Herminium alaschanicum and Herminium souliei (Orchidaceae) - Two new records for the Flora of Nepal

Abstract

Herminium alaschanicum Maxim, and H. souliei (Finet) Rolfe (Orchidaceae) are reported from Nepal for the first time. Detailed description, illustration and relevant notes are provided.

Full text

December 2013TheJournal of Japanese Botany Vol. 88 No. 6383
J. Jpn. Bot. 88: 383–385 (2013)
Bhakta Bahadur Raskotia,* and Xiaohua Jinb: Herminium alaschanicum and
Herminium souliei (Orchidaceae) – Two New Records for the Flora of Nepal
aState Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences,
Beijing, 100093 CHINA;
bHerbarium and State Key Laboratory of Systematics and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese
Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093 CHINA
*Corresponding author: bbraskoti@gmail.com
Summary: Herminium alaschanicum Maxim. and
H. souliei (Finet) Rolfe (Orchidaceae) are reported
from Nepal for the first time. Detailed description,
illustration and relevant notes are provided.
The genus Herminium L. (Orchidaceae)
comprises about 21 species, widely distributed
from Europe, parts of Southwestern and Central
Asia, extending to Eastern and Southeastern
Asia and the Himalayas (Pearce and Cribb
2002, Chen et al. 2009, Govaerts et al. 2012). In
Nepal, Herminium is represented by nine species
(Rajbhandari and Dahal 2004).
In the course of revising the genus
Herminium, the first author collected two
specimens in Sankhuwasava and Kaski Districts
in 2008. These specimens were identified as
Herminium alaschanicum Maxim. and H.
souliei (Finet) Rolfe, respectively. The voucher
specimens are deposited in the National
Herbarium and Plant Laboratories, Kathmandu,
Nepal (KATH).
Herminium alaschanicum Maxim. in Bull.
Acad. Imp. Sci. 31: 105 (1887).
Herminium altigena Schlechter in Repert.
Spec. Nov. Regn. Veg. Beih. 12: 334 (1922).
Monorchis alaschanica (Maxim.) O.
Schwarz in Mitt. Thüring. Bot. Ges. i. 95 (1949).
Peristylus alaschanicus (Maxim.) N. Pearce
& P. J. Cribb. in Edinb. J. Bot. 58: 117 (2001).
Plants 10–35 cm tall. Tubers globose. Stem
sheathed by tubular sheaths at base. Leaves
lanceolate, 5–12 × 0.5–1 cm, apex acute.
Inorescence 6–20 cm; peduncle cylindric, with
3–5 lanceolate sterile bracts 5–10 mm; rachis
4–8 cm with 8–35 flowers; floral bracts ovate-
lanceolate, 5–9 mm, apex cuspidate. Flowers
green; ovary and pedicel 4–6 mm. Dorsal sepal
ovate, 2–3 × 2–2.5 mm, apex obtuse; lateral
sepals weakly spreading, ovate-lanceolate,
2–3.5 × 1.5–2 mm, apex subacute. Petals ovate-
lanceolate, 3–4 × 1–1.5 mm, abruptly narrowed
above middle, apex cuspidate. Lip decurved,
suboblong, 4–5 × ca. 1.5 mm, 3-lobed; lateral
lobes linear, 1.5–2 mm; mid-lobe narrowly
linear-triangular, 1–1.5 mm, wider than lateral
lobes, apex acute; spur pendulous, incurved,
oblong, 1 mm, apex obtuse. Column 1 mm.
Flowering time: July–September.
Distribution: Central and Eastern Nepal,
China, Mongolia.
Habitat: Terrestrial on roadsides or scrubby
grasslands along valleys at an altitude of 2000–
4000 m.
Specimens examined: Eastern Nepal, Koshi Zone,
Sankhuwasava District, Guphapokhari at 2900 m, 12 July
2008 and Central Nepal, Mustang District, Muktinath, July
2007. B. B. Raskoti 501 (KATH).
Note: Herminium alaschanicum does not
seem to have a close member of the genus
Herminium. This species has a distinct spur
and molecular study is necessary to resolve its
position at the generic level.
Herminium souliei (Finet) Rolfe in J. Linn.
Soc. Bot. 36: 51 (1903).
Herminium angustifolium Benth. & Hook.

384植物研究雑誌 第 88 巻 第 6号2013 年12 月
f. var. souliei Finet in Rev. Gen. Bot. 13: 518
(1901).
H. limprichtii Schlechter in Repert. Spec.
Nov. Regn. Veg., Beih. 4: 42 (1919).
H. souliei var. lichiangense W. W. Smith in
Notes Roy. Bot. Gard. Edinburgh 8: 337 (1915).
Monorchis limprichtii (Schlechter) O.
Schwarz in Mitt. Thüring. Bot. Ges. i. 95 (1949).
M. souliei (Finet) O. Schwarz in Mitt.
Thüring. Bot. Ges. i. 96 (1949).
Plants 10–30 cm tall. Tubers oblong-ellipsoid,
1–2 × 1–1.5 cm. Stem with 2 to 3 tubular sheaths
at base. Leaves subopposite, oblong, 5–15 ×
0.7–1 cm, apex acute. Inflorescence 8–20 cm;
peduncle cylindric, sterile bracts 1–2 cm; rachis
5–12 cm, subdensely 10–50; oral bracts ovate-
lanceolate, 5–10 mm, apex acuminate. Flowers
erect, green; ovary and pedicel 4–5 mm. Dorsal
sepal erect, ovate, concave, 2.5–3 × 2.5 mm,
apex obtuse; lateral sepals spreading, ovate,
oblique, 3 × 2.5 mm, apex obtuse. Petals linear-
lanceolate, 2–3 × ca. 0.6 mm, apex obtuse. Lip
Fig. 1. A–B. Herminium alaschanicum Maxim. (voucher:
B. B. Raskoti 501, KATH). C–D. H. souliei (Finet)
Rolfe (voucher: B. B. Raskoti 515, KATH). Scale: 2
cm (A, C); 14 mm (B); 9 mm (D).
Fig. 2. Inorescence of Herminium plants from E Nepal. A. H. alaschanicum Maxim. (Muktinath, July 2007). B. H.
souliei (Finet) Rolfe. (Panchase forest at 2400 m, 12 July 2008). All photographs by the rst author.

December 2013TheJournal of Japanese Botany Vol. 88 No. 6385
oblong, 4–5 × ca. 1.3 mm, base slightly dilated,
3-lobed; lateral lobes linear-falcate, incurved,
1.5–2 mm apex acute; mid-lobe oblong-
lanceolate, ca. 0.5 mm, apex obtuse. Spur absent.
Column 1 mm.
Flowering time: July–September.
Distribution: Central Nepal, China.
Habitat: Broad-leaved forests, grassy slopes
at an altitude of 1500–4200 m.
Specimen examined: Central Nepal, Gandaki Zone,
Kaski District, Panchase forest at 2400 m, 12 July 2008, B.
B. Raskoti 515 (KATH).
Note: Herminium souliei is very close to H.
lanceum but it is different in having a somewhat
spidery shape to the ower. Molecular study is
necessary to taxonomically isolate the H. souliei
from H. lanceum.
References
Chen S. C., Gale S.W. and Cribb P. J. 2009. Herminium.
In: Wu Z. Y., Raven P. and Hong, D. Y. (eds.), Flora
of China. vol. 25: 119. Science Press, Beijing and
Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis. (http://www.
eora.org/ora of China/ accessed on 7 October 2012).
Govaerts R., Campacii M. A., Baptista D. H., Cribb P.
J., George A., Kreuz K. and Wood J. 2012. World
Checklist of Orchidaceae. The Board of Trustees of the
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. (http://www.kew.org/
wcsp/monocots/ accessed on 7 October 2012).
Pearce N. R. and Cribb P. J. 2002. The Orchids of Bhutan
(Flora of Bhutan, volume 3, part 3). 159 pp. Royal
Botanic Garden, Edinburgh.
Press J. R., Shrestha K. K. and Sutton D. A. 2000.
Annotated Checklist of Flowering Plants of Nepal. 430
pp. The Natural History Museum, London.
Rajbhandari K. R. and Dahal S. 2004. Orchids of Nepal: A
Checklist. Botanica Orientalis 4: 89–106.
Rajbhandari K. R. and Baral S. R. 2010. Catalogue
of Nepalese Flowering Plants: Gymnosperms
and Monocotyledons. 62 pp. Department of Plant
Resources, National Herbarium and Plant Laboratories,
Government of Nepal, Kathmandu.
B. B. Raskotia, 金 効華 b
：ネパール新産の Herminium
alaschanicum とHerminium souliei
（ラン科）
ネパールからラン科ムカゴソウ属の 2種，
Herminium
alaschanicum Maxim. と H. souliei (Finet) Rolfe を 初
めて見出したので報告する．証拠標本は KATH に収蔵
されている．
（a中国科学院植物研究所系統与進化植物学重点実験室，
b中国科学院植物研究所系統与進化植物学重点実験室・
標本館）