovoid, septicidal capsule containing numerous minute seeds.

Lindenbergia, long placed in Scrophulariaceae, is now referred to the broadly circumscribed Plantaginaceae (consistent with the input family) following molecular reclassification, occupying a basal position near the family's scrophularioid lineages. POWO and GBIF accept the name. Its tolerance of walls and disturbed mineral substrates underlies its wide, weedy distribution across monsoon Asia.

Author: (Roxburgh ex D. Don) Brühl · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Flora of British India, Annotated Checklist of the Flowering Plants of Nepal, Revision of Lindenbergia (Plantaginaceae/Scrophulariaceae)

Orchideaceae

Liparis cathcartii

by GP Jürgens

Hook.f.

Sikkim2004 93 G163
Sikkim West-Bengal, Bersay 2700m April
Sikkim2004 117 G201
Sikkim West-Bengal, Bersay 2700m April

Description

Liparis cathcartii is an East Himalayan terrestrial orchid known from a restricted range spanning northern India (Sikkim, West Bengal, Darjeeling), Nepal, Bhutan and south-eastern China; its modest tally of about 60 georeferenced occurrences (IN, CN, NP, BT) marks it as a regional endemic of the moist temperate forest belt. It grows in shaded, humus-rich leaf litter and on mossy banks within broad-leaved and mixed forest, generally between about 2000 and 3000 m. The plant photographed at Bersay on the Sikkim-West Bengal border at 2700 m in April, flowering early in the season, is typical of its cool, humid forest-floor habitat.

It is a small terrestrial herb arising from clustered, fleshy pseudobulbs partly sheathed by membranous scales. From each pseudobulb arise a few thin-textured, plicate, ovate to elliptic leaves with sheathing bases. The slender erect scape bears a lax raceme of several small flowers, greenish to purplish-brown in colour, with narrow spreading sepals and filiform petals; the lip (labellum) is the most distinctive organ, broad, recurved and often emarginate, contrasting with the slender column characteristic of the genus. The fruit is a small ellipsoid, ribbed capsule releasing abundant dust-like seeds dispersed by wind.

Liparis is a large, near-cosmopolitan genus of subtribe Malaxidinae, with Himalayan species notably diverse; L. cathcartii is allied to other temperate plicate-leaved members of the genus. Like most orchids it depends on mycorrhizal fungi for germination and is protected internationally under CITES Appendix II. Its narrow distribution and reliance on undisturbed forest make it sensitive to habitat loss, though it persists locally where forest cover remains intact.

Author: Hook.f. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Bhutan, Flora of China, The Orchids of Sikkim Himalaya (King & Pantling), Genera Orchidacearum (Pridgeon et al.)

Orchideaceae

Liparis nervosa

by GP Jürgens

(Thunberg) Lindl.

Bhutan2014 786
Bhutan Wangdi Mo-Chu 1400m, May
BhutanPG2011 609 01
Bhutan Ludlow-Sherriff-Trail Ken-La, 4300m July
Also included: Cotoneaster microphyllus Lindb.
Bhutan2014 784
Bhutan Ludlow-Sherriff-Trail Ken-La, 4300m July
Sikkim2003 28 P39
Sikkim Rathong-Chu 1200m 08.2003