Dear Sir, Thank you for much for your delightful mail. We can only hope that Montbretia hasn't become invasive yet in the Eastern Himalayas. I understand that it clearly (at least at some point) was a cultivated specie, but could it have been introduced as such by the British during the colonial period to India? It's truly a pity that such a lovely Himalayan specie as the 'Himalayan balsam' has now turned into an invasive specie.
Thanks again so much for helping me identify Montbretia, it had bothered me for too long. Best Regards, Sonali Verma On Thu, Nov 24, 2016 at 2:32 PM, C CHADWELL <[email protected] > wrote: > Dear Sonali > > Greetings. Your observation suggests that this plant *has* naturalised > (whereas in 'Flora of Bhutan' the authors > said it was not (at least not when published in 1994) but their > frist-hand field experience in Sikkim would have been > minimal (or perhaps even zero as they concentrated upon Bhutan) . I > hope 'Montbretia' has not or does > not, become an invasive weed damaging populations of native plants. In > the wetter districts of the UK (and many other > parts of Europe, through to arctic Norway and even Alaska) 'Himalayan > Balsam' (Impatiens glandulifera) has become > an invasive weed being troublesome in places - it seems to have been first > introduced (deliberately, for its ornamental > merit sometimes back in the 1830s). > > Plants are naturalised all over the world. I encounter many people who > think a cultivated plant or escape > from cultivation (or a plant which arrived accidently as seed) are > natives/growing wild. > > Some of such plants which in the UK botanists call ALIENS & ADVENTIVES can > be prominent and showy. > > The National Flower of the Philippines (decided by an American) is not a > native species! > > Where I live in the UK, such ALIENS & ADVENTIVES represent a significant > part of the flora. > > Best Wishes, > > > Chris Chadwell > > > 81 Parlaunt Road > SLOUGH > SL3 8BE > UK > > www.shpa.org.uk > > > > > > > ------------------------------ > *From:* Sonali Verma <[email protected]> > *To:* J.M. Garg <[email protected]> > *Cc:* [email protected]; efloraofindia < > [email protected]> > *Sent:* Thursday, 24 November 2016, 10:25 > *Subject:* Re: [efloraofindia:257535] Re: ID this plant seen in > Darjeeling and also in places in Sikkim. > > Thanks so much for the id, Chadwell ji and Garg ji! I almost thought it > was a naturally growing plant since I could see it everywhere on the hills. > :) > > On Thu, Nov 24, 2016 at 5:37 AM, J.M. Garg <[email protected]> wrote: > > Thanks, Chadwell ji > > On 24 Nov 2016 7:04 am, "[email protected] om > <[email protected]>" <[email protected] om > <[email protected]>> wrote: > > Not much of an image to go on but this is distinctive. Commonly known in > UK as 'Montbretia' this is Crocosmia x crocosmifolia. Local forms typically > with tawny-orange flowers but specific cultivars available. According to > Flora of Bhutan found in Darjeeling Town etc. and Sikkim (Yoksum etc.) - a > hybrid of horticultural origin from S.African parents commonly cultivated > in gardens in Darjeeling and Sikkim, less frequently in Bhutan but not > becoming naturalised. Close to Gladiolus (Iridaceae - the Iris family). > > Commonly cultivated in UK and very tolerant of shade; naturalised by sides > of lakes, rivers and ditches in hedge-banks, on waste ground and in woods, > spreading by vegetative means and by seed. > > First raised at Nancy, France by Victor Lemoine by crossing C.potsii with > C.aurea. Flowered for first time in 1880. > > Even found it within the 2km x 2km tetrad local tetrad I am recording > towards the Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland's 2020 Atlas in waste > ground at the edge of a wood where garden refuse was dumped. > > On Wednesday, November 23, 2016 at 5:43:29 AM UTC, Sonali Verma wrote: > > Please help me identify this. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "efloraofindia" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to indiantreepix+unsubscribe@goog legroups.com > <[email protected]>. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] . > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/grou p/indiantreepix > <https://groups.google.com/group/indiantreepix>. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/op tout > <https://groups.google.com/d/optout>. > > > > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "efloraofindia" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/indiantreepix. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
