Tag:

Subalpine (2500-3500 m)

Orobanchaceae

Pedicularis hoffmeisteri

by G & P Jürgens

Klotzsch

Nepal 99 339 ergebnis
West-Nepal Kalmura 3900m, June
Nepal 99 884 ergebnis
West-Nepal Suli-Khola 2900m, July
Nepal 99 885 ergebnis
West-Nepal Suli-Khola 2900m, July

Description

Pedicularis hoffmeisteri Klotzsch is a hemiparasitic herb distributed across the Sino-Himalayan region, with GBIF documenting some 266 occurrences spanning Nepal (NP), India (IN) and China (CN). It is characteristic of moist alpine and subalpine meadows, open grassy slopes, streamsides and forest margins, where it taps the roots of neighbouring grasses and herbs. The species was photographed in West Nepal at Kalmura at 3900 m in June and at the lower Suli-Khola at 2900 m in July, illustrating its broad altitudinal range from upper temperate forest into the alpine zone.

The plant is a perennial herb arising from a short rootstock, with erect or ascending stems that are often glabrescent below and pubescent in the inflorescence. The leaves are alternate or subverticillate, oblong to lanceolate in outline and pinnatisect, with closely toothed lobes typical of the genus. Flowers are borne in a terminal spike or interrupted raceme, each subtended by a leafy bract; the calyx is tubular and cleft, while the strongly zygomorphic corolla is two-lipped, the upper lip forming a galea that is often beaked and the lower lip three-lobed. The fruit is an obliquely ovoid, laterally compressed loculicidal capsule containing few seeds.

Like other members of Pedicularis, the largest genus in Orobanchaceae, P. hoffmeisteri is a facultative root hemiparasite that retains green photosynthetic tissue while drawing water and nutrients from host roots. Its bumblebee-pollinated galeate flowers reflect the pollinator specialisation that has driven explosive diversification of the genus in the Himalaya and Hengduan Shan. Though not formally assessed, its wide distribution and tolerance of disturbed pasture suggest no immediate conservation concern, though high-elevation populations are sensitive to grazing pressure and climate-driven shifts in the alpine treeline.

Author: Klotzsch · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Nepal, Flora of China, Pedicularis monograph (Prain; Tsoong revision of Asian Pedicularis)

Orobanchaceae

Pedicularis hookeriana 

by G & P Jürgens

Wall. ex Benn.

Garw 2005 62 ergebnis ergebnis
India Garhwal Valley of flowers 3400m, September
Garh 07 473 ergebnis
India Garhwal Khiar Kutti 3740m, June

Description

Pedicularis hookeriana Wall. ex Benn. is a hemiparasitic alpine herb distributed across the high Himalaya and adjoining mountains, recorded from Nepal, India, China and Myanmar, with some 61 georeferenced occurrences in GBIF. It inhabits open alpine meadows, moist turf, streamsides and the margins of dwarf-shrub communities, typically between 3300 and 4500 m. The species was documented in the Indian Garhwal Himalaya, both in the celebrated Valley of Flowers at 3400 m in September and at Khiar Kutti at 3740 m in June, the latter coinciding with the early-summer flush of alpine bloom after snowmelt. Like all members of the genus it attaches to the roots of neighbouring graminoids and forbs through haustoria, supplementing its own photosynthesis.

It is a low, often tufted perennial with a thickened rootstock and few erect or ascending stems. The leaves are mostly basal and rosulate, oblong to lanceolate in outline and deeply pinnatisect, the segments incised-dentate and frequently tinged with anthocyanin. The flowers are borne in a short, dense terminal raceme; the calyx is tubular and toothed, while the showy bilabiate corolla is pink to purplish-red, its galea curved and beaked, contrasting with a broad spreading lower lip. The fruit is an obliquely ovoid, somewhat compressed capsule containing several small seeds.

Within the large and taxonomically complex genus Pedicularis, P. hookeriana belongs to the beaked-galea assemblage that radiated extensively across the Sino-Himalayan region, one of the world's principal centres of diversity for the genus. Its long, curved corolla beak is an adaptation to pollination by long-tongued bumblebees, which the flower architecture mechanically guides. Though not formally assessed as threatened, its restriction to fragile alpine turf makes it sensitive to grazing pressure and climate-driven upslope shifts of vegetation belts.

Author: Wall. ex Benn. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Flora of Nepal, Pedicularis monograph (Prain; Tsoong revision of Asian Pedicularis)

Orobanchaceae

Pedicularis klotzschii

by G & P Jürgens

Hurus.

Nepal 99 43 ergebnis
West-Nepal Nyor Gaad 2800m, June
Nepal 99 97 ergebnis
West-Nepal South of Rara-Lake 3600m, June

Description

Pedicularis klotzschii is a Himalayan endemic distributed across the western and central Himalaya, with GBIF records (48 occurrences) confined to Nepal (NP) and northern India (IN). It favours moist alpine and subalpine meadows, open grassy slopes, and stream margins, typically between 2800 and 3800 m. The collections illustrated were made in West-Nepal at Nyor Gaad around 2800 m and on the slopes south of Rara Lake at roughly 3600 m, both in June at the onset of the monsoon flowering season. Like all members of the genus it is a hemiparasite, drawing water and nutrients from the roots of neighbouring grasses and forbs through haustorial connections.

It is a perennial herb forming a short, somewhat fleshy rootstock from which arise erect to ascending stems. The leaves are largely radical and cauline, pinnatisect to pinnatipartite with toothed lobes, the surfaces often sparsely pubescent. Flowers are borne in a dense terminal spike or raceme; the calyx is tubular and lobed, while the corolla is strongly two-lipped (bilabiate), the galea (upper lip) arched and frequently beaked, and the lower lip three-lobed and spreading. The androecium comprises four didynamous stamens enclosed within the galea. The fruit is an ovoid, laterally compressed capsule containing several seeds.

Within Pedicularis, an exceptionally species-rich Sino-Himalayan genus, P. klotzschii belongs to the beaked-galea assemblage adapted to long-tongued bumblebee pollination. The genus was transferred from Scrophulariaceae to Orobanchaceae once its hemiparasitic habit and molecular affinities were recognised. Though not formally assessed, its restricted Himalayan range makes it potentially sensitive to grazing and climatic shifts in the alpine zone.

Author: Hurus. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Nepal, Flora of British India, Annotated Checklist of the Flowering Plants of Nepal, Tsoong's Monograph of the genus Pedicularis

Orobanchaceae

Pedicularis longiflora var. tubiformis

by GP Jürgens

(Klotzsch) Tsoong

Sikkim2003 90 P125
Sikkim above Choka 3200m 08.2003
Sikkim2003 199 G278
Sikkim above Choka 3200m 08.2003

Description

Pedicularis longiflora var. tubiformis is a hemiparasitic herb distributed across the high mountains of the eastern and central Himalaya and the Sino-Himalayan region, recorded from China, Nepal, India, Bhutan and Pakistan, with some 832 georeferenced occurrences documented in GBIF. It is a plant of moist alpine and subalpine habitats, favouring wet meadows, marshy ground, streamsides, seepage slopes and the margins of glacial pools, typically between 2700 and 4500 m. The photographed material was gathered in Sikkim above Choka at about 3200 m in August, during the summer monsoon when its populations flower most freely among the saturated turf.

The plant forms low tufted clumps from a fibrous rootstock, the several ascending to erect stems bearing both basal and cauline leaves. The leaves are oblong-lanceolate in outline and pinnately divided into closely set, crenate-dentate segments, often somewhat glabrous to sparsely hairy. The flowers are solitary or few in the upper axils, conspicuous for their very long, slender corolla tube that gives the species its epithet; the corolla is bright yellow, the galea (upper lip) abruptly bent and prolonged into a slender beak, while the lower lip is three-lobed and spreading. The fruit is an obliquely ovoid, beaked capsule enclosing several seeds.

Variety tubiformis is distinguished within the polymorphic P. longiflora complex chiefly by the proportions and curvature of the corolla tube and beak. As with most members of the genus, it is a root hemiparasite drawing water and nutrients through haustorial connections to neighbouring alpine plants, and its long-tubed yellow flowers are adapted to pollination by long-tongued bumblebees. Pedicularis reaches its greatest diversity in this part of Asia, and such wetland specialists are sensitive to hydrological change and grazing pressure on alpine pastures.

Author: (Klotzsch) Tsoong · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Pedicularis monograph (Tsoong)

Orobanchaceae

Pedicularis megalantha

by GP Jürgens

D.Don.

BhutanPG2011 388
Bhutan Dur-Tso-Chu, 3400m June

Description

Pedicularis megalantha D.Don is a hemiparasitic perennial of the central and eastern Himalaya, with some 369 georeferenced GBIF occurrences from Pakistan, Nepal, northern India, Bhutan and adjacent southern Tibet (China). It favours moist subalpine and alpine meadows, open forest margins and damp streamsides, typically between about 2800 and 4200 m. The population photographed at Dur-Tso-Chu in Bhutan at 3400 m in June, beside a glacial-fed valley, is characteristic of the cool, humid summer habitats it favours, where it draws water and nutrients by haustorial attachment to the roots of neighbouring herbs and grasses.

The species forms erect, often unbranched stems 15-40 cm tall arising from a short rhizome and fascicled fleshy roots. The leaves are mostly cauline, oblong-lanceolate and pinnatisect, the lobes serrate to incised-dentate. The inflorescence is a loose terminal raceme of comparatively large, showy flowers; the calyx is tubular and cleft, and the corolla is pink to rose-purple with a strongly bent galea ending in a short slender beak that encloses the anthers, the lower lip broadly three-lobed. Pollination is by long-tongued bumblebees, and the fruit is an asymmetrical, beaked loculicidal capsule with several reticulate seeds.

Pedicularis is among the largest genera of Orobanchaceae and reaches its greatest diversity in the Sino-Himalayan region, where corolla architecture has radiated to match specialised bee pollinators. P. megalantha belongs to the large-flowered, shortly beaked alliance and is a conspicuous member of Himalayan meadow communities. As a root hemiparasite it influences surrounding vegetation and nutrient cycling. Though not assessed as threatened and locally frequent, its dependence on intact moist alpine turf makes it sensitive to overgrazing and to climate-driven shifts in the snow-melt regime.

Author: D.Don. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Bhutan, Flora of China, Annotated Checklist of the Flowering Plants of Nepal, Robert R. Mill revision of Himalayan Pedicularis

Orobanchaceae

Pedicularis mollis

by GP Jürgens

Wall. ex Benth

BhutanPG2011 386
Bhutan Dur-Tso, 3450m June

Description

Pedicularis mollis is a widespread Himalayan lousewort ranging through Nepal, China (Xizang, Yunnan), India and Bhutan, and is comparatively well collected, with GBIF holding nearly 392 occurrences. It grows in the subalpine and lower alpine zones, typically between about 3000 and 4200 m, in open coniferous and Rhododendron forest, on grassy slopes, in damp meadows and along the margins of streams and tarns. The photographed plant from Dur-Tso in Bhutan at 3450 m, flowering in June, exemplifies its preference for moist, well-watered montane ground where it associates with sedges and other meadow forbs. Like all louseworts it is a hemiparasite, drawing water and minerals from the roots of neighbouring plants.

It is a robust perennial with erect, softly pubescent stems arising from a stout rootstock. The leaves are oblong-lanceolate in outline and pinnately to pinnatipartite divided, the segments themselves toothed and clothed in soft hairs that give the species its epithet. The inflorescence is a dense, elongating terminal spike subtended by leafy bracts. Each flower has a tubular, toothed calyx and a strongly two-lipped corolla, typically pink to purplish, the hooded upper lip (galea) curved into a beak enclosing the anthers, the lower lip three-lobed and spreading. Pollination is chiefly by long-tongued bumblebees, and the fruit is an oblique capsule with several seeds.

Pedicularis is one of the largest genera of the northern hemisphere, reaching its greatest diversity in the Sino-Himalaya, where dozens of species partition habitat and pollinator. P. mollis is distinguished by its soft pubescence, leaf dissection and galea form. The genus's hemiparasitic habit makes its members important to meadow community structure, while specialised bumblebee pollination links reproductive success to montane pollinator populations now under pressure from land-use and climatic change.

Author: Wall. ex Benth · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Pennell 'The Scrophulariaceae of the Western Himalayas', Yamazaki monograph of Pedicularis

Orobanchaceae

Pedicularis oederi var. heteroglossa

by G & P Jürgens

Prain

Nepal 99 125 ergebnis
Nepal Bhulbhule 3400m, June
Nepal 99 126 ergebnis
Nepal Bhulbhule 3400m, June

Description

Pedicularis oederi var. heteroglossa is a hemiparasitic perennial herb of the family Orobanchaceae, belonging to one of the largest and most diversified genera of the alpine flora of the Sino-Himalayan region. The variety is distributed across the high mountains of central and eastern Asia, with GBIF records concentrated in China, Nepal, India and Bhutan and extending to Japan; this circum-Himalayan to East Asian range reflects the wide ecological amplitude of the typical species. It is a plant of open alpine meadows, moist grassy slopes, screes and the margins of snow-fed flushes, generally between 3,000 and 4,500 m. The collection illustrated here from Bhulbhule in Nepal at about 3,400 m in June represents a characteristic subalpine to alpine habitat where the plant flowers as the snow recedes.

It forms a low, tufted rosette herb arising from a short rootstock, the stems usually solitary and rarely exceeding 15–25 cm. The leaves are mostly basal, oblong-lanceolate in outline and deeply pinnatisect, the segments themselves toothed or pinnatifid, giving a finely divided, fern-like appearance. The inflorescence is a dense, terminal spike of zygomorphic flowers subtended by leafy bracts. The corolla is bilabiate and typically yellow, the galea (upper lip) helmet-shaped and often marked with red or purple toward the apex, the lower lip three-lobed; the diagnostic feature of var. heteroglossa lies in the form and coloration of the galea and beak. The fruit is a flattened, ovoid capsule containing several seeds.

As a root hemiparasite, the species draws water and nutrients from neighbouring graminoids and forbs via haustoria, while retaining functional chlorophyll. Pedicularis is taxonomically notoriously complex, with the P. oederi aggregate showing strong infraspecific variation that has generated numerous varieties such as this one. The genus is also of ecological interest for its specialised pollination by long-tongued bumblebees. Though not currently considered threatened, high-altitude Pedicularis populations are sensitive to grazing pressure and climate-driven shifts in the alpine snowline.

Author: Prain · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China Vol. 18, Flora of Nepal, Flora of Bhutan Vol. 2, Yamazaki: Taxonomic Revision of Pedicularis

Orchideaceae

Pedicularis pectinata subsp. palans

by G & P Jürgens

(Prain) Pennell

Nepal 99 478 ergebnis
West-Nepal Churta-Khola 3300m, June

Description

Pedicularis pectinata subsp. palans is a hemiparasitic herb of the western and central Himalaya, recorded from India, Pakistan and Nepal, where GBIF documents a small number of occurrences (11). It inhabits open alpine and subalpine slopes, grazed meadows and stony pastures, typically between roughly 3000 and 4000 m. The photographed plant comes from the Churta Khola in West Nepal at about 3300 m, flowering in June, a setting of damp, herb-rich turf where snowmelt persists into early summer.

Like other members of the genus, it is a perennial forming a basal rosette and erect, leafy flowering stems. The leaves are pinnatisect with the pinnae themselves toothed (pectinate), giving the foliage a fern-like aspect. The flowers are borne in a dense terminal spike; each has a tubular, two-lipped corolla, the galea (upper lip) often beaked or prolonged and the lower lip three-lobed and spreading, in shades of pink to rose-purple. The fruit is a flattened, oblique capsule enclosing several seeds.

The name is treated by GBIF as a synonym, with Pedicularis pectinata palans regarded as the accepted taxon. Pedicularis (Orobanchaceae, here labelled Orchideaceae in the source) is a notoriously variable, root-hemiparasitic genus, drawing water and nutrients from host roots while retaining green photosynthetic tissue. Its Himalayan species are pollinated chiefly by bumblebees, the corolla architecture closely matched to bee morphology. Such infraspecific taxa are valued markers of alpine biogeography and warrant continued field study.

Author: (Prain) Pennell · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Nepal, Flora of Pakistan, Pennell's monograph of the Scrophulariaceae of the Himalaya

Orobanchaceae

Pedicularis siphonantha

by GP Jürgens

D.Don

Sikkim2011 202
Sikkim Lachung 3000m, June
BhutanPG2011 735 01 01
Bhutan Haa-Valley, 2750m June
Bhutan2012 77
Bhutan Shele-La, 4000m September
Sikkim2003 115 P155
Sikkim below Dzongri 4000m August

Description

Pedicularis siphonantha is a Himalayan lousewort distributed through southern China, Nepal, northern India, Sikkim, Bhutan, Myanmar and Pakistan, well represented in GBIF with 810 occurrences. It is a plant of moist alpine and subalpine meadows, open hillsides, Rhododendron scrub and streamside turf, mostly between 2700 and 4500 m. The accompanying records span its range and season: Lachung in Sikkim at 3000 m and the Haa Valley in Bhutan at 2750 m in June, and the higher Shele-La (4000 m) and slopes below Dzongri (4000 m) flowering on into August and September, reflecting a long summer-to-autumn anthesis across an altitudinal gradient.

It is a perennial herb with erect or ascending stems arising from a stout rootstock, bearing leaves that are pinnatisect into oblong, doubly toothed segments. The rose-pink to purplish-red flowers are crowded in terminal racemes; the corolla is strongly two-lipped, its most distinctive feature a long, slender, often curved or twisted tubular galea drawn out into a beak (the siphon-like form giving the epithet), with a spreading three-lobed lower lip. The four stamens lie under the galea, and the fruit is an obliquely ovoid capsule containing several seeds.

Like all Pedicularis, it is a hemiparasite, drawing water and nutrients from the roots of neighbouring meadow plants through haustoria while retaining green photosynthetic foliage. The elongate corolla tube indicates pollination by long-tongued bumblebees. Pedicularis is exceptionally species-rich and difficult in the Sino-Himalaya, with corolla architecture central to species delimitation. Widespread and locally abundant, P. siphonantha is not regarded as threatened, though louseworts as a group are sensitive to changes in their host-rich alpine grassland communities.

Author: D.Don · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Yamazaki: Pedicularis monograph

Polygonaceae

Persicaria campanulata

by GP Jürgens

(Hook.f.) Ronse Decr.

Bhutan2012 20
Bhutan Shele-La, 3200m September
Bhutan2012 91
Bhutan Shele-La, 3200m September

Description

Persicaria campanulata is a clump-forming perennial of the eastern Himalaya and western China, also widely naturalised in temperate gardens elsewhere. GBIF records show its native range across China, Nepal and Bhutan, together with introduced populations in Ireland, Britain, Denmark and New Zealand, totalling around 66 occurrences. It grows on damp, shaded banks, woodland margins, streamsides and moist montane meadows, favouring cool, humid sites with reliable moisture. The photographed plant from the Shele-La in Bhutan at 3200 m, recorded in September, is characteristic of its occurrence in the upper temperate forest and subalpine zone, where it flowers into the late summer and autumn. GBIF lists the name as a synonym (the species having previously been placed in Aconogonon and Polygonum), but Persicaria campanulata is the currently accepted combination.

It is a rhizomatous, spreading herb with erect to ascending, branched stems. The leaves are ovate to elliptic-lanceolate, acuminate, often softly tomentose and pale beneath, with the membranous, tubular ochreae sheathing the nodes characteristic of the family. The flowers are small and bell-shaped, fragrant, borne in dense, branched terminal panicles; the campanulate perianth, from which the epithet derives, is pink to white with five lobes, enclosing eight stamens and a three-styled ovary. The fruit is a small, trigonous, brown achene.

The genus Persicaria comprises knotweeds segregated from a broadly defined Polygonum, distinguished by their fringed ochreae and spicate or paniculate inflorescences. P. campanulata is valued horticulturally for its long autumn flowering, but the same vigorous rhizomatous habit that makes it ornamental has allowed it to escape and naturalise, becoming locally invasive in damp ground in parts of the British Isles and New Zealand.

Author: (Hook.f.) Ronse Decr. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Bhutan, Flora of China (Polygonaceae), Polygonaceae monograph (Brandbyge)