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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.

Primulaceae

Primula pulchra

by GP Jürgens

G.Watt

Sikkim2004 142 G244
Sikkim/India Singalila 3800m April

Description

Primula pulchra is an eastern Himalayan species distributed across Nepal, India, Bhutan, southern China (Xizang, Yunnan) and northern Myanmar, with GBIF documenting some 39 georeferenced occurrences across this comparatively narrow range. It is a plant of the upper temperate and subalpine zones, typically growing between about 3000 and 4300 m on moist, humus-rich slopes, in open Rhododendron scrub, along stream margins and on grazed alpine meadows that remain snow-covered for much of the winter. The photographed material from the Singalila Ridge on the Sikkim–West Bengal border at roughly 3800 m, flowering in April, is characteristic: the species is among the earliest primulas to bloom as the snowmelt recedes.

It is a small, rosette-forming perennial arising from a short rhizome with fibrous roots. The leaves are obovate to oblong-spathulate, narrowed to a winged petiole, the margin crenate-dentate, and the lower surface typically clad in a pale to yellowish farina. The scape carries a one- to few-flowered umbel subtended by short bracts. Flowers are heterostylous and showy, the corolla rose-purple to violet with a pale or yellow eye, the lobes obcordate and emarginate; the calyx is campanulate and often farinose. The fruit is a small capsule about equalling the persistent calyx, releasing numerous angular seeds.

Primula pulchra belongs to section Petiolares, a large, taxonomically intricate group of Sino-Himalayan primulas characterised by early flowering and resting-bud overwintering. Within it the species is allied to P. calderiana and P. boothii, from which it is separated by leaf shape, farina distribution and corolla detail; intergradation has complicated its delimitation. As a snow-bed and meadow specialist it is sensitive to grazing and to shifts in snow-lie driven by climate warming, though its presence in several protected high-altitude areas affords some security.

Author: G.Watt · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Smith & Fletcher monograph of the genus Primula, Richards 'Primula' (2003)

Primulaceae

Primula sapphirina

by GP Jürgens

Hook.f. & Thomson ex. G.Watt

BhutanPG2011 299
Bhutan Jule-Tso, 4000m June
Nepal 99 688 1 ergebnis
West-Nepal, Pungmo-Khola, July

Description

Primula sapphirina is a diminutive alpine primrose of the high Eastern Himalaya, recorded from India, Bhutan, Nepal and south-western China, with GBIF documenting around 80 occurrences from this restricted high-altitude range. It is confined to the alpine zone, growing on moist turf, mossy banks, seepage slopes and the edges of melting snow patches where the ground stays cool and damp through the brief growing season. The cited localities underline its elevation: Jule-Tso in Bhutan at about 4000 m flowering in June and the Pungmo-Khola in West Nepal in July, both well above treeline, where it flowers as the snow recedes and the short subnival summer begins.

It is a small, delicate perennial herb forming a slender, few-leaved tuft from a short rootstock, often farinose. The leaves are basal, small, spathulate to oblong, narrowed into a winged petiole, with finely toothed or crenate margins. The slender scape bears few small flowers, sometimes solitary, nodding on capillary pedicels; the calyx is tubular-campanulate and the corolla is a clear sapphire-blue to violet, the limb shallowly lobed with a narrow tube, giving the plant its epithet. The species is typically heterostylous with pin and thrum forms. The fruit is a small membranous capsule containing numerous minute seeds.

Primula sapphirina, attributed to Hooker f. & Thomson ex G. Watt, belongs to section Minutissimae (the so-called "bird's-eye" alpine primulas), a group of tiny high-elevation species characterised by farinose, cushion-like habit and small blue flowers. As an obligate alpine, it depends on snowmelt moisture and stable turf, and its pollination by small flies and bees occurs within a narrow window. Its restricted distribution and specialised habitat make it sensitive to climate-driven upslope shifts, though no formal conservation assessment has yet been published.

Author: Hook.f. & Thomson ex. G.Watt · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Bhutan, Flora of China, Annotated Checklist of the Flowering Plants of Nepal, Richards' monograph Primula

Primulaceae

Primula scapigera

by GP Jürgens

Craib

Sikkim2004 75 P131
Sikkim West-Bengal, Bersay 2600m April
Sikkim2004 313 G563
Sikkim/India Kokchurong 3600m May
Sikkim2004 314 G564
Sikkim/India Kokchurong 3600m May

Description

Primula scapigera is an eastern Himalayan primrose recorded from northern India (Sikkim, West Bengal), Nepal, Bhutan and adjacent China, with 67 GBIF occurrences also reflecting cultivated material reaching Japan. It grows in cool, humid montane and subalpine habitats, on mossy banks, in open Rhododendron and conifer forest and along streamsides, generally between 2500 and 3800 m. The illustrated plants were collected at Bersay in the Sikkim/West Bengal borderland at 2600 m in April and at Kokchurong in Sikkim at 3600 m in May, spanning the species' spring to early-summer flowering across its altitudinal range.

It is a small perennial herb forming neat rosettes of obovate to spathulate leaves that are crenate to denticulate at the margin, narrowed to a winged petiole and often coated beneath, like the scape and calyx, with pale farina. The slender erect scape bears a terminal umbel of a few to several flowers. The corolla is rose-pink to purplish with a contrasting yellow or whitish eye, the limb divided into five obcordate, notched lobes; the plants are heterostylous, producing pin and thrum morphs. The fruit is a small capsule shorter than or equalling the persistent calyx.

The species is placed in Primula section Petiolares, a largely Sino-Himalayan group of farinose, rosette-forming primroses centred on the eastern Himalaya and Hengduan ranges. Within the section it is allied to P. petiolaris and P. gracilipes, from which it is separated by its scapose inflorescence and leaf characters. Like its congeners it depends on insect pollination facilitated by its distyly, and its restricted high-rainfall habitat makes it sensitive to disturbance and warming. Though not formally assessed, it remains a localised eastern Himalayan endemic of conservation interest.

Author: Craib · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Bhutan, Flora of China, Richards: Primula

Primulaceae

Primula sikkimensis

by GP Jürgens

Hook.

Sikkim2011 246
Sikkim Yumthang 3700m, June
Sikkim2011 65
Sikkim Yumthang 3700m, June
BhutanPG2011 810 01 01 scaled
Bhutan / also included: Ligularia fischeri
Bh09 34 P64
Bhutan
Sikkim2003 231 P320
Sikkim Dzongri 4100m 08.2003

Description

Primula sikkimensis, the Sikkim cowslip, is a robust perennial of the Himalaya and the eastern Tibetan plateau, recorded from China, Nepal, Bhutan, India and Myanmar, with 1820 occurrences in GBIF making it one of the better-documented Himalayan primulas. It is a plant of wet alpine habitats: marshy meadows, stream sides, bog margins and damp turf, typically between 3000 and 4500 m, often forming extensive colonies in seepage zones. The Sikkim collections illustrated, from Yumthang at 3700 m in June and Dzongri at 4100 m in August, exemplify its association with permanently moist, cold ground; the caption also notes Ligularia fischeri co-occurring in the same habitat.

The plant arises from a stout rhizome and produces a basal rosette of oblong to oblanceolate leaves, the blades crenate-toothed and tapering to a winged petiole, mealy-farinose at least beneath when young. The stout, erect scape, often 30-90 cm tall, bears a terminal umbel of several to many nodding, fragrant flowers. The corolla is funnelform with a slender tube and spreading limb, pale to sulphur-yellow, the throat dusted with farina; the species is heterostylous, with distinct pin and thrum morphs. The fruit is a cylindrical capsule, somewhat longer than the persistent calyx, releasing numerous small seeds.

Primula (Primulaceae) reaches its greatest diversity in the Sino-Himalaya; P. sikkimensis is the type of section Sikkimensis, a group of moisture-loving, yellow- to whitish-flowered primulas. Its heterostyly enforces outcrossing, and its scent and form suit pollination by long-tongued insects. Widespread and locally abundant, it is not of conservation concern, but as a wetland specialist it is sensitive to drainage, grazing pressure and the desiccation of alpine mires under a warming climate.

Author: Hook. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, The Genus Primula (A Monograph)

Primulaceae

Primula smithiana

by GP Jürgens

Craib

Bhutan2014 849
Bhutan Thimphu 2230m, May
Bh2008 434 G680
Bhutan Phobjika, 3100m April
Bh09 304 G501
Bhutan Yetong-La, 3000m June

Description

Primula smithiana Craib is an eastern Himalayan endemic distributed across Bhutan, north-eastern India (Arunachal Pradesh) and the adjacent provinces of south-central China, with some 79 georeferenced collections recorded in GBIF. It is a plant of moist temperate to subalpine zones, favouring wet meadows, streamsides, marshy hollows and the margins of conifer and rhododendron forest. The populations near Thimphu at 2230 m in May, in the Phobjika valley at 3100 m in April, and at Yetong-La at 3000 m in June illustrate its altitudinal span of roughly 2200–3500 m, where snowmelt and monsoon humidity sustain the boggy ground it requires.

The species belongs to section Sikkimensis and is a robust deciduous perennial herb arising from a short rhizome with a tuft of fleshy roots. The leaves form a basal rosette, oblong-oblanceolate to spatulate, gradually narrowed into a winged petiole, with a crenate-dentate margin and an efarinose to lightly farinose lower surface. The stout scape greatly exceeds the foliage and bears a single nodding umbel of numerous pendent, bell-shaped flowers; the corolla is pale to deep yellow with a farinose throat, the calyx campanulate and the heterostylous flowers pin or thrum. The fruit is a cylindric capsule slightly exceeding the persistent calyx and shedding small angular seeds.

Within the Sikkimensis alliance P. smithiana is distinguished from the widespread P. sikkimensis chiefly by its yellow, farinose-throated flowers and preference for lower temperate elevations. As a moisture-demanding bog primula it indicates intact subalpine wetland. It has no formal threat assessment, but its restricted range and dependence on undrained marshy ground make it locally vulnerable to grazing, drainage and trampling.

Author: Craib · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Bhutan, Flora of China, Smith & Fletcher monograph of Primula

Primulaceae

Primula spathulifolia

by G & P Jürgens

Craib

Nepal 99 601 ergebnis
Nepal Kagmara-La4800m, July

Description

Primula spathulifolia Craib is a high-alpine herb of the central and eastern Himalaya, recorded from India, Nepal and Bhutan (IN, NP, BT), with GBIF documenting some 25 occurrences across this restricted range. It grows in the upper alpine and subnival belt, typically between about 4000 and 5000 m on damp gravelly slopes and snow-melt flushes. The material from the Kagmara-La in Nepal at 4800 m in July shows its flowering shortly after snow-melt, when the brief alpine summer permits rapid growth and anthesis.

The species forms a small, neat rosette arising from a short rootstock, the leaves spathulate to narrowly oblanceolate as the epithet indicates, with a tapering base, an entire to obscurely toothed margin and an efarinose to lightly farinose surface. The scape is short, bearing one to several flowers in a terminal umbel. The corolla is rose-purple to violet with a paler or yellowish eye, the limb divided into obcordate, emarginate lobes spreading from a slender tube; the calyx is campanulate and the flowers heterostylous in the typical primuloid manner. The fruit is a small capsule releasing numerous minute seeds dispersed by wind and water.

Within Primula, P. spathulifolia belongs among the small-statured rosette-forming alpines, part of a complex of dwarf Sino-Himalayan species adapted to extreme altitudes. Its narrow distribution makes it of biogeographic interest as a Himalayan endemic of high passes, and although no formal threat assessment is widely cited, its dependence on stable snow-melt habitats renders it potentially sensitive to shifts in snowpack and grazing. Pollination is presumed to involve small bees and flies active in the brief alpine window.

Author: Craib · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Nepal, Flora of Bhutan Vol. 2, Flora of China Vol. 15, Smith & Fletcher monograph of the genus Primula

Primulaceae

Primula stirtoniana

by G & P Jürgens

G.Watt

Nepal 99 815 ergebnis
West-Nepal Baga-La-Phedi 4300m, July
Nepal 99 814 ergebnis
West-Nepal Baga-La-Phedi 4300m, July

Description

Primula stirtoniana is a high-altitude perennial herb distributed across the Himalayas from western Nepal through northeast India (Sikkim, Uttarakhand) to Bhutan and southern China (Xizang). The species inhabits alpine meadows, moist rocky ledges, and scree slopes at elevations of 3,600–4,800 m, where it grows in association with other alpine cushion plants and rosette-forming herbs. It has been recorded from Baga-La-Phedi in western Nepal at 4,300 m, flowering in July during the peak monsoon period when moisture availability is highest.
The plant forms compact rosettes arising from a short, stout rootstock. The leaves are spatulate to obovate, 2–6 cm long, with a crenate to dentate margin, more or less farinose beneath with a whitish or yellowish farina. The scape is erect, 5–15 cm tall, bearing a terminal umbel of 3–10 flowers. The calyx is campanulate, often farinose, with lanceolate lobes. The corolla is purple to violet-blue, with a flat, spreading limb 10–15 mm in diameter; the tube is cylindrical, exceeding the calyx. The species is heterostylous, producing both pin and thrum flowers. The capsule is globose to ovoid, slightly exceeding the calyx at maturity.
Primula stirtoniana belongs to section Crystallophlomis, a group characterised by prominent leaf farina, and is allied to P. macrophylla and related species. It was described by George Watt in the late nineteenth century and has been relatively infrequently collected. With approximately 26 occurrence records in GBIF, it remains a poorly documented species whose population status across its range is unclear. Alpine Primula species are considered sensitive indicators of climate change, and upward range shifts or phenological mismatches with pollinators may pose long-term threats to such narrowly adapted high-altitude taxa.

Author: G.Watt · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Nepal, Richards: Primula (2003), Grierson & Long: Flora of Bhutan Vol. 2 (2001)

Primulaceae

Primula strumosa

by GP Jürgens

Balf. f. & R.E. Cooper

Nepal 97 199 P408
Nepal Topke Gholam 3850m April
Nepal 97 164 G321
Nepal Topke Gholam 3850m April
Nepal 2001 352 ergebnis ergebnis scaled
Nepal 2001 353 ergebnis ergebnis scaled
Nepal (Gorkha) Rupina-La 3350m, May

Description

Primula strumosa is a Himalayan primrose recorded from Nepal, India, China, Bhutan and Japan, with about 152 GBIF occurrences along the central and eastern Himalaya. It grows in moist alpine and subalpine meadows, damp grassy slopes, rhododendron scrub and streamsides, typically between roughly 3300 and 4300 m. The plants photographed at Topke Gholam (about 3850 m, April) and at Rupina-La in Gorkha (about 3350 m, May) in Nepal exemplify its habit of flowering early in the season in wet montane turf, often soon after snowmelt when the yellow heads emerge above the developing foliage.

The species is a perennial rosette herb with a short rootstock and basal leaves that are oblong to oblanceolate, with crenate to denticulate margins, the blade narrowing into a winged petiole and frequently dusted with pale farina (meal) beneath. The flowering scape is erect and bears a terminal umbel of several flowers subtended by bracts. The corolla is yellow, salverform with a slender tube and spreading, notched lobes, the calyx campanulate and often farinose. The fruit is a capsule containing numerous small seeds, the flowers typically heterostylous with pin and thrum forms promoting outcrossing.

Primula strumosa belongs to the yellow-flowered Himalayan assemblage of section Petiolares and allies, a group of meal-bearing primroses centred on the high rainfall ranges from Nepal to Bhutan and adjacent China. These primroses are closely tied to permanently moist, cool habitats and to insect pollination of their distylous flowers. With a moderately wide range across the central-eastern Himalaya the species is not regarded as threatened, though as a moisture-demanding alpine specialist it is sensitive to changes in snow cover and meadow hydrology.

Author: Balf. f. & R.E. Cooper · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Annotated Checklist of the Flowering Plants of Nepal, Richards' monograph Primula

Primulaceae

Primula stuartii

by G & P Jürgens

Wall.

Garh 07 401 ergebnis
Garh 07 416 ergebnis
India Garhwal 3900m, June

Description

Primula stuartii is a high-alpine perennial distributed across the Himalayan arc, with georeferenced records (some 140 occurrences) from Nepal, India, China and Bhutan. It is a plant of open, moist alpine meadows, rocky slopes and the margins of melting snow-beds, typically occurring between roughly 3000 and 4500 m. The population photographed in the Garhwal Himalaya of northern India at about 3900 m in June represents its characteristic habitat, flowering as the snow recedes and the short summer growing season begins on humus-rich, well-drained but seasonally saturated substrates.

The species forms a stout perennial rosette arising from a short, farinose-coated rootstock. The leaves are oblong to oblanceolate, narrowing into a winged petiole, with finely toothed margins and a conspicuous mealy-yellow farina coating the lower surface. A robust scape bears a terminal umbel of several to many flowers; the calyx is tubular-campanulate and the corolla is bright golden-yellow with a distinct annulate throat, the limb divided into spreading, often emarginate lobes. The capsule is cylindrical, exceeding the calyx, and dehisces by apical valves to release numerous small angular seeds.

Primula stuartii belongs to the large and taxonomically complex genus Primula, within which yellow-flowered farinose Himalayan species have long posed problems of delimitation; several segregates and varieties have been recognised in the regional literature. As a snow-bed and alpine-meadow specialist it is sensitive to grazing pressure and to shifts in snow-cover duration, making it a useful indicator of alpine ecosystem change. It remains locally frequent across much of its range and is not presently regarded as threatened.

Author: Wall. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Nepal, Flora of Bhutan, Flora of China, Smith & Fletcher's monograph of Primula

Primulaceae

Primula tanneri subsp. nepalensis

by GP Jürgens

A.J.Richards

BhutanPG2011 270
Bhutan Jule-Tso, 3900m June

Description

Primula tanneri subsp. nepalensis is a subalpine to alpine primula of the Himalaya; under the GBIF backbone the name is treated as a synonym, with Primula tanneri nepalensis given as the accepted name. The GBIF records, though few (around ten occurrences) and centred on Nepal, accompany a wider distribution of the species through the Central and Eastern Himalaya including Bhutan. It grows in moist alpine and subalpine habitats, among open Rhododendron scrub, damp turf and shaded rocky slopes near the treeline. The plant figured was recorded at Jule-Tso in Bhutan at about 3,900 m in June, flowering early in the growing season.

It is a glabrous perennial herb with a basal rosette of obovate to oblong-spathulate leaves, the margins toothed and the blade tapering to a winged petiole, often more or less efarinose. The flowering scape is erect and bears a terminal umbel of several flowers, each subtended by linear bracts. The corolla is deep purple to violet, somewhat funnelform, with a short tube and a spreading limb of five emarginate lobes, the throat marked by a paler or yellowish eye. As typical of the genus the species is heterostylous, producing distinct pin and thrum morphs, and the fruit is a many-seeded capsule.

Primula tanneri belongs to the petiolarid alliance of Himalayan primulas, and subsp. nepalensis represents the western, Nepalese-centred expression of this variable species, distinguished by leaf and farina characters from the typical eastern subspecies. The heterostylous breeding system promotes obligate outcrossing by insects. With a restricted range and few documented populations it is naturally local; while not formally evaluated, such narrowly distributed alpine taxa warrant monitoring against climatic shifts.

Author: A.J.Richards · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Bhutan, Annotated Checklist of the Flowering Plants of Nepal, Richards' Primula (monograph), Smith & Fletcher revision of Asiatic Primula