Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26
December 2019 | 11(15): 15083–15086
Gentiana urnula
Harry Sm. (Gentianaceae), a
new record for the flora of Arunachal Pradesh, India
Khilendra Singh Kanwal
1, Umeshkumar Lalchand
Tiwari 2, Lod Yama 3 & Mahendra
Singh Lodhi 4
1,3,4 G.B.
Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment and Sustainable Development,
North East Regional Centre, Itanagar, Arunachal
Pradesh 791111, India.
2 Botanical
Survey of India, Arunachal Pradesh Regional Centre, Itanagar,
Arunachal Pradesh 791111, India.
1 kskanwal03@gmail.com
(corresponding author), 2 tigerumesh11@gmail.com, 3 lod1437@gmail.com,
4 mahen29.mail@gmail.com
doi: https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.4420.11.15.15083-15086
Editor: K.
Ravikumar, Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions (FRLHT),
Bengaluru, India. Date of publication: 26 December 2019
(online & print)
Manuscript details: #4420 | Received 20 July 2018 |
Final received 05 November 2019 | Finally accepted 05 December 2019
Citation: Kanwal, K.S., U.L. Tiwari, L. Yama
& M.S. Lodhi (2019). Gentiana urnula Harry Sm. (Gentianaceae), a
new record for the flora of Arunachal Pradesh, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 11(15): 15083–15086. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.4420.11.15.15083-15086
Copyright: © Kanwal et al. 2019. Creative Commons Attribution
4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and
distribution of this article in any medium by adequate credit to the author(s)
and the source of publication.
Funding: Science & Engineering Research Board
(SERB), Department of Science
& Technology (DST),
Government of India.
Competing interests: The authors declare no competing
interests.
Acknowledgements: The authors
are extremely thankful for the financial support for the project (F.No. EMR/2014/000408) funded by Science & Engineering
Research Board (SERB), Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government
of India. The authors are thankful to
the Director of G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment and
Sustainable Development and Director of Botanical Survey of India for necessary
facilities and encouragement. Special
thanks are due to the local communities for sharing valuable information about
the Nagula wetland area. The authors are also highly grateful to the
Department of Environment and Forest, Government of Arunachal Pradesh, and the
Indian Army for giving the necessary permission and support during the field study.
The genus Gentiana
L. (Gentianaceae) consists of around 400 species
that are mainly distributed in the alpine regions of the world, but also occur
in temperate regions of Asia, Europe and the Americas (Ho
& Liu 2001; Struwe & Albert 2002; Mabberley 2008; Favre et al. 2016). The Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP) of the
Himalaya is considered to be the main centre of diversity for Gentiana, hosting around 250 species (Ho & Pringle 1995).
The name Gentiana is given by Linnaeus
after Gentius, the King of Illyria. Gentianas are
important medicinal plants in traditional Chinese medicine, and have been used
for over 2,000 years for curing various ailments like hypotension,
rheumatic pains, fevers and allergic inflammations (Gupta et al. 2012). In India, the genus is mainly distributed in
temperate, sub-alpine, and alpine regions of the Himalaya. A total of 73 taxa (66 species, 4 subspecies
and 3 varieties) of Gentiana are
recognised from India, out of which 31 taxa are recorded from the eastern
Himalayan region whereas 27 taxa are confined to the western Himalaya and only
five taxa are described from southern India (Sasidharan
2004; Gupta et al. 2012; Maity 2014; Shabir et al.
2017; Maity & Dey 2017;
Maity et al. 2018).
A floristic survey was carried out in Tawang District of Arunachal during 2016–17 for the
assessment of floral diversity of high altitude areas. During the collection, Gentiana
urnula Harry Sm. was recorded from Nagula wetland complex area (27.6470N and 91.8610E
at an altitude of 4,000m) of Tawang. The Nagula wetland
area is very rich in high altitude floral diversity and little explored at
present. This species is very rare and
endemic to the eastern Himalaya. Gentiana urnula is
an important medicinal plant and mostly used in Tibetan medicinal system for
the treatment of diarrhoea, dysentery, food poisoning and common cold. The identification of the species was
confirmed through the consultation of type specimens, the protologue
description of the species and consultation of literature (Hooker 1882; Hara
1965, 1975; Polunin & Stainton 1984; Garg 1987; Stainton 1988; Hajara et al. 1996; Ho & Liu
2001; Giri et al. 2008; Chowdhery
et al. 2009; Gupta et al. 2012; Maity 2014; Favre et
al. 2016; Maity & Dey
2017; Shabir et al. 2017; Shabir et al. 2018; Maity
et al. 2018). Furthermore the Herbarium
specimens of the Botanical Survey of India (BSI), Itanagar
(ARUN) and State Forest Research Institute (SFRI), Itanagar
were consulted. International online
herbaria and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) were also
explored for species identification and distribution records. G. urnula has
not been reported earlier from Arunachal Pradesh. The voucher specimen was
deposited in the herbarium of the G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan
Environment and Sustainable Development, (GBP) and Botanical Survey of India
(BSI), Itanagar (ARUN) for future references.
Gentiana urnula Harry Smith
Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew. 15: 51. 1961. Ho & Liu, Worldwide Monogr. Gentiana:
2001 (Image 1 A, B).
Holotype: Bhutan, Nelli la
near Lingshi Dzong, 4,500m, 13 October 1949, Ludlow,
Sherriff & Hicks 17458 (BM holotype; EUPS isotypes).
Perennial herbs, sometimes mat forming, 1.5–2.0 cm
high. Stems simple or rarely branched, 1
or 2, glabrous.
Basal leaves reddish-green, not rosette; cauline leaves crowded upward;
petioles 1–1.5 mm long, membranous; lamina truncate-flabelliform, 5–8 mm,
truncate or emarginate at apex, abruptly contracted at base, slightly cartilagi-nous a long margin, papillate near base only;
mid-vein cartilaginous and crested, vein 1, upper most pair of leaves often
sessile. Flowers terminal, solitary or 2, subsessile. Calyx tubular, obconic; lobes 5, leafy,
leathery, orbicular; tube 4–6 mm long, membranous; lobes 3–4 mm long, similar
to leaves. Corolla pale bluish-purple to
pale yellow with blue streaks, campanulate, 2–3 cm long; lobes broadly ovate,
3–4.5 × 2.5–3.5 mm, apex rounded and cuspidate, entire at margins; plicae
broadly ovate to subtruncate, 1–2 mm, entire at
margins or denticulate. Stamens inserted
in corolla tube; filaments 5.5–8.5 mm long; anthers 2–3.5 mm long,
ellipsoid. Style short; stigma with
triangular lobes. Capsules 1.5–1.8 cm;
ovoid-ellipsoid; gynophores up to 4cm, slender. Seeds ellipsoid, 2–2.5 mm long,
dark brown; seed coats with simple pits.
Flowering and Fruiting: July–October.
Distribution: India (Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh), Bhutan, Nepal,
China (SW Qinghai, E Xizang) (Ho & Liu 2001).
Specimen examined: 1013(GBP), 10.viii.2017, Nagula
Lake, Tawang District, Arunachal Pradesh, India,
27.6470N, 91.8610E, 4,000m, coll. Lod Yama & KS. Kanwal (Images 2 & 3).
Habitat and Ecology: The plants were found growing in some isolated
pockets in Nagula Lake area of western Arunachal
Pradesh in alpine meadows and gravel slope at 4,000m altitude. It is facing threats from livestock mainly
from trampling by yaks and horses, unregulated tourism and developmental
activities which result in habitat destruction and fragmentation in the area. In future, the species may face further
threat from climate change due to very limited population size and restricted
distribution in the Himalayan region.
Therefore, conservation action should be taken for this rare and endemic
species before it becomes extinct in this region. Extensive grazing by yaks along with the
consequent human intrusion for plant exhibited more pronounced habitat
destruction and made the plant status crucial for immediate management
intervention. Proper updated information
regarding the species is lacking in India or neighbouring countries, especially
with regard to ecological and habitat information, thereby creating huge lacuna
in the knowledge base. Qualitative and
quantitative inventory of the species is urgently needed for evolving a long
term conservation plan of the species.
In addition to this, in situ and ex situ conservation measures,
awareness through educational programmes, and community participation should
also be required for the conservation of Gentiana
urnula in the region.
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