On the occurrence of an interesting leafless orchid Neottia listeroides Lindl. in Himachal Pradesh,
northwestern Himalaya, India
Jagdeep Verma1, Kranti Thakur 2 & S.P. Vij 3
1Department of Botany, Shoolini Institute of Life Sciences and Business
Management, Solan, Himachal Pradesh 173212, India
2 Department of Botany, Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management
Sciences, Solan, Himachal Pradesh 173212, India
3 Department of Botany, Panjab University, Chandigarh, Punjab 160014, India
1 verma.jd@gmail.com
(corresponding author), 2 krantithakur1@gmail.com, 3 spvij1@rediffmail.com
doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o2828.4601-3
Editor: Anonymity requested. Date
of publication: 26 July 2013 (online & print)
Manuscript details: Ms #
o2828 | Received 09 June 2011 | Final received 15 July 2013 | Finally accepted
16 July 2013
Citation: Verma,
J., K. Thakur & S.P. Vij (2013). On the occurrence of an interesting leafless orchid Neottia listeroides Lindl. inHimachal Pradesh, northwestern Himalaya, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa5(11): 4601–4603; http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o2828.4601-3
Copyright: © Vermaet al. 2013. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. JoTTallows unrestricted use of this article in any medium, reproduction and
distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of
publication.
Funding: The financial support from
Government of India, Ministry of Environment & Forests (AICOPTAX), is
thankfully acknowledged.
Competing Interest: None.
For figure, image -- click here
The extensive orchid
explorations from 2002–2010 in Himachal Pradesh, India have resulted in
documenting many orchid species including some new distribution records. These orchids exhibit a variety of life
forms (epiphytes/terrestrials/lithophytes) and are mostly distributed in the
temperate hills. Five leafless
terrestrial orchids, viz., Cymbidium macrorhizon Lindl., Epipogium aphyllum (F.W. Schmidt) Sw., E. roseum (D. Don) Lindl.,Gastrodia falconeriD.L. Jones & M.A. Clem. and Neottia listeroides Lindl. were found to occur in Himachal Pradesh. The present communication provides notes
on taxonomy, distribution, habitat ecology and conservation of the interesting
leafless species, Neottia listeroides.
The genus Neottia Guett. is derived
from Greek word ‘neottia’ meaning ‘the bird’s nest’
in allusion to their highly interwoven fibrous roots (Fig. 1a). The genus comprises of terrestrial
leafless or leaf-bearing herbs that are widely distributed in Asia, Europe, and
North America. Out of about 70
species worldwide (Xinqi et al. 2009), about 18 occur
in India; only eight have been reported from northwestern Himalaya (Deva & Naithani 1986; Jalal et al. 2008).
Neottia listeroides
Lindl. in Royle, III. Bot. Himal.Mts. 1: 368. 1839; Gen. Sp. Orch.
Pl. 458. 1840; Hook. f.,
Fl. Brit. India 6: 103. 1890; Collett,
Fl. Siml. 495. 1902; Seidenfaden& Arora, Nordic J. Bot. 2: 21. 1982; Chowdhery & Wadhwa, Fl.
Himachal Pradesh 3: 690. 1984; Deva & Naithani,
Orchid Fl. N. W. Himalaya 71. t. 29. 1986. N. lindleyana Decne., in Jacquem. Voy. Bot. 163. t. 163.
1844. Listera lindleyana King & Pantl., Ann.
Roy. Bot. Gard. (Calcutta) 8: 258. t. 343. 1898; Duthie, Ann. Roy. Bot. Gard. (Calcutta) 9: 153. 1906.
Type: India,Mussoorie, Royle s.n. (holo, K.).
Terrestrial
leafless herbs. Stem stout or
slender, 10–30 cm long, 3–4 (-5) mm thick, base covered with 3-4
loose tubular sheaths, brownish-green, glabrous below, upper portion
glandular-pubescent. Roots forming
a congested mass at the base of stem, stout and brittle, c. 1–2 mm
thick. Leaves absent. Racemes terminal,
erect, 6–10 cm long, lax with many flowers. Floral
bract small, ovate-lanceolate, c.
6–8×4–5 mm, sub acute, shorter than ovary. Flowers brownish-green or dark green, c.
8–12 mm long. Sepals subequal, elliptic-ovate,
c. 5×2.5 mm, spreading, reflexed, subacute, the
laterals somewhat falcate. Petals linear or more or less falcate, c. 5×1–1.5 mm. Lip brown, flat, narrowly obovate-oblong, 2–3 times longer than the lateral
sepals, apex cleft into 2 oblong or lanceolate acute
lobules, upper surface with a greenish linear groove, which forms a ridge on
the back. Column curved, dilated at
the base and apex, c. 3 mm long. Pollinia 2, oblong. Fruit capsule, turgid, 7–9 mm long, broadly-elliptic. (Fig. 1a–k).
Distribution: India (Jammu & Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh), China,
Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Tibet. In Himachal Pradesh the species is
distributed in Shimla (Narkanda-Hattu, Sarain-Choordhar), Kullu (Kothi), Kangra (above Polang), and Lahul at an altitude
of 2,000–3,500 m.
Flowering: July–August.
Fruiting: August–September.
Ecology: The plants were growing singly or in groups of 3–10
individuals on moist, shady and humus rich localities in conifer-oak forests
(Image 1). The species is not of
common occurrence in the state and therefore only one specimen (Orch 236) was collected and deposited at Herbarium, Panjab University (PAN), Chandigarh,
India.
Threats and Conservation: A large proportion of orchid habitats (forests/ grasslands) in
Himachal Pradesh have lost their quality due to expanded agricultural and other
developmental activities. Large scale exploitation of forests for tourism related
activities has detrimentally affected the delicately balanced ecological
equilibrium; even littering and trampling are enough to impair the
habitats. This species is
vulnerable to frequent land slips, grazing, and fodder
and fuel wood collection activities. The orchids are inherently slow growers and due to their nutritional
complexities (which are relatively more complex in leafless species) they
germinate poorly in nature. In N.listeroides, though the green flowers and young
stems help plants in performing photosynthesis, the leafless species are
generally believed to obtain nutrients from a mycorrhizalfungus that is attached to a photosynthetic host plant. Proactive measures should be taken for
conservation of such orchid species and their habitats.
REFERENCES
Deva, S.
& H.B. Naithani (1986). The
Orchid Flora of North West Himalaya. Print and
Media Associates, New Delhi, 71pp.
Jalal, J.S., P. Kumar, G.S. Rawat & Y.P.S. Pangtey(2008). Orchidaceae, Uttarakhand, Western Himalaya, India. Check List 4(3): 304–320.
Xinqi, C., S.W. Gale & P.J. Cribb (2009). Neottia Guettard. Flora of China 25:
184–195.