Naresh Swami | The Orchids of the Sikkim Himalaya | Memoirs of an orchid hunter – Page 13 – Naresh Swami, The Orchids of the Sikkim Himalaya, Memoirs of an orchid hunter, sikkim orchids, darjeeling orchids

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).

Epipactis helleborine subsp. helleborine.

The Plant

Terrestrial. A single stemmed plant of the height between 35 to 50 cm. Roots many, stout and 4 to 5 cm long with a very small sheath at the base of the stem. Stem cylindrical, puberulous. Leaves 4 to 6, unequal, broadly elliptic to sub-orbicular, sessile, many nerved, sheathed, 2 to 5 cm long and 1.5 to 3 cm in width at its wider portion. Flower many in a peduncle.

The Flower

Flowers large 1.5 to 2 cm across. Sepals unequal, broadly lanceolate, 3 to 5 veined with the mid one prominent; dorsal sepal smaller than the lateral, arching, acuminate, keeled; lateral sepals larger than the dorsal, spreading, acute, its tip pointing diagonally downwards. Petals slightly longer than the dorsal sepal but shorter than the lateral sepals; lanceolate, acuminate, irregularly veined, diagonally erect and slightly arching forward. Lip as long as the petals; its epichilec ordate, bend downwards with irregular margins and two globose calli at its base; hypochile globularly saccate. Flowers with unusually broad stigma. Floral bract long and narrow, diminishing in length upwards, 2 to 5 cm long, lanceolate, veined, arising from the lower side of the stalked and arching ovary.

Sepals and petals green. The outer portion of the hypocile of the lip is green with pale purple tinge throughout out, the two calli on the base of the epichile are purplish green. The inside of the saccate hypocile is dark purple. Column greenish yellow with orange red margins. Floral bract green.

Epipactis helleborine subsp. helleborine.

The Pursuit

A species never documented from the region after its mention in the monumental work of Sir. George King and Robert Pantling. As usual, many authors wrote about this species merely copying the text from the monumental work. Hence, the description of this species remained almost unchanged for more than a century.

During the inception of my work I had decided to put more time and energy in finding all those species, which were not documented in the last century. This species was at the top of that list. The only reference was that it was reported growing at 11,000 ft and flowers in the month of July. The month of July I used to concentrate on alpine hills and I was looking for this species there. Even after surveying huge areas in the month of June and July there was no trace of this species. Those days are unpredictable in the hills with heavy monsoon, flash floods and roadblocks. To make movement more difficult, a glacier burst washed away a bridge of the main road to the alpine region and all vehicular traffic came to a standstill. As the road is of high strategic value, the army’s engineering wing started rebuilding at a quick pace. As they were transporting bridge building equipment in large trucks, every day I found a little place for myself on the steel girders on those military trucks!!! The location of my search area, a towering mountain, was between 11,000 to 13,000 ft and was more than 17 kilometers away from that damaged bridge. As there were no vehicles plying on the other side of the damaged bridge I regularly walked than stretch. Every day I had to climb up the mountain, do my survey and return to the damaged bridge before the last vehicle with personnel returns to their base. Hence, there was no room for any miscalculations; every step had to be timed perfectly. To the surprise of all we got a few sunny days in the hills that week. I was on a routine trip and by afternoon I was descending the hills. I took a short cut through thickets of Rhododendrons. Those Rhododendrons grow so close by; walking through them was very hard. However, to save some time and distance I took that hard path. While negotiating the Rhododendron thickets I found a small plant of this species with few leaves. On close observation I understood that the plant was a mature one and its upper flowering portion had broken off. As I haven’t seen this species earlier or never got a chance to see a photograph of it I was not able to identify it. Expecting more of the species I searched under those Rhododendrons thickets. Time was ticking and I knew I will be missing the vehicle for my return journey. But, the eagerness in me made me continue my search. Those thickets never allowed easy movement. Finally, after around 40 minutes of search I found three plants of this species. Flowers in two of them had withered and one with almost fresh flowers. Finally, after more than a century the species stands in front of an explorer. It is a once in a life time moment and I have no words to express my joy. In the thrill of that moment I had forgotten about the vehicle or how I would reach my base camp. My only thoughts were to document those flowers to the best of my ability. I was there till sunset studying and documenting the plant. I walked back under the shadow of the setting sun and through the darkness of the night for 36 kilometers and reached my base camp at 2 minutes passed midnight.

Reference:

King, G. &Pantling, R. (1898). The Orchids of the Sikkim-Himalayas. Ann. Roy. Bot. Garden. (Calcutta). Epipactis latifolia All., Page no 271/272.

The Plant

The Flower

The Pursuit

Reference:

King, G. &Pantling, R. (1898). The Orchids of the Sikkim-Himalayas. Ann. Roy. Bot. Garden. (Calcutta). Epipactis latifolia All., Page no 271/272.

Goodyera foliosa (Lindl.) Benth. ex C.B.Clarke.

The Plant

Terrestrial. A small of the height between 7 to 10 cm. Stem cylindrical, fleshy, decumbent at the base. Leaves green, 4 to 7, lanceolate, petioled with a narrow sheath, three nerved bordered with white, with the mid one wider than the other two, margins of the leaf undulate as well as minutely serulate to its apex. Flower many, arranged closely in a short peduncle.

The Flower

Flower 1 cm across. Sepals unequal, ovate, acute, connate at the base; dorsal smaller than the lateral, diagonally erect and connivent with the petals; lateral diagonally spreading with its apex curved behind and margins curved. Petals rhombic, smaller than the petals. Lip oblong with broad base, long, decurved, channeled at its middle. Column and rostellum long. Floral bracts long, diminishing in length to its apex, lanceolate, erect.

Sepals and petals pale rose flushed with white. Petals more to the whitish base. Lip pale rose turning whitish rose to its apex. Column bright yellow. Floral bracts pale green flushed with pale brown at its base.

Goodyera foliosa, (Lindl.) Benth. ex C.B.Clarke. — Goodyera foliosa (Lindl.) Benth. ex C.B.Clarke.

The Pursuit

I found this species when they were at an early stage of growth, from deep inside a forested area in the semi alpine zone during a routine survey. There were more than 200 plants of this species in a small area under thick forest cover. The entire forest was covered with huge tall trees, but the forest floor was relatively open without any undergrowth. Hence, I was able to count the plants, but gave up when the count reached 200. From close observation it was clear it would take another 30 to 45 days for them to be in flower. But, I made it a point to visit the location once in a week. During my second visit in two weeks, my assistant found one plant fully grown and with buds around 15 m from the main cluster. The buds were about to open and we decided to make a visit in the next five days. The scheduled 5^th day was washed out due to rains and on the next day I was forced to trek to the location all alone. While I was approaching those small plants, I was surprised to notice several ripped tree leaves spread all over the forest floor. My curiosity to locate a species in bloom made me walk ahead. As I was sitting next to the plant and noting down its characteristics I felt some movement over my shoulders. I got really scared and while looking back I found one white-chested bear (Ursus thibetanus) sitting on top of a tree behind me. That was the first time I had spotted a white-chested bear from that region. The bear seemed so scared it was clinging to the tree. As a rule, I immediately packed up my camera bag and moved out of that area without disturbing the bear.

After that, I made six more visits to that location to document the species. During each visit I hoped I would crisscross the bear again but it never reappeared again.

Reference:

King, G. &Pantling, R. (1898). The Orchids of the Sikkim-Himalayas. Ann. Roy. Bot. Garden. (Calcutta). Goodyera foliosa Benth. ex Hook., Page no 281 – 282.

Galeola falconeri Hook.f.

The Plant

Terrestrial. Rhizome long, stout and branching clothed with many triangular scales all along its length. Stem thick, 2 to 4 cm in cross section, 3.5 to 5.6 ft in height, ribbed at its lower half, upper half almost cylindric. Leaf less. Flowers in pendulous panicles, arising at intervals of about 10 to 15 cm apart; with a broad lanceolate bract at its base.

The Flower

Flower large, 3 to 5 cm across; spongy, laxly arranged in 4 to 6 cm long narrow stalks, pendulous. Sepals un-equal, ovate to lanceolate; the dorsal narrow than the lateral, arching; the lateral keeled with apex edges curved up, spreading, outer surface rough. Petals shorter than the sepals, oblong, one veined, margins undulate, spreading. Lip single lobed, concave when spread out, wide mouthed, sessile, and hairy inside. Floral bract small, 1 to 1.5 cm long, lanceolate, acuminate, veined, horizontal, arising from the lower side of the flower stalk.

The inside of the sepals bright yellow and its outer surface pale brown. Petals and lip bright yellow, with the inside of the latter tinged with orange. Floral bract and the bracts of the panicles are with shades of dark brown. The stem pale brown throughout.

The Pursuit

In the span of three years I located this interesting plant from four different locations from the whole of Sikkim – Himalayas. According to me its special characteristics of being leafless and of immense height helped the species to survive in its natural habitats. Due to these special characteristics the local population was not aware that this plant is an orchid, thus escaping being collected for commercial purpose.

King and Pantling described this plant as tall as 10 feet. I was searching for this species on several areas and had shown many villagers its drawings to get some clue on its possible populations. In 2012, in the month of July, one villager took to me to a forested area near to his home where he found 4 young plants of this species. The plants were hardly 1.5 ft tall and at that time it was not possible to identify it as this species or its close relative, Galeola lindleyana Reichb. It took another 5 weeks and several visits to see the first flower in bloom. By that time all the plants had attained a height between 4′ 8″ to 5′ 10″. As I had studied this plant and its ally very much from the referral book, with its flower I identified the species on the first sight. However, I was not satisfied with the flowers in blooms and wanted to revisit the plant in a week to find some more fresh flowers and document. Next, week I went to the location again to see perfect flowers of my choice and produced several wonderful photographs.

Later on in the same week I got information from another village about its presence and I visited the location to find two more plants, which were already in flower by that time.

In the monumental publication of King and Pantling, the authors described this species as growing between 5000 to 7000 ft. My first experience with the plant was from 4800 ft, the second was from 5400 ft. The third relatively much higher at 8800 ft. The third find of the plant from 8800 ft was also surprising to many researchers as that altitude almost touched the border limit of the semi alpine zone. However, in the year 2013, I had the most interesting discovery of this species from a staggering altitude of 10, 150 ft. That record height had brought more attention as well as rethinking on of all research works and researchers working on climate change and its influence on plants from the alpine zone. Till date there were no records available of any orchid species believed to be from lower altitudes climbing above 10,000 ft.

As the record altitude, the discovery of the plants was also breathtaking. I was working in the alpine region in the monsoon months. The region received heavy rains, which triggered heavy landslides and roadblocks. The roadblocks cut off the upper regions from the main land. The Government machinery started evacuating people fearing more rains. We were all scuttled in overcrowded helicopters and flown out of the danger zone. Due to low rain clouds, the helicopter pilots took the aerial route over river valleys. As we were flying over a mountain I spotted 5 plants of this species on the riverside slope of that mountain. We almost flew over those plants and my “god gifted and precise” eyes helped to identify the species even from that immense height. Later on, in the evening while noting down the events of the day I stuck to its staggering altitude. From the flight data records and consultation with the pilots I found that place was around 10,000 ft or even more. That interesting find made me curious and started making plans to go to that location. As heavy rains ransacked the entire region and the only road blocked with heavy landslides, the mission turned out to be almost impossible.

I am always blessed for reasons that I can’t disclose here. Within the next 36 hours I was able to document those three plants to my absolute satisfaction in a manner that would make Hollywood stunt filmmakers jealous!!!

Reference:

King, G. &Pantling, R. (1898). The Orchids of the Sikkim-Himalayas.Ann. Roy. Bot. Garden. (Calcutta). Galeola falconeri Hook., Page no 265.