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.

Caprifoliaceae

Lonicera angustifolia

by G & P Jürgens

Wall. ex DC.

BhutanPG2011 141
Bhutan Tsochenchen, 3550m June
Bh09 325 P531
Bhutan Tumching, 3700m June

Description

Lonicera angustifolia is a Sino-Himalayan honeysuckle distributed along the Himalaya from Afghanistan and Pakistan through India, Nepal and Bhutan to south-western China, with scattered records eastward to Myanmar; GBIF lists around 1,200 occurrences, several reflecting cultivation in Europe and North America. It is a shrub of the upper temperate and subalpine zones, occupying open coniferous and mixed forest, scrub, forest margins and rocky slopes, broadly from 2,400 to 4,000 m. The plants photographed at Tsochenchen at 3,550 m and Tumching at 3,700 m in Bhutan, both in June, show it flowering in early summer within high subalpine shrubbery near the upper forest limit.

It is an erect, much-branched deciduous shrub reaching 1-2.5 m, with slender greyish branchlets. The leaves are opposite, narrowly elliptic to oblong-lanceolate or linear, hence the epithet angustifolia ('narrow-leaved'), 1-4 cm long, entire and glabrous to thinly pubescent. The flowers are borne in axillary pairs on a common peduncle, each pair subtended by small bracts; the corolla is tubular-funnelform, two-lipped and pale pink to whitish, and the paired ovaries are partly fused. The two berries are connate at the base, ripening red and remaining largely free at the apex, each containing several seeds.

Lonicera section Isika, to which L. angustifolia belongs, comprises numerous shrubby, paired-flowered honeysuckles that are particularly diverse in the Himalaya and western China. Its tubular pink corollas are adapted to pollination by bees and long-tongued insects, while the bright red, partly fused berries are dispersed by birds and form an important food source in the subalpine zone. As a widespread, hardy and ecologically tolerant species spanning a broad elevational range, it is of least concern; its cold-hardiness and ornamental berries account for its occasional cultivation in temperate gardens.

Author: Wall. ex DC. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Flowers of the Himalaya (Polunin & Stainton), monograph of Lonicera (Caprifoliaceae)

Caprifoliaceae

Lonicera angustifolia var. myrtillus

by GP Jürgens

(Hook. f. & Thomson) Q. E. Yang, Landrein, Borosova & J. Osborne

Bh09 326 P532
Bhutan Tumching-La, 3700m June

Description

Lonicera angustifolia var. myrtillus is a high-montane to subalpine shrub of the Himalaya and adjacent ranges, recorded from China, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Myanmar; GBIF holds about 873 occurrences for the taxon, with scattered cultivated records elsewhere. It is characteristic of the upper temperate and subalpine zone, typically between roughly 3000 and 4000 m, the photographed plant deriving from Tumching-La in Bhutan at 3700 m in June, at the onset of flowering. It grows in open coniferous and rhododendron forest, at the forest-line ecotone, and among scrub on rocky, well-drained slopes, often forming part of the dwarf-shrub understorey.

This variety is a small, much-branched deciduous shrub with slender, often arching twigs and small, opposite, entire leaves that are narrowly oblong to elliptic, the var. myrtillus being notably small-leaved and bilberry-like in aspect. The flowers are borne in axillary pairs on short peduncles; each pair subtended by bracts, the tubular-funnelform corolla is white to pale pink, weakly two-lipped or nearly regular. The paired ovaries are partly connate, and at maturity produce small, fused, juicy berries that ripen red, dispersed by birds, as is typical of the genus.

The combination (Hook. f. & Thomson) Q. E. Yang, Landrein, Borosova & J. Osborne reflects modern revisionary work on Himalayan Lonicera within an enlarged Caprifoliaceae. As an intraspecific taxon of a widespread, ecologically tolerant species, it is of no conservation concern, and like other shrubby honeysuckles it contributes nectar and fleshy fruit to subalpine pollinator and frugivore networks at the upper forest margin.

Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Flora of Pakistan, Yang et al. revision of Lonicera (Caprifoliaceae), Rehder Synopsis of the Genus Lonicera

Caprifoliaceae

Lonicera glabrata

by G & P Jürgens

Wall.

Bhutan2015 600
Bhutan Gasa 1950m, October
Bhutan2015 601
Bhutan Gasa 1950m, October

Description

Lonicera glabrata is a Himalayan and Sino-Himalayan honeysuckle distributed from Nepal and India through Bhutan and Myanmar into south-western China; its c. 150 georeferenced records concentrate along the temperate forest belt of the eastern Himalaya. It grows in broadleaf and mixed forest, forest margins, thickets and shrubby slopes, generally between 1500 and 3000 m. The plant photographed at Gasa in northern Bhutan at 1950 m in October occupies the temperate forest zone, where its autumn fruiting follows the late-spring to early-summer flowering typical of the species.

It is a glabrous deciduous shrub, sometimes scandent, 1.5-3 m tall, distinguished as the epithet "glabrata" implies by its smooth, hairless foliage. The leaves are opposite, ovate to lanceolate, acuminate, entire and rather thin in texture. The flowers are borne in axillary pairs on a slender common peduncle, each two-lipped and creamy-white to pale yellow, fragrant, with a slender tube. Paired bracteoles subtend the ovaries. The fruit is a paired berry, the two ripening red to purplish-black, the partly fused pairs offering a conspicuous food reward. The four to five stamens and slender style are exserted from the corolla mouth.

Described by Wallich (as Wall.), L. glabrata belongs to Lonicera section Coeloxylosteum of the Caprifoliaceae, a group of paired-flowered Himalayan shrubs. The tubular, nectar-rich flowers are pollinated by bees and long-tongued insects, while the colourful berries are dispersed by birds. The species is widespread within its range and locally common in forest understorey, with no significant conservation concern, though it is sensitive to deforestation of mid-elevation broadleaf woodland.

Author: Wall. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Bhutan, Flora of China, Flora of Nepal, Rehder's monograph of Lonicera (Caprifoliaceae)

Caprifoliaceae

Lonicera hispida

by GP Jürgens

Pall. ex Schult.

BhutanPG2011 590
Bhutan Kem-La 4100m, July
Garh 07 111 ergebnis
India Garhwal Meggu Kichatti 3200m, June

Description

Lonicera hispida is a deciduous shrub of the high mountains of Central and High Asia, ranging through the Himalaya from Pakistan and India to Nepal and Bhutan, across Tibet and western China, and northward into the Tien Shan, Pamir-Alai and Altai of Central Asia and Russia. It grows in subalpine and alpine scrub, open coniferous forest, stream banks and rocky slopes, typically between about 2500 and 4500 m. The photographed material comes from Kem-La in Bhutan at around 4100 m and from Meggu Kichatti in Indian Garhwal at about 3200 m, flowering in June and July. With over 3100 georeferenced records it is a well-documented and widespread montane honeysuckle.

It forms an erect, much-branched shrub up to about 2 m, the young shoots and petioles bristly-hispid with stiff spreading hairs and glandular bristles, the older bark exfoliating. The leaves are opposite, oblong to elliptic, ciliate and bristly-margined, often glaucous beneath. The flowers are borne in axillary pairs subtended by large, broad, persistent bracts that enlarge in fruit; the corolla is tubular-funnelform, white to pale yellow, weakly two-lipped, with a gibbous base and exserted stamens and style. The paired ovaries are partly united, and the fruit is a fleshy berry, red at maturity, the bracts often colouring and partly enclosing the twin fruits.

Lonicera hispida belongs to section Isika and is distinguished by its conspicuously hispid bristly indumentum and large floral bracts. It is morphologically variable across its enormous range, and several varieties have been recognised. The berries are taken by birds, aiding dispersal. As a common, broadly distributed alpine shrub it is of least conservation concern.

Author: Pall. ex Schult. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Rehder's revision of Lonicera

Caprifoliaceae

Lonicera obovata

by G & P Jürgens

Royle ex Hook.f. & Thomson

Garh 07 116 ergebnis
India Garhwal Meggu Kichatti 3300m, June

Description

Lonicera obovata is a Himalayan shrubby honeysuckle distributed through Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, NW India, Bhutan and SW China, with 424 occurrences recorded in GBIF. It inhabits high-elevation shrubberies, open coniferous and birch woodland margins, rocky slopes and the upper subalpine to alpine zone. The photographed material from Meggu Kichatti in Garhwal, India, at about 3,300 m in June, represents typical habitat where the plant flowers as the snow recedes, often forming low thickets among rocks and dwarf rhododendron.

It is a deciduous, much-branched dwarf shrub usually 0.3–1 m tall with slender, often arching branches. The leaves are opposite, small, obovate to elliptic as the epithet implies, 1–3 cm long, rounded or retuse at the apex and somewhat glaucous, with short petioles. The flowers are borne in axillary pairs on short peduncles; the twin corollas are funnelform, pale yellow to creamy white, two-lipped, with the ovaries of the paired flowers partly connate. The fruit is a fused, ovoid, red berry crowned by the persistent calyx teeth, the paired ovaries coalescing into a single bilocular fruit.

The species belongs to Lonicera sect. Isika, a group of paired-flowered honeysuckles with connate fruits. GBIF records it as accepted. It is a hardy element of the West and Central Himalayan alpine flora, ecologically important as a nectar source for high-altitude pollinators and as cover in exposed terrain, and is not considered threatened across its broad montane range.

Author: Royle ex Hook.f. & Thomson · Sources: POWO (Kew), Flora of China Vol. 19, Flora of Pakistan, GBIF, Rehder: Synopsis of the Genus Lonicera (1903)

Caprifoliaceae

Lonicera purpurascens

by G & P Jürgens

Walp.

Garh 07 112 ergebnis
India Garhwal Meggu Kichatti 3200m, June

Description

Lonicera purpurascens Walp. is a deciduous shrubby honeysuckle of the western and central Himalaya. GBIF occurrence data place it principally in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Afghanistan, Bhutan and Myanmar, confirming a chiefly Himalayan distribution. It is a plant of subalpine forest and shrubberies, growing among Abies, Betula and Rhododendron stands and along open rocky slopes, generally between about 2,800 and 3,800 m. The illustrated plant from Meggu Kichatti in Garhwal at 3,200 m, flowering in June, is characteristic of its occurrence in the upper temperate to subalpine belt where it blooms shortly after snowmelt.

It is an erect to spreading shrub up to 1.5–2 m tall with terete, glabrescent young branches and ovate to elliptic, entire leaves that are often glaucous and purplish-tinged beneath. The flowers are borne in axillary pairs on a common peduncle, subtended by bracts; the corolla is two-lipped, gibbous at the base, and ranges from yellowish to purple-flushed, hence the epithet. The paired ovaries are partly fused, and the resulting berries are red, more or less connate, each containing several seeds.

The species is one of numerous Himalayan Lonicera within the section Isika, and the purplish foliage and connate fruits distinguish it from allied taxa such as L. quinquelocularis and L. webbiana. Its berries provide food for montane birds, contributing to seed dispersal. The species is widespread within the Himalayan arc and is not currently regarded as of conservation concern.

Author: Walp. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Pakistan, Flora of Bhutan Vol. 2, Rehder: Synopsis of the Genus Lonicera

Caprifoliaceae

Lonicera quinquelocularis

by G & P Jürgens

Hardw.

Bhutan2014 1083
Bhutan Paro 2000m, May

Description

Lonicera quinquelocularis is a deciduous shrub of the Himalayan and Sino-Himalayan temperate zone, ranging from Afghanistan and Pakistan eastward through India, Nepal and Bhutan into south-western China; with some 873 georeferenced records it is among the better-documented honeysuckles of the region (European and North American records reflect cultivation). It grows in open forest, scrub, forest margins, riverine thickets and rocky hillsides, chiefly between 1500 and 3000 m. The illustrated plant from Paro in western Bhutan at 2000 m, flowering in May, typifies its occurrence in the temperate broadleaf and conifer zone where it forms part of the understorey and forest-edge shrub community.

It is a much-branched shrub 2-5 m tall with greyish, peeling bark and ovate to elliptic, entire leaves that are softly pubescent, often greyish beneath, arranged in opposite pairs. The flowers are borne in axillary pairs on a common peduncle; each is two-lipped and creamy-white, ageing to yellow, fragrant, with a short tube. The bracts and bracteoles subtend the paired ovaries. A diagnostic feature reflected in the epithet is the five-locular ovary. The most striking character is the fruit: the two berries of each pair fuse and ripen translucent, the seeds visible within, turning purple-black, giving rise to the English name "translucent-berry honeysuckle."

Described by Hardwicke (as Hardw.), the species belongs to Lonicera section Coeloxylosteum of the Caprifoliaceae. The conspicuous semi-transparent berries are dispersed by birds, while the nectar-rich flowers attract bees and other insects. The species is widespread and locally common, used as fuel and hedging and occasionally cultivated as an ornamental; it is not considered threatened.

Author: Hardw. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Bhutan, Flora of Pakistan, Flora of China, Rehder's monograph of Lonicera (Caprifoliaceae)

Caprifoliaceae

Lonicera webbiana

by GP Jürgens

Wall.

Bh09 39 P71
Bhutan Paro 2400m, June

Description

Lonicera webbiana is a deciduous shrub of the temperate Himalaya and adjoining Central Asian mountains, distributed from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan eastwards through Kashmir, northern India, Nepal and Bhutan into south-western China and Myanmar, with over 2000 occurrence records (those from Europe and North America representing cultivated material). It grows in coniferous and mixed forest, forest margins, thickets and shrubberies, chiefly between about 2400 and 3600 m. The specimen photographed at Paro in Bhutan at 2400 m in June illustrates its early-summer flowering within the upper temperate forest belt.

The shrub reaches 2-3 m, with hollow young branches and ovate to elliptic-lanceolate leaves that are acuminate at the apex, often ciliate and softly pubescent beneath. Flowers are borne in pairs on a slender, drooping peduncle, each pair subtended by small linear bracts; the corolla is two-lipped and reddish to purplish, the tube short and gibbous at the base. The paired ovaries are largely free, and the fruit develops into red, ellipsoid berries which are partly fused at the base, a feature aiding recognition of the species.

Lonicera webbiana belongs to Caprifoliaceae and to the large, taxonomically complex section Isoxylosteum (the bush honeysuckles); it has at times been confused with related Himalayan species such as L. quinquelocularis and L. angustifolia. The nectar-bearing flowers attract long-tongued bees and other pollinators, while the conspicuous red berries are dispersed by birds. Widespread and locally frequent across an extensive range, the species is of least conservation concern and is a characteristic understorey shrub of Himalayan fir and spruce forests.

Author: Wall. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Pakistan, Flora of Bhutan, Rehder revision of Lonicera, Annotated Checklist of the Flowering Plants of Nepal

Didymocarpinae

Loxostigma kurzii

by GP Jürgens

(C.B.Clarke) B.L.Burtt.

Bhutan2012 997
Bhutan Trithangebe 900m, October
Bhutan2012 998
Bhutan Trithangebe 900m, October

Description

Loxostigma kurzii is an epiphytic or lithophytic gesneriad of the eastern Himalaya and the Sino-Himalayan borderlands, recorded by GBIF (about 165 occurrences) from China, India, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar. It inhabits the humid subtropical and warm-temperate forest belt, growing on mossy tree trunks, shaded cliffs and dripping rock faces in deep shade and high humidity. The illustrated plant was found in Bhutan at Trithangebe at about 900 m in October, a low, frost-free montane forest locality typical of the species, which descends well below the conifer zone into the broadleaved evergreen forests of the foothills.

The plant is a soft, somewhat fleshy herb with pendulous or ascending, often rooting stems clothed in soft hairs. The leaves are opposite, those of a pair frequently unequal, ovate to elliptic, with a crenate-serrate margin and a pubescent surface. The flowers are solitary or few in the leaf axils, each on a slender pedicel; the calyx is five-parted, and the corolla is large, tubular-funnelform and yellow, often marked within with purplish lines and slightly two-lipped at the mouth. There are four didynamous stamens with coherent anthers, and a superior ovary bearing the obliquely placed stigma from which the genus takes its name (Loxostigma). The fruit is a long, slender, twisted capsule splitting to release many minute seeds.

The taxon is sometimes treated as Briggsia kurzii, reflecting past uncertainty over generic limits within the didymocarpoid Gesneriaceae; molecular work has placed Loxostigma as a distinct lineage near Briggsia. As a forest epiphyte dependent on undisturbed, humid woodland it is sensitive to deforestation, though it remains locally frequent and is not formally assessed as threatened.

Author: (C.B.Clarke) B.L.Burtt. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Annotated Checklist of the Flowering Plants of Nepal, Weber and Burtt's classification of the Gesneriaceae

Rubiaceae

Luculia grandifolia

by G & P Jürgens

Ghose

Nepal 95 346 P619 ergebnis
Nepal Tiblung 2810m, October

Description

Luculia grandifolia is a rare and poorly known shrub or small tree endemic to the eastern Himalayas, recorded from Bhutan, northeast India (Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh), and central-eastern Nepal. Only 30 occurrences are documented on GBIF, making it one of the least collected species in the genus. It grows in moist, evergreen montane forests and along shaded ravines at elevations of 2,000–3,200 m, where it is associated with Rhododendron, Magnolia, and Lithocarpus in the upper warm-temperate to lower cloud-forest zone. The species favours humid, sheltered microsites on steep slopes with deep humus.
Luculia grandifolia is a semi-evergreen to evergreen shrub or small tree, 2–5 m tall, with stout, terete branches. The leaves are the largest in the genus, opposite, broadly elliptic to obovate, 15–30 cm long and 8–15 cm wide, coriaceous, with entire margins and prominent venation beneath; petioles are stout, 2–4 cm long. Stipules are interpetiolar, triangular, and caducous. The inflorescence is a terminal, dense, corymbose cyme bearing numerous fragrant flowers. Each flower has a salverform corolla, 2.5–3.5 cm long, with five spreading, rounded lobes; the colour ranges from white to pale pink. The calyx is five-lobed, with lobes often tinged reddish. The fruit is a septicidal capsule containing numerous small, winged seeds.
Luculia is a small genus of approximately five species restricted to the Sino-Himalayan region, all prized for their showy, sweetly fragrant flowers. Luculia grandifolia is distinguished from the more widely cultivated L. gratissima by its significantly larger leaves and more robust overall habit. The photographed specimen from Tiblung in Nepal at 2,810 m in October represents a late-season flowering event, consistent with the autumnal blooming period reported for the genus. Given its limited distribution, small population sizes, and dependence on undisturbed montane forest, L. grandifolia is of considerable conservation interest and would likely qualify as Vulnerable under IUCN criteria if formally assessed.

Author: Ghose · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Bhutan Vol. 2, Press et al.: Annotated Checklist of the Flowering Plants of Nepal (2000), Springate et al. (2015)