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Biodiv. Res. Conserv. 28: 19-24, 2012
Rediscovery of two endemic species of Berberis
from Uttarakhand, Western Himalaya, India
Umeshkumar L. Tiwari*, Gopal Singh Rawat & Bhupendra Singh Adhikari
Department of Habitat Ecology, Wildlife Institute of India, Post Box 18, Chandrabani, Dehradun-248001, Uttarakhand, India, e-mail:
*tigerumesh11@gmail.com
Abstract: Two endemic Berberis species (Berberidaceae) viz., Berberis ahrendtii R. R. Rao and Uniyal and Berberis lambertii
Parker, are rst time rediscovered after ca. 100 years since their type localities were found. These species are recorded from the
Chamoli and Pithoragarh districts of Uttarakhand, India. Taxonomic description, synonyms, distribution information, locality
details of specimens examined and photographs are provided for each species.
Key words: Berberis ahrendtii, Berberis lambertii, Berberidaceae, endemic, Uttarakhand
DOI 10.2478/v10119-012-0019-0
1. Introduction
The family Berberidaceae, established by A. L.
Jussieu de (1879), is distributed both in Old and in
New World and represented by ca. 12 genera including
about 600 species, of which as many as 500 species
belong to Berberis L (Ahrendt 1945, 1961). In India,
the family is represented by 3 genera and 68 species.
Largest among them is the genus Berberis which has 55
species. Majority (>95%) of them are distributed in the
Himalayan region. Only ve species (viz., B. asiatica,
B. tinctoria, B. wightiana, B. nilegrica and B. hainesii)
are found away from the Himalayan region i.e., Nilgiri
hills, Chhota Nagpur Plateau and Pachmarhi hills of
Madhya Pradesh (Rao & Hajra 1993; Rao et al. 1998a,
1998b).
Endemism refers to the restricted distribution of a
species in a particular biogeographical province or on a
single island or mountain top or even a single rock out-
crop (Huston 1994). The Western Himalaya is one of the
three major geomorphological divisions considered as
mega centres of endemic plants, with Garhwal-Kumaon
Himalaya recognized as one of the twenty-ve micro-
centers for endemic plants (Nayar 1996). About 5725
species of owering plants endemic to India represent
147 genera and 47 families (Nayar 1996). Among the
endemic species, ca. 3471 are found in Himalaya and
84 species are endemic to the Uttarakhand state (Rao
& Hajra 1993; Uniyal et al. 2007). The endemism in
the ora of country or geographical region provides an
important insight into the biogeography of that region,
the centres of diversity, and adaptive evolution of the
oristic components of that region. About 22 taxa of
Berberis are endemic to India (Rao & Hajra 1993;
Rao et al. 1998a, 1998b), from that number, 18 taxa
are endemic to the Himalayan region and 11 taxa are
endemic to the western Himalaya (Rao & Hajra 1993;
Rao et al. 1998a, 1998b). The geographical position,
physiography and geological history of Uttarakhand
state have together contributed to the considerably
higher number of endemic Berberis species in the
relatively young mountain system. The genus Berberis
has maximum representation of endemic species in this
state as compared to other Indian states.
2. Taxonomic treatments
1. Berberis ahrendtii R. R. Rao and Uniyal in Indian
J. For. 8(4): 334. 1985; Uniyal and Rao in Sharma et
al., Fl. India 1: 369. 1993. Type: Cultivated: Fl. June,
1939; Fr. 27 Sept.,1939 (Type - BM) (Figs. 1-2).
Synonym: B. lycioides Stapf in Bot. Mag. 151, 1902.
1926; Ahrendt in J. Linn. Soc. Bot. 57: 89. 1961, non
Lowe, nec Linden and Planch, 1883.
Morphological description: shrubs up to 3.5 m
tall; stems pale yellow, glabrous, terete: internodes 3-5 cm
CHOROLOGY
20
long; spines, 1-2 cm long, solitary. Leaves 1.5-7 x 0.5-
1.8 cm, narrowly obovate, apex subacute or mucronate,
base attenuate, sessile, entire or slightly spinulose,
nely reticulate, epapillose. Inorescence – racemose,
10-20-owers, dense, drooping, sometimes compound;
peduncles 1-2 cm long; owers 12-14 mm across; pedi-
cels 7-10 mm long. Bracts 2-3 mm long. Prophylls 2,
triangular with acute apex, 1.5-2 mm long. Sepals in 3
whorls; outer sepals 2.5 x 1.5 mm, ovate, acute; median
ones 5x2.5 mm; inner ones ca 7.5-8 x 4.5-5 mm. Petals
6-5 x 4 mm, obovate-elliptic, entire, shorter than the
inner sepals; marginal glands 6.5 x 4 mm. Stamens 6,
5 mm long, apiculate. Berries 11x6 mm, oblong-ovoid,
pruinose, grey-white; style 1-1.25 mm long.
Flowering and Fruiting: April-October.
Ecol o gy: Moist places, often along streams in alpine
meadows.
Alti t ude r a nge: 1500-2700 m a.s.l. Critically Endan-
gered (Nayar 1996).
Dist r ibutio n : Uttarakhand: Chamoli (Endemic).
Spec i mens e x amined: Uttarakhand: CAL: Cham-
oli, Sept. 1864, Brandis 3275; WII: Bairangana,
Chamoli, 1680 m a.s.l., 10/05/2009, Umeshkumar
Tiwari UKT-988; Trishula block-I, Pangarbassa,
Chamoli, 2680 m a.s.l., 10/05/2009, Umeshkumar
Tiwari UKT-989; Trishula block-I, Pangarbassa,
Chamoli, 2550 m a.s.l., 06/07/2009, Umeshkumar
Tiwari UKT-1068.
Notes: A new name for Berberis lycioides Stapf.
(1926) was proposed as this name is a later homo-
nym of B. lycioides Linden and Planch, 1863 (Rao
& Uniyal 1985). During the collection of material
in the eld, we found only two populations of the
species in the wild state. The rst population near
Bairangana village, Chamoli district, contained three
individuals and the second, near Pangarbassa on the
way to Tungnath in Chamoli district, two individu-
als. As we found only ve individuals of this species
and no other populations are known from the other
place, this species needs immediate conservation
implementation.
2. Berberis lambertii Parker in Bull. Misc. Inf, Kew
1921: 367. 1921; Chatterjee. Rec. Bot. Surv. India
16(2): 29. 1953; Ahrendt, J. Linn. Soc. Bot. 57: 135.
1961; Rao and Uniyal in Nayar and Sastry, Red Data
book of Indian Plants 1: 98. 1987; Gupta in Sharma et
al., Fl. India 1:364. 1993. Type: Kumaon: Humidhura,
Rediscovery of two endemic species of Berberis from Uttarakhand, Western Himalaya...
Umeshkumar L. Tiwari et al.
Fig. 1. Locations of Berberis lambertii (●) and Berberis ahrendtii (■) in Uttarakhand
21
Fig. 2. Berberis ahrendtii (UKT-1068)
Explanations: A – plant with inorescence, B – fruit, C – bract, D – prophylls, E – outer sepal, F – middle sepal, G – petal, H – inner petal, I – glands on a
petal, J – type – BM, K – type illustration by Stapf (1926)
AB C
D E F J
G H
I
K
Biodiv. Res. Conserv. 28: 19-24, 2012
22
Fig. 3. Berberis lambertii (UKT-2112)
Explanations: A – habit, B-C – plant with inorescence, D – fruit, E – inorescence, F – outer sepal, G – inner sepal, H – petal with glands, I – stamen, J – type
Almora, Lambert s.n. (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew)
ABC
DEF
GH
I
J
Rediscovery of two endemic species of Berberis from Uttarakhand, Western Himalaya...
Umeshkumar L. Tiwari et al.
23
Almora, 9000ft W.J. Lambert s.n. 18.10.1920 (K)
(Figs. 1, 3).
Morphological description: Small shrubs, up t
o
1 m tall; stems glabrous, angled and nely sulcate, pale
yellow; internodes up to 0.5-1.5 cm long; spines 1.5 cm
long, 1-3-d. Leaves 12-28 x 2-7 mm, oblanceolate, apex
mucronate, base attenuate, sessile, entire, revolute, upper
surface dark green with a few lateral veins, lower surface
much paler, whitish. Ino rescence pseudum bellate-
subracemose, 4-7-d. 2.5-5.5 cm long; pedicels 5-10 mm
long in fruits, glabrous, bracts 1.5-2 mm. Sepals in 2
whorls; outer sepals, 2-3 mm, ovate with acute apex,
reddish ting; inner sepal ca 3-3.5 x 1.5-2 mm. Petals
3.5-4 x 2-2.5 mm, obovate-elliptic, entire, longer than
the inner sepals; glands 0.6 x 0.1 mm. Stamens 2.5-3 mm
long, apiculate. Ovules 3-6. Berries 1-1.2 x 0.5-0.7 cm,
red, ovoid, oblong, estylose.
Flowering and Fruiting: August-October.
Ecol o gy: Moist places, often along streams in alpine
meadows.
Alti t ude ran g e : 1500-2800 m. Critically Endan-
gered.
Distribution: INDIA: Uttarakhand (N.W. Himalaya):
Pithoragarh: On the way to Humidhura and Kalamuni
(Endemic).
Spec i mens exa m ined: Uttarakhand: DD: Humid-
hura, Almora, 9000ft, 20.10.1920, W.J. Lambert 22394;
WII: Humidhura, Pithoragarh, 2802 m a.s.l., 11/4/2010,
Umeshkumar Tiwari UKT-2035; Kalamuni, Pitho-
ragarh, 2788 m a.s.l., 11/4/2010, Umeshkumar Tiwari
UKT-2044; Humidhura, Pithoragarh, 2840 m a.s.l.,
12/07/2010, Umeshkumar Tiwari UKT-2111; Kalamuni,
Pithoragarh, 2780 m a.s.l., 12/07/2010, Umeshkumar
Tiwari UKT-2112.
Note s : In vegetative phases, this species resembles B.
osmastonii Dunn, but its leaves are rather larger, not so
rigid or so white beneath, but are densely papillose on
the lower surface (Parker 1921). This species is listed
in the Red Data Book of Indian Plants (Nayar & Sas-
try 1987) as Vulnerable or Endangered (Nayar 1996).
Ahrendt had mentioned the locality of this species “be-
tween Humidhura and Ratapani” (Ahrendt 1961). We
recorded two localities of the species in the State, the
rst near Betulidhar, closer to Humidhura (Pithoragarh,
Uttarakhand), where 32 individuals were observed and
the second locality near the Kalamuni top (Pithoragarh,
Uttarakhand) with 71 individuals. In this paper, for the
rst time, the species has been described in detail, along
with its oral characters, as the other literature positions
do not include oral characteristics.
Acknowledgements. The author is grateful to Mr. P. R.
Sinha, Director and Dr. V. B. Mathur, Dean of Wildlife
Institute of India, Dehradun for encouragements and
support. We gratefully acknowledge Dr. M. Sanjappa,
Director, Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata, Dr.
Shrivastava, Joint Director, Northern Circle of BSI
and Dr. Nautiyal, FRI for giving permission to examine
herbarium hosted in their organizations. We are also
thankful to the Kew Herbarium and Natural History
Museum, London.
References
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AhrenDt L.W. A. 1945. Some new or little known Berberis
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nAyAr M. P. 1996. Hot spots of endemic plants of India, Nepal
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nAyer M. P. & SAStry A. r. k. 1987. Red Data Book of
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Rediscovery of two endemic species of Berberis from Uttarakhand, Western Himalaya...
Umeshkumar L. Tiwari et al.
