Memoirs of an orchid hunter – Page 3 – Naresh Swami | The Orchids of the Sikkim Himalaya

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.

Habenaria aitchisonii Rchb.f.

The Plant

Terrestrial. Whole plant 7 to 12 cm in height. Tubers large, ellipsoid, hairy, 1.5 to 3 cm long. Leaves two, opposite, sessile, unequal, orbicular, attached at the base of the stem, one of them noticeably larger than the other, 1.5 to 3.5 cm long and between 1.5 to 2 cm in width. . Flowers 2 to 4 in a minutely puberulous raceme, longer than the stem.

The Flower

Flower 2 cm across. Sepals unequal, dorsal ovate, acute, erect and arching over the petals to form a hood; lateral longer than the dorsal, lanceolate, margins undulate, spreading. Petals lanceolate, as long as the dorsal sepal, erect. Lip divided into three lobes; middle one shorter and boarder than the lateral ones, pointing downwards, linear with blunt apex; lateral ones almost 1.5 times longer than the middle one, diverging to its apex, with its tip curved or even coiled. Spur longer than the ovary, cylindrical with its apex curved forward, swollen and blunt. Floral bract as long and arising from the upper side of the ovary, lanceolate, minutely puberulous, its apex curved.

Flower green throughout except to the outer portion of the sepals that are of a darker shade. Floral bract pale green.

The Pursuit

A species, King and Pantling found at altitudes around 10,000 to 11,000 ft. I was hoping to find it during my alpine flower hunt days. A local from the alpine village of my base camp had identified the plant from the voluminous book of King and Pantling. He remembered the location where he had encountered the plant in the previous year. As the location was above 12,000 ft I was of the opinion that the flowers will appear only in the mid of the summer months. Every time when he insisted on a trip to the location I postponed it to tune it with the mid-summer days. By the mid of July we made a trip, sadly to see the whole habitat destroyed by a landslide. However, I was confident I might encounter this species from some other locations.

The further the Sun moves to the north pole, the more the spurting of flowers in the high mountains. According to the Sun and the flower appearing I shift my camp to the various locations in the high hills. I was camping in a valley above 13,500 ft and everyday walked another 7 to 10 km climbing up to 16,000 ft and return to the camp in the evening. As several of the species were to be observed every day, the days were hectic, each minute was so valuable and every trip was meticulously planned. During that month a local festival was being organized by the local village community in the valley. There will be no visitors from elsewhere due to the location’s high altitudinal range and the difficulty in reaching there. The only attraction was that all the villagers (less than 50 individuals) join the festivity. As I was new to that particular area and that was my first high alpine visit, I decided to attend the festival. My two assistants and I decided to go there with a single tent and a few kitchen utensils and consumable items for three days. One of my assistants stayed back to guard our main camp. We planned to pitch our tent some distance ahead of the festival site in the valley. The reason was to enable me to perform more surveys on the higher hills. However, the chosen location was deprived of any streams and we have to walk long distance to bring water for cooking. As we were only three, not much of water was needed and we decided to pitch the tent there itself. Day one went off with no find of any orchids. On the second day we all three went to the stream in the morning to freshen up. As we were returning with water, I found 7 plants of this species, it’s peculiar “opposite arrangements” of its leaves helped me to identify it. The plants were small and there were no signs of any buds. On comparison with the drawings from the monumental book of King and Pantling I ascertained it would take another 15 to 20 days for it to be in flower. We were there for the festival till its end and returned the day after. On the way back, as we were negotiating a steep descend I found several of this species in bloom next to a huge boulder. It was so surprising that the previous days find were all without even buds and the next day we were able to locate them in flowers, that too not far away from the first location. The next three hours went with all sorts of note makings, drawings, and documentation. However, back in the camp, when I transferred the photographs to my computer, I was not satisfied with the results. Hence, decided to make a trip the very next day. It took two more trips to produce a photograph of my desire. This is one of the few species which made my head spin for a perfect photograph.

Reference:

King, G. & Pantling, R. (1898). The Orchids of the Sikkim-Himalayas. Ann. Roy. Bot. Garden. (Calcutta). Habenaria aitchisoni Reichb., Page no 311 – 312.

Goodyera vittata (Lindl.) Benth. ex Hook.f.

The Plant

Terrestrial. Stem decumbent, with many fibrous roots on its lower portion, upper portion erect, 4 to 9 cm in height, with many lanceolate bracts. Leaves 3 to 5, ovate to lanceolate, acute, short petioled, 1.5 to 2.5 cm long and around 1.25 cm in width. Leaves dark green with a silvery band bordering the midrib. Flower many in a peduncle.

The Flower

Flower 1 to 1.25 cm across. Sepals unequal, ovate, acute; dorsal wider than the lateral, its apex diagonally erect; lateral with diagonally spreading apex. Petals oblong to ovate, as long as the dorsal sepal, connivent with the dorsal. Lip as long as the sepals, base with an elongate sac and the apex narrow to a decurved lanceolate tip. Floral bracts longer than the erect ovary, lanceolate, arising from the lower side of the ovary.

Sepals externally are pale rose to pink flushed with green at its base and white at its apex tips. Inner side of the sepals, both sides of petals and entire lip are white. Floral bract greenish brown.

Goodyera vittata (Lindl.) Benth. ex Hook.f.

The Pursuit

A very elegant species of the Himalayas. Numerable researchers wrote various articles on this species. However, the documentary evidence they produced never matched its elegance, as all of them tried their hands only on specimens grown in nurseries. Many times, my documentary evidence on this species has proved the colour variations which occur on this plant when it is grown on artificial environments like nurseries and green houses.

My pursuit for this species from its natural habitats never yielded any result in the first few years. In the year 2012, I was involved in a trial project to test a new lighting technique I developed, along with some technicians. We were photographing the species, Spathoglottis ixioides Lindl., with the new technique. That species was specifically chosen for this testing project, particularly for its colour and shape. This week long project work was carried out in the natural habitat of the species. Most of the flowers selected were fresh blooms. The location was far inside a forested area at an altitude of around 10,000 ft. The technicians had come from the city, so they were not accustomed to trekking in the jungles. Hence, every day I was having tough time to handle one or the other faced by them. It is to be noted with great pride, that none of the group members suggested taking flowers or plants to our base camp to test the lighting techniques.

On the fifth day of our trek uphill, one of the technicians got a cut on his knee after a fall. The forest guard who was accompanying us suggested using some local herbs to protect the wound from exposure to flies. He knew the location of that herb and asked us to wait there till he returns with those medicinal leaves. As there were reports of a few bears roaming in that forest, I too accompanied him. It was just a short trek of about 15 minutes from where we were. As we were collecting the fresh leaves from the medicinal plant, I found a single specimen of this species under those plants. It was a plant of three leaves and less than 6 cm in height. Its particular characteristics on its leaves – the silver broad midrib, helped me to instantly identify the species. It was a joyous moment for both of us. We marked the place and joined the team and proceeded with the work on the other species.

I visited the location several times in the next 36 days. Each visit made me more and more anxious seeing its various stages of growth. Finally I produced this wonderful photograph on the 37^th day. After that also I went to the location around 25 days later to see them in seedpods. Later on, in the year 2014, from another location inside a protected area I found more than 40 specimens of this species. From them too I produced some amazing pictures of this elegant plant.

Reference:

King, G. &Pantling, R. (1898). The Orchids of the Sikkim-Himalayas. Ann. Roy. Bot. Garden. (Calcutta). Goodyera vittata, Benth.ex Hook., Page no 280 – 281.

Goodyera fusca (Lindl.) Hook.f.

The Plant

Terrestrial. Tuber oval to ovate, compressed with 2 to 4 cylindrical long roots arising from it. Stem 7 to 10 cm in height, fleshy, glabrous with 4 to 6 leaves at its base, the upper part with many oblong bracts. Leaves ovate, acute, three veined, margins undulate, narrowed to a broad sheath, clasping, 2 to 3 cm long and 1 to 1.5 cm in width. Bracts erect, 2 cm long. Peduncle longer than the stem, pubescent. Flower many. The whole plant pale green in colour with leaves having darker shade.

The Flower

Flowers 1 cm across. Sepals’ oblong, acute; apex of the lateral sepals diagonally spreading; dorsal diagonally erect, puberulous externally. Petals linear to oblong, as long as the dorsal sepal and diagonally erect and pressing close to it. Lip as long as the sepals, lanceolate, with its apex curved down. Floral bracts 3 to 4 times longer than the ovary, lanceolate, long, diminishing in length upwards, erect, puberulous, arising from the lower side of the ovary and arching over the flower, veined.

Sepals pale green internally with its apex turning greenish white, externally they are of a slightly darker shade. Petals pale green throughout. Lip pale green but darker than the sepals and petals. Floral bract shades of green.

The Pursuit

In the epic publication of Flora of British India by Sir. J D Hooker, the author mentioned this species to an altitude between 12,000 and 14,000 ft from the region of Sikkim-Himalayas. His records of the plants from the region are to be considered the most authentic, as he had visited the region in the year 1848 and 49 which culminated in the scientific documentation of most of the flora of the Himalayas.

Even though I found this species from an altitude of 11,300 ft and documented it, I had a desire to find this species around 14,000 ft. I got the opportunity to visit higher regions of the Himalayas on various occasions and to study various habitats. This made me concentrate on an area between 13, 500 ft and 14, 000 ft for this species. The above mentioned altitudes are believed to be the upper limit of all orchid population. As we climb higher the tree line becomes shorter, paving way to shrubs. Locating plants at those heights are very easy, even though walking around those heights is very difficult due to lack of oxygen. The region is very near to the International borders with many restrictions for civilian movements. I surveyed several square kilometres between 13,500 and 14,000 ft for several days. Although I had found many species which were unrecorded till date from those altitudes, this one remained elusive. After 4 days of flower hunt, I got a golden opportunity to survey much higher regions along with a border patrol party. However, en route I found out that they move only on a designated route. That would really help me in my survey. I wanted to crisscross the area so that I can locate many plants. The Commander was kind enough to let me take crisscross ways and directed me to join the party while they return. At those heights carrying more of load was very difficult and I left unwanted camera accessories there and started surveying the area. The area was above 14, 500 ft and the floral world there is something amazing. The next two hours turned out to be my greatest ever-floral survey, documenting 56 species in less than two hours. On the edge of the valley I found a small stream running down from a hill. As always stream banks are heaven for various species, I decided to climb that hill along the stream. As the climb with my camera and accessories was very difficult, I left the camera bag there and slowly continued the climb up the hill. Half way itself I was exhausted and had a slip and fallen flat. Luckily I got hold of a few rocky surfaces and escaped being rolled down the slope. With much difficulty I stood on my knees and made myself comfortably seated. Rested there for some time to get back to normal. As I turned around, I spotted three specimen of this species almost in bloom just few feet away from me. The sight of those three plants made my adrenaline rush and I just wanted to leap towards it. But, I was so tired and exhausted I was not able to move an inch from there. I recollect, my intense curiosity made me crawl to those plants. It was one of the most joyous moments of my entire survey in that high alpine region. The fact, that I was able to find a plant species described by the greatest botanical pioneer, possibly from the same location made me so thrilled. However, I was so tired I decided to make another visit in the next few days to document it. I waited for rest of the afternoon there for the patrol party to return. The Commander on seeing my exhausted condition, directed his personnel to collect all my camera and accessories from both locations and also to carry me on a Yak back to the camp. In between on my request he checked the altitude of the area with his GPS. It was 14, 875 ft – an all time record altitude for this species.

On the third day, I went again, this time with two personnel and documented the flower in all its glory.

Reference:

King, G. &Pantling, R. (1898). The Orchids of the Sikkim-Himalayas. Ann. Roy. Bot. Garden. (Calcutta). Goodyera fusca Lindl., Page no 280.

Gastrodia elata Blume.

The Plant

Terrestrial. Rhizomes ellipsoid to cylindrical, 3 to 6 cm long and 2 to 3 cm in width, fleshy, some with annular rings. Stem 3 to 5.f ft high, fleshy, glabrous, with several membranous, ovate, curving sheaths attached at regular intervals. Leafless. Flowers many, terminal.

The Flower

Flower diagonally erect, 1 to 1.25 cm across. Sepals unequal, ovate at the apex and its base connate; dorsal smaller than the lateral and arching over the petals, lateral diagonally spreading. Petals oblong, narrow and smaller than the lateral petals, arising from inside the connate base of sepals. Lip 3-lobed, oblong to ovoid, smooth, base clawed and apex margin irregularly fimbriate. Floral bract longer than the diagonally erect ovary, lanceolate, arising from the under side of the ovary.

The whole plant pale brown in colour with white parallel broken streaks and its bracts of a darker shade. Sepals pale green outside and greenish brown inside with many darker branching veins. Petals as same as that of the petals, but without veins. Lip pale greenish white turning white to its apex. Floral bract shades of brown.

The Pursuit

King and Pantling’s team of plant collectors were not able to collect this species from the region of Sikkim-Himalayas during their work. Hence, there was no mention of this species in their monumental work. Later on few works of the region had mentioned this species, but I was skeptical. However, I was determined to explore several areas for this species.

The mention of its altitudinal range in many publications guided me to search this species during the monsoon season. As this plant is easily noticeable with its height and the peculiar leafless character I enquired with many villagers about its presence. But, I was not able to find any information from anyone. As I was working in the alpine region during the year 2011, I had noticed three unusual pale brown stems spurting up. They were just few inches up and I was not able to identify them properly. I made a few visits in the coming days to ascertain what it is, but its growth rate was not quick enough to ascertain anything new. As those days were full of blooming activities, I was shuttling every day between different places and those this plant slipped of my mind. As I was finalising the monthly report I instantly remembered those three unusual stems and decided to visit the place the next day. On the following day, I made a trip to the location and found that all the three stems grew about 2 to 2.8 ft in height but were broken because of some animal grazing. The climax of finding this rare and unrecorded species was shattered as the plant was broken and dead. The presence and its identification of this e gave me enough motivation to look for it from the region.

Two more weeks went without any trace of this species. By that time the monsoon weakened and daily survey was more comfortable and I was concentrating on a new area, which was never visited by any researchers.

On the third day of my survey, I found a single plant of this species about 4 ft high and in buds. As I had never seen or studied this in their natural habitats, I was not able to come to a conclusion about its possible blooming dates. I searched the whole area for one more specimen in vain. As a precaution to protect the plant from possible wildlife movement my helper and I fenced the plant with locally available fallen branches. As the blooming dates were not confirmed I visited the plant every day until it bloomed and I produced this beautiful photograph. Later on, I worked in the region for three more years but never encountered this species even from the two locations it was found in 2011.

Reference:

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