Himalayan flora 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On this page, Tibet (in Chinese Xizang), Qinghai, and Xinjiang are treated as separate areas. The term ‘western China’ indicates Chinese territories just east of Tibet and Qinghai. The term ‘south-western China’ includes the provinces Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan.

I would be grateful to receive information on any errors on this page, or if you are able to identify any of the species left unidentified. You may use this address: respectnature108@gmail.com.

 

 

Members of this family are able to obtain nitrogen from the air, and many are cultivated for this purpose. When the plant dies, the nitrogen is released into the soil, for other crops to utilize. In his delightful book All about Weeds, American botanist Edwin Spencer (1881-1964) writes about sweet clover (Melilotus): “It feeds some nitrogen-fixing bacteria that live in nodules (little knots) on its roots, and these bacteria give to the plant as fast as they die (and they die rapidly) all the nitrogen they have fixed. It is impossible to make living cells without nitrogen, and it is impossible for a plant, or any other living thing, to grow without the addition of cells. The size of the plant depends upon the number of its cells, and the number of its cells depends upon the nitrogen supply. Sweet clover is one of those legumes that has worked out the problem of getting its nitrogen indirectly from the air by feeding the dwarfs that know the secret of taking it from the air.”

According to the latest revision, this family now includes 6 subfamilies (3 are dealt with below):

Caesalpinioideae (including the former subfamily Mimosoideae) with 148 genera and about 4,400 species.

Cercidoideae with 12 genera and about 335 species.

Detarioideae with 84 genera and about 760 species.

Dialioideae with 17 genera and about 85 species.

Duparquetioideae with 1 genus and 1 species.

Faboideae (Papilionoideae) with 503 genera and about 14,000 species.

 

 

The genus was named by Italian physician and botanist Antonio Francesco Durazzini (1740-1810) in honour of an Italian nobleman, Filippo degli Albizzi, who introduced Albizia julibrissin to Europe in the mid-1700s. It was initially spelled Albizzia, but today the correct spelling of the genus is with a single z.

 

It is distributed from Pakistan eastwards to southern China, and thence southwards through Southeast Asia to Indonesia. In the Himalaya, it grows up to an elevation of 1,300 m.

This species is often planted as a shade tree in tea gardens. The wood is used as timber, and the foliage is lopped for fodder. The bark is strewn in rivers to stupefy fish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name honours Italian physician, philosopher, and botanist Andrea Cesalpino (in Latin Andreas Caesalpinus) (1519-1603), who was the first botanist to classify plants according to flowers and seeds. In 1555, he became director of the botanical garden in Pisa. His most important botanical publication was De plantis libri XVI, from 1583.

 

This species is widely distributed, from Pakistan eastwards to Japan and Taiwan, southwards to Sri Lanka and Malaysia. In the Himalaya, it is found up to an elevation of 2,200 m.

It is widely cultivated as an ornamental, and the bark is used for tanning. The prickly branches are utilized as a goat-proof fence. Medicinally, root, stems and pod are used to relieve pain, and the root is taken for constipation. A paste of the root is applied to sprains in cattle.

The specific name is Greek, meaning ‘with ten petals’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant grows so large that the stems sometimes resemble tree trunks. The leaves are twice-pinnate, with 1-2 pairs of pinnae and 3-5 oblong leaflets in each pinna, to 9 cm long and 4 cm wide, the rachis ending in a forked tendril. The tiny flowers, to 3 mm across, are borne in long, axillary spikes to 23 cm long, corolla cream-coloured or pale yellow. The pods are huge, woody, flat, sometimes up to 2 m long and 15 cm broad, breaking down into single-seeded segments. The seeds are very hard, almost globular, to 5 cm across.

The seeds are utilized in African traditional medicine to induce vivid dreams, enabling communication with the spirit world. The meat of the seed could be consumed directly, or would be chopped, dried, and mixed with other herbs like tobacco. This mixture was smoked just before sleep to induce the desired dreams. (Source: entheology.org)

The plant is also used medicinally for jaundice, toothache, ulcers, and to treat muscular-skeletal problems.

The specific name honours naturalist and colonial administrator of the Dutch East India Company, Hendrik Adriaan van Rheede tot Drakenstein (1636-1691). In the period 1669-1676, he served as governor of the Dutch Malabar coast. During his stay, he employed 25 people to work on his book Hortus Malabaricus, describing 740 plant species of the region.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Latin mimus (‘to mime’) and osus (a suffix), given in allusion to the sensitiveness of the leaves of some species, which fold up when touched, seemingly mimicking the movement of an animal (see M. pudica below).

 

It is native to Tropical America, but is widely cultivated and has become naturalized worldwide in warm areas. In the Himalaya, it grows up to an altitude of 2,000 m.

In Nepal, it is utilized for a large number of ailments, including gout, asthma, cough, dysentery, haemorrhoids, and kidney problems. The seeds are chewed for sore throat. Elsewhere, leaves and root are used as a sedative and sleep aid.

This plant got the popular name sensitive plant due to its leaves, which fold up and bend downwards, when touched. The specific name, meaning ‘modest’ or ‘ashamed’, also alludes to this reaction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is distributed from Afghanistan eastwards to Bhutan, and is also widespread on the Indian Peninsula. In the Himalaya, it grows up to an elevation of 2,000 m.

In Nepal, it is utilized medicinally for a number of ailments, including peptic ulcer, haemorrhoids, and fever. A paste of the root is applied to sprains and dislocated bones. Tent pegs and charcoal are produced from the wood. The prickly stems are used as a goat-proof hedge.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with a stem like bramble’, alluding to the prickly stem.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Arabic sana, a term covering plants with catharitic and laxative properties.

Initially, in 1753, these plants were included in the genus Cassia by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-78), but already the following year, in his fourth edition of The Gardeners Dictionary, Scottish botanist Philip Miller (c. 1691-1771) placed a number of Cassia species in the genus Senna. For many years, most botanists did not recognize this genus, and only recently has it been re-established.

The obsolete generic name is derived from Ancient Greek kassia, the spice made from the bark of members of the genus Cinnamomum other than the true cinnamon (C. verum), especially Chinese cinnamon (C. cassia).

A number of pictures, depicting the wonderful Cassia fistula, is presented on the page In praise of the colour yellow.

 

It is native to Tropical America but has been widely introduced elsewhere in tropical and subtropical regions. In the Himalaya, it grows up to elevations around 1,400 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘from the West’, alluding to the place of origin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The leaves of this genus are characterized by the apex, which is split into 2 broad lobes, the outline thus resembling a camel’s footprint, giving rise to one of the popular names.

The generic name was applied by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-78) in honour of Swiss botanist Gaspard Bauhin, in Latin Casparus Bauhinus (1560-1624), who described thousands of plant species in his monumental work Phytopinax (1596), in a form, which equals the binominal nomenclature, introduced in 1753 by Linnaeus.

 

This species is probably originally native from the Indian Subcontinent eastwards to Indochina, but is very commonly cultivated elsewhere. In the Himalaya, it is found up to an elevation of 1,600 m.

In Nepal, the foliage is lopped for fodder, and the plant is also utilized medicinally. Fibres are obtained from the bark, which is also used for tanning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is probably originally native from the Indian Subcontinent eastwards to Indochina and southern China, and is very commonly cultivated elsewhere. In the Himalaya, it is found up to an elevation of 1,800 m.

The bark is used medicinally, and for dyeing and tanning. The wood is used for construction, and the foliage is lopped for fodder. The flowers are edible, cooked or pickled.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Arabic abruz or afruz (‘that gives flaming colours’), alluding to the bright red seeds.

 

The branches are slender, smooth or downy. Leaves alternate, short-stalked, to 13 cm long, pinnately divided into 10-20 pairs of oblong or ovate leaflets, to 2.2 cm long and 6 mm wide, apex rounded, margin entire. Flowers are in axillary clusters, usually shorter than the leaves. Calyx to 2.5 mm long, smooth or sparsely silky-hairy, teeth very short. Corolla is pinkish-white or pink, to 1 cm long. The pod is oblong, to 4 cm long and 1.3 cm broad, containing 3-8 highly distinctive, ovoid seeds, to 8 mm long, usually bright scarlet with a black spot at the base, sometimes white with black base, or uniformly black or white.

The seeds are very poisonous – ingestion of a few may be fatal. You may read about their multiple usage, including murder, on the page Plants: Plants in folklore and poetry.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘prayer’, alluding to the usage of the seeds in rosaries, which is also reflected in one of the common names. The name crab’s eye refers to the likeness of the seeds to a crab’s eye.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The leaves of the vast majority of species are pinnate, with numerous leaflets. The calyx is tubular, with 5 short teeth or lobes, often of unequal length. The keel of the flower is blunt-tipped, as opposed to members of the genus Oxytropis (below), which are very similar, but whose keel has a beaked tip. The pod is often longitudinally divided into 2 chambers.

In Ancient Greece, astragalos was the term applied to one of the bones in the ankle joint, called the ball bone. Dice were made from the ball bones of certain animals. However, astragalos was also the name for a member of the pea family, Lathyrus niger. A possible explanation is that to the Greeks, the seeds of this plant resembled the dice made from the ball bones.

The name vetch stems from Anglo-Norman French veche, a corruption of the Latin vicia. Milk-vetches are quite similar to true vetches of the genus Vicia. The prefix milk refers to an old belief that cows fed with milk-vetch would yield more milk.

 

This plant is found from northern Pakistan eastwards to central Nepal, at altitudes between 2,700 and 4,500 m. It is quite common in Chamba, Himachal Pradesh, and in the Upper Langtang Valley, central Nepal.

The specific name honours Swiss botanist Augustin Pyrame de Candolle (1778-1841), who created a new natural plant classification system.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is distributed from Pakistan eastwards to Bhutan and south-eastern Tibet, growing at elevations between 2,500 and 4,000 m.

What the specific name refers to is not clear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It grows in dry areas at high altitudes, up to 4,600 m, from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan eastwards across Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, and Tibet to Gansu.

The specific name is Latin, from niv-, derived from nix (‘snow’), and‎ –alis, a suffix, thus ‘of snow’, referring to the fact that this plant grows at high elevations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This species is found from Xinjiang southwards across western Tibet to Kashmir, and thence eastwards to central Nepal, growing at altitudes between 3,000 and 4,500 m.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek hoplites (‘heavily armed foot-soldier’), ultimately from hoplon (‘arms’, ‘weapon’), naturally alluding to the numerous spines.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is distributed from Xinjiang southwards through western Tibet to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Ladakh, and Himachal Pradesh, at elevations between 1,800 and 5,000 m.

The specific name is Ancient Greek, meaning ‘producing flowers from a rootstock’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The genus was named in honour of John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute (1713-1792), who was a patron of botany.

 

Distributed from western Nepal eastwards to Myanmar, northern Thailand, and south-eastern Tibet, found at elevations between 300 and 2,000 m.

In Nepal, the seeds are used to expel intestinal worms. Rope is produced from the bark fibres, and plates are made from the leaves.

A close relative, B. monosperma, is described on the page Plants: Plants in folklore and poetry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the Mongolian name for C. arborescens.

 

This species is found from Pakistan eastwards to Uttarakhand, and across Tibet to the western parts of Yunnan and Sichuan, northwards to Qinghai, Gansu, and Ningxia, at elevations between 1,800 and 4,500 m. It is common in Ladakh.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘short-leaved’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant grows in dry steppe country and semi-deserts at altitudes between 2,600 and 4,200 m, from Afghanistan eastwards to central Nepal, and thence northwards across western Tibet to Qinghai. It is often collected as firewood.

The specific name was given in honour of English herbalist John Gerard (c. 1545-1612), who published a large work on herbal medicine, Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This species is found from Uttarakhand eastwards to Bhutan, at altitudes between 2,400 and 3,700 m. It is common in the Upper Langtang Valley, central Nepal.

In Nepal, a paste of the root is applied to dislocated bones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The genus was named in honour of British general and explorer Francis Rawdon Chesney (1789-1872). In 1836, he led an expedition to test the proposition that large iron vessels could successfully navigate the river Euphrates from southern Turkey to the Persian Gulf. Among his companions was Bohemian physician, explorer and naturalist Johann Wilhelm Helfer, also known as Jan Vilém Helfer (1810-1840), who made collections of plants and animals from along the river. Helfer later participated in an expedition to the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal, where a native shot him with a poisoned arrow, which ultimately killed him.

 

This plant is distributed from Xinjiang southwards across western Tibet to Pakistan and Ladakh, found at elevations between 2,400 and 4,300 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘wedge-shaped’. What it refers to is not clear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is distributed from Uttarakhand eastwards to Myanmar and the Yunnan Province, at altirudes between 3,600 and 5,300 m.

The specific name is derived from the Latin nubes (‘cloud’) and genus (‘born of’), alluding to the high altitudes this plant is growing at.

At some point, it was called Spongiocarpella nubigena.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is distributed from Uttarakhand eastwards to Bhutan and south-eastern Tibet, at elevations between 4,700 and 5,200 m. It is common in the Khumbu area, eastern Nepal.

Previously, it was also known as Spongiocarpella purpurea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek kokhlias (‘spiral’) and anthos (‘flower’), alluding to the style and filaments, which are spiralled inward in the upper part.

 

Distributed from central Nepal eastwards to Bhutan, south-eastern Tibet, and south-western China, at altitudes between 1,400 and 2,000 m.

In Nepal, a paste of the stem is applied to boils, pimples, and muscular swellings.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘slender’, referring to the stems.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek desmos (‘chain’), referring to the jointed pod. The trefoil part of the popular name means ‘three-leaved’, alluding to the 3 leaflets, whereas the tick part refers to the pods, which easily break apart into segments, each one containing a single seed with small hooked hairs that stick to people’s clothes or the fur of an animal, similar to the way a tick clings on with its legs. (Source: en.wiktionary.org)

 

This plant is widely distributed, from Afghanistan eastwards to Bhutan and south-western China, and thence northwards to Gansu, growing at altitudes between 1,000 and 4,000 m. It is often cultivated as an ornamental.

In Nepal, the root is used for cholera, and as a tonic, carminative, and diuretic. The foliage is cut for fodder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The flowers are much visited by birds, including Asian black bulbul (Hypsipetes leucocephalus), red-whiskered bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus), and crimson sunbird (Aethopyga siparaja), which feed on the nectar, and ring-necked parakeet (Psittacula krameri), which eats the entire flower.

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek erythros (‘red’), like the common name referring to the wonderful scarlet or coral-red flowers of the genus.

 

This species is distributed from Uttarakhand eastwards to Myanmar, Bangladesh, northern Thailand, and western China. In the Himalaya, it is found at elevations between 1,500 and 3,000 m.

Widely cultivated as an ornamental, and also planted to retain landslides. The wood is utilized for construction, and juice of the bark is used medicinally for boils and to expel intestinal worms.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘becoming a tree’, referring to its small size.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This species is distributed from the Indian Peninsula across Indochina to south-western China. It is very common in the lower parts of the Himalaya, growing in forests and open areas up to elevations around 1,600 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘tightened’ or ‘compressed’. What it alludes to is not clear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek hedysaron (‘axe-weed’), the name of a plant described by Greek physician, pharmacologist, and botanist Pedanius Dioscorides (died 90 A.D.), author of De Materia Medica, five volumes dealing with herbal medicine. The connection with this genus is obscure.

 

This species is found in the western parts of the Himalaya, from Pakistan eastwards to Uttarakhand, at elevations between 2,700 and 4,000 m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is found from eastern Nepal eastwards to Bhutan, and thence northwards to Gansu, at elevations between 3,100 and 4,700 m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Formerly, a blue dye, indigo, was extracted from a lowland species, I. tinctoria, but nowadays the dye is produced synthetically. This dye cannot be extracted from any of the Himalayan species. The generic name is derived from indicum, the Latin word for the dye, alluding to the fact that it was produced in India, and fero (‘I bear’).

 

This plant, which was previously named I. pulchella, is distributed from Kashmir eastwards to Indochina and southern China, and is also found in Peninsular India and Sri Lanka. In the Himalaya, it grows from the lower valleys up to an altitude of 1,900 m. It is common in Helambu, central Nepal.

In Nepal, the flowers are eaten as a vegetable, or pickled. In India, a decoction of the root is used for cough. The root is also dried and ground into powder, which is applied externally in case of chest pain.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘resembling Cassia’ (see Senna above).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distributed from Uttarakhand eastwards to Bhutan and south-eastern Tibet, at altitudes between 2,100 and 2,700 m.

The specific name alludes to the pod.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This species is widely distributed, from Afghanistan eastwards to Bhutan and south-eastern Tibet, and also in Sri Lanka and parts of East Africa. In the Himalaya, it grows at altitudes between 1,500 and 3,100 m. It is very common in the western part, often forming dense thickets.

In Nepal, the flowers are pickled, and the foliage is used for fodder.

The specific name is a term used for plants having different types of stamens in the same flower, from Ancient Greek hetera (‘different’) and anthos (‘flower’, in this connection ‘anther’).

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is of Semitic origin, in Ancient Greek lotos, denoting a type of clover or trefoil, described by Homer as food for horses. The trefoil part of the popular name was given in allusion to the seemingly tripartite leaves (in reality 5 leaflets, see below), whereas bird’s-foot refers to the often triple pods, which spread out from a common point, thus resembling a bird’s foot.

Other species of this genus are dealt with on the page In praise of the colour yellow.

 

This plant is widely distributed in Temperate Eurasia, growing in drier habitats with low vegetation. In the Himalaya, it is found between 1,500 and 4,000 m altitude, from Pakistan eastwards to central Nepal.

It is much utilized as fodder.

The specific name is derived from the Latin corniculum, a diminutive of cornu (‘horn’), and atus (‘having’), thus ‘having little horns’, alluding to the pods.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name (and with that one of the common names) is derived from the Latin medica, meaning ‘a kind of clover introduced from Media’, referring to lucern (M. sativa). The common name bur-clover alludes to the spiny pods of some species of the genus. The term bur is from Middle English burre, from the Norse burre (‘burdock’). It is used for several plants with hooked or spiny fruits, which easily spread by attaching themselves to animals’ pelts, people’s clothes, etc.

 

This plant grows in drier areas and is widespread in temperate areas of Eurasia. In the Himalaya, it is distributed from Pakistan eastwards to central Nepal, at elevations between 2,700 and 4,000 m. It is common in Spiti, Himachal Pradesh, and in Ladakh.

It is widely cultivated as fodder.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘sickle-shaped’, alluding to the pod.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek meli (‘honey’) and lotus (see Lotus above). These plants are much visited by bees. The common name sweet clover refers to the sweet smell of the flowers. They are also widely cultivated as nitrogen-producers.

 

This plant is widely distributed in Temperate Eurasia. In the Himalaya, it is restricted to Pakistan and Ladakh, at elevations between 2,700 and 4,000 m. It is common in Ladakh, where it is also cultivated as a fodder plant and nitrogen-producer.

Originally, officinalis was derived from officina (‘workshop’, or ‘office’), and the suffix alis, which, together with a noun, forms an adjective, thus ‘made in a workshop’. However, in a botanical context, the word denotes plants species that were sold in pharmacies due to their medicinal properties.

A close relative with white flowers, M. alba, is also cultivated in the north-western part of the Himalaya. It is presented on the page Plants: Plants in folklore and poetry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek oxys (‘sharp’) and tropis (‘keel’), referring to the beaked keel, as opposed to the blunt keel in the very similar flowers of the genus Astragalus (above).

The American term for these plants is locoweed, derived from Spanish loco (‘mad’, ‘crazy’). Early settlers noticed that cattle and horses, which had eaten these plants, would stagger around, acting strangely.

 

Stem absent, all leaves and flower stalks spreading out star-like from the rootstock. Leaves pinnate, to 7 cm long, leaflets oblong-elliptic, pointed, with white hairs below and along the margin. Flowers in compact terminal clusters on silky-hairy stalks to about 9 cm long, calyx bell-shaped, teeth pointed, to 3 mm long, corolla bluish-mauve or violet, to 8 mm long.

The specific name is derived from the Latin harena (‘sand’) and ripa (‘river bank’), thus ‘growing along sandy rivers’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This species is found from Kyrgyzstan eastwards to Inner Mongolia, and thence southwards across the Tibetan Plateau to Pakistan, Ladakh, and central Nepal, at elevations between 2,700 and 5,200 m. It is common in Ladakh.

The specific name is Ancient Greek, meaning ‘with small leaves’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is found on the Tibetan Plateau, southwards to Pakistan, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, and northern Nepal, at altitudes between 4,000 and 5,000 m.

The specific name refers to an area in Asia, formerly inhabited by Tatar-speaking Turkic peoples, from the Volga River and Crimea eastwards to western Siberia and Kazakhstan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This species is endemic to western and central Nepal, growing at elevations between 2,400 and 4,400 m. It is common in the Upper Kali Gandaki Valley, Annapurna, central Nepal.

The specific name commemorates British botanist John Williams (1915-1991), who made many contributions to the great work An Enumeration of the Flowering Plants of Nepal, edited by H. Hara, W.T. Stearn and L.H.J. Williams (London 1978).

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the Himalaya, this plant is quite common between 900 and 4,300 m altitude, distributed from Himachal Pradesh eastwards to Myanmar and south-western China. It is also found in the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Africa.

In Nepal, juice of the leaves is applied to wounds and boils. It is also utilized as fodder.

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek para (‘near’) and okhetos (‘stream’), alluding to a preferred habitat of the species. The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘common’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek pipto (‘to fall’) and anthos (‘flower’), referring to the early falling of the flowers.

 

Distributed from Himachal Pradesh eastwards to Myanmar and south-western China, nortwards to Gansu, at elevations between 1,600 and 4,000 m. It is widely cultivated elsewhere as an ornamental.

In Nepal, the foliage is collected for fodder, and the stems are used for light construction and to make walking sticks. Bark and leaves are strewn in rivers to stupefy fish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name commemorates Swiss botanist and physician Marc Nicolas Puerari (1766-1845), a pupil of Danish botanist Martin Hendriksen Vahl (1749-1805). Although he spent the major part of his life as a professor in Copenhagen, he left his herbarium to a Swiss colleague, Alphonse Louis Pierre Pyrame de Candolle (1806-1893).

 

This plant is a native of the Far East, but has become widely naturalized elsewhere. In the Himalaya, it is found in the lower subtropical areas. It is regarded as an invasive in many places around the world, described on the page Nature: Invasive species.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from sophera, an Arabic name for a tree in the pea family.

 

This plant is found in dry areas at elevations between 2,800 and 4,500 m, distributed in Tibet, southwards to Pakistan and Ladakh, eastwards to Bhutan.

In Tibet, it is heavily exploited as a source of fuel and is now endangered here. The seeds are used for stomach trouble, and as an antidote to domestic animals which have eaten poisonous plants. It is also planted as a soil stabilizer in Tibet.

The specific name was given in honour of British veterinary surgeon and botanist William Moorcroft (1765-1825), who explored several areas in the Himalaya and Central Asia. He was the first European to make botanical collections in western Tibet and Kashmir.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Greek thermos (‘heat’) and opsis (‘appearance’), thus ‘appearing to be burned’, referring to the blackish-purple flowers of Thermopsis barbata.

 

It is very common on disturbed ground, including abandoned fields and heavily grazed slopes, distributed from Xinjiang and Qinghai southwards across the Tibetan Plateau to Pakistan, and thence eastwards to Bhutan and south-western China, at altitudes between 2,700 and 4,600 m.

The specific name is from the Latin barbatus (‘bearded’), referring to the densely hairy stems and leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It grows in dry stony areas between 4,000 and 5,000 m altitude, from southern Xinjiang southwards across the Tibetan Plateau to Pakistan, Ladakh, and Himachal Pradesh, and also in northern Bhutan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Found from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Xinjiang, Mongolia, and southern central Siberia southwards across the Tibetan Plateau to extreme northern Nepal, at elevations between 3,600 and 4,300 m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is found at elevations between 3,000 and 5,000 m, from Gansu and Qinghai southwards across Tibet to Pakistan, and thence eastwards to south-western China.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is Latin, meaning ‘with 3 leaves’, referring to the leaflets. It was the classical name of clover.

 

This plant is native to Temperate Eurasia and North Africa, in the Himalaya from Pakistan eastwards to Himachal Pradesh. Elsewhere, it is widely cultivated as fodder, bee-plant, or nitrogen-fixer. In Nepal, it is utilized medicinally for various ailments, including cough and skin problems.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘growing in meadows’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is native to Temperate Eurasia and North Africa, in the Himalaya from Pakistan eastwards to Myanmar, growing at altitudes between 1,300 and 2,500 m. It is widely cultivated as fodder, bee-plant, or nitrogen-fixer.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘creeping’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A widely distributed species, found in the major part of Europe and northern Asia, eastwards to central Siberia, southwards to Morocco, Jordan, the Himalaya, northern China, and Japan, growing at forest edges and in open areas. In the Himalaya, it is usually found at elevations between 1,600 and 2,200 m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek kastana, the classical name of the chestnut tree (Castanea sativa), and opsis (‘appearance’), thus ‘looking like a chestnut tree’.

The name chinkapin is a corruption of an Algonquian word, chechinquamin or chincomen, possibly from xinkw (‘great’) and mini (‘fruit’).

The spiny fruits may constitute a health hazard. Once, as I was walking in a forest near Pokhara, Nepal, a bunch of fruits of Castanopsis indica fell from a tall tree, landing on my bare arm, where they got stuck in the skin. Even though the spines do not possess barbs, it took some effort to loosen the fruits from the skin.

 

This species is found from central Nepal eastwards to Taiwan, and thence southwards to Southeast Asia. In the Himalaya, it grows at elevations between 1,000 and 2,900 m. The wood is used for roof-shingles, and as fuel. The foliage is lopped for fodder, and leaves are also wrapped around tobacco to smoke as a cigar. In Nepal, juice of the bark is used for indigestion, juice of the leaves for stomach troubles. Cotyledons and fruits are edible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is distributed from Uttarakhand eastwards to northern Thailand and the Yunnan Province, at altitudes between 500 and 2,300 m. The wood is utilized as timber. Leaves are lopped for fodder. The nut is edible, raw or roasted.

The specific name means ‘resembling Tribulus’, a plant of the family Zygophyllaceae (below). This word is derived from the Greek tribolos, meaning ’caltrop’, a small metal object with several spikes, of which one is always pointing upwards. In the old days, these weapons were spread on roads and footpaths to prevent traffic of the enemy’s soldiers, horse riders, and horse-drawn vehicles. The name probably refers to the spiny fruits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Male flowers are in pendent catkins, females mostly in erect spikes. The fruit is a nut, called an acorn, which is partly enclosed in a cup-like structure, the cupule, consisting of overlapping bracts, with free tips.

The generic name is the classical Latin term for oaks. It probably stems from the name of the Lithuanian god of thunder, Perkunas. The word oak is from the Anglo-Saxon ek, in ancient Germanic aik, of uncertain origin and meaning.

Selections of pictures, depicting oaks, may be seen on the pages Autumn, and Plants: Plants in folklore and poetry.

 

It is distributed from Afghanistan eastwards to central Nepal, at elevations between 1,800 and 2,900 m. The wood is used for many items, and also as fuel and for charcoal. The foliage is lopped for fodder.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with an abundance of flowers’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This tree, by some authorities called Cyclobalanopsis glauca, is very widely distributed, from Afghanistan eastwards to Japan, Taiwan, and northern Vietnam. In the Himalaya, it grows at elevations between 800 and 3,000 m, from Pakistan eastwards to Myanmar. The wood is used as fuel, and the foliage is lopped for fodder.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek glaukos (‘blue-green’, ‘blue-grey’), presumably alluding to the foliage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is distributed at altitudes between 1,400 and 3,000 m, from Uttarakhand eastwards to northern Indochina and south-western China.

The wood is used for construction and tool handles, and as fuel, and the foliage is lopped for fodder. In Nepal, juice of the bark is applied to sprains, and a paste of the cotyledon to scorpion bites. Powdered resin is used for dysentery, and it is also boiled and drunk as tea. The bark can also be boiled to make tea.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘woolly’, referring to the underside of the leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This tree is common from Pakistan eastwards to Myanmar, with a disjunct occurrence in Sri Lanka. In the Himalaya, it grows at elevations between 1,000 and 2,700 m. The wood makes excellent fuel. It is hard and strong, mostly used for agricultural tools. The foliage is lopped for fodder, and it also makes excellent compost. The acorns are utilized in traditional medicine.

The specific name is Ancient Greek, meaning ‘bearing white hairs’, referring to the underside of the leaves.

An obsolete name for this tree is Quercus incana. However, this name is today used for an American species.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This species is very common, found at altitudes between 1,700 and 4,000 m, from Afghanistan eastwards to Nepal and extreme southern Tibet.

The wood is used for construction, and as fuel. The bark yields tannin, and juice of it is applied to aching muscles. The foliage is cut for fodder, and the sap is drunk as tea.

The specific name means ‘with leaves like Semecarpus’, a genus of trees in the family Anacardiaceae. A popular name af the species is spiny-leaved oak, which is misleading, as the leaves of older trees usually have entire margins.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Members of this genus were previously placed in the genus Gentiana, but differ in the flowers, which often have tufts of narrow lobes or hairs in the throat, and no lobules between the corolla-lobes. In many species, the tuft in the throat is surrounded by a dark band.

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek kome (‘hair of the head’) and stoma (‘mouth’), alluding to the flowers of some members having hairs in the throat.

 

This plant is found at elevations between 3,000 and 5,000 m, from Pakistan eastwards to Bhutan and south-western China.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Formerly, this genus contained about 650 species, but about 250 have been moved to the genus Gentianella, c. 24 to Gentianopsis, and c. 15 to Comastoma.

The name of these plants was derived from King Gentius, who ruled in Ancient Illyria 181-168 B.C., and who allegedly discovered the medicinal value of the great yellow gentian (G. lutea). This species is described on the page Plants: Flora of the Alps and the Pyrenees.

 

Distributed from Pakistan eastwards to Myanmar and south-estern Tibet, at elevations between 1,500 and 4,500 m. In Nepal, juice of the plant is taken for fever, a paste of the plant for headache.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘having a head’, referring to the dense inflorescence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It grows on open slopes at altitudes between 3,000 and 4,500 m, from central Nepal eastwards to Sikkim and south-eastern Tibet.

The specific name presumably alludes to the dense cluster of leaves near the ground.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is found from Nepal eastwards to Arunachal Pradesh and south-eastern Tibet, growing at altitudes between 4,000 and 4,200 m.

It was named for British naturalist and explorer Henry John Elwes (1846-1922), who collected many plants, especially lilies, during trips to the Himalaya and Korea. He was among the first persons to receive the Victoria Medal of the Royal Horticultural Society in 1897.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This species is found between 1,900 and 5,000 m altitude, from Kazakhstan, Xinjiang, southern Russia, and Mongolia southwards to Pakistan, Ladakh, Nepal, and Sikkim. It is quite common in Ladakh.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek leukos (‘white’) and melaina (‘black’), presumably alluding to the dotted white petals. However, the dots are not black, but dark blue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As its specific name implies, this is a very pretty plant, and in autumn it adds a lovely blue hue to the otherwise rather drab landscape at this time of the year. It is very common at altitudes between 3,400 and 5,500 m, from central Nepal eastwards to Arunachal Pradesh and south-eastern Tibet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is very common on grazing grounds and in forest clearings in the entire Himalaya, at altitudes from 750 to 3,800 m, and is also distributed in south-western China, South India, and Sri Lanka. In Nepal, tender parts are cooked as a vegetable, and juice of the plant is taken to expel intestinal worms.

The specific name stems from the Latin pedis, genitive of pes (‘foot’), in botanical context referring to the flower stalk, and atus (‘having’), thus ‘with long flower stalks’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Members of this genus were previously placed in the genus Gentiana, but differ in the flowers, which often have tufts of narrow lobes or hairs in the throat, and no lobules between the corolla-lobes.

 

This species is distributed from Pakistan eastwards to central Nepal, at altitudes between 2,700 and 4,800 m. It is very common in Lahaul and Ladakh. In Nepal, an infusion is applied to the forehead to relieve fever. It is also used for bile and liver problems.

The specific name was given in honour of British veterinary surgeon and botanist William Moorcroft (1765-1825), who explored several areas in the Himalaya and Central Asia. He was the first European to make botanical collections in western Tibet and Kashmir.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Members of this genus were previously placed in the genus Gentiana, but differ in the flowers, whose petals are more or less fringed with hairs or pointed lobes.

 

This plant is distributed from northern Tibet and Inner Mongolia southwards through Tibet and western China to Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, and the Yunnan Province. In the Himalaya, it grows at elevations between 3,000 and 4,900 m. It is common in Ladakh. A paste of the root is applied to wounds, and to the forehead to relieve headache. Other parts are used for bile and liver disorders, and fever.

The specific name is derived from the Latin palus (‘swamp’, ‘marsh’) and osus (‘full of’), thus ‘fond of marshes’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name honours Swedish physician Jonas Petri Halenius (1727-1810), who was a pupil of the famous Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778).

 

This plant is widely distributed, found in central and western Asia, eastwards to China and Myanmar. It is quite common in the entire Himalaya, at elevations between 1,800 and 4,500 m. In Nepal, juice of the plant is taken for fever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is Greek, referring to the fringed margin of the ovary, formed by the stigma.

 

This species is very widely distributed, from Europe eastwards across western, northern, and central Asia to Japan. In the Himalaya, it is found at altitudes between 3,000 and 5,400 m.

The specific name refers to the Austrian state Carinthia. Presumably, the type specimen was collected there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name was given in honour of Dutch painter and nurseryman Emanuel Sweert (1552-1612). In 1612, he published Florilegium Amplissimum et Selectissimum, a work depicting about 560 bulbs and flowers.

 

It grows from subtropical valleys up to an altitude of 3,300 m, from Pakistan eastwards to China and northern Vietnam. It is very common in the Himalaya. In Nepal, juice of the root is taken for fever.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘having narrow leaves’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This species is distributed from Afghanistan eastwards to Sikkim, growing at altitudes between 2,500 and 3,700 m.

The Latin name means ‘hairy’. What it alludes to is not clear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is widely distributed, from Pakistan eastwards to Myanmar and the Yunnan Province, growing between 1,700 and 4,000 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘heart-shaped’, referring to the leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is distributed at elevations between 3,600 and 5,000 m, from Uttarakhand eastwards to Bhutan.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘wedge-shaped’, perhaps referring to the petals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This species has a rather limited distribution, from eastern Nepal eastwards to Arunachal Pradesh and south-eastern Tibet, at elevations between 3,600 and 4,300 m.

The specific name honours British botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker (1817-1911), who described numerous new plant species in the eastern Himalaya (see Rhododendron dalhousiae, Himalayan flora 1).

 

 

 

 

 

 

This species grows at elevations between 2,800 and 3,300 m, from Pakistan eastwards to Myanmar and the Yunnan Province. Parts of the plant are used for treatment of malaria and other types of fever, and a decoction is drunk as a tonic.

The specific name alludes to the inflorescences, which are arranged in panicles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is found at elevations between 2,500 and 5,500 m, from Afghanistan eastwards to western Nepal. It is common in Kashmir. Medicinally, it is utilized for bile and liver disorders, and for fever. In Pakistan, the root is used for eye diseases.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘having a leaf-stalk’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek tri (‘three’), pteron (‘wing’), and sperma (‘seed’), thus ‘the one whose seeds have three wings’.

 

This plant is distributed from central Nepal eastwards to Myanmar and south-eastern Tibet, at elevations between 2,000 and 3,200 m.

The specific name is derived from the Latin volvo (‘I turn around’), alluding to its twining stems.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stipules are often distinct on these plants. After flowering, the style forms a long, straight or up-curved beak, which separates into 5 elastic spring-like coils, each containing a single seed that is expelled, usually when the style is touched.

The generic name is derived from the Greek geranos (‘crane’), alluding to the fruit, whose shape resembles a crane’s bill.

 

The stem is ascending, sometimes erect, downy, to 30 cm tall. The opposite leaves are to 5 cm long, with a stalk to 23 cm long on lower leaves, whereas upper leaves are smaller and stalkless. Stipules are distinct, lanceolate, to 9 mm long. Leaf-blade to 5 cm across, deeply cut into 5 rhombic-ovate lobes, which are again deeply cut. Flowers solitary or in pairs, 4-5 cm across, petals usually deep blue, sometimes purplish-blue or white, to 3 cm long, tip rounded. Flower-stalk to 14 cm long, glandular-hairy. Stigma pink to purplish. Ripe fruit to 4.7 cm long, reflexed when young.

This species is quite similar to meadow cranesbill (G. pratense, below), which grows in drier areas of the Himalaya. As a rule, Himalayan cranesbill is a larger plant, with petals up to 3 cm long, versus 2 cm in meadow cranesbill. Its fruits are also larger, to almost 5 cm long, versus c. 3.5 cm in meadow cranesbill. The leaves of Himalayan cranesbill have 5, sometimes overlapping segments, versus 5-7 in meadow cranesbill, and the leaf-stalks are relatively shorter. Himalayan cranesbill grows in wetter areas than meadow cranesbill.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is very widely distributed, from Afghanistan eastwards to southern China and northern Vietnam, and also in montane areas of southern India, Sri Lanka, and northern Sumatra. In the Himalaya, it is quite common, found at elevations between 1,000 and 4,000 m. The fruit is edible. The root contains tannin. In Nepal, the plant is utilized medicinally for kidney trouble.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The stems are slender, erect or ascending, to 35 cm long, downy or glandular-hairy. Stipules distinct, lanceolate, hairy. Leaves are opposite, very variable, sometimes rounded in outline, to 6 cm across, palmately cleft, 5-7-lobed, the 2 outer smaller, lobes again divided into 3-19 segments.

This plant is very widely distributed, from northern Africa and the Middle East eastwards to Afghanistan, the Himalaya, and western China. In the Himalaya, it is found at elevations between 900 and 3,000 m. The plant is astringent and diuretic. In Nepal, the juice is used to treat amoebic dysentery.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘having small eyes’, alluding to the black centre of the flower.

The flowers are quite similar to those of G. procurrens (below), but smaller, to 2 cm across, and the dark centre is sharply defined, versus a diffuse black centre in G. procurrens. Also, it blooms in spring, versus during the monsoon in G. procurrens.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is found at elevations between 2,400 and 4,500 m, from Uttarakhand eastwards to Bhutan and south-western China.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek polys (‘many’) and anthos (‘flower’).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This species is widely distributed, found from Europe across Siberia to Mongolia, and thence southwards to Afghanistan, Ladakh, and central Nepal. In the Himalaya, it grows in drier areas at altitudes between 1,400 and 4,500 m. It is common in northern Himachal Pradesh. In Nepal, an extract of the leaves is used for fever, pneumonia, swelling of limbs, dysentery, and diarrhoea.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘growing in meadows’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This species is found from Uttarakhand eastwards to Arunachal Pradesh, at elevations between 2,100 and 3,500 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘running’, referring to the long, scrambling stems.

The flowers are quite similar to those of G. ocellatum (above), but are larger, to 4 cm across, and the dark centre is diffuse, versus a sharply defined black centre, forming a pentagon, in G. ocellatum. Also, it blooms during the monsoon, versus in spring in G. ocellatum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Found at elevations between 1,800 and 4,800 m, from central Nepal eastwards to Myanmar and south-western China. In Nepal, juice of the root is applied to wounds, a paste of the plant to boils.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘breaking up’. What it refers to is not clear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is distributed from Afghanistan eastwards to Bhutan and south-eastern Tibet, at altitudes between 1,600 and 4,200 m. In Nepal, the plant is cut for fodder. The root is taken for peptic ulcer. Juice of the plant is utilized to stop bleeding, and a paste of it is applied to aching joints.

The specific name was given in honour of Danish physician and botanist Nathaniel Wallich (1786-1854), who studied the Indian and Himalayan flora in the early 1800s.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The family name commemorates Swiss physician, naturalist, and philologist Conrad Gessner (1516-1565).

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is probably derived from Ancient Greek aischyne (‘shame’) and anthos (‘flower’), alluding to the usually red corolla.

 

This plant, previously known as A. sikkimensis, has a rather limited distribution, from eastern Nepal eastwards to Bhutan, at altitudes between 1,200 and 2,100 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘small-flowered’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Greek korallion (‘coral’) and diskos (‘disc’), alluding to the coral-red nectary in several of the species.

 

It is distributed from Sikkim and Bhutan northwards through southern Tibet, Yunnan, and Sichuan to southern Qinghai, growing on rocks at elevations between 2,800 and 4,800 m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A lax cluster of flowers rise directly from the rootstock, amidst a very dense rosette of wrinkled, elliptic, rhombic, ovate, or oblong leaves, hairy or hairless above, white- or brownish-woolly below, to 5 cm long and 3 cm wide, veins prominent, margin entire or toothed, tip pointed or rounded. Inflorescences are few- to many-flowered, flower-stalks to 17 cm long, rusty-hairy when young, later smooth. The corolla is tubular, to 1.5 cm long and 5.5 mm wide, blue, purple, white, or yellow, or a combination, lower lip, to 5 mm long, often with brownish spots inside.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘woolly’, alluding to the underside of the leaves.

This plant may constitute several species.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Greek didymos (‘twin’) and karpos (‘fruit’), referring to the two valves of the capsule.

Some members of the genus are known for their medicinal properties, especially the ability to cure kidney problems.

 

This plant grows at elevations between 1,600 and 3,000 m, from Uttarakhand eastwards to Myanmar and south-eastern Tibet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant grows between 1,000 and 3,000 m altitude, from Himachal Pradesh eastwards to Arunachal Pradesh.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘inverted longish’, alluding to the leaves, which are often broadest above the middle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This species is found at elevations between 1,900 and 3,200 m, from Uttarakhand eastwards to Sikkim and south-eastern Tibet.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with leaves like Primula’ (primroses). Some species in this genus have strongly wrinkled leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name was applied in honour of a German administrator, Count Leo Henckel von Donnersmark (1785-1861), who was a keen botanist.

 

This plant is distributed from Himachal Pradesh eastwards to northern Indochina and south-western China, found at elevations between 800 and 2,800 m.

The specific name is derived from the Latin pumilio (‘dwarf’).

 

 

 

 

 

 

The stem is erect, unbranched, to 80 cm tall, but usually much lower, sparsely downy-hairy. The leaves are widely spaced, stalked, elliptic, rarely ovate or obovate, to 15 cm long and 8 cm broad, margin toothed, tip pointed, veins 5-10 pairs, conspicuous. Flowers single or in pairs, stalked, calyx to 3.5 cm long, with 5 lanceolate lobes, to 2 cm long, bristly-hairy, corolla funnel-shaped, to 6 cm long, pink or reddish-purple, with yellow markings in the throat, with 5 lobes, upper one very broad and to 1.5 cm long, lower 2 to 2.2 cm. The capsule is large, to 15 cm long.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with leaves like Urtica’ (nettles).

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is easily identified by the solitary, broadly ovate, toothed leaf, to 8 cm across, which encircles the long and slender flower-stalk, to 15 cm tall, with a single or few terminal, funnel-shaped, bluish-violet or purplish-red flowers, green-and-white spotted in the throat, with golden-yellow anthers and a white, curved, protruding style. The corolla is distinctly 2-lipped, the lower lip spreading, with 3 ovate lobes, to 5.5 mm long and 3.5 mm wide, the upper lip with 2 smaller ovate lobes, to 2.5 mm long and 3 mm wide.

The generic name is derived from the Greek platys (‘flat’) and stemma (‘crown’, ‘corona’, or ‘flower garland’), alluding to the corolla, whose 3 lower lobes are spreading and flat. The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘violet-like’, alluding to the flowers, which somewhat resemble violets (Viola).

 

 

 

 

 

 

One characteristic of the genus is the asymmetric, long-pointed leaves.

The generic name is derived from the Greek rhynchos (‘beak’) and glossa (‘tongue’), the latter part alluding to the broad, tongue-like lower lip of the corolla, the former perhaps to the narrow corolla tube, or to the pointed petal tips.

 

This plant differs from most other species in the family by flowering late in the autumn. It is very widely distributed, found from Uttarakhand eastwards to southern China and Taiwan, and thence southwards to montane areas in South India, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. In the Himalaya, it grows at altitudes between 600 and 2,800 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘slanting’ or ‘awry’, referring to the asymmetric leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The fruit is highly distinctive, mostly globular, soft, juicy, sometimes brightly coloured or hairy.

The family name stems from an older Latin name of currant, grossulus, which, with the suffix aria, meant ‘resembling a small, unripe fig’. The generic name Ribes was a newer name of currant, derived from Arabic ribas, which, in that language, could mean ‘currant’ as well as ‘rhubarb’.

 

The branches may be smooth or with gland-tipped hairs. The long-stalked leaves are rounded in outline, 3-5-lobed, to 3 cm long and 4 cm broad, downy, especially along veins, base heart-shaped, margin with blunt or sharp teeth. Flowers are axillary, solitary or 2-3 together, to 1 cm long, calyx bell-shaped, greenish or reddish-brown, downy and glandular-hairy, or sometimes hairless, lobes to 7 mm long, petals white, greenish, or pinkish, elliptic or oblong, to 3.5 mm long.

This plant is distributed in drier areas, from Afghanistan eastwards to Bhutan, and also in Central Asia and western China. In the Himalaya, it grows at elevations between 1,000 and 3,900 m. The fruit is edible, and also used for jam, sauces, and wine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is distributed from Afghanistan eastwards to Myanmar and western China, growing at elevations between 1,900 and 4,400 m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distributed from western Nepal eastwards to Bhutan and south-western China, at elevations between 2,600 and 4,200 m.

The specific name honours British physician and botanist William Griffith (1810-1845), who spent most of his adult life in India and Myanmar. After a brief stay in Madras, he was assigned as a surgeon to Tenasserim, Myanmar. During the following years, he explored various parts of Myanmar, Sikkim, and the region around Shimla, north-western Himalaya. Subsequently, he was appointed as surgeon in Malacca, where he died of a parasitic liver disease, only 35 years old.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is found at altitudes between 2,700 and 4,300 m, from Nepal eastwards to Myanmar and the Yunnan Province.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘cut into deep, irregular, pointed lobes’, referring to the leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This species is widely distributed in drier areas, from the Balkans and the Middle East eastwards to south-western China, and from Siberia southwards to the Himalaya, where it is found at elevations between 2,100 and 4,900 m. It is common in Ladakh.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is distributed from Uttarakhand eastwards to Myanmar and western China, at elevations between 2,200 and 4,000 m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These plants are found in south-eastern Europe, Asia, and the Americas, and on some Pacific islands. 4 genera occur in the Himalaya.

The family name is derived from the Greek hydria, from hydor (‘water’), in Ancient Greece a container used for collecting, carrying, and pouring water. The name refers to the cup-shaped capsule of members of the genus Hydrangea.

 

The generic name was applied by Swedish naturalist and physician Carl Peter Thunberg (1743-1828) in honour of Dutch jurist and banker Johann van der Deutz (1743-1784), a keen botanist, who financed the travels of Thunberg to South Africa, Java, and Japan.

 

This species is found in a rather restricted area, from central Nepal eastwards to Bhutan, between 2,100 and 2,700 m altitude.

 

 

 

 

This plant occurs at elevations between 2,000 and 3,500 m, from central Nepal eastwards to Myanmar and the Yunnan province.

The specific name honours British botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker (1817-1911), who described numerous new plant species in the eastern Himalaya (see Rhododendron dalhousiae, Himalayan flora 1).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is widely distributed, from Pakistan eastwards to Bhutan and south-western China, at altitudes between 1,100 and 3,200 m. It is commonest in the western part of the Himalaya. In Nepal, juice of the root is used for fever, and the foliage is cut for fodder. The flowers are offered to gods by Tamang people.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with many stamens’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name, derived from the Greek dis (‘twice’) and chroa (‘colour’), probably refers to the flowers, which are white in bud, but blue when unfolded.

 

Widely distributed, from central Nepal eastwards to southern China and Taiwan, and thence southwards through Southeast Asia to mountains of Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and New Guinea. In the Himalaya, it is found at elevations between 900 and 2,500 m. It is very common in Nepal.

As the specific name implies, derived from the Latin febris (‘fever’) and fugare (‘to expel’), this species is widely utilized to treat fevers, including malaria. In Nepal, root, bark, and young shoots are also used for indigestion, and juice of the leaves for cough, colds, and bronchitis. The wood is cut for fuel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name probably refers to an ancient Greek king, Ptolemaios II (c. 308-246 B.C.), called Ptolemaios Philadelphos (‘Ptolemaios, friend of his siblings’). He was the Pharaoh of Egypt 283-246 B.C.

The English name was given in allusion to the flowers, which somewhat resemble those of Citrus species, and also have a fragrance similar to orange flowers.

 

This species, previously named P. coronarius, is found at elevations between 1,800 and 4,400 m, from Kashmir eastwards to Bhutan and the Yunnan Province.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘having a mass of rough hairs’, alluding to the underside of the leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The major part of the species have yellow flowers. Leaves and flowers are often dotted with glands, though only in a few of the Himalayan species.

The generic name is derived from the Greek hyper (‘above’) and eikon (‘picture’), alluding to an old belief, that if these plants were hung above pictures, they would ward off evil spirits.

The popular name refers to Saint John the Baptist. In the Middle Ages, the blood-red juice of some species was seen as a symbol of the blood from the Saint’s beheading. John the Baptist had reproached King Herod for marrying his brother’s wife Herodias, hereby incurring Herodias’ wrath. Cunningly, her daughter persuaded the king to promise her anything she wanted, and, on request from her mother, she asked for John the Baptist’s head on a tray. (Mark, 6:18-28)

 

Distributed at elevations between 1,600 and 4,800 m, from Pakistan eastwards to Myanmar and the Yunnan Province. In Nepal, it is cut for fodder, and juice of the root is taken for fever.

The specific name commemorates Swiss clergyman and botanist Jacques Denys Choisy (1799-1859).

H. hookerianum is very similar, but has rounded branches and blunt sepals. It is distributed from central Nepal eastwards to northern Indochina, at elevations between 1,500 and 3,400 m. It also occurs in montane areas of South India.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is endemic to central Nepal, found at elevations between 900 and 1,900 m. It is common in Helambu. Juice of the plant is used for menstrual problems, juice of the root for diarrhoea and dysentery. Juice of the bark is applied to dislocated bones. The flowers are often brought as offerings at Hindu and Buddhist shrines.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with heart-shaped leaves’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distributed from Kashmir eastwards to Myanmar and southern China, at elevations between 1,200 and 3,500 m. In Nepal, the plant is cut for fodder, and a paste of the root is used for fever.

The specific name might mean ‘resembling Elodea’, but as members of the genus Elodea are water plants with grass-like leaves, the connection is hard to see.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is quite common in the Himalaya, found at altitudes between 1,500 and 3,000 m. It is distributed from Himachal Pradesh eastwards to Korea and Japan, and thence southwards through Southeast Asia to Indonesia, the Philippines, New Guinea, Australia, and New Zealand. It also occurs in southern India and Sri Lanka.

In Nepal, juice of the plant is used for asthma and dysentery, juice of the root for headache and fever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This species is found at elevations between 800 and 2,100 m, from Pakistan eastwards to central Nepal. It is common in Uttarakhand.

In Nepal, juice of the leaves is used against snakebite, and the foliage is cut for fodder. The flowers are often brought as offerings at Hindu shrines.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with leaves broadest above the middle’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name was applied in 1759 by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778), taken from a name established in 1611 by French physician and botanist Paul Reneaulme (c. 1560-1624) for a superficially similar species of the genus Gagea, from Ancient Greek hypo (‘under’) and oxys (‘sharp’), thus ‘a little sharp’, alluding to the taste of the leaves of that plant.

The common names allude to the star-shaped flowers, star-grass also to the grass-like leaves. An African species, H. hemerocallidea, often called African potato, is an important ingredient in traditional medicine.

 

This species occurs in the entire Himalaya, growing in open grasslands at elevations between 1,500 and 2,900 m. It has a very wide distribution, from Pakistan eastwards to Korea and Japan, and thence southwards to the Philippines, Indonesia, and New Guinea.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘golden’, referring to the flower colour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The flower structure of these plants is unique. The flowers are borne in axils of 2-3 bracts, the spathes. Petals 6, often strongly coloured, separated into 3 outer, spreading or curved falls, and 3 inner, usually erect standards, which are fused to form the corolla-tube. In the centre, falls may have a ridge, the crest, or a tuft of hairs, the beard. The fruit is a large capsule, splitting length-wise.

These plants are poisonous, and therefore avoided by grazing animals, often forming large growths in high-altitude meadows and grazing grounds.

The genus is named for Iris, the Greek goddess of the rainbow, undoubtedly because of the colourful flowers of many species.

 

Distributed at elevations between 2,300 and 4,300 m, from central Nepal eastwards to Myanmar and the Yunnan Province. In Nepal, a paste of the root is applied to wounds.

The specific name honours British botanist Charles Baron Clarke (1832-1906), who was Inspector of Schools in Eastern Bengal and later of India, and superintendent of Calcutta Botanical Garden 1869-1871. He described many Himalayan plants new to science. After retiring from the Indian Civil Service in 1887, he worked at Kew Royal Botanic Gardens in London until his death in 1906.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant, previously known as I. nepalensis, is found from Pakistan eastwards to Myanmar and south-western China, at altitudes between 1,800 and 4,000 m. In Nepal, the root is used for skin problems.

The specific name is derived from the Latin decus, genitive decoris (‘having grace, splendor, ornament’).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Found at elevations between 3,000 and 4,400 m, from western Nepal eastwards to Myanmar and western China. It is prominent in Upper Langtang Valley, central Nepal.

The specific name is derived from the Greek gonia (‘angle’) and carpos (‘fruit’), referring to the 3-angled fruit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Found at elevations between 2,500 and 4,300 m, from Pakistan eastwards to Arunachal Pradesh and south-eastern Tibet. It is very common in Nepal, where leaves and root are used medicinally. The leaves are also cut and dried for fodder.

The specific name was applied by Danish physician and botanist Nathaniel Wallich (1786-1854), who studied the Indian and Himalayan flora in the early 1800s. In those days, the district of Kumaon, in present-day Uttarakhand, was a kingdom, known as Kemaon or Kamaon. Presumably, the type specimen was collected in this area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This species is distributed from Kashmir eastwards to Uttarakhand, at altitudes between 1,600 and 2,700 m. Plants from the Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces in China, ascribed to this species, are probably an undescribed species, as such a disjunct distribution is unlikely. (Source: Flora of China)

The specific name was given in honour of an Englishman, Frank Miles, who introduced this species into cultivation around 1880, grown from seeds collected by his cousin in the Kulu District, Himachal Pradesh. (Source: W. Dykes 2009. Handbook of Garden Irises)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inflorescences are in pendent spikes, and the fruit is a winged nutlet.

The generic name commemorates Nicolaus Engelhard (1761-1831), Dutch businessman and colonial governor of Java.

 

Distributed from Pakistan eastwards to southern China, and thence southwards through Southeast Asia to Indonesia and the Philippines, in the Himalaya found at elevations between 400 and 2,100 m.

In Nepal, the bark is used as fibers, and for tanning. The leaves are strewn in streams to stupefy fish, and they are also utilized as manure.

The specific name alludes to the inflorescences.

Previously, a variety of this species, var. colebrookiana, was regarded as a separate species, E. colebrookiana, named in honour of British orientalist and mathematician Henry Thomas Colebrooke (1765-1837), who has been described as “the first great Sanskrit scholar in Europe”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Male flowers are in pendent catkins, females in short spikes. The fruit is a drupe, with a hard inner shell, containing the nut.

The generic name is the classical Latin name of the walnut tree, derived from Iovis (the god Jupiter) and glans (‘acorn’), thus ‘Jupiter’s acorn’.

 

In the wild, this tree is distributed from south-eastern Europe eastwards across the Middle East to the Himalaya and China. In the Himalaya, it grows at elevations between 1,500 and 3,300 m.

Elsewhere, it is widely cultivated for the edible nuts. Oil is also extracted from the nuts, used for cooking or illumination. The wood is utilized for construction, furniture, and utensils. In the Himalaya, the foliage is stored as winter fodder. In Nepal, juice of the bark is taken against intestinal worms, and the oil cake is applied to the forehead to treat headache. The leaves are astringent and tonic. The nuts are eaten to treat asthma. Bark and unripe fruits are used for tanning and dyeing, and also strewn in rivers to stupefy fish.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘royal’, naturally alluding to the splendour of this tree.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flowers are in dense terminal heads, or in a branched cluster, and the leaves are grass-like.

The generic name is derived from iuncus, the classical Latin name of rushes.

Historically, these plants received little attention from botanists. In 1819, British botanist James Ebenezer Bicheno (1785-1851), who was colonial secretary of Tasmania from 1842 until his death in 1851, described the genus as “obscure and uninviting”. (Source: J.E. Bicheno 1819. Observations on the Linnean genus Juncus, with the characters of those species, which have been found growing wild in Great Britain. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London 12 (2): 291-337)

 

 

 

 

 

This species grows in humid places in grasslands and shrubberies at elevations between 3,000 and 4,200 m, from Uttarakhand eastwards across the Himalaya and Tibet to northern Myanmar and western China.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Members of this family are characterized by their flowers, which are bilaterally symmetrical, with the petals typically fused into an upper lip and a lower lip, hence the alternative family name Labiatae, from the Latin labia (lip).

 

The generic name in fact stems from a writing error. It should have been abiga, from abigo (‘to force birth’ or ‘to cause an abortion’), alluding to the yellow bugle (A. chamaepitys), which was used medicinally to induce an abortion. The common name was given in reference to the tubular flowers.

 

It is distributed from central Nepal eastwards to Myanmar, south-eastern Tibet, and south-western China, growing at elevations between 1,500 and 3,300 m.

The specific name presumably alludes to the lobes on the leaves, or perhaps on the flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek kalos (‘beautiful’) and karpos (‘fruit’), like the common name alluding to the colourful berries of some species.

These plants were previously included in the family Verbenaceae.

 

Found from Kashmir eastwards to China, southwards to Sri Lanka, Indochina, the Philippines, New Guinea, and north-eastern Australia. In the Himalaya, it grows from the lowlands up to elevations around 2,000 m.

Fruits are edible and sweet. In Nepal, this species is used for a wide varity of ailments. Root and fruits are chewed to treat rashes and boils on the tongue. A paste of the root is taken for fever, juice of the root for indigestion. Inner bark is pounded and applied to cuts and wounds. A heated leaf is pressed on areas with rheumatism. A decoction of the leaves is taken for diarrhoea and dysentery, the juice for gastric trouble. Juice of ripe fruit is given for indigestion and fever. The wood is used as fuel, and the leaves are gathered for fodder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is explained in various ways. It is derived from Ancient Greek kleros, which is usually translated as ‘clergy’, alluding to the usage of these plants for religious purposes in Asia. However, it may also mean ‘chance’ or ‘fate’, referring to the considerable variation in reports of the usefulness of the genus in traditional medicine. The second part of the name is derived from Ancient Greek dendron (‘tree’).

 

This species is very common, found from the Indian Subcontinent eastwards across Indochina to southern China, and also in the Philippines. In the Himalaya, it grows up to elevations around 1,500 m.

In traditional Ayurvedic medicine, root and bark are used for respiratory problems, fever, cough, and asthma. The root is also used as a laxative, and to kill fly larvae in wounds. A paste of root and leaves is used for skin diseases. Juice of the leaves is used for diarrhoea, liver disorders, wounds, fever, ulcers, and swellings, and also to expel intestinal worms, and rid livestock of lice. In India, it is used for snake bites and scorpion stings. In traditional Thai medicine, leaves and root are used as a diuretic, and to treat internal infections and kidney problems. In Nepal, the juice is dripped into the eyes of cattle to treat conjunctivitis.

In Nepal, the leaves are used as a potherb.

The specific name was applied by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778), allegedly because he found its leaves rather ugly. The plant is called C. viscosum by some authorities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

According to Kew Gardens, the genus has an almost cosmopolitan distribution, except for the polar regions and Australia. 3 species occur in the Himalaya.

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek klinopodion, from kline (‘bed’) and podion (‘little foot’), thus ‘little foot of a bed’, maybe alluding to the square stem of wild basil (C. vulgare).

 

Stems spreading, soft-haired, woody at the base, slender, to 90 cm tall, leaves narrowly elliptic, to 3 cm long, margin with small teeth. Inflorescences borne at the end of the leafy stems, in one-sided whorls, corolla mostly violet, sometimes reddish-purple, corolla tube slender, to 2 cm long, lower lip with broad lobes. Calyx dark purple, about 7 mm long, with long-pointed teeth.

The specific name is derived from the Latin piper (‘pepper’). The leaves are probably sharp-tasting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is widely distributed, from the Caucasus eastwards to eastern China, Japan, and Taiwan, southwards to Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, growing in a variety of habitats, including forests and farmland. In the Himalaya, it is found at altitudes between 1,000 and 3,400 m.

In Nepal, juice of the leaves is applied to wounds.

The specific name is derived from the Latin umbra (‘shadow’), thus ‘growing where there is shade’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It has a vast distribution, found in the entire Europe, northern Africa, the Middle East, and in Siberia eastwards to Yakutia, and has also become naturalized in North America. In the Himalaya, it occurs from Pakistan eastwards to central Nepal, growing at elevations between 1,800 and 3,300 m. It is common in Kashmir.

In traditional medicine, this plant has been used as an astringent, a cardiac stimulant, an expectorant, to reduce flatulence, to increase perspiration, and to heal wounds. The leaves are used to make herbal tea, and in food dishes, and a brown and a yellow dye are obtained from them.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘common’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is a shrub to 5 m tall, much branched, densely silky-hairy on twigs, leaf-stalks, and inflorescences. Leaves large, to 20 cm long and 7 cm wide, long-pointed, almost entire with tiny rounded teeth, woolly-haired below. Flowers tiny, white, to 3 mm long, forming dense axillary and terminal panicles, to 15 cm long.

This plant is widely used in traditional medicine. In Nepal, juice of the root is given for epilepsy, bloody cough, and peptic ulcer. Boiled in water, the root is also drunk to expel intestinal worms. A paste of the root is applied for body pain and sprains. Juice of the bark is used for fever and indigestion. The hairy leaves are applied to wounds to stop bleeding. Juice of the leaves is applied to wounds as an antiseptic, taken for fever and headache, and also to expel worms. It is dripped into the eyes of cattle with conjunctivitis. A paste of the leaves is used for dysentery. Juice of the flower buds is used for gastric problems and sinusitis. Elsewhere, it is used for skin problems, such as ringworm. The foliage used for fodder, dried branches as fuel, and the flowers are brought as offerings in Hindu shrines.

The genus was named in honour of British orientalist and mathematician Henry Thomas Colebrooke (1765-1837), who has been described as “the first great Sanskrit scholar in Europe”. The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with opposite leaves’. An alternative English name is squirrel’s tail, alluding to the fuzzy inflorescences.

Superficially, Elsholtzia fruticosa (below) is similar, but its leaves have sharp teeth along the margin, and the infloresences are only sparsely hairy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek koleos (‘a sheath’), referring to the manner in which the stamens are united.

 

It is distributed in eastern Africa, from Ethiopia southwards to Tanzania, in southern Arabia, the Indian Subcontinent, southern China, and Indochina. In the Himalaya, it is found at elevations between 1,200 and 2,400 m.

In Ayurvedic medicine, this species is utilized for heart disease, convulsions, and painful urination. In Nepal, the nutlets are used in pickles.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘bearded’, alluding to the bristly-hairy stem and calyx.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The genus was named for Robert David Colquhoun, 12th Baronet (1786-1838), who served in the British Indian Army. He was a keen plant collector and early patron of the Calcutta Botanical Gardens.

 

This plant is found from Kashmir eastwards to Indochina and south-western China, growing at elevations between 1,200 and 4,200 m. It is widely cultivated elsewhere as an ornamental. Locally, the plant is used for fodder, and leaves and flowers are used as incense. Children sometimes suck the nectar out of the flowers.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘scarlet’, naturally alluding to the flower colour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek drakon (‘dragon’, ‘serpent’) and kephale (‘head’), alluding to the flower shape.

 

A plant of steppe and rocky areas in Central Asia, distributed southwards to the northern fringes of the Himalaya, found at elevations between 3,000 and 5,500 m. It is quite common in Ladakh.

An essential oil is extracted from this species, used in cosmetics. It is threatened due to overgrazing.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek heteros (‘different’) and phyllon (‘leaf’), thus ‘with differently shaped leaves’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name honours Prussian botanist and physician Johann Sigismund Elsholtz (1623-1688), who was a pioneer in the fields of hygiene and nutrition. The name was applied by German botanist and pharmacist Carl Ludwig Willdenow (1765-1812), who was one of the founders of the study of the geographic distribution of plants.

Several species are used medicinally in the Himalaya for various ailments, including cough, colds, wounds, and scabies.

Some pictures, depicting unidentified Elsholtzia species, are presented below. I would be happy to receive information on them. You can use the address at the bottom of the page.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It grows on slopes and river plains from Pakistan and Tibet eastwards to Gansu, Sichuan, and Yunnan Provinces, at altitudes between 3,500 and 4,600 m. It is quite common in Ladakh.

Locally, the leaves are eaten as salad, and the seeds are chewed for cough and colds.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek, meaning ‘with woolly spikes’, which is odd, as they are not particularly hairy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is distributed from Uttarakhand eastwards to Myanmar and western China, growing at altitudes between 1,000 and 2,900 m.

In Nepal, crushed leaves are applied to scabies. The seeds are edible, raw or pickled.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘yellow’, alluding to the flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is found from Pakistan eastwards across the Himalaya to Myanmar and western China, growing at elevations between 1,200 and 3,800 m. It is common in Nepal.

Oil from the seeds is edible. In Nepal, powdered seeds are used as a flavouring agent in food, and a powder made from the plant is burned as incense. Juice of the root is taken to relieve headache.

The specific name is derived from the Latin frutex (‘bush’) and the suffix osus (‘resembling’), thus ‘shrubby’.

Superficially, Colebrookea oppositifolia (above) is similar, but has almost entire leaves and densely woolly spikes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek erion (‘wool’) and phyton (‘plant’), referring to the dense layer of hairs in E. wallichii (below).

 

It is distributed from western Nepal eastwards to the Yunnan Province, northwards across Tibet to Qinghai, at elevations between 2,700 and 5,400 m. The hairyness is an adaptation to retain heat and diminish evaporation in the cold surroundings at this high altitude.

A tonic is made from the root.

The specific name honours Danish physician and botanist Nathaniel Wallich (1786-1854), who studied the Indian and Himalayan flora in the early 1800s, describing many species new to science.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek isos (‘equal’) and odous (‘tooth’), alluding to the 5 equal lobes of the calyx of most species in the genus.

 

It is distributed from Afghanistan eastwards along the Himalaya to south-western China, with an isolated occurrence in Oman. In the Himalaya, it is quite common in drier areas, found at altitudes between 1,000 and 2,700 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘wrinkled’, referring to the leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is from the Greek lamia (‘gaping mouth’), alluding to the shape of the flowers. The common name refers to the nettle-like leaves, which do not sting.

 

This species is widespread in temperate areas of Eurasia, in the Himalaya restricted to the western part, eastwards to central Nepal, growing at elevations between 1,500 and 3,700 m.

Young leaves are edible, and the flowers are used medicinally.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘white’, alluding to the flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stems to 40 cm tall, branched from the base, erect or ascending, angular, softly hairy, leaves opposite, lower ones short-stalked, kidney-shaped or rounded, to 3 cm across, margin with rounded teeth or sometimes lobed. Upper leaves smaller, sessile, stem-clasping. Flowers are arranged in axillary whorls with 6-10 flowers, calyx tubular or bell-shaped, to 5 mm long, densely hairy, teeth lanceolate, to 2 mm long. Corolla pink, reddish or purplish, to 2 cm long, downy, tube to 1.5 cm long.

All green parts and flowers can be eaten raw or cooked. It has a slightly peppery taste, similar to celery.

The specific name is derived from the Latin amplexus (‘clasped’) and‎ caulis (‘stem’), referring to the upper leaves clasping the stem. The name henbit was first used by English herbalist John Gerard (c. 1545-1612), who published a large work on herbal medicine, Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes. The word is a corruption of the Dutch hoenderbeet (‘hen’s morsel’), alluding to hens eating the plant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is a Latinized form of Ancient Greek leon (’lion’) and oura (’tail’), thus ‘lion’s tail’, which is also a popular English name. It is not clear, why Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) applied this name to the common motherwort (below).

 

A tall plant, growing to a height of 1.5 m, stem angular, leaves very variable, ovate or lanceolate, usually with 3-7 deeply cut lobes, but sometimes undivided, nettle-like, to 8 cm long, gradually getting smaller up the stem. The inflorescense is a very long, leafy spike of interrupted axillary whorls, flowers pink, mauve or pure white, corolla to 1.2 cm long, hairy, calyx with 5 spreading, spine-tipped teeth.

Motherwort has a long history as a medical herb. Since the Middle Ages, it was used in Europe for heart palpitations and high blood pressure. In China, it was used to prevent pregnancy and to regulate menstruation, and in Europe, midwives used it for various female disorders, including uterine infection – hence the name motherwort. Same usage was found among American natives of the Delaware area.

In his delightful book All about Weeds, American botanist Edwin Spencer (1881-1964) writes: “Here’s sumpin’ you art to know,” said an old midwife to a young bride, as the two of them stood looking at a tall mint, growing by the garden fence. “This is motherwort.”

Today, motherwort is used to suppress spasms. As a tonic, it is taken for palpitations and irregular heartbeat, and for fever, nervousness, and delirium. It is also used to ease stomach gas.

In Nepal, the juice is utilized to induce sweating and to regulate digestion. Pounded leaves are applied to fungi between the toes, caused by walking barefoot in water during the rainy season.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek kardia (‘heart’), alluding to its usage for heart problems.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek leukos (‘white’). It refers to the flower colour, which is white in the majority of the species, rarely yellow, purple, brownish, or scarlet.

 

It is distributed in the Himalaya, from Kashmir eastwards to Sikkim, growing at elevations between 700 and 3,000 m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is found from Uttarakhand eastwards to western China, southwards to Bangladesh and northern Indochina. In the Himalaya, it grows at altitudes between 1,500 and 2,600 m.

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek leukos (‘white’) and skeptron (‘scepter’), alluding to the shape of the inflorescence. The specific name is derived from the Latin canis (‘dog’) – perhaps a derogatory term.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most of these plants are found in wet environments. Identification is often difficult, as many species hybridize.

The generic name is a Latinized version of minthe, the Ancient Greek word for these plants.

 

This species is native to the major part of Europe eastwards to central Siberia, and thence southwards to the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, the Himalaya, and China, and to northern, eastern, and southern Africa, avoiding tropical areas. In the Himalaya, it is found at altitudes between 1,500 and 3,800 m, from Pakistan eastwards to central Nepal, restricted to wetlands in dry regions.

The plant has a peppermint-like fragrance and contains medicinal properties. In his Complete Herbal, from 1653, English herbalist Nicholas Culpeper (1616-1654) writes: “It is good for wind and colic in the stomach … The juice, laid on warm, helps the King’s evil [scrofula] or kernels in the throat [tonsil stones] … The decoction or distilled water helps a stinking breath, proceeding from corruption of the teeth, and snuffed up the nose, purges the head. It helps the scurf or dandruff of the head used with vinegar.”

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘long-leaved’. The prefix horse is from Middle English, denoting a coarse variety of a plant, in this case presumably indicating its inferior quality to that of peppermint (M. x piperata).

M. royleana, which grows in the same areas, is very similar, but the inflorescences are in separated whorls towards the end of stems.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

According to Wiktionary, micromeria means ‘an unusually small cell, formed by unequal cleavage of a fertilized ovum’. However, the name may simply refer to the tiny leaves of several species.

 

This plant may constitute several species. In its broadest sense, it is distributed in Africa, southern Arabia, the Middle East, and the Indian Subcontinent. In the Himalaya, it is found at elevations between 1,000 and 4,000 m.

A paste made from the plant is used for various ailments, including wounds, sinusitis, toothache, dysentery, colds, and cough. Fresh or dried leaves and flowers are used as a flavouring agent and as tea, and an oil extracted from the plant for flavouring liqueur. The dried plant is burned as incense.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘two-flowered’, alluding to the flowers often coming in pairs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the classical Latin name of these plants, maybe originally derived from Etruscan nepete, referring to an ancient city named Nepi.

This genus is notoriously difficult, and I have only been able to identify a few species. Below are a number of pictures of unidentified species. If you are able to identify any of them, I should be happy to hear about it. You can use the address at the bottom of the page.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This species grows in forests and on open slopes, from Pakistan eastwards to Uttarakhand, at altitudes between 2,100 and 3,600 m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This species is distributed from Xinjiang southwards through Tibet to Pakistan, Ladakh, and Uttarakhand, at altitudes between 2,100 and 4,400 m. It is common in Ladakh, especially where mountain slopes have been eroded to gravel.

In former days, it was used medicinally for bone fractures, muscular pains, skin infections, and lymphatic disorders. The leaves can be used as a spice.

The specific name is derived from the Latin floccus (‘a tuft’, ‘a wisp of wool’) and the suffix osus (‘full of’), presumably referring to the woolly leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This species is found at elevations between 2,300 and 4,500 m, from Afghanistan eastwards across southern Tibet and northern parts of the Himalaya to Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces.

In local medicine, it is used against excessive transpiration.

 

 

 

 

 

It grows on stony or gravelly slopes, from Tajikistan eastwards to Xinjiang, and thence southwards through Tibet to Pakistan, Ladakh, and Himachal Pradesh, at elevations between 4,400 and 5,300 m.

The plant is used for stomach and liver trouble, and oedema. An aromatic oil is extracted from it.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with long bracts’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name is derived from the Greek pous (‘foot’) and stakhys (‘spike’, originally meaning ‘an ear of grain’). The inflorescence is a spike, but terminal, so it is hard to see what ‘foot’ refers to.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek origanon, from oros (‘mountain’) and ganos (‘brightness’), thus ‘brightness of the mountain’.

 

This plant was originally native to Central Asia and the Mediterranean region, but has become widely naturalized elsewhere in temperate areas. In the Himalaya, it is found from Pakistan eastwards to Bhutan, at elevations between 600 and 4,000 m.

Leaves and flowers are used for tea, as a spice, and as incense. Leaves and seeds are pickled. In Nepal, the plant is utilized for treatment of diarrhoea, colic, rheumatism, and toothache, and ash from the bark is applied to wounds.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘common’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek siphon (‘tube’) and orthos (‘erect’), alluding to the long corolla tube.

 

Distributed from central Nepal eastwards to Bhutan, growing at altitudes between 400 and 2,000 m.

Juice of the plant is used for treatment of malaria.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘bent’, alluding to the often bent corolla tube.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name was given in honour of a Russian general, Count Vasily Alekseevich Perovsky (1794-1857).

 

It occurs from eastern Iran and Turkmenistan eastwards to Tibet, growing at elevations between 2,700 and 3,600 m. It is very common in Ladakh.

The entire plant has a strong smell. It was formerly used in traditional medicine as a cooling agent.

The specific name refers to an aromatic shrub, Artemisia abrotanum, the latter name derived from abrotonon, the Ancient Greek name of a species of wormwood (Artemisia). It is not clear what the likeness refers to.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inflorescences of these plants are very characteristic, being arranged in dense whorls at intervals up the angular stem.

The generic name is derived from the Greek floga (‘flame’), probably referring to the former usage of the hairy leaves of members of the genus as lamp wicks.

 

This is the commonest member of the genus in the Himalaya, growing in open areas at altitudes between 1,200 and 4,100 m, from Afghanistan eastwards to south-western China.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This variable plant is distributed from Iran eastwards across the Himalaya to Bhutan, at elevations between 2,400 and 4,000 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘large-leaved’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are 4-6 rounded, rhombic, or kidney-shaped, wrinkled, hairy leaves, to 13 cm across, with deeply impressed veins, margin with rounded teeth. Inflorescence in a dense cluster at the centre of the leaves, to 7 cm long, usually stemless, but sometimes on a stem to 15 cm tall. Corolla purplish-blue, reddish-purple, or mauve, to 1.5 cm long, with long white hairs along the edge of the upper lip, and also a few on the lower lip. Calyx hairy, to 8 mm long, with sharp bristles.

This species grows on stony alpine meadows and along streams at elevations between 2,700 and 5,200 m, from Tibet and western Nepal eastwards to Bhutan and the Chinese provinces of Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan, and Yunnan.

The plant is utilized in traditional medicine for traumatic problems.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘moving in a circle on a central axis’, naturally alluding to the outline of the leaves around the inflorescence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Greek pogon (‘beard’) and stemon (‘thread’), alluding to the hairy filaments.

 

It is widespread in the Indian Subcontinent, in the Himalaya found up to an elevation of about 1,300 m. It is also cultivated elsewhere for its medicinal properties. In Nepal, juice of the plant is given for cough and colds, juice of the root for fever. In India, juice of the leaves is applied to repel leeches, dried shoots are used for flavoring country liquor, and leaves and flowers are made into garlands. It is also an important bee plant.

The specific name means ‘of Bengal’ – in the British colonial period indicating a much larger area of northern India than the present-day Bengal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name, formerly spelt Brunella, is from the German name of these plants, Braunelle, referring to the usage of common self-heal (below) against quinsy, in German Bräune. The common names also refer to the medicinal properties of the plant.

 

This species is probably a native of Temperate Eurasia and North Africa, but has become widely naturalized, especially in North America. In the Himalaya, it is found from Pakistan eastwards to Bhutan, at elevations between 1,200 and 3,800 m.

In his delightful book All about Weeds, American botanist Edwin Spencer (1881-1964) writes: “It is a strange plant in that one seldom finds it in abundance anywhere, and yet it is found everywhere. A man, who had spent seven years in Japan, and who had lived on nearly every island in the archipelago, said that he never failed to find this little plant wherever he went, and that although he had been in many nations of the world he had never entered one, where Prunella was not present to greet him – not many plants, but always enough to attract his attention.”

Previously, it was widely used in traditional medicine. Among American natives, persons with fever were bathed in a decoction of the plant, and the decoction was also drunk to sharpen your vision. Today, self-heal is widely used for wounds and quinsy, and also for swollen eyes and glands. In Nepal, a paste of the plant is applied to an aching back.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘common’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek karyon (‘nut’, ‘kernel’), and pteron (‘wing’), alluding to the winged seeds, and pseudes (‘false’), referring to the fact that the plant has been removed from the genus Caryopteris.

 

This handsome plant has large clusters of bluish, fragrant flowers at the end of spreading, 4-angled branches. The leaves are elliptic, pointed, entire or toothed, to 15 cm long and 4 cm broad. Flowers are in dense terminal or axillary clusters, bluish-purple, fragrant, corolla tube to 8 mm, hairy, glandular, the lobes to 8 mm long. Stamens and style are much exserted. Calyx is densely hairy. The fruit is a capsule, more or less globular, to 4 mm across, hairy, dark blue when ripe.

The plant is lopped for fodder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Latin salvere (‘to make well or healthy’), referring to the healing properties of the common sage (S. officinalis).

 

This plant is found from Uttarakhand eastwards to Myanmar and south-western China, growing at elevations between 1,500 and 4,000 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘bell-shaped’, derived from campanula (‘little bell’).

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is an erect herb, to 70 cm tall, hairy, leaves short-stalked, ovate, heart-shaped, or triangular, to 5 cm long and 4 cm broad, margin toothed, tip pointed. Inflorescences in widely spaced, terminal racemes. Calyx green, bell-shaped, to 9 mm long, downy and glandular-hairy, 2-lipped. Corolla scarlet or deep red, to 2.3 cm long, lower lip broad, to 8.5 mm wide, upper lip smaller.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘scarlet’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is distributed from Pakistan eastwards to Bhutan, growing at altitudes between 2,400 and 4,000 m.

In Nepal, the sweet-tasting flowers are eaten, and also the seeds when roasted. Young stems are pickled.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘gaping’, alluding to the flower shape.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is found in open areas of the western Himalaya, from Pakistan eastwards to western Nepal, at elevations between 1,500 and 3,000 m.

The specific name, derived from the Latin lana (‘wool’) and atus (a suffix), refers to the woolly leaves. Locally, the plant is cooked as a vegetable, and also used in salads.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This species is distributed from eastern Afghanistan eastwards to Bhutan, growing at elevations between 2,100 and 4,300 m. Previously, it was regarded as a subspecies of the sticky sage (S. glutinosa), which is found in western Asia and southern Europe.

In Nepal, the seeds are roasted and pickled. Juice of the root is given for fever.

The specific name is derived from the Latin nubes (‘cloud’) and colo (‘to inhabit’), alluding to the high altitudes this plant is growing at.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name was previously regarded as a derivation of scutellum, diminutive of scutum (’shield’). It was thought that it referred to the hump on the upper lip of the calyx, which may resemble a small shield. However, Scutellaria is derived from scutella, which was the term for a small offering cup, scutella being the diminutive of scutra (’bowl’). The name refers to the rounded lower lip of the calyx, where the nut-like seeds lie in a small ‘bowl’, after the upper lip of the calyx has fallen off.

 

Widely distributed from India eastwards to central China, and thence southwards through Southeast Asia to Indonesia. In the Himalaya, it is found from Uttarakhand eastwards, at elevations between 800 and 2,400 m.

In Nepal, juice of the plant is applied to wounds between toes, and also used for fever. Juice of the root is used for indigestion, gastric problems, and fever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distributed from Kashmir eastwards to eastern Nepal and southern Tibet, at elevations between 1,200 and 2,400 m.

In Nepal, juice of the plant is given for fever and stomach ache, applied to wounds, and dripped into the ear to relieve earache. Juice of the root is applied to an aching back.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘climbing’, alluding to its rambling habit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is from Ancient Greek stachys (‘an ear of grain’), referring to the inflorescence, which is often a spike, like in many species of grain. The popular name woundwort refers to the former usage of several species in this genus for healing wounds, hedge-nettle to the nettle-like leaves of many of the species.

 

This plant is distributed from Afghanistan eastwards to Bhutan, growing at altitudes between 2,100 and 4,000 m.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek serikos (‘seric’, ‘silken’), alluding to the woolly-hairy stem and leaf stalks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This species grows in rocky areas at altitudes between 2,100 and 4,500 m, from western Tibet southwards to Pakistan and Ladakh. It is common in Ladakh.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Members of this genus are characterized by the absent or very short upper lip of the corolla, whereas the lower lip is 5-lobed.

The generic name was used by Greek physician, pharmacologist, and botanist Pedanius Dioscorides (died 90 A.D.) for several species in this genus. It is believed to refer to King Teukros of Troy who used the plant medicinally.

The popular name is Middle English, from the Latin germandra, derived from Ancient Greek khamaidrus (‘ground oak’), from khamai (‘on the ground’) and drus (‘oak’), alluding to the leaves of some species, which were thought to resemble oak leaves.

 

This plant is widely distributed, from India eastwards to central and southern China, and thence southwards through Indochina to Sumatra. In the Himalaya, it is mainly found at altitudes between 900 and 2,400 m.

In Nepal, juice of the plant is applied to wounds between toes.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘fourfold’. It may refer to the angular stem.

 

 

 

 

 

 

These plants are fragrant, mostly creeping dwarf shrubs. Leaves and flowers of some species are used as a spice.

 

It is distributed from Afghanistan across Tibet and the Himalaya to northern China and Japan, in the Himalaya growing at elevations between 1,500 and 4,300 m.

In Nepal, leaves and flowers are used as a spice, and made into pickles. They are also burned as incense. Juice of the plant is used for stomach and liver trouble and body ache, water from the boiled plant to expel intestinal worms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name was given in honour of English traveller and orientalist George Thomas Staunton (1781-1859), 2nd Baronet, who was the first person to bring S. latifolia (below) to Britain from China.

Initially, the genus was named Holboellia by Danish physician and botanist Nathaniel Wallich (1786-1854), who studied the Indian and Himalayan flora in the early 1800s. The name honoured Frederik Ludvig Holbøll (1765-1829), superintendent of the Royal Botanical Garden in Copenhagen.

 

This species is distributed from Pakistan eastwards to south-western China, found at altitudes between 1,500 and 4,000 m.

It was cultivated as an ornamental at an early stage. In the Himalaya, ripe fruits are eaten raw.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘broad-leaved’. The popular name was given in reference to the shape of the fruit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The position and number of veins on the leaves is a helpful means of identifying the genus.

 

About 6 species occur in the Himalaya, besides others which are cultivated, including the camphor tree (C. camphora), presented on the page Plants: Ancient and huge trees.

The generic name is derived from the Ancient Greek name of cinnamon, kinnamomon, derived from a Semitic language, and perhaps ultimately based on the Malay name of these plants.

 

It is distributed from Kashmir eastwards along the Himalaya to Myanmar and the Yunnan Province, growing at elevations between 500 and 2,100 m.

In Nepal, bark and leaves are added to curries and pickles, and dried bark and leaves are used medicinally to treat diarrhoea and colic.

The specific name is the ancient Sanskrit name of this tree. According to the Devi-Bhagavata-Purana, it is the name of a tree, growing in the abode of the shaktis (the female consorts of the superior gods). It always bears flowers, fruits, and new leaves, and their sweet fragrance is spread to all corners of the abode.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This species is quite common, found from Uttarakhand eastwards to Myanmar, south-eastern Tibet, and south-western China, growing at elevations between 1,500 and 2,900 m.

The foliage is often lopped for fodder.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘large-flowered’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name was applied in 1783 by Swedish naturalist and physician Carl Peter Thunberg (1743-1828) to commemorate Swedish botanist and physician Johan Linder (1676-1724), also known as Johan Lindestolpe, whose best-known botanical work was Flora Wiksbergensis (1716), the fourth printed account of a local Swedish flora.

 

It is widespread, found from Uttarakhand eastwards along the Himalaya to northern Thailand and central China. In the Himalaya, it grows at altitudes between 1,200 and 2,800 m. It is common in Nepal.

The wood is used for fuel, the foliage for fodder.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘most beautiful’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name was applied by English botanist and gardener Philip Miller (1691-1771). It may refer to the country Persia, or to an Ancient Greek word, alluding to an uncertain Egyptian tree, possibly Cordia myxa or a Mimusops species. The connection is obscure.

 

It is distributed from Pakistan eastwards to Bhutan, growing at elevations between 1,500 and 2,100 m.

In Nepal, a red dye is extracted from the bark, the foliage is used as fodder for silkworms and domestic animals, the wood for construction and firewood.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘most sweet-smelling’.

P. duthiei is very similar, but the inflorescences are downy-hairy, and the fruit is globular. It occurs from Pakistan to eastern Nepal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These plants capture small animals by means of bladder-like traps. There are aquatic as well as terrestrial species, the former catching larger prey like water fleas and nematodes, the latter tiny organisms like protozoa and rotifers. The pressure inside the bladder is negative, compared to its surroundings. When trigger hairs on the trapdoor is touched by a tiny animal, the prey, along with the water around it, is sucked into the bladder, whereupon the door closes again, the whole procedure lasting only 1/10,000th of a second.

The generic name is Latin, meaning something like ‘the master of a raft, floating on bladders’, from utriculus (‘a small leather container’), from uter (‘a leather container, sometimes used as a float’).

Other members of the genus are presented on the page Plants: Carnivorous plants.

 

It is distributed at altitudes between 1,500 and 4,200 m, found from central Nepal eastwards to the Chinese provinces Sichuan and Yunnan.

The specific name is derived from the Latin bracchium (‘arm’, ‘limb’) and the suffix atus, thus ‘having branches resembling arms’, presumably alluding to the occasional twin branches on the flowering stem.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek kardia (‘heart’) and Crinum, a genus of spectacular plants, formerly in the lily family, but today in Amaryllidaceae. Thus, the name may be translated as ‘the Crinum-like (plant) with heart-shaped (leaves)’.

 

This marvellous plant is distributed from Kashmir eastwards to Myanmar, south-eastern Tibet, and south-western China, growing at elevations between 1,200 and 3,600 m.

In Nepal, a paste of the root is applied to dislocated bones. Flutes are made from the hollow stem.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The genus was named for DeWitt Clinton (1769-1828), governor of New York State and a keen naturalist.

 

It is distributed from Uttarakhand eastwards to central China, and thence northwards to Japan, Korea, and south-eastern Siberia, in the Himalaya growing at elevations between 2,500 and 4,000 m.

In Nepal, tender shoots and leaves are cooked as a vegetable.

The specific name refers to the Uda River or the Uden District of Siberia. Presumably, the type specimen was collected there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Latin fritillus, the term for a cylindrical box holding dice, alluding to the bell-shaped flowers. The common name refers to the somewhat snake-like appearance of the nodding flowers.

 

Found from western Nepal eastwards to Myanmar and south-western China, growing at elevations between 3,000 and 4,600 m.

In Nepal, the roots are boiled or roasted. The bulb is used medicinally for treatment of lung problems, and a paste of the bulb is applied to bleeding wounds and pimples.

The specific name is derived from the Latin cirrus (‘a curl’), alluding to the tips of the upper leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Following genetic studies, Lloydia species have now been moved to the genus Gagea, which contains more than 200 species, widely distributed in Eurasia, with a few species in North Africa and North America. The major part of the species have yellow, star-shaped flowers. For this reason, the common English species, G. lutea, is popularly known as the yellow Star-of-Bethlehem.

Today, about 42 species occur in the Himalaya, the vast majority in northern Pakistan.

The generic name honours English botanist Sir Thomas Gage, 7th Baronet of Hengrave (1781-1820).

 

It has a rather restricted distribution, found from central Nepal and extreme southern Tibet eastwards to Bhutan, growing at elevations between 3,800 and 5,000 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘the yellow one that is nodding’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leaves mostly basal, thread-like, to 15 cm long, stem usually with 2 much smaller leaves. Flowering stem to 15 cm tall, flowers solitary or few together, petals elliptic, to 1.7 cm long, white, with many purple streaks near the base, and orange or brownish throat. Filaments are hairy below.

The specific name is derived from the Latin longus (‘long’) and the Greek skapos (‘staff’, ‘stick’), in botanical context referring to a leafless stalk, growing directly out of a root.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name is derived from the Latin serus (‘late’). What it refers to is not clear. The popular name is explained above. In Welsh, its name is brwynddail y mynydd, meaning ‘the rush-leaved one of the mountain’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the classical Latin name of these plants.

 

Stem to 30 cm tall, leaves many, linear, to 11 cm long and 8 mm wide, often reaching higher than the solitary flower, which is bell-shaped, nodding, pale purple, pale blue, purplish-red, yellow, or sometimes white, usually with deep purple dots, petals elliptic, to 3 cm long.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek nanos (‘dwarf’).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is distributed from Uttarakhand to Myanmar, south-eastern Tibet, and the Yunnan Province, growing at elevations between 2,100 and 3,500 m.

In Nepal, bulbs are boiled and eaten, and also taken as a tonic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek nothos (‘bastard’) and leirion (‘lily’), thus a derogatory term.

 

It is found from western Nepal eastwards to south-western China, at altitudes between 2,700 and 4,400 m.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek makros (‘long’) and phyllon (‘leaf’), thus ‘long-leaved’.

N. thomsonianum is similar, but a larger plant with a many-flowered terminal inflorescence, distributed from Afghanistan to Uttarakhand, growing at elevations between 800 and 1,800 m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek streptos (‘twisted’) and pous (‘foot’), alluding to the twisted base of the stem.

 

This plant is distributed from Uttarakhand and extreme southern Tibet eastwards to the Yunnan Province.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is widespread, distributed from Pakistan eastwards to China, and thence southwards to Indochina. In the Himalaya, it is found up to an elevation of about 2,300 m.

This species is often cultivated as an ornamental, and it is much praised in Uttarakhand folklore. In Nepal, a paste of the root is applied to boils, and to the forehead in case of headache. Juice of the root is used for fever and indigestion, and juice of the root is applied to wounds and scabies. The crushed plant is applied to insect bites and thorn stabs. A yellow dye is made from the flowers.

The generic name was given in honour of Prussian-born Dutch chemist, pharmacist, and botanist Caspar Georg Carl Reinwardt (1773-1854). In the period 1816-1822, he was the head of agriculture, arts, and science in the Dutch East Indies, and during his stay he collected plants on several islands, including Java, Timor, Sulawesi, and the Moluccas. He was the founder and first director of the botanical garden at Bogor (then called Buitenzorg) on Java. He also studied amphibians and reptiles, describing two new species of snakes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As the family name implies, many species have beautiful, often brightly coloured flowers. The fruit is a berry, rarely a drupe or capsule. The seeds are surrounded by a sticky substance, being spread by birds or in some cases by small mammals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This plant is found from Himachal Pradesh eastwards to south-eastern Tibet, at elevations between 1,500 and 3,000 m. It is common in Nepal.

Ripe fruits are edible and sweet, and seeds can be chewed. A gluey substance was formerly extracted from the fruits and used as birdlime.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Latin rotalis (‘wheel-like’), referring to the whorled leaves of some species.

 

Distributed from Uttarakhand eastwards to Japan, China, and Taiwan, and thence southwards to Indochina. In the Himalaya, it grows up to elevations around 3,000 m.

In Nepal, young shoots are cooked as a vegetable.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with round leaves’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name commemorates English lawyer John Alexander Woodford (lived around the 1790s), who maintained a large greenhouse in Vauxhall.

 

Widely distributed, found in eastern Africa, Madagascar, and southern and eastern Asia, from Pakistan eastwards to southern China, and thence southwards to Indonesia. In the Himalaya, it may be observed up to altitudes around 2,000 m.

This plant has numerous uses in Nepal. Branches are used as fuel. Leaves and twigs yield a yellow dye, petals a red dye. The bark is chewed to heal boils on the tongue. Juice of the bark is used for gastric problems, sprains, and swellings, boiled flowers for fever, and to curb profuse menstruation. Leaves are mixed with tobacco and smoked. The flowers are edible, and children often suck the sweet nectar out of them.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘shrubby’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the wild, this species is distributed from central Nepal eastwards to Myanmar, south-eastern Tibet, and south-western China, growing at altitudes between 2,200 and 3,000 m. It is common in eastarn Nepal and Sikkim.

It is widely cultivated as an ornamental. The timber is used for construction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Arabic ḥabb al-misk (‘pills of musk’), referring to the scented seeds.

 

This species is indigenous from the Indian Subcontinent eastwards through Southeast Asia to southern China, and thence southwards to the Philippines, Indonesia, and New Guinea. In the Himalaya, it occurs from Uttarakhand eastwards to Myanmar, at elevations between 600 and 2,400 m.

It is cultivated elsewhere as an ornamental under a variety of names, including sunset muskmallow, sunset hibiscus, and sweet hibiscus. It often escapes cultivation and is regarded as an invasive in several countries. In some places, it is cultivated as a source of food. The leaves are eaten in several Pacific Islands. In Japan and Korea, paper is made from the plant.

In Nepal, juice from the root is applied to sprains, and a paste of the bark is applied to wounds. Juice of the flowers is used as a remedy for bronchitis and tooth ache. In traditional Chinese medicine, it is widely used to treat kidney problems.

The specific name is the generic name of the cassava plant (Manihot esculenta), originally from Guarani, a South American language. Presumably, the name refers to the similarity between the leaves of aibika to those of the cassava plant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the classical Latin word for mallow, adapted from the Greek word for the same plants, malakhe, originally from Hebrew malluah, a plant used as salad. The common name is a corruption of Old English mealwe, an adaptation of the Latin name. The word for the colour mauve was adapted from the French name of these plants.

 

This plant grows in open areas on disturbed ground. It is indigenous to the major part of Europe eastwards to the Ural Mountains, and from North Africa across the Arabian Peninsula to Kazakhstan and the western Himalaya. In the Himalaya, it occurs from Afghanistan eastwards to Uttarakhand, found at elevations between 1,500 and 3,600 m.

Leaves and stalks can be cooked as a vegetable, young seeds may be eaten raw, and mature seeds can be cooked together with grains. The leaves are chewed for sore throat.

The specific name means ‘being ignored’, presumably indicating its inferiority to other, more spectacular members of the genus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It grows in open, disturbed areas, such as fallow fields and along trails. It is native to central and southern Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, and north-eastern Africa, but is widely cultivated and has become naturalized in most other temperate and subtropical parts of the globe. In the Himalaya, it is found at elevations between 2,100 and 3,500 m, from Pakistan eastwards to Myanmar.

The plant is used for fodder, and in folk medicine, and the leaves are eaten as salad or cooked as a vegetable.

The specific name is derived from the Latin verticillus (‘in a whorl’), alluding to the flower clusters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A single species in the Himalaya.

 

The native area of this plant is unknown, and today it is found worldwide in tropical and subtropical areas. In the Himalaya, it grows up to elevations around 2,200 m, from Pakistan eastwards to Myanmar.

In Nepal, stem fibres are used for rope and sacks. Tannin is obtained from stem and leaves. Juice of the root is used for dysentery and diarrhoea. A paste of the plant is applied to skin problems and rheumatism, a paste of the leaves to sprains and snakebites. A decoction of the seeds is used to kill intestinal worms.

The specific name refers to the lobed leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name honours English apothecary and botanist John Martyn (1699-1768). During the 1720s, he introduced valerian, black currant, and peppermint into pharmaceutical practice. He was professor of botany at Cambridge University 1732-1762. He also translated works of Virgil.

 

A native of Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean, widely naturalized elsewhere. In the Himalaya, it may be observed up to elevations around 1,500 m.

In Nepal, juice of the plant is mixed with hot water and used to gargle in case of sore throat. Juice of the fruit is taken to curb inflammation in the stomach. It is widely used in ayurvedic medicine. In Mexico, ornaments are made from the seeds.

Both common names allude to two curved ‘horns’ on the fruit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is Latin, meaning ‘lance’, thus ‘lance-shaped’. As the leaves of these plants are not lanceolate, it is not clear what the name refers to.

 

Distributed from northern Pakistan across Ladakh, Tibet, and extreme northern Nepal to Mongolia and western China, growing at elevations between 2,000 and 4,800 m.

Extract of the plant is used as a tonic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek mazos (‘breast’), alluding to the ridges on the lower lip of the flower.

 

This plant is found from Pakistan eastwards to Bhutan and south-western China, growing at elevations between 900 and 3,300 m.

In Nepal, juice of the plant is used for acidic stomach, and also applied to wounds.

In a botanical context, the specific name means ‘rooting by runners’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name stems from herba paris, the classical Latin name of Paris quadrifolia, derived from par (‘equal’), referring to the regular leaves and petals of that species. Thus, the name has nothing to do with the person Paris from the Greek mythology.

 

Quite common in the Himalaya, distributed from Pakistan eastwards to central China, Taiwan, and northern Indochina, in the Himalaya growing at elevetions between 1,800 and 3,500 m.

In Nepal, a paste of the root is applied to wounds and mosquito bites. Juice of the root is taken to expel intestinal worms. The species is threatened by excessive collecting.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek polys (‘many’) and phyllon (‘leaf’).

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Latin trilix (‘triple’), alluding to the number of leaves.

 

Distributed from Pakistan eastwards to Bhutan and a small area in south-eastern Tibet, growing at altitudes between 2,700 and 4,000 m.

The specific name was given in honour of British surgeon and botanist George Govan (1787-1865), superintendent of the Botanical Garden of Saharanpur, northern India. He often corresponded with the famous Danish botanist and physician Nathaniel Wallich (1786-1854), the foremost authority on Indian and Himalayan flora in the early 1800s.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek melas (‘black’) and stoma (‘mouth’), referring to the fact that the seeds of some members of the genus can stain your mouth black.

 

This species has a very wide distribution, found from India, Sri Lanka, and central Nepal eastwards to Taiwan, and thence southwards through Indochina and the Philippines to Indonesia and eastern Australia. It also occurs on some Pacific islands. In the Himalaya, it grows at elevations between 900 and 2,800 m.

The fruit is edible. In Nepal, juice of the plant is taken for cough and colds. A purple dye is obtained from the fruit.

The specific name refers to the Malabar coast of western India. Presumably, the type specimen was collected there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name honours Swedish explorer and naturalist Pehr Osbeck (1723-1805) who was an apostle of the famous Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778). In 1750-1752, he travelled on board the Prins Carl to Asia, where he spent four months studying flora, fauna, and culture of the Canton region of southern China. Returning home, he contributed more than 600 plant species to Linnaeus’ Species Plantarum, published in 1753. In 1757, he published an account of his work in China, called Dagbok öfwer en ostindisk Resa åren 1750, 1751, 1752 (‘Diary of a Journey to the East Indies 1750, 1751, 1752’).

 

This plant is common, found from central Nepal eastwards to south-western China, and also in Southeast Asia. In the Himalaya, it grows at altitudes between 500 and 2,300 m. As opposed to O. stellata (below), its calyx is not densely covered in hairs.

In Nepal, juice of the plant is used for indigestion and typhoid, and juice of the leaves is applied to wounds. The fruit is edible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

By far the commonest Osbeckia species in the Himalaya, often covering large areas in open country. In the Himalaya, it is found at altitudes between 1,200 and 2,600 m, from Uttarakhand eastwards to northern Indochina and south-western China. It is easily identified by its calyx, which is densely covered in star-shaped hairs, hence its specific name, from the Latin stella (‘star’).

In Nepal, juice of the root is used for treatment of diarrhoea and dysentery, and juice of the plant is applied to scabies. The fruit is edible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Greek sarkos (‘flesh’) and pyramis (‘pyramid’), referring to the shape of the fruit.

 

It is distributed from central Nepal eastwards to southern China, and thence southwards through Indochina and the Philippines to Indonesia, in the Himalaya growing at elevations between 1,000 and 3,200 m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One group of fig trees are the so-called strangler figs. Most seeds of these species begin their life as an epiphyte in a tree, the seed sprouting in a crack, or often in a pile of bird dung, delivered by the bird that ate the fig fruit. (The seed is not harmed by passing through the gut of the bird.)

Over the years, aerial roots of the young strangler fig grow down to the ground, where they take root, while other roots wrap themselves around and over time completely enveloping the host tree, which is eventually strangled to death. As its trunk decays, the fig tree is left as a hollow cylinder of aerial roots.

Many of the strangler figs not only grow on trees, they also very often sprouts in cracks on buildings. If they are left in peace, their roots will destroy the building.

Fig flowers are unique, hidden inside a syconium, a globular or pear-shaped receptacle with a very small opening, during which tiny fig wasps enter, belonging to various families in the superfamily Chalcidoidea. Each of these fig wasps only enter one species of fig.

Inside the syconium, the females lay eggs in sterile female flowers, which serve as food for the larvae. At the same time, they fertilize other female flowers with pollen, which was deposited on them just inside the opening, where the male flowers are situated. Later, the receptacle swells up, forming the fig, which contains many seeds.

The generic name is the classical Latin word for fig.

 

 

 

 

 

It is distributed from north-eastern Pakistan and northern India eastwards to southern China, and thence southwards through Indochina to the Malacca Peninsula, but is often cultivated elsewhere.

The fruit is edible and sweet, and is used medicinally as a diuretic and a laxative, and to regulate digestion. The foliage is cut for fodder.

Strictly speaking the specific name is derived from the Latin auricula (‘external ear’), but in a botanical context it mostly means ‘with two eared lobes near the base’, in this case alluding to the broadly heart-shaped leaf base. The alternative specific name is derived from Ancient Greek oligos (‘few’) and odous (‘tooth’), referring to the wide space between the teeth along the leaf margin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Widely distributed, found in north-eastern Africa, southern Arabia, and from Iran and Afghanistan eastwards to western Nepal. In the Himalaya, it has been observed up to an elevation of 2,700 m.

It is often cultivated. Young shoots are eaten as a vegetable. The ripe fruit is edible, and also used to ease constipation. The unripe fruit is poisonous, but edible after being boiled thoroughly. The latex is used for curdling milk, and medicinally to treat warts. The foliage is lopped for fodder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the classical Latin word for mulberry.

 

It is distributed from Pakistan eastwards to central Nepal and south-western Tibet, growing at elevations between 1,200 and 2,700 m.

Often cultivated for the edible, sweet fruit. Juice of the root is used to expel intestinal worms. The wood is utilized for furniture and farming tools, and the foliage is cut for fodder, and to feed silkworms.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘sawn’, alluding to the leaf margin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek myrike (‘fragrance’).

Some authorities regard a number of species as belonging to the genus Morella.

 

This plant grows in open forests and shrubberies, distributed from the Himalaya eastwards to China, and thence southwards through Indochina and the Philippines to Indonesia. In the Himalaya, it is often cultivated and may be found up to altitudes around 2,500 m. It is the state fruit of Uttarakhand.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘edible’. The ripe fruits are delicious, and they are much valued by birds. In Nepal, the bark is used medicinally for a wide variety of ailments, as a stimulant and astringent, the juice of it applied to cuts and wounds, and to treat rheumatism, and also taken for catarrh, headache, and body pain. A decoction of the bark is applied to sprains, and taken for fever, asthma, and diarrhoea. The stem bark is chewed and kept between the teeth to treat toothache. It is also spread in streams to stupefy fish. The wood is used for poles and as fuel. The bark contains tannin and is used for dyeing, yielding a yellow dye.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This genus has been moved around quite a lot, formerly placed in the families Liliaceae, Haemodoraceae, and Melanthiaceae.

The generic name is Ancient Greek, meaning ‘a female slave grinding corn’, alluding to the mealy texture of the sepals and petals of some species. The name colic-root refers to two American species, whose root was utilized to treat colic, the name stargrass to the grass-like leaves and star-shaped lobes of the corolla.

 

This species is found from Pakistan eastwards to south-eastern Tibet and south-western China, growing at altitudes between 1,500 and 4,900 m.

In Nepal, the tuber is used for cough and colds.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘few-flowered’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek peganon, the name of a kind of rue (Ruta), alluding to the rue-like foliage.

 

This species occurs from southern Europe eastwards to Mongolia and northern China, southwards to North Africa, Arabia, and Ladakh. In Ladakh, it grows up to elevations around 3,600 m.

In Tibet, the seeds are used for fever, stomach trouble, eye disorders, measles, asthma, menstrual disorders, Parkinson’s disease, and rheumatism, and also as a disinfectant, as a narcotic, called harmal, and as incense. Burning leaves can be used as an insecticide. A dye is obtained from the plant.

The specific name refers to a narcotic, harmal, extracted from the plant. The names Syrian rue and African rue refer to the similarity of its leaves to those of the common rue (Ruta graveolens).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Greek nymphe (’nymph’). In Greek mythology, a water-living nymph was madly in love with the strong hero Herakles (in Latin Hercules) who, however, did not have the same feelings for her. She languished and died, and from her the beautiful waterlily arose.

 

Leaves are floating, dark green, often purplish below, smooth, ovate, elliptic, or rounded, to 18 cm across, margin often bent up, entire or wavy, with 11-22 veins. Flowers to 11 cm across, sepals pointed, greenish-yellow, petals 12-30, pale yellow, stamens about 50. The flowers close at night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name, as well as the common name in most languages, is derived from the ancient Persian name of these plants, yasmin.

 

Distributed from Iran and Afghanistan eastwards along the Himalaya to central China and northern Indochina. In the Himalaya, it is found at elevations between 1,100 and 3,800 m.

In Nepal, juice of the root is applied to ringworms, and a paste of the flowers is taken for intestinal problems.

The specific name is derived from the Latin humus (‘ground’) and the suffix ilis, thus ‘close to the ground’ (= low). Some authorities place this species in the genus Chrysojasminum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This species is probably indigenous from the Caucasus eastwards across the Himalaya to south-western China, and it has also become naturalized in southern Europe, North Africa, Florida, the West Indies, and elsewhere. It is the national flower of Pakistan. In the Himalaya, it grows at altitudes between 1,200 and 4,000 m.

From time immemorial, an essential oil from white jasmine has been used in the perfume industry, and as a medicinal plant, it has been utilized as an aphrodisiac, a sedative, an antiseptic, antidepressant, antispasmodic, and analgesic. In Ayurvedic medicine, it is utilized for fever and conjunctivitis, and to improve immunity. In traditional Chinese medicine, tea made from the flowers is used for various ailments, including wounds, heat stroke, fever, and urinary infection. This tea can also relieve stress and anxiety. A poultice of the flowers is used for headache and stroke.

Due to its wonderful fragrance, this species has been widely cultivated as an ornamental for thousands of years, giving rise to popular names like summer jasmine, poet’s jasmine, true jasmine, star jasmine, and night-blooming jasmine. In his Names of Herbes (1548), naturalist and physician William Turner (1509-1568) mentions this species as a garden plant in London.

Originally, the specific name was derived from officina (‘workshop’, or ‘office’), and the suffix alis, which, together with a noun, forms an adjective, thus ‘made in a workshop’. However, in a botanical context, the word denotes plants species that were sold in pharmacies due to their medicinal properties.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek elaia, the classical name of the olive tree (O. europaea). This species is presented in depth on the page Plants: Plants in folklore and poetry.

 

This species is very common in the lower hills of the Himalaya, at elevations between 500 and 2,600 m, distributed from Afghanistan eastwards to western Nepal.

The wood is very hard and heavy, used for turning and farming tools, and also as firewood. The fruit is edible, and oil is extracted from it.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘rust-coloured’, alluding to the underside of the leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The family name is derived from Onagra, the original name of evening-primroses (today called Oenothera). The term Onagra was first used in botany in 1587, meaning ‘(food) of onager’, an Asiatic species of wild ass (Equus hemionus). It is most odd that this name was applied to evening-primroses, which were originally purely American plants.

 

The fruit is a long capsule, splitting longitudinally, and the seeds have long hairs, an adaptation for wind-spreading.

There is much controversy as to the name of this genus. Initially, Chamaenerion may have originated as early as 1561. It is derived from the Greek khamai (‘near the ground’) and nerion, the Ancient Greek name of the oleander (Nerium oleander), alluding to the oleander-like leaves of rosebay willow-herb (below). In 1753, Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) placed these plants in the genus Epilobium (below). However, many botanists disregarded his decision, preferring Chamaenerion.

In 1818, French naturalist Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz (1783-1840) proposed the name Chamerion, suggesting it as either a subgenus or genus. Rafinesque had his own peculiar rules of botanical nomenclature, regarding it as appropriate to shorten existing generic names. His new name, however, was not widely accepted until published in 1972 by Czech botanist Josef Ludwig Holub (1930-1999), who designated a different type species, Epilobium amenum. However, as this species is now included in C. angustifolium, Chamaenerion has precedence over Chamerion. Some authorities still include these plants in Epilobium. (Source: A.N. Sennikov 2011. Chamerion or Chamaenerion (Onagraceae)? The old story in new words, Taxon 60 (5): 1485-1488)

 

This gregarious herb often forms large growths, especially in open disturbed habitats, such as forest clearings and abandoned fields. An example of the latter is described on the page Nature Reserve Vorsø: Expanding wilderness.

It is very widely distributed in northern temperate and subarctic areas, southwards to Morocco, the Himalaya, northern Indochina, Korea, and northern United States. It is fairly common in the Himalaya, from Pakistan eastwards to Myanmar, at elevations between 3,000 and 4,700 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘narrow-leaved’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distributed from Tibet and central Nepal eastwards to central and northern China, in the Himalaya growing at elevations between 3,600 and 4,800 m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Widely distributed in subarctic and temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere, in the Himalaya found from Pakistan eastwards to Bhutan, growing at altitudes between 3,600 and 5,200 m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name refers to Circe, in Ancient Greek Kirke, a mythical sorceress, living on the island of Aiaia. When Odysseus came to her island, she transformed his men into beasts, but, with the help of the god Hermes, he forced her to end the spell. The name of the sorceress is derived from the verb kirkoô (‘to secure with rings’), alluding to the binding power of magic. Supposedly, she used plants of this genus in her spells, reflected in the English name.

 

This species, in its widest sense, has a huge distribution in the Northern Hemisphere, with the exception of Africa and Arabia. Subspecies imaicola is found from Afghanistan eastwards to northern China and Taiwan, southwards to the Himalaya and northern Indochina. In the Himalaya, it grows at elevations between 2,000 and 4,000 m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many species are glandular-hairy. The fruit is a long capsule, splitting longitudinally, and the seeds have long hairs, an adaptation for wind-spreading.

The generic name is derived from the Greek epi (‘upon’) and lobos (‘lobe’), alluding to the position of the petals above the ovary. The common name refers to the similarity of the leaves of some species to those of certain species of willow (Salix).

Members of this genus are difficult to distinguish, and they often hybridize, which further complicates the matter. Below are pictures of 3 unidentified species. I would be happy to receive information on them. You can use the address at the bottom of the page.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Orchids are divided into terrestrial species, growing in soil, and epiphytic species, growing on trees (sometimes on rocks or fallen tree trunks). The latter develop aerial roots that absorb nutrients and moisture from the air, and many species from both groups have pseudobulbs, swollen, fibrous, bulb-like stems that store water and nutrients.

The flower structure of this family is unique. There are 3 sepals, often coloured and shaped like 2 of the 3 petals. The third petal forms the lower lip, usually differering very much from the other petals in size and shape, and sometimes in colour, often with a spur. Stamens and ovary are fused, forming the so-called column. Anthers and stigma are separated by a beak-like structure, the rostellum. The anthers produce so-called pollinia, small ‘bags’ which contain pollen. These pollinia are attached to the stigma by a sticky secrete, and they easily stick to visiting insects who then transport them to the next flower where they get attached to the stigma. Other species are self-pollinating. The fruit is a capsule, containing countless tiny seeds, spread by the wind.

Most of these plants live in symbiosis with the mycelium of underground fungi, which is attached to the rhizome or root of the orchid. When a seed is about to germinate, it is completely dependent on this mycelium, as it has virtually no energy reserve, obtaining the necessary carbon from the fungus. Some orchids are dependent on the mycelium their entire life, but their relationship is symbiotic, as the orchid delivers crucial water and salts to the fungus. However, some species do not contain chlorophyll, being parasites on the fungus.

The family name is derived from the Greek orkhis (‘testicle’), alluding to the underground tubers of some species, which resemble testicles.

 

It is distributed from India eastwards to China and Taiwan, southwards to Sri Lanka and Indonesia. In the Himalaya, it is found from central Nepal eastwards to Myanmar, mainly in the lower valleys, occasionally up to elevations around 2,800 m.

The generic name is derived from the Latin arundo (‘reed’), thus ‘reed-like’, the specific name is Latin, meaning ‘with grass-like leaves’, and the common name likewise refers to the leaves, which resemble those of certain species of bamboo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek kallos (‘beauty’) and anthos (‘flower’).

 

Distributed from Uttarakhand eastwards to Myanmar and central China, growing at elevations between 1,600 and 3,100 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘short-horned’. What it refers to is not clear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is found from Pakistan eastwards to Myanmar and south-western China, growing at altitudes between 1,500 and 2,500 m.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘like Plantago’, alluding to the plantain-like leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stem to 60 cm tall, pseudobulbs globular, to 2 cm across, leaves 2-4, basal, elliptic, oblong, or lanceolate, pointed, to 35 cm long and 11 cm broad. Flowers 2-3 cm across, in a spike-like cluster to 20 cm long, sepals and petals oblong or lanceolate, to 1.8 cm long and 8 mm wide, yellow or green, lip brown or reddish, with 3 lobes, outer 2 short, erect, mid-lobe to 1 cm long and 1.5 cm wide, base white or yellow with brown or reddish blotches, outer part brown or purplish-red with 3 fleshy ridges, often yellow, margin strongly wavy. Spur absent.

The specific name is derived from the Latin tri (‘three’) and carina (‘keel’), referring to the 3 ridges on the lip.