Tag:

Nepal

Flowers of Nepal — 1313 wild plant species documented from the Nepalese Himalaya, from subtropical foothills to high alpine meadows above 4,000 m. Nepal’s dramatic elevation gradient makes it one of the richest botanical regions on Earth, home to rhododendrons, primulas, gentians and the famed blue poppies (Meconopsis). Every entry gives a botanical description, native distribution, habitat and flowering season, alongside the original field photograph and the location where it was taken.

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 elisabethiae

by G & P Jürgens

(Duthie) Tang & F.T.Wang

Nepal 99 706 ergebnis
West-Nepal, Pungmo-Khola 3800m, July

Description

Herminium elisabethiae (Duthie) Tang & F.T.Wang is a small terrestrial orchid of the Himalaya, formerly treated under Peristylus, as its synonymy and the source URL indicate. Although GBIF currently holds no georeferenced occurrence records for the name, the species is known from the western and central Himalaya, where it grows in alpine and subalpine grassland, open turf and grassy slopes. It was photographed in West Nepal along the Pungmo-Khola at 3800 m in July, during the summer monsoon flowering period typical of high-elevation Himalayan terrestrial orchids.

The plant is a slender, glabrous geophyte arising from small ovoid or spherical underground tubers. The stem bears a few narrow, lanceolate to linear leaves clustered near the base, grading into bract-like cauline leaves above. The inflorescence is a slender, cylindrical, many-flowered raceme of small greenish to yellowish-green flowers, each subtended by a narrow bract. The flowers show the dorsal sepal and petals converging into a hood over the column, with a small spurred or saccate, often three-lobed labellum characteristic of the Herminium-Peristylus alliance. The fruit is a small ellipsoid capsule releasing abundant dust-like seeds.

The genus Herminium, in tribe Orchideae of subfamily Orchidoideae, comprises small alpine and subalpine orchids of temperate Eurasia, and molecular work has repeatedly transferred species between Herminium and Peristylus, explaining the nomenclatural history here. The original family field is given verbatim as "Orchideaceae", though the correct spelling is Orchidaceae. As with most terrestrial orchids it depends on mycorrhizal fungi for germination, and its grassland habitat is vulnerable to grazing intensification and land-use change. The species is poorly documented and merits further field survey.

Author: (Duthie) Tang & F.T.Wang · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Nepal, Orchidaceae of the Himalaya (Tang & Wang; X. H. Jin revision of Herminium)

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

Orchideaceae

Herminium macrophyllum

by G & P Jürgens

(D.Don) Dandy

Bhutan2012 251
Bhutan Shele-La, 4000m September

Description

Herminium macrophyllum is a terrestrial orchid of the Himalaya and southwestern China, recorded from Nepal, China, India and Bhutan, with 160 occurrences in GBIF. It grows on alpine and subalpine meadows, grassy slopes and open turf, generally between 3000 and 4300 m. The plant photographed at Shele-La in Bhutan at about 4000 m in September is characteristic of the cool, moist high-altitude grassland where the species flowers in the late monsoon, its slender spikes rising among low alpine herbs and sedges on damp peaty soil.

The species is a small deciduous terrestrial herb arising from a pair of ovoid to globose underground tubers. The stem bears a few leaves, with one or two comparatively large, broadly elliptic to ovate basal leaves (the macrophyllum referring to this enlarged foliage) sheathing the base. The inflorescence is a slender, many-flowered cylindrical raceme of small greenish to yellowish-green flowers; each has a hooded dorsal sepal and petals forming a loose galea, spreading lateral sepals, and a labellum that is typically three-lobed with a short saccate or scarcely spurred base, the column short as is usual in the genus. The fruit is a small erect dehiscent capsule releasing copious minute seeds.

Herminium (subtribe Orchidinae, tribe Orchideae of the Orchidoideae) is a genus of small Eurasian terrestrial orchids centred on the Sino-Himalayan region, distinguished by their tuberous habit and inconspicuous green flowers; H. macrophyllum is set apart by its enlarged leaves. Like other terrestrial orchids it requires mycorrhizal fungi for seed germination and is pollinated by small insects attracted to the modest flowers. The species is locally frequent in intact alpine meadow but, as with all orchids, is listed under CITES Appendix II and is sensitive to grazing and habitat disturbance.

Author: (D.Don) Dandy · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Orchids of Bhutan, Genera Orchidacearum (Pridgeon et al.)

Orchideaceae

Herminium monophyllum

by GP Jürgens

(D.Don) P.F.Hunt & Summerh.

BhutanPG2011 245
Bhutan Tsochenchen 3800m, June

Description

Herminium monophyllum (D.Don) P.F.Hunt & Summerh. is a small terrestrial orchid of the Himalaya and western China, recorded by GBIF from India, Nepal, Bhutan and China across some 59 occurrences. It is a plant of open alpine and subalpine turf, grassy slopes, moist meadows and the margins of scrub, generally between about 3000 and 4300 m. The individual photographed at Tsochenchen in Bhutan at around 3800 m in June, during the brief alpine flowering flush, reflects its preference for cool, humid grassland kept moist through the growing season.

The plant grows from small subterranean tubers and produces a slender erect stem. As the epithet monophyllum indicates, there is characteristically a single principal basal leaf (sometimes with a second much smaller one), which is oblong to lanceolate, sheathing at the base. The inflorescence is a slender, rather lax to dense terminal raceme of numerous tiny greenish or greenish-yellow flowers. Each flower has narrow, somewhat hooded sepals and petals and a small three-lobed labellum without a true spur, the whole giving the inflorescence a delicate, grass-like appearance typical of the genus, which is pollinated chiefly by small insects.

Herminium is a genus of small-flowered terrestrial orchids of tribe Orchideae, distinguished by its spurless or near-spurless labellum and tuberous habit. Herminium monophyllum is one of several closely similar Himalayan species and can be confused with its relatives without close examination. It is inconspicuous and easily overlooked, and although not formally assessed as threatened it is restricted to high-altitude grassland that is vulnerable to overgrazing and warming; like all orchids it is protected under CITES Appendix II.

Author: (D.Don) P.F.Hunt & Summerh. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Bhutan, Flora of China, Pearce and Cribb Orchids of Bhutan, World Checklist of Orchidaceae

Malvaceae

Hibiscus schizopetalus

by GP Jürgens

(Dyer) Hook.f.

Nepal 1994 17 ergebnis
Ost-Nepal Kandbari 490m April

Description

Hibiscus schizopetalus is native to coastal East Africa, particularly Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique, but is now a pantropical ornamental, the GBIF dataset of some 2536 records spanning India, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, Fiji, French Polynesia, Réunion, and the Neotropics from Brazil and Colombia to Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama and Puerto Rico. In its introduced range it is grown as a garden and hedge shrub in warm lowland to lower-montane settings, escaping locally in disturbed and ruderal sites. The photographed plant from Khandbari in eastern Nepal at 490 m in April reflects this cultivated occurrence in the warm subtropical foothills, well outside its African origin.

It is an evergreen shrub reaching 2–3 m, with slender, often arching to pendulous glabrous branches. The leaves are alternate, ovate to elliptic, 4–7 cm long, with serrate margins, an acuminate apex and short petioles. The flowers are solitary, axillary and conspicuously pendulous on long jointed pedicels; the distinctive corolla consists of five deeply laciniate, recurved petals that are intricately fringed and pinnatifid, coloured pink to red, giving the species its common name fringed or coral hibiscus. The staminal column is long-exserted and pendent, bearing numerous anthers and a five-branched style with capitate stigmas. The fruit is a loculicidal capsule, though fruiting is sparse in cultivation.

Hibiscus schizopetalus belongs to section Lilibiscus of Hibiscus, allied to H. rosa-sinensis with which it readily hybridises and shares ornamental use. The deeply dissected, dangling flowers are an adaptation favouring sunbird and butterfly pollination in its native range. Widely propagated by cuttings, it is of no conservation concern as a cultivar, though wild African populations warrant attention.

Author: (Dyer) Hook.f. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China Vol. 12, Flora of Tropical East Africa (Malvaceae), Flora of Nepal, Hibiscus: A Monograph

Asteraceae

Himalaiella auriculata

by GP Jürgens

(DC.) Raab-Straube

Sikkim2003 103 P141
Sikkim below Dzongri 3900m 08.2003
Sikkim2003 408 P567
Sikkim below Dzongri 3900m 08.2003
Bhutan2012 493
Bhutan Pele-La 3000m, September

Description

Himalaiella auriculata is a perennial thistle-like composite of the temperate to subalpine zone of the eastern Himalaya, native to India, Nepal and China, with around 27 documented occurrences. It grows on open slopes, forest clearings, meadow margins and disturbed ground, broadly between about 3000 and 4000 m. The photographed plants were recorded below Dzongri in Sikkim at 3900 m in August and at the Pele-La in Bhutan at 3000 m in September, flowering in the late-monsoon and early-autumn period typical of the genus in the region. The name supplied, Himalaiella auriculata, is recorded by GBIF as a synonym, with the same epithet treated as the accepted name; the species was long placed in Saussurea as S. auriculata.

The species is an erect herb with a leafy, often winged stem arising from a perennial rootstock, the herbage thinly cobwebby-arachnoid. The leaves are elliptic to lanceolate, the basal narrowed to a petiole and the cauline sessile and conspicuously auriculate-clasping at the base, the auricles giving the epithet. The capitula are discoid, solitary or few in a loose terminal cluster, with an ovoid to campanulate involucre of imbricate, often purple-tipped phyllaries; the florets are all tubular and purple to mauve. The fruit is a glabrous cypsela bearing a double pappus, the inner bristles plumose, as is diagnostic of the alliance.

Himalaiella is a small Sino-Himalayan genus segregated from Saussurea (tribe Cardueae) on molecular and morphological grounds, characterised by the auriculate, decurrent leaves and feathery inner pappus. Restricted in range and represented by relatively few collections, it is a regional endemic of the eastern Himalaya whose populations warrant monitoring, though it has not been formally assessed.

Author: (DC.) Raab-Straube · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Bhutan, Flora of China, Saussurea monograph (Lipschitz)