Dear Dr Rawat
Many thanks for your informative comments and sending the description of
A.garwhalicum which asI stated is new to me.
There appear to be no records (to-date) for this species from the NW Himalaya.
I shall look into this further.
I can assure you that the specimens photographed in the VOF do not come close
to Androsace mucronifolia. Do you haveavailable a copy of 'Primulaceae' (Flora
Pakistan No. 157) which has a detailed description and line drawingsof this
species? The foliage and habit of the two species are very different.
I got to know A.mucronifolia in Kashmir in the 1980s but not seen it elsewhere.
The images taken by my expeditionmembers of this species were not in close-up.
I shall see if I can locate them and then send.
I find it frustrating that so many species are described in India which only
cover the differences to a species the author(s) sayis the most closely
related, even when that species occurs some distance away. It is informative
to know what the newly describedspecies may have been mistaken for in the past
i.e. species known to occur in the region.
Do you think A.garwhalicum was mistaken for A.globifera in the past? As
Androsace selago is not even recorded for Nepal let alonewhat is now
Uttarakhand, then it cannot have been mistaken for this in the past. I would
suggest that mostly, a specieswhich is described to be "new to science" has
been either collected as herbarium specimen before but misidentified or
passedby in the field and assumed to be an existing species. Occasionally the
'new' species has genuinely not been noticed previously, especially in
locations which have not been botanised in much previously.
I e.g. walked past a colony of Meconopsis latifolia in Kashmir several times,
assuming was just another form of Meconopsis aculeata amongst the
rocks/boulders - I had seen the latter species many times there. We all do
this at times.
Furthermore, what about Androsace tapete, which is recorded from Nepal incl.
West Nepal which borders Uttarakhand. Grierson & Long (Flora of Bhutan Vol 2
Part II) say that A.selago and A.tapete are variable species which appear to
intergrade. Further research is needed on their distinction. Treatment as
varieties may be more appropriate. IF these species are so close, why did not
Balodi & Singh not comment about how to differentiate A.garwhalicum from
A.tapete - which is found geographically nearer than A.selago.
The images on the ANDROSACE website suggest A.selago and A.tapete are distinct.
I am not familiar with Androsace selagini. Do you know where this species
name comes from?
Also, do you know what Primula mucronifolia is or why it is considered a
Primula at all? See:
https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en&fromgroups#!topic/indiantreepix/cKJEmt7mM2g.
These images seem to match the others from VOF.
The correct spelling of the name is A.garwhalicum not A.garwhalica!
I cannot see the leaves closely in the photos but the shape of the tips does
not appear to match those drawn in the description of A.garwhalicum you sent -
would you not agree?
Also, did the British mountaineers who visited the VOF in the 1930s miss what
is now A.garwhalicum? As A.globifera is in their Supplementary list it
either means that both species are found in VOF or A.garwhalicum was mistaken
for this. It would be interesting to inspect the pressed specimens of what was
named as A.globifera. However, the list contains species which were observed
and not collected, so perhaps A.globifera was one of these? this species is
not described in the text of the book. The only other Androsaces recorded from
VOF (and Upper Garwhal) in the book 'The Valley of Flowers' are: A.rotundifolia
(which it could not have been mistaken for), A.primuloides (which would now be
within A.sarmentosa and would not have been mistaken for this), A. poissonii
(now A.delavayii and would not be mistaken for this), finally A.chamaejasme
var. uniflora (now A.muscoidea and unlikely to have been mistaken for this).
Best Wishes,
Chris Chadwell
81 Parlaunt Road
SLOUGH
SL3 8BE
UK
www.shpa.org.uk
From: D.S Rawat <[email protected]>
To: efloraofindia <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, 11 November 2016, 6:15
Subject: [efloraofindia:256413] Re: VOF Week: : Androsace mucronifolia?
en-route Hemkund sahib
This seems interesting!
Androsace mucronifolia Watt is not known in Uttarakhand, at least not listed in
Uniyal et al. 2007 [(Flowering Plants of Uttarakhand (A Checklist)].
Images shown here and another upload by Dinesh Ji show the characters given by
Nasir 1984(FoPakistan) except that the flowers are invariably solitary on
peduncles. Nasir have mentioned a varietal name A.mucronifolia var. uniflora
Kunth under synonyms which suggests that the species may have solitary flower.
The species A. garhwalicum described by Bipin Balodi and Surendra Singh (in
Bull. Bot. Surv. India 30(1-4). 1988) from Hemkund area (India, UP, Chamoli
Garhwal, Hemkund, 4200m, U.C. Bhattacharyya 29497 A(Holo), B (Iso) at CAL and
BSD) also has solitary flower of 6mm across on 1cm long scape. It has dimorphic
oblong-lanceolate or lanceolate leaves with lower leaves smaller and upper
leaves larger. It is differentiated from East Himalayan A.selago Hook.f. et
Thomson ex Klatt which is (after seeing specimen in Herbcat) is a compact
cushion forming species and image is in FoC.
A. globifera and A. delavayi are the other solitary flowered species in
Uttarakhand and I have seen A. delavayi in field which it is not. Even
A.globifera has more compact and silvery cushions ruling out the possibility.
Some expert may help to resolve the ID with certainty.
Protologue of A.garhwalicum is attached here.
DSRawat Pantnagar
On Friday, September 7, 2012 at 9:48:19 PM UTC+5:30, Prashant wrote:
Dear Friends,
This herb was seen on the boulders en-route Hemkund Sahib. I had earlier
identified this as Androsace garhwalicum (Ref: book by Keshava Murthy). After
seeing the post by Dinesh of similar plant i feel this plant could also be
Androsace mucronifolia?
Family: Primulaceae.
Regards
Prashant
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