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Primulaceae

Primula sharmae

by G & P Jürgens

H.R.Fletcher

Nepal 99 575 ergebnis
West-Nepal Bheri-Khola 2850m, July
Nepal 99 574 ergebnis
West-Nepal Bheri-Khola 2850m, July

Description

Primula sharmae is a narrowly distributed primrose apparently endemic to Nepal, where it is the sole region documented in GBIF among its roughly 72 occurrence records. It is a plant of cool, humid montane environments, occupying moist rocky slopes, shaded banks, ledges and the margins of streams and forest in the temperate Himalayan zone. The population photographed along the Bheri-Khola in West Nepal at about 2850 m in July was recorded during the monsoon, the principal flowering and growth period when persistent cloud and rainfall keep these slopes saturated and favour the moisture-demanding primulas.

It is a perennial rosette herb, the leaves crowded at the base into a basal rosette, oblong to oblanceolate or spathulate, with toothed or crenate margins and gradually tapering into a winged petiole; the foliage and scape may bear a fine farinose (mealy) covering characteristic of many Himalayan primulas. The flowers are borne in a terminal umbel atop a leafless scape, subtended by an involucre of bracts; each flower has a tubular, five-lobed calyx and a salverform corolla with a slender tube and five spreading, often notched (emarginate) lobes. The species is heterostylous, presenting pin and thrum floral morphs, and the fruit is a small dehiscent capsule releasing numerous seeds.

The genus Primula is exceptionally diverse in the Himalaya, where many species are narrow endemics confined to particular valley systems, and P. sharmae, described by H.R.Fletcher, is one such restricted-range taxon. Endemic primulas with limited known distributions are of inherent conservation interest, as small populations tied to specific moist microhabitats are vulnerable to disturbance, grazing and climatic drying. Continued field documentation across western Nepal would help clarify its true range and population status.

Author: H.R.Fletcher · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Nepal, Annotated Checklist of the Flowering Plants of Nepal, Richards Primula, Smith & Fletcher revision of 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 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

Primulaceae

Primula tenuiloba

by GP Jürgens

(G.Watt) Pax

BhutanPG2011 456
Bhutan Jule-Tso, 4000m June
BhutanPG2011 561 1
Bhutan Jule-Tso, 4000m June

Description

Primula tenuiloba is a diminutive cushion-forming primula of the high Eastern Himalaya, recorded from Nepal, India and Bhutan, with an outlying GBIF citation referable to Japan; the species is documented from some 92 occurrences. It is a plant of the upper alpine zone, occupying moist rocky ledges, gritty turf, screes and snowmelt-irrigated crevices well above the treeline, typically around 4,000 m and higher. The illustrated material was gathered at Jule-Tso in Bhutan at about 4,000 m in June, where it blooms in the brief early-summer window as the alpine slopes thaw.

It is a small, glabrous to farinose perennial herb forming compact tufts or low cushions from a short rootstock. The leaves are crowded in a basal rosette, the blades oblong-spathulate and, as the epithet implies, divided into narrow lobes or pinnatifid-toothed segments, often with a dusting of white or yellowish farina. The flowers are borne singly or in a small umbel on a short scape, occasionally almost sessile among the leaves; the corolla is rose-purple to violet with a contrasting yellow eye, the limb of five obcordate, emarginate lobes spreading from a slender tube. As in the genus the species is heterostylous, and the fruit is a small globose capsule.

Primula tenuiloba is placed in section Minutissimae, the dwarf, cushion-forming Himalayan primulas, characterised by tiny stature, farinose lobed leaves and short-scaped flowers, allying it with P. reptans and P. minutissima. Heterostyly enforces outcrossing by alpine insects. Restricted to a narrow high-altitude band and naturally localised, it is uncommon though not formally assessed; like other obligate alpines its snow-bed habitat is vulnerable to climatic warming.

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

Primulaceae

Primula tsariensis

by G & P Jürgens

W.W.Sm.

Sikkim2011 353
Sikkim, Lada-La 3900m, June

Description

Primula tsariensis is an alpine perennial endemic to the eastern Himalaya, with a distribution centred on the borderlands of Bhutan, southern Xizang (Tibet) and adjacent NE India, and recorded from Sikkim, where the photographed plant was found near the Lada-La pass at about 3,900 m in June. GBIF documents this distribution across Bhutan (BT), China (CN) and India (IN) on the basis of roughly 67 occurrence records. It is a plant of the upper alpine zone, frequenting moist turf, scree margins and seepage slopes among dwarf rhododendron, typically between 3,800 and 4,500 m.

The species forms a small rosette-forming herb arising from a short rhizome with fibrous roots. The leaves are oblanceolate to spathulate, narrowed to a winged petiole, with a crenate to denticulate margin and an efarinose to thinly farinose surface. The slender scape bears a terminal umbel of few flowers; the calyx is tubular-campanulate and divided into narrow lobes, while the corolla is violet to purple-blue with a paler or yellowish eye, the limb of five obcordate, emarginate lobes spreading from a narrow tube. The species is heterostylous, producing pin and thrum forms, and the fruit is a small capsule shorter than or equalling the persistent calyx, dehiscing to release numerous angular seeds.

Primula tsariensis belongs to the section Petiolares, a complex and taxonomically intricate assemblage of Sino-Himalayan primulas distinguished by their farinose tissues and early-spring flowering close to the receding snow. Its narrow range across the Assam Himalaya and southern Tibet makes it a useful biogeographic marker of this high-rainfall sector. Although not formally assessed as threatened, such localised alpine endemics are inherently vulnerable to climate-driven upward shifts of the snowline and to habitat disturbance from grazing.

Author: W.W.Sm. · Sources: POWO (Kew), Flora of China Vol. 15, Flora of Bhutan Vol. 2, GBIF, John Richards: Primula (2003)

Primulaceae

Primula umbratilis

by GP Jürgens

Balf.f. & R.E.Cooper

BhutanPG2011 604 01 1
Bhutan Jule-Tso, 4200m June
BhutanPG2011 563 01
Bhutan Jule-Tso, 4200m June
Also: Eriopyton wallichii Benth.

Description

Primula umbratilis is a high-alpine primrose endemic to Bhutan, a narrow-range species known only from that country, where all 33 GBIF records are concentrated. It is a plant of the cool, moist alpine zone, growing among rocks, in damp turf, and in the sheltered shade implied by its epithet (umbratilis, 'of shady places'), often near snowmelt and seepage. The illustrated material comes from Jule-Tso at about 4200 m in June, a glacial lake basin in the high alpine where the species flowers shortly after snow retreat alongside other cushion and rosette plants of the moist eastern Himalayan tops.

The plant is a small herbaceous perennial forming a basal rosette of leaves that are commonly farinose, with a mealy white or yellowish powder on the undersurface and within the flowers, a frequent feature of the genus. From the rosette arises a slender scape bearing an umbel of a few stalked flowers. The corolla is heterostylous, salverform with a slender tube expanding into a flat limb of five obcordate, notched lobes, the colour ranging through pink to violet with a contrasting eye; the calyx is tubular and the fruit a small capsule dehiscing to release numerous minute seeds.

Primula is one of the largest genera of the northern temperate flora, and the Sino-Himalayan region is its centre of diversity, particularly in the high mountains of Bhutan and adjacent China. The historical synonym Eriopyton wallichii Benth. noted in the caption reflects an early generic placement now subsumed under Primula. As a single-country endemic restricted to the alpine zone, P. umbratilis is potentially vulnerable to climate-driven upward range contraction and to grazing pressure, warranting monitoring despite its remote habitat.

Author: Balf.f. & R.E.Cooper · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Bhutan, The Genus Primula (Richards), Primulas of the Himalaya