Tag:

Summer

Orobanchaceae

Pedicularis globifera

by GP Jürgens

Hook. f.

Sikkim2003 496 G694
Sikkim Lachung Valley 3600m August

Description

Pedicularis globifera is a Sino-Himalayan hemiparasite distributed across China (CN), Nepal (NP), India (IN) and Bhutan (BT), with 293 GBIF occurrences indicating it is reasonably frequent through the central and eastern Himalaya. It inhabits open alpine meadows, damp grassy slopes and the margins of seepages and streams in the high subalpine to alpine zone, commonly between about 3500 and 4500 m. The figured plant was photographed in the Lachung Valley of Sikkim at around 3600 m in August, at the height of the monsoon flowering period when alpine Pedicularis are most conspicuous.

It is a perennial herb with a thickened rootstock, the parasitic roots forming haustoria on host grasses and sedges. Stems are erect, bearing leaves that are pinnately lobed to pinnatisect with crenate-toothed segments. The flowers are arranged in a dense, head-like or globose terminal cluster, the feature evoked by the epithet globifera. The calyx is tubular and lobed; the corolla is bilabiate, with an arched, beakless or shortly beaked galea forming the upper lip and a broad three-lobed lower lip. The four didynamous stamens lie within the galea. Fruit is an oblique, compressed capsule enclosing several seeds.

Pedicularis reaches its global diversity peak in the high mountains of western China and the Himalaya, and species such as P. globifera contribute to the spectacular alpine displays of these grasslands while playing an ecological role as bumblebee-pollinated hemiparasites that influence community structure. The genus is now firmly placed in Orobanchaceae following recognition of its parasitic biology and phylogenetic position.

Author: Hook. f. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Nepal, Flora of Bhutan, Tsoong's Monograph of the genus Pedicularis

Orobanchaceae

Pedicularis gracilis

by G & P Jürgens

Wall. ex Benth.

Bhutan2012 834
Bhutan Trongsa 1850m, October
Bhutan2012 1299
Bhutan Trashigang 1820m, October
Sikkim2003 388 P550
Sikkim Zemu Valley 3300m August

Description

Pedicularis gracilis Wall. ex Benth. is a hemiparasitic herb of the Himalaya and adjacent mountains, occurring across China, Nepal, India, Bhutan, Pakistan and Myanmar. It is recorded from Bhutan at Trongsa and Trashigang between 1820 and 1850 m, flowering in October, and from the Zemu Valley in Sikkim at about 3300 m in August, spanning the warm temperate to subalpine zones. The species grows in open forest, scrub, grassy slopes, meadows and along stream banks, generally between 1500 and 3500 m, where, like all lousewort, it attaches to the roots of neighbouring plants as a facultative root hemiparasite. Its roughly 1008 GBIF records indicate a common and widely distributed species.

The plant is a slender, erect annual or short-lived perennial with a fibrous root system and a tall, sparingly branched stem. The leaves are alternate and pinnatisect, the segments themselves toothed or incised, giving a fern-like aspect. The flowers are borne in a long, lax, leafy-bracted terminal raceme; each has a tubular five-lobed calyx and a two-lipped corolla in pink to rose-purple, the upper lip (galea) hooded and beaked to enclose the four didynamous stamens, the lower lip three-lobed and spreading. The fruit is an obliquely ovoid, beaked capsule containing several seeds.

Pedicularis is one of the largest genera of the Sino-Himalaya, with the region a global centre of its diversity, and the intricate galea forms are closely tied to specialisation upon long-tongued bumblebee pollinators. As a hemiparasite the genus can influence community composition and is sensitive to changes in host vegetation. Being widespread and frequent, P. gracilis is of no particular conservation concern, though it serves as a useful indicator of intact montane grassland and forest-edge habitats.

Author: Wall. ex Benth. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Flora of Nepal, Pedicularis monographs (Prain; Tsoong)

Orobanchaceae

Pedicularis gracilis subsp. macrocarpa

by G & P Jürgens

(Prain) P.C.Tsoong

Bhutan2012 1298
Bhutan Trashigang 1900m, October
BhutanPG2011 391
Bhutan Dur Tsa-Chu 3380m, June

Description

Pedicularis gracilis subsp. macrocarpa is a Sino-Himalayan lousewort distributed across southern China, northern India, Nepal and Bhutan, with about 33 documented GBIF occurrences. It occupies open forest, grassy slopes, scrub and meadow margins through a broad temperate to subalpine elevation span. The Bhutanese records illustrate this amplitude well: a population at Trashigang at 1900 m flowering in October and another at the Dur Tsa-Chu at 3380 m flowering in June, indicating tolerance of both warm-temperate forest and high subalpine grassland, on moist, humus-rich and seasonally damp ground.

It is a slender erect perennial herb, the stem often branched and the foliage finely dissected: the leaves are alternate or subopposite, pinnately divided into narrow, serrate segments. The flowers are borne in lax, leafy-bracteate terminal racemes; each has a tubular, toothed calyx and a strongly two-lipped pink to purplish corolla typical of the genus, the galeate upper lip (galea) often beaked or hooded and the spreading three-lobed lower lip forming a landing platform. The four didynamous stamens are concealed within the galea. As the subspecific epithet macrocarpa indicates, the fruit is a comparatively large, laterally compressed, beaked loculicidal capsule containing several seeds.

GBIF treats this name as a synonym while retaining Pedicularis gracilis subsp. macrocarpa as accepted, distinguished from the typical subspecies by its larger fruit. Like all louseworts it is a hemiparasite, drawing water and nutrients from neighbouring roots via haustoria while retaining green foliage. The galeate flowers are pollinated by bumblebees. The taxon is locally distributed but not of conservation concern.

Author: (Prain) P.C.Tsoong · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China Vol. 18, Flora of Bhutan Vol. 2, Flora of Nepal, A Monograph of the Genus Pedicularis

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 instar

by GP Jürgens

Prain ex Maxim.

Sikkim2003 255 P349
Sikkim Dzongri 4100m August

Description

Pedicularis instar is a high-alpine lousewort endemic to the eastern and central Himalaya, recorded from Nepal, the Indian state of Sikkim, Bhutan and adjacent southern China (Xizang); its tally of around 19 GBIF occurrences reflects both genuine rarity and the difficulty of access to its habitat. It is confined to open alpine meadows, moist turf, streamsides and scree margins above the treeline, broadly from 3,800 to 4,800 m. The plant photographed at Dzongri in western Sikkim at 4,100 m in August represents the species in full flower during the late-summer monsoon, when the alpine sward is most active and the soils reliably moist.

It is a perennial hemiparasitic herb arising from a short rootstock, with one or several erect, often glabrescent stems. The leaves are alternate to subopposite, pinnatisect into closely set, oblong, crenate-serrate segments, the basal leaves long-petiolate. The flowers are borne in a terminal raceme subtended by leafy bracts; each has a tubular, toothed calyx and a strongly two-lipped corolla, the galea (upper lip) helmet-shaped and frequently produced into a slender beak, while the lower lip is three-lobed and spreading. The corolla colour ranges from pink to purplish-red. The fruit is a flattened, asymmetrical capsule enclosing several seeds and dehiscing loculicidally.

Pedicularis is exceptionally species-rich in the Sino-Himalayan alpine zone, and P. instar belongs to the assemblage of beaked-galea species whose floral architecture is closely tied to pollination by long-tongued bumblebees. As a root hemiparasite it draws water and nutrients from neighbouring alpine plants while partly photosynthesising itself, a strategy contributing to fine-scale community structure in alpine turf. Its narrow elevational band and restricted Himalayan range make it potentially vulnerable to climate-driven habitat compression and grazing pressure, though it has not yet received a formal IUCN assessment.

Author: Prain ex Maxim. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Pedicularis of the Himalaya (Prain), monograph of Sino-Himalayan 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 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 megalochila

by GP Jürgens

H.L.Li

BhutanPG2011 534
Bhutan Ludlow-Sherriff-Trail Dem-Tso, 4650m June

Description

Pedicularis megalochila is a high-alpine lousewort of the Eastern Himalaya, distributed across Bhutan, Sikkim and adjacent India, eastern Nepal and southern Tibet (Xizang) in China, with GBIF logging 62 occurrences over CN, BT, NP and IN. It inhabits open alpine turf, moist meadows, seepage slopes and the margins of glacial tarns at considerable altitude, typically between about 4000 and 4800 m. The photographed plant was recorded in Bhutan along the Ludlow-Sherriff Trail near Dem-Tso at 4650 m, flowering in June, consistent with the brief summer flowering window of high-elevation Pedicularis.

The species is a low perennial herb with a stout rootstock and short, ascending stems. The leaves are largely basal and rosulate, pinnatisect into closely set, toothed segments, with reduced cauline leaves. The flowers are aggregated into a dense terminal head or short spike, each subtended by a leafy bract. As the epithet megalochila implies, the zygomorphic corolla bears a notably large lower lip; the corolla is two-lipped, the upper lip forming a hooded, often beaked galea enclosing the four didynamous stamens, the colour ranging from rose-purple to pink. The calyx is tubular and toothed, and the fruit is an oblique, laterally compressed capsule containing few seeds.

Like all members of Pedicularis (now placed in Orobanchaceae), it is a hemiparasite, attaching by haustoria to the roots of neighbouring alpine plants while retaining green, photosynthetic foliage. The genus is exceptionally diverse and rapidly radiating in the Sino-Himalayan alpine zone, where bumblebee pollination and corolla architecture drive species differentiation. Its remote high-altitude habitat affords natural protection, and no specific conservation threat is currently documented.

Author: H.L.Li · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Bhutan, Flora of China (Scrophulariaceae/Orobanchaceae), H.L.Li and Tsoong revisions of Himalayan Pedicularis

Orobanchaceae

Pedicularis microcalyx

by GP Jürgens

Hook.f.

BhutanPG2011 657 01
Bhutan Ludlow-Sherriff-Trail Thitha-Tso, 4350m July

Description

Pedicularis microcalyx is a hemiparasitic alpine lousewort of the central and eastern Himalaya. GBIF records it from India, Nepal, Bhutan and China, with around 50 occurrences, reflecting a comparatively narrow Himalayan distribution. It occupies wet alpine meadows, marshy turf, lake margins and seepage slopes at high elevation, generally between 3800 and 4800 m. The individual illustrated was found along the historic Ludlow-Sherriff trail near Thitha-Tso in Bhutan at 4350 m in July, blooming amid the saturated alpine sward during the monsoon, the season when these moisture-loving species flower.

Like other louseworts it is a root-hemiparasite drawing water and nutrients from neighbouring graminoids and herbs via haustorial connections. It is a low perennial with pinnatisect, fern-like leaves whose segments are toothed. The flowers are borne in a leafy spike or terminal cluster; as the epithet microcalyx indicates, the calyx is small. The bilabiate corolla is pink to purplish, the galea (upper lip, hood) often beaked or curved over the lower three-lobed lip, an arrangement adapted to pollination by long-tongued bumblebees. The fruit is an asymmetrical, beaked capsule splitting to release the seeds.

Pedicularis is one of the largest Himalayan genera, with extraordinary diversification of corolla form linked to bumblebee pollinator specialisation, the region being a global centre of richness. Its hemiparasitic habit lets it draw on community resources while contributing little. With a restricted high-altitude range and dependence on intact wet alpine habitats, P. microcalyx is potentially vulnerable to grazing and climate-driven drying, though not formally assessed.

Author: Hook.f. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Annotated Checklist of the Flowering Plants of Nepal, A revision of the Himalayan species of Pedicularis