New floral distribution records
of Aquilegia nivalis (Baker) Falc. ex B.D. Jacks and Doronicum falconeri C.B. Clarke ex Hook. f. from the Valley of Flowers National Park, Uttarakhand, India
C.S. Rana1 & D.S. Rawat 2
1 Herbal Research and
Development Institute, Mandal-Gopeshwar, Chamoli, Uttrakhand 246401, India
2 Department of Biological
Sciences, College of Basic Science and Humanities, G.B. Pant University of
Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand 263145, India
Email: 1 drcsir@gmail.com (corresponding author), 2drds_rawat@yahoo.com
Date of publication (online): 26 August 2012
Date of publication (print): 26 August 2012
ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print)
Editor: K.S. Negi
Manuscript details:
Ms #
o3036
Received 15 December 2011
Final received 07 June 2012
Finally accepted 23 August 2012
Citation: C.S. Rana &
D.S. Rawat (2012). New floral distribution
records of Aquilegia nivalis (Baker) Falc. ex B.D. Jacks and Doronicum falconeri C.B. Clarke ex Hook. f. from the Valley of Flowers
National Park, Uttarakhand, India. Journal
of Threatened Taxa 4(9): 2911–2914.
Copyright: © C.S. Rana& D.S. Rawat 2012. Creative
Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium
for non-profit purposes, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate
credit to the authors and the source of publication.
Acknowledgements:The authors are grateful to Prof. R.D. Gaur, FNAScand Dr. R.M. Painuli, Museum Curator, Department of
Botany, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar, Garhwal for their kind help and encouragement time to time.
CSR is grateful to Mr. T.S. Bisht (Forest Guard), Mr. B.S. Chauhan and
Ragubir Chauhan (Professional Photographer) for their kind helps during the
various field expeditions within Valley of Flowers.
The Valley of Flowers National Park (VoFNP) is a world heritage site and second core zone of the
Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve (NDBR) located in Uttarakhand. The credit for the discovery of the
Valley of Flowers and its global popularity goes to the British mountaineers
Frank S. Smythe and R.L. Holdsworthwho incidentally reached this valley after a successful expedition to Mount
Kamet in 1931 (Kandari & Gusain2001). Fascinated by its floral
beauty and grandeur Smythe revisited the valley and
published a book named “The Valley of Flowers” in 1938 narrating floral beauty
and his mountaineering experiences in this then unknown Himalayan valley.
The Valley of Flowers lies between at 31041–31048’N
and 79033’–79046’E in the upper catchment area of Alaknanda River which is a major
tributary of the Ganges drainage system. A small snow fed stream, Pushpawati, which has
its source in the Tipra Glacier, flows through this
valley. It is almost a flat valley
of about 5km length and 2km width with an altitudinal range varying from 3200
to 6675 m. The
valley is surrounded by Gauri Parbat (6590m) and Rataban (6126m) in the east, Kunth Khal (4430m) in the west, Saptshring(5013m) in the south and Nilgiri Parvat(6479m) in the north. The Valley of
Flowers is approached through an arduous trek of about 16km from the last motorable place Govindghat, which
is 25km away from Joshimath town en route to Badrinath. FromGovindghat one has to trek 13km to reach Ghangaria the base camp, and from Ghangariathe valley is situated at a distance of 3km (Kala et al. 1998; Rana et al. 2011).
For the last two decades we have been
trying to search for populations of rare alpine endemics in GarhwalHimalaya and have already succeeded in the rediscovery of Arenaria curvifolia Majumdar (Caryophyllaceae), Dicranostigma lactucoides Hook.f. et Thoms. (Papaveraceae), Gentiana infelixC.B. Clarke, and G. tetrasepala Biswas (Gentianaceae) after a gap
of more than a century (Rawat & Gaur 1996; Rawat & Rana 2007; Rawat 2009; Rawat et al. 2009; Rana et al. 2011).
During one of our recent botanical
explorations in the Valley of Flowers National Park (Image 1), we noticed and
collected a few interesting specimens of two alpine herbs belonging to Ranunculaceae and Asteraceae. On going through literature and
herbarium studies, they were confirmed as Aquilegia nivalis(Baker) Falc. ex B.D. Jacks
(Ranunculaceae) and Doronicum falconeri C.B. Clarke ex Hook.f.
(Asteraceae). A perusal of literature indicated that both are rare species and are
distributed from Pakistan to Himachal Pradesh (Polunin& Stainton 1984). Both are new records for the Valley of
Flowers National Park (Kala et al. 1998) as well as additions to the Flora of Chamoli District (Naithani1984). Though, these species were
earlier known to occur in Uttarakhand (Uniyal et al. 2007) they are meagerly represented in the
herbaria indicating rare occurrence in this part of the Himalaya. Aquilegia nivalis is an endangered species as mentioned by Rao et al.
(2003). Considering the rarity of
records, photographs of the collection area and these two species are being
given here for easy identification and subsequent monitoring. The voucher specimens were deposited and
are being maintained at G.B. Pant University Herbarium Pantnagar(GBPUH) and H.N.B. Garhwal University Herbarium,
Srinagar Garhwal, Uttarakhand(GUH).
Aquilegia nivalis(Baker) Falc. ex B.D.Jacks.
in Index Kew. 1:167. 1893; Munz in Gentes Herb. 7:24. 1946.A. glauca Lindl. var. nivalis Baker in Gar.Chron. 2(10): 76. 1878. A.
vulgaris L. var. jucunda Hook.f. & Thomson in Fl. Brit. India 1:24.1872. Rau, Flora India 1:43. 1993. (Image 2)
Specimen
examined: 07.vii.2010, Kunth Khal, GarhwalHimalaya, India, coll. C.S. Rana, 19577 (GUH) (Image
3).
Perennial herbs up to 25cm high; stems
simple, scapose, short, leafless or one-leaved.
Radical leaves few, long-petioled, 2-ternate;
leaflets sessile, with broad blunt teeth; caulineleaves - one or two or absent, similar to radical leaves. Flowers solitary,
terminal, drooping, 3.5–5.5 cm across, dark purple. Sepals five, petaloid-purple, broadly ovate-orbicular, spreading.Petals, erect, funnel-shaped, spur much bent inwards, stamens numerous, inner
ones reduced to scales. Carpels five or more, apocarpous. Fruit an etaerioof five follicles.
Flowering
& Fruiting:June–July.
Distribution: India: Northwestern Himalaya (above
3000m), Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand;
Pakistan.
Ecology: Rare, in shady places at 3800–4000
m; Kunth Khal of Valley of
Flowers, a small population of 07-17 plants was observed in the area.
Aquilegia nivalis is a rarely distributed species in the
Himalaya. It differs from commonly
found species A. pubiflora in having all basal
leaves, bigger and dark coloured flower and
distribution at comparatively higher elevation.
Doronicum falconeri C.B. Clarke ex Hook.f.,
Fl. Brit. India 3: 333. 1881; Mathur, Flora India 13: 203. 1995; Karthikeyanet al., Fl. Plants India 1: 225. 2009.
Specimen
examined: 07.vii.2010, Kunth Khal, GarhwalHimalaya, India, coll. C.S. Rana, 19586 (GUH) (Image
4).
Stout perennial erect
herbs, up to 30cm high, puberulous. Stems simple, erect, ribbed. Leaves obovateto spathulate, acute, irregularly serrate,
2.5–8 x 2–4 cm, puberulous on upper
surface, glabrescent on the lower surface; upper most caulineleaves lanceolate, serrate, sessile, amplexicaul; middle caulineleaves spathulate; basal leaves with 2–8 cm
long petiole; Heads 3–5 cm across, radiate, solitary, pubescent. Involucralbracts lanceolate, 10–12 mm long, acute,
serrate. Ray florets yellow, ca.
25mm long; ligule oblong, 20–22 mm long, 3–5 veined, tridentate;
corolla tube 4–5 mm long, hairy outside. Disc florets 5–6 mm long; corolla
limb 2–3 mm long, 5-lobed; lobes triangular-ovate, ca. 1mm long. Achenesbroadly oblong, 1.5–2 mm long, ribbed, white pubescent on the ribs. Pappus of
reddish-brown, scabrid deciduous hairs, 4.5–5
mm long; scanty, absent in ray achenes.
Flowering
& Fruiting:June–July.
Distribution: India: Western Himalaya (between
4000–4500 m), Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand;
Pakistan.
Ecology: Rare, a small population of 9–12
individuals was observed in a small area on moist slope at 3900–4000 m, Kunth Khal of Valley of Flowers
National Park.
The presence of A. nivalisand D. falconeri in the Valley of Flowers
National Park on the one hand shows richness of flora, and on the other hand
indicates better chances of survival of these rare species in the area where
anthropogenic stresses are at a minimum. However, since the population sizes are very small, a close watch on the
fate of these species is needed in future.
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Kandari, O.P. & O.P. Gusain(2001). National
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