Tag:

Montane (1500-2500 m)

Orchideaceae

Eulophia dabia 

by GP Jürgens

Hochr.

Nepal 2001 226 ergebnis ergebnis
Nepal Gorkha Tullikot 2000m, May

Description

Eulophia dabia is a terrestrial orchid distributed across the temperate and subtropical belts of Central and southern Asia, with verified records (some 166 GBIF occurrences) spanning China, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, reflecting a broadly Irano-Turanian to Sino-Himalayan range. In the Himalaya it favours open grassy slopes, scrubland and disturbed pasture on well-drained soils, flowering with the onset of pre-monsoon warmth. The plant illustrated was photographed near Tullikot in the Gorkha district of central Nepal at about 2000 m in May, typical of the species' preference for sunlit, seasonally dry meadow habitats at middle elevations.

The species is a tuberous geophyte producing subterranean, somewhat cormous pseudobulbs from which arise erect, often leafless or scarcely leafy flowering scapes that emerge before or with the foliage. The leaves are linear-lanceolate, plicate and grass-like, sheathing at the base. Flowers are borne in a loose terminal raceme; the tepals are narrow and spreading, typically dull greenish to purplish-brown, while the trilobed labellum bears longitudinal lamellae or papillose crests and a short spur or saccate base. The fruit is a pendent, ellipsoid dehiscent capsule releasing dust-like seeds adapted for wind dispersal and obligate mycorrhizal germination.

Within Eulophia, a large pantropical genus, E. dabia belongs to the group of dry-ground terrestrials whose seasonal, drought-deciduous habit suits monsoonal climates. Like all orchids it is listed under CITES Appendix II, restricting international trade, though the species itself is not regarded as globally threatened owing to its wide range. Its dependence on mycorrhizal fungi and on grazed or open grassland makes it sensitive to land-use change and overgrazing at the local scale.

Author: Hochr. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Nepal, Flora of China, The Orchids of the Himalaya (King & Pantling), CITES Appendix II

Celastraceae

Euonymus frigidus

by G & P Jürgens

Wall.

Sikkim 2006 184 ergebnis
India West-Bengal, Samadan 2300m, May
BhutanPG2011 82 ergebnis scaled
Bhutan Menchuang 2850m, June

Description

Euonymus frigidus is a Himalayan spindle tree distributed from central Nepal through northeast India, Sikkim, Bhutan, and northern Myanmar to southwest China (Yunnan, Sichuan, Xizang). GBIF records over 1,570 occurrences, with the majority from China and the eastern Himalayas. The species inhabits cool-temperate and subalpine broadleaved and mixed forests, often growing along forest margins, stream gullies, and shaded slopes at elevations of 1,800–3,200 m. Collections from Samadan in West Bengal at 2,300 m and from Menchuang in Bhutan at 2,850 m illustrate its typical occurrence in the mid-elevation broadleaved forest zone of the eastern Himalayan slopes.
Euonymus frigidus is a large deciduous shrub or small tree, reaching 3–8 m in height, with smooth, greyish-green bark on younger branches. Leaves are opposite, elliptic to oblong-lanceolate, 6–14 cm long, acuminate at the apex, cuneate at the base, with finely crenate-serrate margins, glabrous on both surfaces, and turning reddish-purple in autumn. The inflorescence is an axillary, dichasial cyme bearing 7–15 flowers on slender peduncles. Flowers are tetramerous, small, 6–8 mm in diameter, with greenish-yellow to purplish petals and a conspicuous four-lobed disc. The fruit is a deeply four-lobed capsule, pink to crimson at maturity, splitting to reveal four seeds each enclosed in a bright orange aril — a striking ornamental feature.
The specific epithet 'frigidus' alludes to the cold-temperate habitats in which this species predominantly occurs. Euonymus frigidus is distinguished from the closely related E. hamiltonianus by its generally larger leaves, more deeply lobed capsules, and preference for higher elevations. The conspicuous arillate fruits are an important food source for frugivorous birds, including minivets and laughingthrushes, which serve as effective dispersal agents. The species is occasionally cultivated as an ornamental in European and North American gardens for its vivid autumn colour and decorative fruit.

Author: Wall. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China Vol. 11, Flora of Bhutan Vol. 2, Grierson & Long: Flora of Bhutan (1991)

Euphorbiaceae

Euphorbia pseudosikkimensis 

by G & P Jürgens

(Hurus. & Tanaka) Radcl.-Sm.

Sikkim 2006 323 ergebnis
India Sikkim Ringi-Chu 2250m, May
Sikkim 2006 464 ergebnis
India Sikkim Ringi-Chu 2250m, May
Sikkim 2006 324 ergebnis
India Sikkim Ringi-Chu 2250m, May

Description

Euphorbia pseudosikkimensis is a robust perennial spurge native to the eastern Himalayas, occurring in Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, and adjacent parts of China. It inhabits moist forests, forest clearings, and stream banks at 1,800–3,000 m.

The plant forms tall, erect stems up to 1.5 m high, with whorled, oblong-lanceolate leaves that are dark green above and paler beneath. The inflorescence is a large, showy cyathium with conspicuous bright yellow-green glands, giving the impression of striking yellow flowers in spring. Like all Euphorbia species, it exudes a milky white latex when stems or leaves are broken.

In traditional medicine of the region, the latex has been used cautiously as a purgative, though it is irritant and toxic in larger quantities. The species is sometimes confused with E. sikkimensis, from which it differs in leaf shape and gland morphology.

Author: (Hurus. & Tanaka) Radcl.-Sm. · Sources: POWO (Kew), Flora of Bhutan, eFlora of China

Euphorbiaceae

Euphorbia royleana

by GP Jürgens

Boiss.

Bhutan2014 202
Bhutan Trashyangtse 2100m, May
Bhutan2014 203
Bhutan Trashyangtse 2100m, May
Nepal 2001 516 ergebnis ergebnis
Nepal (Gorkha) Mulabari 1340m, May

Description

Euphorbia royleana is a succulent, tree-like spurge of warm, dry valleys across the Himalaya and adjacent regions. With 148 GBIF occurrences, it ranges through Nepal, India, China, Pakistan and Bhutan, with cultivated or introduced records noted elsewhere including Belgium, Egypt and the United States, reflecting its use as an ornamental and hedge plant. It is characteristic of hot, semi-arid slopes, rocky hillsides and degraded scrub in the subtropical to lower temperate zone, often on south-facing rain-shadow exposures. It was recorded at Trashyangtse in Bhutan at about 2100 m and at Mulabari in Gorkha, Nepal, at about 1340 m, both in May.

It is a stout, cactus-like succulent shrub or small tree with a short woody trunk and erect, candelabriform branches that are fleshy, grey-green and obtusely five- to seven-angled. Paired, short stipular spines arise on the angles, subtending small, fugacious leaves clustered near the branch tips. As in all Euphorbia the inflorescence is a cyathium: cup-like involucres bearing nectar glands enclose the reduced unisexual flowers, here borne in small cymose clusters and yielding the abundant caustic white latex typical of the genus. The fruit is a three-lobed capsule splitting into three mericarps.

Euphorbia (Euphorbiaceae) is among the largest of all plant genera, and E. royleana belongs to its succulent, xerophytic Old World element adapted to seasonal aridity. Long valued in the region for living fences and traditional medicine, it is widely planted, and its milky latex is irritant and toxic. The species is not of conservation concern, being common and frequently cultivated, but it is an important structural and biogeographic component of dry inner-Himalayan valley vegetation.

Author: Boiss. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Pakistan, Annotated Checklist of the Flowering Plants of Nepal, Boissier's monograph of Euphorbia in de Candolle's Prodromus

Euphorbiaceae

Euphorbia sikkimensis

by G & P Jürgens

Boiss.

Nepal 2001 302 ergebnis ergebnis
Nepal (Gorkha) Lambra Kharka 3100m, May
Nepal 2001 301 ergebnis
Nepal (Gorkha) Lambra Kharka 3100m, May
Nepal 97 86 P146
Nepal Tankhu 2100m April

Description

Euphorbia sikkimensis is a robust herbaceous spurge distributed across the eastern and central Himalaya, from central Nepal through Sikkim, Bhutan, and northeast India into southern China (Xizang, Yunnan), with peripheral records from Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam. It occurs in subalpine meadows, forest clearings, scrub margins, and open hillsides at elevations of 1,800–3,500 m. The species has been documented from the Gorkha district of Nepal at Lambra Kharka at 3,100 m in May and near Tankhu at 2,100 m in April, indicating a broad elevational amplitude and early-season phenology at lower altitudes.
The plant is a stout, erect perennial herb, 30–80 cm tall, with thick, fleshy rootstock and unbranched or sparingly branched stems that exude copious white latex when cut. Leaves are alternate, sessile, linear-lanceolate to oblanceolate, 8–15 cm long and 1–2.5 cm wide, with a prominent pale midrib, entire margins, and a glaucous undersurface. The inflorescence is a terminal, compound cyathium typical of the genus, with a broad umbel of 4–8 primary rays, each ray subtended by obovate, yellowish-green floral bracts. The cyathia bear crescent-shaped glands with short horns. The fruit is a smooth, trilocular capsule approximately 6–8 mm in diameter, explosively dehiscent at maturity, with carunculate seeds.
Euphorbia sikkimensis was described by Boissier from Sikkim collections and belongs to Euphorbia subgenus Esula, a predominantly Eurasian clade of herbaceous spurges. It is notable for its striking appearance in early spring, when the bright red or pink-tinged new stems contrast with the yellowish-green inflorescences. The species has gained horticultural recognition in temperate gardens and is increasingly cultivated as an ornamental perennial in Europe. Ecologically, its copious latex deters herbivory, and it plays a role in early-season pollinator support in montane grassland ecosystems.

Author: Boiss. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China Vol. 11, Annotated Checklist of the Flowering Plants of Nepal

Pentaphylacaceae

Eurya acuminata

by GP Jürgens

DC.

Bhutan2012 1009
Bhutan Trithangebe, 1000m October
Bh2008 512 G786
Bhutan Chongsakha, 1850m April

Description

Eurya acuminata is an evergreen shrub or small tree widely distributed through tropical and subtropical Asia, ranging from the Himalaya across southern China, Taiwan and Japan to Indochina, the Malesian archipelago and New Guinea; its roughly 2614 GBIF occurrences span India, Nepal, Bhutan, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. In Bhutan it occupies a broad altitudinal range, as recorded at Trithangebe around 1000 m in October and at Chongsakha near 1850 m in April. It grows in evergreen broad-leaved forest, along forest margins and in secondary woodland, often as an understorey or successional component of warm, moist forests.

The plant is a much-branched evergreen with leathery, alternate, distichous leaves that are lanceolate to oblong with the long-acuminate apex recorded in the epithet and a finely serrate margin; the young twigs are often two-edged. The species is dioecious, bearing small, axillary, fragrant flowers that are creamy to greenish-white with five sepals, five petals, and in male plants numerous stamens, while female flowers carry a superior ovary with a short divided style. The fruit is a small, globose, fleshy black berry containing several minute seeds, dispersed by birds.

Eurya, formerly placed in Theaceae and now referred to Pentaphylacaceae, is a large genus of Old World shrubs distinguished by its dioecy, bracteolate flowers and berry fruits; E. acuminata is among the most widespread and variable species, with several recognised varieties. As an abundant, generalist forest component spanning a vast area, it is of least concern, and its dense foliage and wood find local use as fuel, hedging and minor timber.

Author: DC. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China Vol. 12, Flora of Bhutan Vol. 1, Flora of Nepal, Flora Malesiana (Theaceae/Pentaphylacaceae)

Gentianaceae

Exacum teres

by GP Jürgens

Wall.

Nepal 95 255 P438 ergebnis
Nepal Valley of Buri Gandaki, Kholabensi 2100m October

Description

Exacum teres is a slender annual gentian of the eastern Himalaya and adjacent Indo-Burmese region, documented by GBIF (about 125 occurrences) from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, China, Myanmar and Bhutan. It grows in moist, open habitats of the warm-temperate and subtropical belt, including grassy banks, terraced field margins, forest clearings and damp roadside slopes, typically below the main forest line. The illustrated material was gathered in the valley of the Buri Gandaki at Kholabensi in Nepal at about 2100 m in October, a montane locality near the upper edge of its altitudinal range, which extends from the lowland hills up into the cooler middle hills.

The plant is an erect, glabrous herb with a quadrangular, often narrowly winged stem (the epithet teres referring to its terete-cylindric aspect) that branches above. The leaves are opposite, sessile to subsessile, ovate to lanceolate, entire, and conspicuously three- to five-nerved from the base. The flowers are borne in a lax terminal and axillary cyme; each has a four-lobed calyx with keeled, narrowly winged segments, and a rotate to broadly campanulate corolla that is blue to violet with a deeper throat. The four stamens bear large yellow anthers that open by terminal pores, a diagnostic feature of Exacum. The bilocular ovary matures into a small, septicidal capsule containing numerous minute, reticulate seeds.

Exacum is a palaeotropical genus centred on Sri Lanka, southern India and Madagascar, with E. teres representing the small Himalayan element of the lineage. As a widespread annual of disturbed and semi-natural grassland it is not considered threatened. Its poricidal anthers and blue corollas indicate buzz-pollination by bees, and several relatives are of horticultural interest as the cultivated Persian violets.

Author: Wall. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Annotated Checklist of the Flowering Plants of Nepal, Klackenberg's monograph of Exacum (Gentianaceae)

Hamamelidaceae

Exbucklandia populnea

by GP Jürgens

(R.Br. ex Griff.) R.W.Br.

Bh09 232 P388
Bhutan Wangdi, 1700m June

Description

Exbucklandia populnea is an evergreen tree of the family Hamamelidaceae, distributed through the eastern Himalaya and into Southeast Asia. GBIF records document its presence in China, India, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka, defining a broad Sino-Himalayan to Indo-Malayan range. It is a tree of moist, montane evergreen broad-leaved forest, often locally dominant in mid-elevation forest and on ridge crests, typically between about 1,000 and 2,500 m. The individual illustrated near Wangdue Phodrang (Wangdi) in Bhutan at around 1,700 m in June is characteristic of this humid mid-montane forest belt.

The species is a tall tree reaching 20–30 m with a straight bole and smooth grey bark. The leaves are alternate, long-petiolate, with broadly ovate, palmately three- to five-veined, often shallowly lobed blades reminiscent of a poplar, hence the epithet populnea; they are leathery and glabrous, with the petiole bearing conspicuous, large, paired stipules that sheath the bud and leave an annular scar on falling. The flowers are small, apetalous and aggregated into dense, rounded, capitate heads, the heads themselves grouped on a common axis; each head bears stamens and bicarpellate ovaries. The fruit is a woody capsule, several aggregated into a globose head, dehiscing to release small winged seeds.

The genus Exbucklandia is an isolated member of the relictual, largely Asian family Hamamelidaceae, a group of considerable phylogenetic interest in understanding early angiosperm woody lineages. The conspicuous stipules and capitate, apetalous inflorescences are diagnostic. The timber is locally used in construction and the species is an important canopy component of eastern Himalayan evergreen forest. Though widely distributed and not globally threatened, its montane forest habitat is locally subject to logging and conversion.

Author: (R.Br. ex Griff.) R.W.Br. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China Vol. 9, Flora of Bhutan Vol. 1, Flora of Nepal, Endress: Hamamelidaceae and adjacent families

Fabaceae

Flemingia strobilifera 

by G & P Jürgens

(L.) W.T.Aiton

Garw 2005 246 ergebnis ergebnis
India Garhwal Sitel 1850m, September

Description

Flemingia strobilifera is a widespread shrub of tropical and subtropical Asia, now pantropical through introduction, recorded from India, China, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and numerous tropical American localities; its roughly 3874 georeferenced records make it by far the most abundantly documented species in this group. It thrives in open forest, scrub, grassland, roadsides and disturbed ground from the lowlands to about 1900 m. The plant photographed at Sitel in the Garhwal Himalaya at 1850 m, flowering in September, marks the upper subtropical edge of its Himalayan range.

It is an erect, branching shrub to about 1-2 m with finely pubescent, angled stems. The leaves are simple (not trifoliolate as in most relatives), ovate to elliptic, acuminate, with three prominent basal veins and entire margins. The species is at once recognised by its inflorescence: the small purplish papilionaceous flowers are enclosed within conspicuous, accrescent, folded and reniform bracts that overlap to form a cone- or strobilus-like cluster, hence the epithet strobilifera. The fruit is a small, inflated, two-seeded pod hidden among the persistent bracts.

Flemingia, of tribe Phaseoleae, is distinguished from Cajanus and allies by its glandular pods and, in this species, the showy enclosing bracts. F. strobilifera is highly variable and several infraspecific forms have been recognised. It is widely used in folk medicine and as a green manure and cover crop, and its nitrogen-fixing root nodules aid soil improvement on poor ground. A vigorous coloniser, it is locally regarded as weedy and is of no conservation concern.

Author: (L.) W.T.Aiton · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of British India, Annotated Checklist of the Flowering Plants of Nepal, Mukerjee revision of Flemingia

Burseraceae

Garuga floribunda

by G & P Jürgens

Decne.

Bhutan2014 140
Bhutan Trashigang 1600m, May
Bhutan2014 142
Bhutan Trashigang 1600m, May

Description

Garuga floribunda is a tree of broad Indo-Pacific distribution, ranging from the Himalayan foothills and southern China through Southeast Asia and Malesia to New Guinea, Australia and the islands of the western Pacific, with over 1300 occurrences in GBIF spanning countries from India and Bhutan to the Philippines, Vanuatu, Samoa and Tonga. It is a component of seasonally dry and monsoon forest, secondary forest, open hillsides and coastal to lowland woodland, generally at low to moderate elevations though ascending into the foothills. The individual photographed at Trashigang in eastern Bhutan at 1600 m in May, near the upper, north-western limit of the species, illustrates its presence in the warm subtropical hill forest of the eastern Himalaya.

The plant is a medium to large deciduous tree with imparipinnate, alternate, often crowded leaves clustered toward the branch ends, the leaflets opposite, serrate and frequently pubescent, the foliage typically flushing reddish when young. The flowers, produced in profusion in large terminal and axillary panicles (hence floribunda), are small and yellowish to greenish-white, five-merous, with the petals borne on the rim of a cup-shaped floral receptacle and the stamens inserted around a fleshy disc. The fruit is a small, fleshy, globose drupe ripening dark, containing a hard, ridged stone with one to several seeds.

Garuga is a small genus of the resin-producing family Burseraceae, the frankincense and myrrh family, and like many of its relatives the bark exudes an aromatic resin. The genus differs from most Burseraceae in its pinnate, toothed leaves and abundant small flowers. The species is wide-ranging and ecologically versatile, occurring on a variety of soils in seasonal climates, and is bird- and animal-dispersed via its fleshy drupes. It is widespread and common across its enormous range and is not regarded as threatened, being locally used for timber, fodder and as a source of resin.

Author: Decne. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China Vol. 11, Flora of Bhutan Vol. 2, Flora Malesiana (Burseraceae), A Monograph of the Genus Garuga (Burseraceae)