February 2015 – Naresh Swami | The Orchids of the Sikkim Himalaya

Cypripedium himalaicum Rolfe.

The Plant

Terrestrial. An annular herb of about 8 to 12 cm in height from the alpine slopes. Stem and peduncle pubescent, with the former smaller in length than the former. Stem clothed at its base with 2 to 3 unequal tubular sheaths. Leaves 3 or 4, almost alternate in arranged, unequal with the lowest the smallest, ovate to elliptic, sessile with clasping base and pointed apex, 0.75 to 3.5 cm long and 0.5 to 3 cm in width, 5 to 7 strong veins and several narrow veins in between them, both the surface and its margins minutely hairy. Flower solitary at the apex of the erect peduncle.

The Flower

Flower large, 2 to 3 cm across. Sepals unequal; dorsal sepal ovate, acute, diagonally arching, laxly pubescent; lateral pair united under the lip, broadly ovate. Petals longer than the dorsal sepal, lanceolate, diagonally spreading with its apex curved forward, inner surface with many long white hairs to its base, margins pubescent. Lip saccate, diagonally pendulous, rotund in outline. Floral bract longer than that of the flower, lanceolate, arching diagonally over the dorsal sepal, arising from behind the arched short ovary, puberulosus, many veined.

The outer surface of both sepals and petals are pale brown with many darker veins and markings running all along its length; their inner surface pale brown with many irregular broken streaks and markings of dark brown paler than that of its outer surface. Lip brown but covered almost with bright reddish to purplish shade. Floral bract bright green.

The Pursuit

A plant of the high Himalayan slopes and open dry areas. Not as rare as its counter parts. I missed this species for two continuous seasons. In the third year of my alpine work, I was staying with a very good friend of mine at the highest village of North Sikkim. He was assigned with building the highest hydro power station of the country there. He was an ardent lover of flowers and lead many expeditions in the various sectors of Himalayas and was lucky enough to spot this plant few years back from the region. That year too it bloomed in the same location and he guided me to there to see it in bloom.

But my deep desire to find it from a new location prompted me to undertake difficult treks on mountain slopes. Around 14,000 ft, there are stretches of high mountains towering to above 17,000 ft in height. There are many thousand floral plants up to its two third height, the rest height is devoid of any floral growth other than rocky surface. I had climbed up to its summit several times in search of many plants. A week after I photographed this species from the location my good friend showed me, I decided to search for the species again in those high mountains at higher elevations. On the fifth day of the search, I was taking a deep ascent of those high mountains from its southern side. It was very steep and hard to negotiate. I was forced to lie down and crawl up between various spots. After a steep climb I reached a flat place which was full with blooming Iris.It was very beautiful and was taking few photographs of it. A strong wind came from the northerly direction and took my cap away. The wind threw the cap to the other side of the flattened surface. Leaving my camera and other accessories behind I tried to take back my cap which was stuck to a small Rhododendron plant on the steep side of the hill. As there were many such plants I know I will got skid down the mountain and I sat there and slowly moved on my back to reach the cap and collected it back. As I was crawling back I found something very bright coloured under that Rhododendron plant. Not one second was needed for identifying a plant like this that also when it is in bloom. I was very much satisfied with the find, but to document it on that steep slope needed for logistics. I returned to my base camp and arranged ropes and other necessary things for next days trip.

Unfortunately I haven’t got any porters to carry the ropes up the mountain and made two trips to make those heavy weighted ropes and my camera accessories reach the spot. By fixing the rope to a few Rhododendron plants and the other end rigidly on me I went down the slope and crawled under the other plant to reach the species and with much difficulty produced this photograph. I was interested in back lighting the plant to get some more details made the thing little more complicated. One flash light I fixed behind the flower rolled further down hill and disappeared inside the Rhododendron thickets. It was an expensive accessory and I wanted it back at any risk. The rope I was using was not so long for reaching any further down also. Suddenly, out of blue, a local villager appeared there. He was there to collect some herbs used for making herbal tea. I told him the unfortunate incident and he with much ease went down hill without even holding or taking support of the rope and searched the whole area and brought my flash back. Then he also encountered this species. Then came the most unfortunate incident, he puled out the whole plant from there even before I can stop him. He wanted to plant it in his home. I was sure it will not survive in his home and my find of another location of the species went in vain. I still hope on that slope there will be some more plant of this species.

Reference:

King, G. & Pantling, R. (1898). The Orchids of the Sikkim-Himalayas. Ann. Roy. Bot. Garden. (Calcutta). Cypripedium himalaicum Rolfe., Page no 342.

Cypripedium elegans Reichb.

The Plant

Terrestrial. A small plant of about 6 to 8 cm in height from the alpine slopes. Stem and peduncle of the same length, stem stouter than the peduncle, both pubescent with the former thicker than the latter. Leaves two, arranged at the apex of the stem, opposite, orbicular to ovate, sessile, puberulosus, three to five veined, 2 to 3 cm long and 1 to 1.5 cm in width. Flower solitary at the apex of the scape.

The Flower

Flower 1 to 1.5 cm across. Sepal unequal, dorsal ovate, arching puberulosus; the lateral pair united under the lip, broadly ovate. Petal lanceolate with almost round base, longer than the dorsal sepal, spreading diagonally with its apex curved out. Lip a saccate lobe, with three wavy long ridges on its upper surface, running from the base and converging around its apex, the surface around the ridges are with long laxly arranged hairs. Floral bract lanceolate, puberulosus, arising from behind the short horizontal ovary and diagonally arching over the flower.

Dorsal sepal brown with darker long broad lines converging on both sides. Lateral pale brown with irregular pinkish brown markings. Petals pale brown with dark brown base and many irregular streaks and markings of the same shade towards its apex. Lip rosy pink with dark pinkish irregular markings on the three ridges. Floral bract bright green. The puberulosus growths on the stem and peduncle shiny white.

The Pursuit

A beautiful plant seldom photographed or even spotted from the alpine slopes. During my first high altitude flower hunt, the find of this species was my priority. Accompanied by my forest guard friend, we searched several places for this species mostly around the altitude King and Pantling mentioned in their monumental work. Our search went on for months without any trace of this species. As we searched every day and discussed this species both of us got obsessed about the species to the extend that we used to yell inside the forest, “Cypripedium elegans where are you?”With the summer at its peak and alpine meadows started appearing, I moved to higher altitudes for more finds. I was having hope in finding this species from somewhere during my survey.

One day, by the mid of my high alpine search, my vehicle got some technical fault and I was forced to travel along with another set of research students in their vehicle. Their destination of work on that day was in a place I had never worked before. They were there to build a green house to study the effect of climate change. Their work was on the side of a stream with heavy water flow. As we were there, I noticed a fallen huge Abies spectabilis tree across the stream. The length of the tree was more than that of the stream and was lying flat around 2 to 3 m in height above the water surface with both its bottom rooted portion and its apex firmly fixed to either sides of the stream, thus forming a natural bridge. I thought of crossing to the other side of the stream. But I, met with many discouraging advices from the colleagues. However, I took the risk of crossing the stream and went inside the adjoining deep forest. The nature of the terrain shows that the whole area was never visited by any humans or even cattle of the near by hamlet. Before I took a few steps inside the forest itself, I spotted a few plants, which I had already found from other locations. But the presence of two very rare orchids among them increased my curiosity many fold to go inside the forest and to do a detailed survey. I was aware that I might face much wildlife from that location. The choice was left with me to either move ahead or return. My life was always filled with curiosity to explore new places and I decided to go ahead. The entire region was of Rhododendrons of hardly 1.5 to 2 m in height. As I was negotiating through thickets of Rhododendrons, crawling under them, I found three plants of this species in bloom with two of them with fresh flowers. It was the most exiting moment of my entire orchid hunt; a plant, which was seldom found, was in front of me, that too in flower during my first visit to a new location. Usually it takes several visits to various locations to see plants in bloom. The plants were so small; I had to lie down flat on that wet and moist land to have a close look at it. It took several hours to make drawings and documentations of this species. But it was worth a deal, probably that was the first time this species was documented the same way I did on that day. I was aware that those photographs of the species would be a referral photograph for many in the years to come around the globe, hence put more efforts with different lighting techniques. By that time my friends completed their work and wanted to return and were yelling and screaming at me to return. I came to the edge of the stream and asked them to return and said that I will follow later. However, to my surprise no one from that team wanted to know what the rarity I got that made me stay back on a dangerous forested place all by myself. I was taken aback by their indifference. I settled there for another 3 more hours with those two plants in bloom and produced this wonderful photograph.

The day ended memorably with a great find of a rare species and another memorable walk of around 4 hours through those winding roads of the Himalayas to reach my base camp under the darkness of a moonless night.

Reference:

King, G. & Pantling, R. (1898). The Orchids of the Sikkim-Himalayas. Ann. Roy. Bot. Garden. (Calcutta). Cypripedium elegans Reichb., Page no 341.

Platanthera exelliana Soó.

The plant

Terrestrial. Whole plant 12 to 30 cm in height. Tubers two, elongate, cylindrical, tapering to both ends, with stout long roots arising from the base of the stem. Base of the stem sheathed. Stem cylindrical, with a solitary, oblong to oblanceolate, acute leaf, tapering to a short-sheathed base, 4 to 7 cm long and 1.5 to 2 cm in width. Above the solitary leaf, another solitary, long, erect, 3 to 5 cm long and less than 1 cm in width lanceolate bract is present. Flower many in a spike longer than the stem, ridged.

The Flower

Flower large, about 1.5 to 2 cm across. Sepals equal, elliptic, dorsal diagonally erect; lateral spreading and curved back. Petals lanceolate, as long as the dorsal sepal and arranged perpendicular to it. Lip lanceolate, fleshy, pointing downwards. Spur curved, longer than the ovary, cylindrical with broadened apex. Floral bract erect, lanceolate, longer than the decurved ovary, diminishing in length to the apex of the spike, arising from the lower portion of the ovary.

Sepals green. Petals and lip yellowish green. Spur pale yellow. Floral bract green.

The Pursuit

This is a very rare species of the region, with its habitats spreading currently across Central and East Himalayas as well as China (Sichuan and Yunnan).

I too was surprised with its features and elusive nature, and made a point to put extra efforts to find it. Along with my alpine work I was concentrating above 10,000 ft in the monsoon months. We were camped in a small hamlet along the roadside. The area was totally cut off from any communication network and even electricity. Those days were the hardest of all days in the alpine region. Every day we trekked many kilometers in very hostile climatic conditions and wildlife activities. But, each day produced some exiting discoveries, which made us really happy at the end of the day. An elderly neighbour told us about two lakes at the top of a flat mountain a few kilometers from there. One day we decided to trek up there. The ascent up the mountain was so tiring. It took more than 4 hours to climb around 1200 m. At the top of the mountain, the entire topography changed to a different world. It was like a plateau with more than 15 km in length and some 8 km wide. The entire plateau was covered with hardly 1 to 1.5 m high Rhododendrons. The forest floor was full of many plants. The two lakes were not so large; they were just 40 to 50 m wide and about the same in length. As a tradition in the Himalayas, we burned some incense and prayed there and trekked ahead. We found many species of flowering plants all over the region. But something special was still missing. All those we came across were the ones I had found earlier from various regions of the Himalayas. After around 3 km of trekking I noticed an area that seemed like a small valley, which was full of Rhododendron trees. The dense growth of the plants made me think that there will be no plants inside those thickets. Hence, we moved ahead along the side of those trees. As we trekked ahead I was glanced my eyes on the forest floor for something unusual. As we were about to the transverse the last part of those thickets I found a robust plant of less than 1 ft in height. The strong features of that small plant attracted my attention and I crawled down under those thickets to it. To my surprise it was this species, just a single specimen with 7 buds of which three were in bloom. It was such a surprise that a plant believed to be very elusive was growing as elusive itself – deep inside a thick thicket of Rhododendrons. As the thickets were dense it was not at all possible to be near to the plant to make sketches or photograph it. We were left with no options other than removing the plant and bringing it out to the open area. Before doing that, we searched the whole area by crawling under those thickets on wet moist moss covered ground for about an hour in search of more plants. My assistant was able to locate 3 more plants from there, but with withered flowers. Then we decided to gently remove the plant we spotted first and made sketches and photographs from it and replanted it back at its original position. Even though I had removed a plant from its habitats on a few occasions only, each time I pay much attention not to damage it in any way. Every time, I made it a point to replanted it on the same location.

Later on, in the last year of my alpine work I found 2 more plants of this species but was not able to visit them while it was in flower.

Reference:

King, G. & Pantling, R. (1898). The Orchids of the Sikkim-Himalayas. Ann. Roy. Bot. Garden. (Calcutta).Habenaria oligantha Hook., Page no 325.

Platanthera juncea (King & Pantl.) Kraenzl.

The Plant

Terrestrial. Tuber solitary, ellipsoid with many fibrous hairs. Whole plant about 12 to 20 cm in height. Stem two third of the whole plant, very slender but with a comparatively stout base which is covered with lanceolate sheaths, cylindrical; also with a narrow lanceolate erect bract around its upper third portion. Leaf solitary, arising from the base of the stem, oblong to ovate, slightly decurved at its apex, 1.5 to 2.5 cm long and about 1.25 cm in width, narrowed at its base to a tubular sheath, three veined. Flower many in a spike, laxly arranged.

The Flower

Flower very small, less then 1 cm across. Sepals unequal, ovate to lanceolate; dorsal broader and shorter than the lateral, diagonally erect; lateral spreading diagonally. Petals ovate, as long as the dorsal sepal and connivent with it to form a hood. Lip longer than the sepals and petals, entire, its apex minutely decurved. Spur very small, cylindrical with broadened apex. Floral bracts narrow and erect, smaller and arising from the lower portion of the erect and twisted ovary.

The whole flower is pale green with the outer surface of the sepals a darker shade, spur pale green and translucent.

Platanthera juncea (King & Pantl.) Kraenzl.

The Pursuit

A very slender ground species of the region. A publication came out with a documentary evidence of this species; even though the photograph was not providing the details of the plant and its flowers. Hence, I was so eager to find it from its natural habitats and document it. During the first year of my alpine region work I was eagerly looking for this species. King and Pantling’s mention of its altitudinal range – 11,000 to 12,000 ft, made me put this species on the check list of “those to be found” by the second month of the alpine hunt. In the first month I was relatively working on lower altitudes, between 8,800 and 11,000 ft. As it was my first alpine hunt each day was hectic with too much trekking and lot of finds. The main road of the region was made by carving out the mountain, hence it’s both sides got supporting brick walls. Shrubs and climbers start appearing on those walls along with the first showers of the season and will get fully covered in a few weeks. I had found and documented many rare plants growing inside those shrubs and climbers. Hence, every time when I get opportunity I survey those walls. On a routine survey I found four very slender orchid plants from a thick bushy region on the walls. Its solitary leaf prompted me to think it could be this species. However, the plant was so small to properly identify. I marked the area and waited for its growth. In the coming days I visited the location twice to confirm its presence. However, on the third visit I found the entire shrubs and climbers on those walls were removed by the government officials residing there. They found a couple of poisonous snakes in their residential area and cleared all forest undergrowth from the region including my rare find. I was really disappointed with the loss but was determined to find it again.

That year went without its find. In the second year of my alpine work, I particularly visited the same location from where I found this species on the previous year. To my surprise there were again four slender plants almost at the same location. Fearing another miss due to some unforeseen reasons, we fenced that area. Every few days I visited the location to make sure no destruction has happened to my finds. Within the next week itself I was able to confirm its identity. After many visits and cautious wait I found them in flowers and made this beautiful photograph. Surprisingly on the very next day of my documentation of those four plants, heavy rains triggered landslide and the whole stretch of those supporting wall crashed down destroying all the floral population for around some 20 m length.

Reference:

King, G. & Pantling, R. (1898). The Orchids of the Sikkim-Himalayas. Ann. Roy. Bot. Garden. (Calcutta).Habenaria juncea King and Pantling., 315 – 316.

Peristylus fallax Lindl.

The Plant

Terrestrial. Tubers two, ellipsoid to elliptic with a few short stout roots arising from it. Whole plant 12 to 17 cm in height. Stem more than one third of its total height with its base sheathed, cylindrical. Leaf solitary, arising around the apex of the stem, ensiform to linear, long, 5 to 8 cm in length and 1.5 cm in width, decurved, narrowed to a long tubular sheath, the base of the sheath covered by another long sheath attached opposite to it. Flower many in a spike longer than the stem, ribbed.

The Flower

Flower 1.5 cm across, facing diagonally downwards. Sepals unequal; dorsal ovate, shorter than the lateral sepals, arching; lateral oblong to ovate, diagonally spreading; petals oblong shorter and slender than the sepals and petals, connivent with the dorsal sepal, arching diagonally. Lip three lobed; middle lobe longer than the side lobes, ovate to oblong; side lobes very small, diverging, oblong with its outer margin bottlenose shaped. Spur very small, obdeltoid. Floral bracts longer than the ovary, diminishing in size towards the apex, lanceolate, erect, arising from the lower side of the curved ovary.

The whole flower including its sepals, petals and lip pale green with the outer surface of the sepals with a darker shaded margin running through its middle. Spur pale green, translucent. Floral bract pale green flushed with darker shade.

The Pursuit

It was a very bright sunny day, with no trace of any clouds. Both me and the forest guard, who was assigned to assist me, were ready for the day’s work. We travelled to the alpine region in an army vehicle every day. The road to the alpine region runs along the banks of the main stream of the valley for about 35 km. On that day we were planning to cross the stream at a location 18 km ahead and trek for another 6 km and return by afternoon. I always enjoyed the stream with its milky waters and had produced many scenic photographs of it on various days. Whenever I travel uphill I prefer to sit on the right side of the vehicle so that I can always enjoy the view of the milky waters. As I was enjoying the waters and remembering the many photographs I produced, the river turned muddy and the speed of the flow increased many fold. In seconds, the stream turned like a broad river with water level rising many feet. We understood something strange had occurred in the high hills. Our vehicle stopped there and we decided to return. It will be always safe to be cautious in the alpine hills. The vehicle returned to its base camp with other people, but we decided to take a walk back. By then we had understood that there was a cloud burst in the high hills.

As we were returning back on foot, we used the opportunity in surveying both sides of the road. We found several species but all of them were studied earlier. As we approached an ascending portion on the route, we both rested on a rock to have hot tea and biscuits we were carrying. As we were having only one cup to share the tea, I always offered my companion to have the pleasure of tea first. On this day after having his cup of tea, the forest guard was on his way to wash the cup from a small falls on the roadside. On his he accidently found this species – a single plant with several buds and a few of them in bloom. That was the first time I was also seeing the plant and was very happy for the find. We both spend more than 2 hours there searching the whole area on either side of the road and even on the banks of the river with rushing waters in vain. As we were not able to find another specimen and as we had to walk back all the way, we decided to study and document the only specimen we found. As the location was dry and open, I produced some fantastic photographs of the species.

While on the way, we both were discussing the ways and means the Almighty shows to find each species. The cloudburst in the alpine region made us abandon the uphill ride and return back on foot. If we were a few minutes late we would have returned much before the point from where we found the species, thus, may be, making the species still elusive for me.

Reference:

King, G. & Pantling, R. (1898). The Orchids of the Sikkim-Himalayas. Ann. Roy. Bot. Garden. (Calcutta). Habenaria fallax King and Pantling., Page no 325.

Neottianthe secundiflora (Kraenzl.) Schltr. – The Alba form (New Report).

The Plant

Terrestrial. Tubers unequal, two to three with a few thin and short roots, globular to cylindrical. Whole plant 12 cm in height. Stem about one third of the whole plant, with two leaves attached to its upper part and a thin membranous long sheath at its base. Leaves linear oblong, acute, narrowed at its base to a long tubular sheath, veined, 5 cm long and 1.5 cm in width, diagonally erect. Flower many in a spike longer than the stem, ribbed.

The Flower

Flower small, 1.5 cm across. Sepals unequal, dorsal ovate; lateral sepals lanceolate, broader than the petals; petals as long as the lateral sepals, oblong; all connivent to form a diagonally curved up hood. Lip longer than the spur, decurved, apex three lobed, the middle one longer than the other two, ovate with broad base; side ones slightly diverging, oblong, shorter and slender than the middle one. Sepal, petals and lip translucent. Spur like a funnel, much broader at its apex and converging to a cylindrical blunt apex. Floral bracts lanceolate, longer than the ovary, diminishing in size upwards, arising from the lower side of the erect ovary.

Sepal, petals and lip white. Spur white with its apex turning pale creamy yellow. Floral bracts green.

Neottianthe secundiflora (Kraenzl.) Schltr. – The Alba form (New Report)

The Pursuit

I am grateful that with the discovery of this Alba form, I contributed one more new report to the scientific world of orchids. I consider this discovery as one of the most thrilling. In the last year of my alpine work in the Sikkim-Himalayas, I ventured to many unexplored areas. Every day I trekked long distances away from civilization and was very successful in finding a number of species. I was able to locate a habitat of Neottianthe secundiflora (Kraenzl.) Schltr., from a remote corner of the region. The area was very deep inside a valley where I don’t think any humans had ever ventured not to mention of any botanical explorations. As I noticed around 80 specimens in flower in a small area, I thought of extending my exploration to more areas from that valley. I was aware that I had extended my trek and exploration to unknown terrains putting myself at great risk of life and limb. I overcame my fear and decided to survey more areas. The sound of the harsh winds itself is so frightening, that even seasoned trekkers turn around. In my case I was all-alone. On that day I decided to trek ahead for another 20 minutes. Every day I kept extending my deadline further which later took a heavy toll on my heath. As the valley is above the height of tree line there were only small shrubs and visibility was very good. As I was walking over a wet area with too many Primulas in bloom, I found a single small plant in flower. It was so strange that I noticed it from among many other plants in flower. It was the only plant with white flowers there. I bend down to it for a closer look, and to my surprise it was history in making – a new discovery of an Alba. My eyes were not able to believe what I saw. I was all alone so I had to pinch myself to ascertain what I had seen not an illusion. It took some time to realize that I am really sitting in front of a new discovery.

As it was a single plant, I carefully studied and documented it without even touching it. It is always very difficult to produce technically perfect photographs of white flowers under bright sunlight. All my experience in handling and documenting small plants and flowers were to be used together to produce the best of the pictures. It took more than 3 hours for all scientific analyses and documentations. I was really exhausted with all those precise microphotography. After that I crisscrossed that area to look for more of that Alba in vain. For the next 6 days I made those long treks to the location and covered many square miles in that valley looking for more of that Alba, but that too ended without any find.

Reference:

There is no reference of this Alba in The Orchids of the Sikkim-Himalayas by Sir. George King and Robert Pantling (1898).

Neottianthe secundiflora (Kraenzl.) Schltr.

The Plant

Terrestrial. Tubers unequal, two to three with a few thin and short roots, globular to cylindrical. Whole plant 10 to 16 cm in height. Stem about one third of the whole plant, with two leaves attached to its upper part and a thin membranous long sheath at its base. Leaves linear oblong, acute, narrowed at its base to a long tubular sheath, veined and leathery, 4 to 6 cm long and 1.5 to 2 cm in width, diagonally erect. Flower many in a spike longer than the stem, ribbed.

The Flower

Flower small, 1.5 cm across. Sepals unequal, dorsal ovate, shorter than the lateral sepals; lateral sepals lanceolate, broader than the petals; petals oblong; all connivent to form a diagonally curved up hood. Lip longer than the spur, decurved, apex three lobed, the middle one longer than the other two, ovate with broad base; side ones slightly diverging, oblong, shorter and slender than the middle one. Spur like a funnel, much broader at its apex and converging to a cylindrical blunt apex. Floral bracts lanceolate, longer than the ovary, diminishing in size upwards, arising from the lower side of the erect ovary.

Sepals and petals pale rose to pink minutely flushed with white. Lip is of the same shade, but the base of it white. Floral bracts brown flushed with green.

Neottianthe secundiflora (Kraenzl.) Schltr.

The Pursuit

This is one of the beautiful ground orchids I had ever studied. Its beauty and elegance cannot be compared with any of the Himalayan orchids. Ironically, its beauty went unnoticed as it was not documented properly.

As I was in the alpine region for many months together, I had studied and documented the full cycle of many species from its spurting, growth, flowering and its speed pods. This was one of the species I followed closely, visiting it every day. In the alpine region I was unable to communicate to my dear and near ones, I made it a point there to greet all those orchid plants I discovered on a regular basis. The first find of this species was very interesting. En-route the high alpine region, there is a small hamlet. In one of those houses they were having some religious function and one of the younger members of the family invited me to join. All religious functions of the Himalayas will never be over without a great feast of non-vegetarian food and locally made brew. As I am a strict vegetarian every household of the region has trouble in feeding me. The exact thing happened there also. They got a lot of dishes but nothing vegetarian. As the people of the hills are very good host, the elderly woman of the house asked her grandchildren to collect some local plants from the banks of a stream nearby to make some dish for me. I also joined them in plucking the plants. As the children were collecting the plants I found this species growing there. The plants were very small. Even though not properly able to identify the species, it was understood that it was an orchid. One of the children remembered that it produces pink flowers in the previous season. If my memories are correct, I visited the plant every day for the next 42 days to see them in flower. However, as the leaves emerge I was able to identify the species. Then onwards it was of more anxiety and finally I produced this beautiful photograph of the species without much difficulty.

Later on, in the last year of my stay in the alpine region, I found about 80 plants of this species growing near to each other from a location very far away from any mode of road transport. May be I am the only person till date who had visited that location. I hope the species will remain there for many years to come in their undisturbed environment.

Reference:

King, G. & Pantling, R. (1898). The Orchids of the Sikkim-Himalayas. Ann. Roy. Bot. Garden. (Calcutta). Habenarias ecundiflora Hook., Page no 330 – 331.

Neottianthe cucullata var. calcicola (W.W.Sm.) Soó.

The Plant

Terrestrial, whole plant 15 to 25 cm in height. With 3 to 4 irregular tubers with many hairy long roots arising from it, cylindrical to oblong, 1 to 2.5 cm long. Stem cylindrical with many leaves laxly arranged all along the stems. Leaves unequal, linear, acute, sessile, clasping but not fully covering at its base, 9 to 3 cm long, diminishing in length towards the apex of the stem. Flower many in a spike, longer than the stem.

The Flower

Flower 1.25 cm across. Sepals unequal, dorsal ovate, as long as the lateral sepals; lateral sepals, and petals lanceolate; all connivent to form a diagonally curved up hood. Lip longer than the sepals and petals, decurved, apex three lobed, the middle one longer than the other two, oblong with broad base; side ones slightly diverging, oblong with its outer margin bottle nose shaped. Spur like a funnel, much broader at its apex and converging to a cylindrical blunt apex. Floral bracts lanceolate, longer than the ovary, arising from the lower side of the erect ovary.

Sepals pale pink to rose flushed with white. Petals and lip of a darker shade with the base of the latter white with several elongated markings of the same shade. Spur pale pink, translucent. Floral bracts green.

Neottianthe cucullata var. calcicola (W.W.Sm.) Soó.

The Pursuit

A species that was not reported by King and Pantling in their monumental work. This species was discovered later on by W. W. Smith, another botanist who explored the Himalayas. After his work many botanists including Indian researchers worked in the region and even came out with publications. But none of those works produced any documentary evidence of this species. Hence I was not sure whether this species actually existed in this region.

With the work on Alpine region I covered several hundred square kilometers on foot finding and documenting several species from the region, many were the first ever-photographic evidence of those particular species. As it was my first survey work in the higher altitudes, wherever I went I found various species.

After a meticulous survey I was able to locate another rare species that is very similar to this species. While I was making notes, I remembered this species and thought about the possibilities of finding it. The search for this species was never ending and it was almost the end of the flowering season. As I was returning in the evening from a survey trip in a government vehicle I noticed few very small plants with pink flowers. I was not sure what species it was. However, I noticed its leaf pattern and was sure it is not the same I had found earlier. The driver of that vehicle was not so cooperative and was reluctant to stop. Understanding his attitudes I decided to come the next day to take a closer look of the species. Next day I took another vehicle and went to the location. For around half an hour I was not able to locate those small plants. After a thorough search that helped me in locating one more rare species, I found this species again. Altogether they were five plants of this species. The plants were with many buds and more than half of them already open. Without much difficulty I made neat drawings and photographs.

Reference:

There is no reference of this species in The Orchids of the Sikkim-Himalayas by Sir. George King and Robert Pantling (1898).

Platanthera biermanniana (King &Pantl.) Kraenzl.

The Plant

Terrestrial. Whole plant between 8 to 15 cm in height. Tubers two, cylindrical to ovoid, up to 3 cm long, with four or five short stout cylindrical roots arising from its apex joining the stem. Stem narrow cylindrical with two lanceolate bracts at its base. Leaves five, unequal, scattered, lanceolate, acute, strongly nerved, narrowed to a sheathing base. Flower in a spike shorter than the stem. Flower many, densely arranged

The Flower

Flower small, less than 1 cm across. Sepals unequal, dorsal ovate, shorter than the lateral, connivent with the petals to form a hood; lateral lanceolate, erect and arranged parallel to the dorsal sepals. Petals as long as the dorsal sepal, lanceolate. Lip decurved, linear to oblong, obtuse, with tooth like side lobes at its base. Spur as long as the lip, cylindrical, widening to its apex. Floral bracts longer than the erect ovary, lanceolate, arising from the lower side of the ovary.

Platanthera biermanniana (King & Pantl.) Kraenzl.

The Pursuit

According to the monumental publication of King and Pantling, this species was described as a very “distinct species”; dedicated to the memory of late Adolf Biermann. Adolf Biermann was a resident of Government Cinchona Plantation for many years and died as Curator of the Botanic Garden, Calcutta.

Even after having very distinguishing features, the species was neither documented nor studied from its natural habitat. It was described very rare by many research publications. This made me extra determined to find this species and marked it on the “important” list.

In the year 2012, with Alpine area survey I was in the higher altitudes from May to October. Even though I searched many locations to find this species, it had remained elusive. The plant is very small; finding it from heavy undergrowth made it more difficult. Taller plants with attractive flowers are spotted with less difficulty than smaller ones. By the last week of September I noticed the change in climatic conditions in upper ranges and decided to move to a relatively lower altitude to continue with the work for one more month. On the second last day, I spotted this species, four plants of them unexpectedly. The find was really surprising. I was on a casual survey along the only road which connects to the plains. As I had found most of the possible species from the region I was in a relaxed mood. As I was walking past a small waterfall, I noticed few iron pipes dumped along the side of the road. They were piled up one over the other to a height of about 3.5 m. The child in me made me remember my school days and I climbed up those piled iron pipes as I used to do as a child. Those pipes were left there for a couple of years with many shrubs and plants growing all over them. While sitting on the top of it, I thought of getting to the other side and do some survey. Before I realised anything more, I spotted this species on a small open area a few feet away from those pipes. As the plants were so small, I was unable to identify them. My curiosity made me to analyse the plant from close quarters and to my surprise it was this species. A species described as “very distinct” and “very rare”. All of the four plants were in bloom and I produced a set of wonderful photographs of this species with ease, that too for the first time in history.

Later on, from another protected area of the region, I found several of this species from a wide range of altitude, thus paving way to describe the species as “rare, but locally common”.

Reference:

King, G. & Pantling, R. (1898). The Orchids of the Sikkim-Himalayas. Ann. Roy. Bot. Garden. (Calcutta). Habenaria biermanniana King and Pantling Page no 318 -319.

Platanthera bakeriana (King &Pantl.) Kraenzl.

The Plant

Terrestrial. Whole plant between 15 to 22 cm in height. Stem thick, ribbed. Leaves three, oblong to linear, acute, sessile, sheathing and many nerved. Flower many, laxly arranged in a terminal spike.

The Flower

Flower small, 1 to 1.25 cm across. Sepal unequal, dorsal ovate, shorter than the lateral, erect and conniving with the petals to form a hood; lateral lanceolate, spreading. Petals as long as the dorsal sepal, ovate. Lip slightly longer than the lateral sepals, ovate to lanceolate, entire. Spur more than twice longer than the curved ovary, curved, cylindrical, tapering towards its apex. Floral bract lanceolate, erect, longer than the curved ovary and diminishing in length towards the apex of the spike, lower ones twice as long as the upper ones, arising from the lower portion of the erect ovary.

Platanthera bakeriana (King & Pantl.) Kraenzl.

The Pursuit

A very rare plant from the alpine region, yet to be photographed after its description in the monumental work of King and Pantling. I spotted this plant on the first day of my alpine exploration in the year 2012.

My base camp was in a place where electricity was erratic, no mobile connection and no proper transportation and with only basic amenities. It would be very difficult to get accustomed to a place like that. However, as the blooming season had all ready started, I was left with no options to take time to get adjusted with the climatic conditions and the surroundings. The very next morning I was ready o undertake a long trek. The only advantage was that I got a kind person in the form of a local forest official to accompany me. He was not at all a botanist not to mention about his interests on orchids. On the previous evening I had shown him the monumental work of King and Pantling. His interest on the subject and the illustrations on the book made me understand the he will be of immense help during my work. I have to mention here that because of his continuous support and guidance my work in those difficult terrains turned a success.

He took me to a thick-forested area 1200 ft above our base climb. The climb was very hard, with all camera accessories and reference books. The uphill climb took more than 2 hours. After reaching the top of the mountain the terrain turns flat with very dense forest. But, interestingly there was a trekking route inside those forests. It was a mystery that on the hundreds of visits I took through that trek during the next six months I never encountered a human being. He took me deep on the plateau mountain and we did a detailed survey spotting many species. As we were documenting another plant in bloom which was growing on a huge tall tree, I noticed this species. It was a single specimen, on the other side of the base of that tree. Out of sheer coincidence, I spotted this plant. Its leaf shape made me identify the plant. Before the start of my exploration, I had made a list of plants to be found and this find made a head start to my entire work. The buds were so small and a vague study of the plant guided made me to make my next visit in the following 12 to 15 days.

Later on, in the same month, after four visits I found the plant in bloom, with four of its flowers fully open. It was a memorable moment to stand in front of plants never documented. The documentation techniques in the high hills are entirely depended on species to species and it was not an easy task to produce perfect results every day. However, I was lucky to produce some wonderful photographs of this species on the first day itself.

Even after spending 18 months in the region spanning 3 years, I never encountered this species from any other location. However, at the same location I found it growing again and again, every time it was a solitary plant.

Reference:

King, G. &Pantling, R. (1898). The Orchids of the Sikkim-Himalayas. Ann. Roy. Bot. Garden. (Calcutta).Habenaria bakeriana King and Pantling Page no 314 – 315.