*Roscoea alpina* Royle, Illustr. Bot. Himal. 361, t. 89, fig. 1. 1839. (see note); Wight, l.c. VI, t. 2013. 1853; Baker in Hook. f., Fl. Brit. Ind. 6:207. 1890; Kitam. in Kihara, Fauna & Fl. Nepal Himal. 98. 1955; Stewart, Ann. Cat. Vasc. Pl W. Pak. & Kashm. 66.1972.
SHAHINA A. GHAZANFAR and ROSEMARY M. SMITH Plants 15-25 cm tall. Leaves 7-15 x 1.3-L7 cm, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, excluding the sheath, apex subacute; sheaths as long as, or shorter than the leaf blades, forming an apparent stem. Flower dark purple, 1-5. Calyx tube 2.5-4 mm, split on one side to the base. Corolla tube longer than the calyx; anterior segment c. 15 x 15 mm, rounded, erect; lateral segments oblong. Labellum c. 2 cm, bifid in lower 1/3. Staminodes circular to elliptic, shorter than the lateral segments. Fertile stamen about as long as the staminodes; anther cells linear. Style slender, margin of erect stigma ciliate. Type: India, Simla to Fagu, *Jacquemont* 1024. Distribution: From Kashmir to Bhutan. The flowers often come out before the leaves and appear very attractive. The flowers are protandrous and entomophilous. Pollination is ensured by the versatile anther (with the stigma) hitting the back of the insect as it probes on the labellum. Note: The figures in Royle’s *Illustrated Himalayan Mountain Plants*, plate 89, have been mixed (as pointed out by Collett in a note in Oct. 1897 in the RAW copy of the book). Figs. 1 & 3 are of the same species, *Roscoea alpina. * Fig. 3 of a plant with more developed leaves is wrongly given as *Roscoea purpurea.* The copy at K is annotated “not *purpurea* Sm” for Fig. 3 and quoted by Baker in *Flora of British India* 6: 207, as *Roscoea alpina;* see ms. unsigned note by Bentham on Herb. Royle specimen of “*Roscoea purpurea*Royle”, Ill. t. 89 at K-“no-this is *purpurea* var. *procera* (Wall.), but not the plant figured by Royle as * purpurea*, which is only the more leafy form of *alpine*”. All the drawings in Fig. 1 are of *Roscoea alpine*; var. *minor* Royle is not recognised (see Cowley in Kew Bull. 36(4): 766. 1982). Tanay On Fri, Jul 2, 2010 at 7:04 PM, Balkar Arya <[email protected]> wrote: > Dear All > Roscoea alpina from Chakrata > > Regards > > -- > Dr Balkar Singh > Head, Deptt. of Botany and Biotechnology > Arya P G College, Panipat > Haryana-132103 > 09416262964 > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "efloraofindia" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]<indiantreepix%[email protected]> > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/indiantreepix?hl=en. > > -- Tanay Bose +91(033) 25550676 (Resi) 9830439691(Mobile) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "efloraofindia" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/indiantreepix?hl=en.
