Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 April 2022 | 14(4): 20946–20950

 

ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) 

https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.7718.14.4.20946-20950

#7718 | Received 22 October 2021 | Final received 12 March 2022 | Finally accepted 01 April 2022

 

 

Endemic Primula xanthopa Balf.f. & R.E. Cooper: rediscovery after 88 years from Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhutan

 

Namgay Shacha 1, Karma Sangay 2, Tshering Dendup 3 & Tez Bdr Ghalley 4

 

1–4 Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary, Department of Forests and Park services, Ministry of Agriculture and Forests,

Royal Government of Bhutan.   

1 nshacha@moaf.gov.bt (corresponding author), 2 karmasangay1970@gmail.com, 3  tsheringdendup@moaf.gov.bt,

4 tbghalley@moaf.gov.bt

 

 

 

Editor: Afroz Alam, Banasthali Vidyapith, Rajasthan, India.         Date of publication: 26 April 2022 (online & print)

 

Citation: Shacha, N., K. Sangay, T. Dendup & T.B. Ghalley (2022). Endemic Primula xanthopa Balf.f. & R.E. Cooper: rediscovery after 88 Years from Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhutan. Journal of Threatened Taxa 14(4): 20946–20950. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.7718.14.4.20946-20950

 

Copyright: © Shacha et al. 2022. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.  JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publication.

 

Funding: None.

 

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

 

Acknowledgements: We, the authors, would like to thank the management of Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary (DOFPS, Royal Government of Bhutan) for the support and guidance in publishing this paper. We also would like to thank Mr. Ugyen Dorji (CNR), Mr. Cheten Dorji (CNR), Mr. Tashi Tobgay (CNR), Mr. Arjun Nepal, and Mr. Ikaitkupar Lyngdoh (India) for their help in publishing this paper.

 

 

 

The genus Primula L. is one of the largest genera with approximately 430 species distributed in temperate and alpine regions of the northern hemisphere (Richards 2003; Ghalley et al. 2021). About 71 species of Primula L. are recorded in Bhutan (Grierson & Long 1999; Ghalley et al. 2021). P. xanthopa Balf.f. & R.E. Cooper is endemic to Bhutan, recorded only from a single locality where it was discovered by R.E. Cooper on 10 August 1915 during an expedition in Bhutan (Smith & Fletcher 1943). The species was collected again by Ludlow & Sherriff from the same locality in 1933 (Smith & Fletcher 1943). The present record of P. xanthopa Balf.f. & R.E. Cooper was rediscovered from south-west of Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhutan (91.3130E, 27.5770N) on 5 August 2021 at an elevation of 3,785 m. This rediscovery of the species comes after a lapse of 88 years from the time it was last recorded by Ludlow and Sherriff in 1933. P. xanthopa was found growing in a Fir-forest with existential threats from grazing and anthropogenic activities. The current findings used Flora of Bhutan manual for identification and morphological description of P. xanthopa, along with description on its distribution. Herbarium specimen was prepared, and the specimen is deposited in the herbarium center of Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary.

P. xanthopa was collected during a field exploration on 5 August 2021 from Dongla pass, Lhuntse district, Bhutan. Herbarium specimen was prepared following Smith (1971) and submitted to Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary herbarium collection center with the herbarium collection number 330. The morphological characteristics were examined for confirmation of the identity of the specimen using the manual “Flora of Bhutan” (Grierson & Long 1999). The Geo-coordinates were recorded with Garmin GPS.

Taxonomy: P. xanthopa Balf.f. & R.E.Cooper in Notes Royal Botanical Garden Edinburgh (1916); Ward (1930); Smith & Fletcher (1943); Grierson & Long (1999).

Type: Bhutan, Dong La, Kurted (Cooper, 4393-type, 4977); Ludlow & Sherriff, 329, (Syntype-BM, Photo!)

Description: Perennial herb with slender rhizome bearing withered leaves remains. Leaves obovate or elliptic or oblong including petiole 2–9 cm long, 0.8–2 cm broad; apex rounded, margin coarsely sharply toothed, base narrowed to a slender petiole, glabrous and efarinose above, thickly golden farinose beneath.  Midrib conspicuous below with very slender lateral nerves; petiole winged, as long as the blade or up to twice as long, broad and sheathing at the base, yellow-farinose. Scape 5–12.7 cm tall, slender, farinose towards the apex, carrying 1–4 flowers. Bracts unequal, oblong to slightly oblanceolate, 7 mm long and nearly 2 mm broad, or linear-lanceolate and about 3.5–4 mm long, in all cases more or less farinose. Pedicels up to 1 cm long, sub-erect, yellow-farinose. Calyx 4–6 mm long, campanulate, farinose within and without, cut to about two-third into oblong-ovate obtuse or acute teeth. Corolla purplish pink with a yellow eye, exannulate, heteromorphic; tube cylindrical, ampliate above the insertion of the stamens, about 1 cm long; limb 1–16 cm across with oborate emarginate lobes. Stamens, Kith anthers barely 1 mm long, inserted near middle of tube in pin-eyed flowers, towards apex in thrum-eyed. Long style almost equaling tube; short style as long as calyx. Capsule oblong, almost 5–6 mm long, included in calyx (Smith & Fletcher 1943; Grierson & Long 1999).

Distribution: Dongla, Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhutan (Figure 1)

Specimens examined: Bhutan, Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary, (Dongla, Lhuntse) (91.3130E, 27.5770N; 3,785m) 5 August 2021, R.E Cooper, Dongla, 1915, (Syntype BM, Photo!). The specimen was deposited at Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary herbarium collection center, Trashiyangtse with collection number 330, which was collected on 5 August 2021 by Mr. Karma Sangay from Dongla, Lhuntse (Image 2).

Habitat: This species is found only from Dongla in Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary, eastern Bhutan, where it was found by Cooper in 1915, growing on mossy rocks/cliffs under fir forest at 4,000 m (Smith & Fletcher 1943). The actual coordinates of P. xanthopa was not reflected by R.E. Copper as well as other plant explorers except the locality name and habitat (Smith & Fletcher 1943) Similarly, in this current observation, the plant was found growing on mossy rock and cliff-ledges in a fir forest in the vicinity of the same locality as found by R.E Copper and Ludlowi & Sherrif, dominated by Abies densa Griff, Rhododendron lepidotum Wall, associated with Rosa sericea Lindl and herbs like P. gracilipes Craib and P. denticulata Sm. The plants of P. xanthopa were found growing in Dongla, Lhuntse at a single locality at an altitude of 3,785 m in the current observation. The plants were inhabiting shady cliffs facing north-west direction.

Flowering: P. xanthopa flowers in July–August, Corolla purplish-pink with a yellow eye with long style almost equaling tube; short style as long as calyx and deeply incised leaves and long petiole which distinguish it from similar plants like P. yunannensis Franch (Smith & Fletcher 1943).

Conservation status: P. xanthopa is endemic to Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhutan. The species is not listed in International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List (IUCN) as the species remained unexplored since 1933 with limited information (Ward 1930). Despite being endemic and rare, it is not included in protected plant species list of Forest and Nature Conservation Rule and Regulation (2017), Bhutan. The habitat of P. xanthopa was observed to have  existential threats from grazing animals and anthropogenic activities such as timber extraction, which pose major concerns over its distribution. Proper conservation methods are needed before the habitat of this endemic species will deteriorate and vanish leading to extinction of the species. Therefore, concerned authorities and agencies should initiate appropriate strategies to conserve this species from threats and developmental activities.

Conclusion: P. xanthopa is recorded from Dongla pass, Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhutan during floristic exploration on 5 August 2021. A single plant was found growing on a mossy rock in a fir forest in the vicinity of the same locality where it was found by R.E Copper, Ludlowi & Sherrif. The habitat of rare P. xanthopa was observed to have  existential threats from grazing animals and anthropogenic activities such as timber extraction, posing major concerns over its distribution.   The plant should be protected at the earliest by all feasible methods before its disappearance.

   

 

For figure & image - - click here

 

 

References

 

Ghalley, T.B., T. Dendup, K. Sangay & N. Shacha (2021). Rediscovery of the Bhutan Primrose Primula jigmediana WW Smith (Angiosperms: Primulaceae) after 87 years in Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhutan. Journal of Threatened Taxa 13(9): 19386–19388. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.7289.13.9.19386-19388

Grierson, A.J.C. & D.G. Long (1999). Primulaceae, pp. 515–554. In: Long, D.G. (ed.). Flora of Bhutan: Including a Record of Plants from Sikkim and Darjeeling - Vol. 2. Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, 1033 pp.

Richards, J. (2003). Primula - Revised Editon. Timber Press, London, UK, 346 pp.

Smith, C.E. (1971). Preparing herbarium specimens of vascular plants (No. 348). Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture.

Smith, W.W. & H.R. Fletcher (1943). The genus Primula: section Souliei Balf. Fil. Transactions of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh 33(4): 459–472. https://doi.org/10.1080/13594864309441398

Ward, F.K. (1930). The distribution of Primulas from the Himalaya to China, with descriptions of some new species. Annals of Botany 44(173): 111–125.