Orchids of eastern Himalayas – Page 5 – Naresh Swami | The Orchids of the Sikkim Himalaya

Dendrobium aphyllum (Roxb.) C.E.C.Fisch.

Epiphyte. Stems as long as 2 to 5 ft, pendulous, smooth, slightly swollen at the nodes. Leaves 2 to 5 cm long and 1 to 2 cm in width, thick, lanceolate, tapering towards its tip, sessile (the leaves fall much early). Flowers 2 to 3 cm across, 1 to 4 in numbers from very short peduncles from the nodes of leafless stems. Sepals and petals are pale pink networked with darker shade; lip pale yellow to white with a few purple streaks on the tubular base and its mouth. Sepals sub-equal, oblong-lanceolate, sub-acute. Petals much broader than the sepals, elliptic, blunt. Lip sub-orbicular, side lobes absent, the disc hairy, the base convolute to take the shape of a tube.

Dendrobium pierardi, Roxb (Dendrobium aphyllum (Roxb) — Dendrobium pierardi Roxb (Dendrobium aphyllum Roxb).

The Pursuit

Come April and May, the tropical valleys of the region are full of this species in bloom. Pendulous huge clusters with hundreds of flowers can easily be spotted on most of the trees, dancing gently to the tune of morning and afternoon tropical winds. The only difficulty for people like me, is that it got a wide mouthed hairy lip which attracts all dust from those topical environment. I examined a lot of flowers to get a perfect dust free flower in vain. I understood the fact that, like many other flowers this also needed to be shot as early as it opens. We never expected to extend our stay at that place after dusk and hence were not carrting our camping equipments. As we are very known to most of the village people one night stay was not be a problem. However, I slept in the open on the banks of the mighty Teesta. My friend who accompanied me collected a lot of fallen dry leaves and dug out the sand on that river bank to make a soft natural sleeping bed for me and I had a comfortable sleep there. The next day we were up before the first light of the Sun and climbed up the tree looking for a few perfect flowers to shoot. Got this beautiful bunch and produced this wonderful photograph without much difficulty. The tragedy of this species is that in the year 2012 this species was illegally collected by the locals for some outsiders who were active with some cross border trade. It took several weeks for the administration to notice the disappearance of this species, by then most of the plants were inside the laboratories thousands of miles away.

Dendrobium nobile Lindl.

Epiphyte. Stems, 30 to 60 cm or even longer, erect, widening to the apex. Leaves 4 to 6 cm in length and around 2 cm in width, oblong, apex sub-obtuse and notched, narrowed to the base, coriaceous. Flowers in short racemes from the nodes of leafy as well leafless stems, number various between 1 and 5, each 3 to 5 cm across. Sepals and petals are purple turning white at the base; lip with a deep purple blotch surrounded with white flushed with pale yellow and a purple mucro. Sepals sub-equal, the dorsal oblong-elliptic, the lateral oblong. Petals broader than the sepals, elliptic. Both sepals and petals many veined. Lip broadly ovate-oblong, hairy inside, the apex slightly and mucronate.

The Pursuit

The State Flower of Sikkim. Once a common species of the tropical valleys, collected in large numbers for commercial purposes made it very scarce in its natural habitats. Sir. George King and Robert Pantling described the colouration of flower in detail and I was looking for a perfect match from various locations. However, in most of the cases the description about its sepals and petals was never matched. As per their noting,“the sepals and petals are always purple shading off into a white base”. I decided to look for this species in other locations also. The work I undertook was first of its kind from the region and I wanted it to produce better results. With that intention I visited several locations for this species, to find the exact colouration of flowers as described by the great authors. On high altitudes (above 3800 ft) the flowers are found to be more purplish and at very low altitudes (in the hot valleys of River Teesta) they were more towards a paler shade. Hence, I decided to find the species from an intermediate altitude of 1800 to 2600 ft. I searched for four days in a new location at 2200 ft for this species in vain. Even though I found a lot of them in bloom in some homes, I decided to find a few plants from its natural habitat itself. A young boy of that village, who used to venture deep into the forest, helped me to find a few plants inside the forest. Most of the stems were with full bloom flowers. In those areas the trees are often with many branches which enable easy climbing. We both climbed up to examine those flowers and to my surprise found that the colouration is exactly the same as described by the pioneers of orchids around 120 years ago. It seems the authors also collected the species from around the same altitude for their monumental work. As usual when in plenty, it will be very difficult to find a perfect one to photograph. After climbing several trees found this perfect bunch of flowers and produced this amazing photograph of this Himalayan beauty. This species is a prime example of variations caused due to altitude difference. Even though many species survive on a wide range of altitudes, all of them got their own perfect habitats.

Dendrobium heterocarpum Wall.

Epiphyte. Stems three or four together, 10 to 15cm long and 2 to 3 cm in cross section at the apex, narrowed at the base and gradually widening towards the apex, ribbed, sheathed. Leaves 4 to 6 cm long and 1 to 2 cm in width, elliptic-oblong, sub-acute, deciduous during flowering. Flowers 3 to 5 on a short peduncle, 2 to 3 cm across. Sepals and petals pale brownish green, lip is of a slightly darker shade of sepals and petals, with many brownish red streaks and spots on its disc and sides. Sepals sub-equal, the dorsal longer, linear-oblong; the lateral pair lanceolate. Petals smaller and broader than the sepals, lanceolate. Both sepals and petals five nerved. Lip pointed, decurved, with undulate edges and hairy disc.

The Pursuit

A locally common species of the tropical forests. I had spotted this species in large numbers during my various surveys and marked as “seen” and waited for its blooming season. In the referral book, the blooming time was mentioned as April and I decided to visit those plants by mid March. The months of February and March were full of blooming and every day I was forced to travel more than 50 to 120 km on vehicle and around 10 to 15 km on foot. I didn’t want to miss any species as I would have to wait for another year to find those in bloom again. So every day I check and re-check all those in the blooming list and finalise the trips to various locations. In the second week of February, I was on a trip to a place around 70 km from my base station for a ground orchid, which I found a week before. From the motorable road I used to trek another 7 or 8 km to the location. So used to set out early morning and reach the last point by road and trekked to the location of the ground orchid. Mysteriously I found that the two ground orchid plants, I had spotted a week earlier were missing. The location was so remote no humans venture there. It would have been uprooted by wild pigs or eaten by deers which roam there. As I got company in the form of the pilot of my vehicle, we started searching the whole area for more of those species. We searched for over three hours, but were not able to find another plant. Totally disappointed and tired we returned back. On the way back, I accidentally spotted this species in full bloom on a tree next to the trekking path, just a single stem in flower. It actually surprised me, to see this plant in bloom as early as mid February. Even though I had spotted this plant earlier and I knew I would get them in flower in the coming days, the find on that afternoon made me forget the disappearance of those ground orchids. Climbed up the tree and produced this wonderful photograph. Also looked for more plants of the species in flower to find only one more without any buds. While returning, the kind words of my pilot, “don’t worry swamiji, at-least we got something in bloom!!!” broke the silence created by the disappearance of those ground orchids.

Dendrobium formosum Roxb.

Epiphyte. Stems erect, 10 to 18 cm long and 1 to 2 cm in cross section, cylindrical, slightly narrowed to the base. Leaves alternate, sessile, oblong, the apex notched, 5 to 8 cm long and 1 to 2 cm in width. Flowers large, sepal and petals pure white, lip white with an orbicular yellow marking on its disc extended to the base in the form of a ridge. Sepals very narrow, oblong-lanceolate, acute, spreading, the lateral ones very slightly keeled. Petals much larger than the petals, sub-orbicular. Lip broadly obovate, side lobes indistinct, terminal lobe dilated, apex very broad.

The Pursuit

This species bears the largest flowers of all Dendrobiums of the region and the flowers are very attractive too. Sir. Joseph Dalton Hooker in his iconic work, “The Flora of British India” noted about three varieties of this species. I never came across this species on any of my flower hunts. The region were I lived was famous for many flower nurseries and got a good collection of many species. Still, this species remained missing, with no information available with anyone about its habitats, other than, “At the base of Sikkim-Himalayas” noted by Sir. George King and Robert Pantling. The flowering season was mentioned as May, in their monumental work on orchids. With the eagerness to see this species in bloom I planned my surveys to the plains of the Himalayas in the early summer days. The plains are generally of active Tea estates, which produces thousands of tons of Tea every year. The estates are full of activities with thousands and thousands of workers involved everyday. They got their own hospitals, schools, accommodations, roads, shopping centers etc. However, as a general rule they don’t cut any trees and those trees host a lot of tropical epiphytic orchids also. I decided to concentrate on those trees inside the estates for this species. Every day I came across a lot of workers and showed them the drawings of this species, to ascertain if anybody had come across this plant. Working on those plains under the open sky in the summer months of March and April was a very tiring affair. Moreover, my base station was at an altitude about 4000 ft, where the climate was very moderate and comfortable. Every day in a matter of 3 hrs drive I am in the plains where the temperature soars above 40C, which was like stepping inside a hot furnace. However, the desire to find this plant and a feeling that I will get this species in that season itself made me visit various estates in the plains continuously for several days. Every day I returned with no trace of this species but with many admirers, who were so happy to know about my passion. One day I came to know about a former manager of a tea estate who got a good collection of tropical orchids of the area. A visit to his home made be so happy, he had around 140 tropical orchids in his garden, a few of them were in full bloom also. However, my purpose of visit was not fulfilled, the species I am looking for was not found there. I enquired with him about the species I am looking for. He was so happy with my work and explained to me about all those species he had seen and collected from the region, including the one I was looking for. He was also having that species till few years back, it died because of some reason. But, he helped with sufficient information about the place from where his gardener brought it some 30 years back. The next day I started my new search in the area he mentioned. Most of the trees there were more than 50 to 60 years old, so I was sure I will find the plant I am looking for. After three continuous days of survey with the help of a few friends we found 7 plants of this species, 3 in buds. It was like the plants were waiting for me. All the plants were on the sides of tall trees at around 15 to 20 ft height. Climbed up those trees with buds to ascertain the identity and the time required for the buds to bloom. Waited for 11 days to see the first flower in bloom. My vehicle was sent to bring the former manager to that place, as I wished he should also be part of the documentation process. Without his advice, I might not have surveyed those areas and would have never seen the species also. Everything was perfect, the climb, the wind, the placing of flashes etc and produced a wonderful photograph of the species. Those days were so hot, I spend more money on buying drinking water for me than to the fuel for my vehicle!!!.

Dendrobium fimbriatum Hook.

Epiphyte. Stem as long as 2 to 4 feet, tapering towards the apex, sub-erect. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, pointed at its apex and narrowed towards its base, 4 to 7 cm long and 1 to 2 cm in width at its mid portion. Racemes appear laterally from the nodes of the leafy stems, pendulous, with 5 to 9 flowers, the peduncle with many sheathing bracts at its base. Flowers 3 to 4 cm across, sepals and petals bright yellow, lip of the same colour with a large orbicular reddish-brown patch around its middle portion. Sepals oblong, blunt, spreading. Petals wider than the sepals, oblong. Lip orbicular, with undulate and fringed margins.

The Pursuit

This species produces the most beautiful flowers of the region. Its bright yellow colour attracts much attention, however finding it from its natural habitat is becoming very hard. Usually found growing atop the canopies of tall trees only. I was in search for this species for the last few years, but never found it. One afternoon, I got a photograph of this species as a message on my phone from a friend of the region. He was undertaking a contract work of installing high tension polls for a power distribution company. They were working in a valley and were installing high tension wires across it. A set of those wires got entangled on the canopy of a tall tree. The whole of the morning they tried to get those wires freed from the thick canopy and never succeeded. Finally they decided to chop down some branches to release those entangled wires. Few workers climbed up that tall tree and started chopping down some branches. While cutting down the branches they saw a huge plant of this species in full bloom and informed my contractor friend on the ground about the flowers. He was well aware of my interest and orchid research of the region and even sent his mobile up the tree to get a photograph of those beautiful flowers and messaged me. I immediately identified the species and requested him to wait for me till the next day morning. The following day I went to that place as early as 5:30 AM. The workers were waiting for me, as they had a very hectic schedule. They were ready to bring down the flowers for me, but I insisted to climb the tree. In my entire flower hunt I never broke a flower or a leaf for making documentary evidences. The climb up that tall tree was not an easy task. As the workers were well equipped with a lot of materials, they immediately fixed a pulley up the tree and made me sit on a swing chair and pulled me up the canopy. Three of the workers at the top of the canopy helped me to attain a good sitting posture to produce this wonderful photograph. I never looked down to the ground from that position, except once to acknowledge my friend for all his support. To be frank, he was as small as this flower!!!

Dendrobium farmeri Paxt.

Epiphyte. Stems erect, clavate with thickened apex, 10 to 18 cm in height with the apex 2 to 4 cm in diameter, boldly angled. Leaves two or three, from the apex of the stem, ovate-lanceolate, acute, narrowed to the base, coriaceous, 7 to 12 cm long and 2 to 4 cm in width. Flowers in racemose from the apex of the stem, pendulous, decurved, longer than the leaves, but laxly flowered. The peduncle with bracts at its base and apex. Flowers 2 to 3 cm across, sepals and petals are of an uniform shade of pale pink, lip almost white with a bright yellow spot on its base, almost covering half the disc. Sepals ovate-oblong, with entire edges, acute. Petals broader than the sepals, rotund, with fringed margins. Both sepals and petals three to five nerved. Lip orbicular, disc pubescent with fringed margins.

The Pursuit

A very rare plant of the tropical valleys. I had never seen this species in the Sikkim-Himalayas, got a few from various locations only. I had strictly followed the principle of not exposing rare plants to the local people around for its safety. If exposed they will remove them from their natural habitats to decorate their homes. The clavate shape of its stem, that also in solitary, attracts attention of everyone, may be that is the reason it disappeared from its natural habitats. I found only four plants from the whole region. Starting early summer I visited all the four plants I spotted on a regular basis. The villagers always make a lot of enquiries about new flower finds, and make it difficult to hide informations from them as they also go through photos on my iPad. Finally by the end of March, raceme started appearing and I decided it is time to take a call on which plant I planned to shoot. I wanted the best flowering buds, at the same time, I want to make sure nobody of that area notices my interest in that plant. One of the healthy plant was on the side of a trek road to a near by village. The path is frequented by villagers so I would end up attracting a crowd if I explore that tree. My second option was a huge tree which needed more climbing skills. Hence decided on a plant which got a short raceme than the others. This plant was on a tree inside a thick forest area not frequented by anyone because of the presence of law and order officials and elephants. High temperatures, thorny bushes, frequent forest fires make regular survey in those areas very difficult. When I deal with a single plant, I have to put extra efforts also. I knew there is no guarantee to find this plant in the coming seasons. Waited patiently for the buds to be in flower. Luckily I got a friend, an official, of that area who was so kind enough to come with me several times to the location of the plant. He was so impressed with my work and seeing my difficulty in climbing the tree regularly, he decided to make a 50 ft high bamboo ladder for me. In no time, he made a ladder with the help of two of his colleagues. After three more days of wait I got a few flowers in bloom and produced this wonderful photograph.

Dendrobium densiflorum Wall.

Epiphyte. Stems erect, long as 20 to 45 cm, clavate, with swollen nodes and four angled. Leaves 4 to 6 from the apex of the stem only, oblong-lanceolate, 6 to 10 cm long and 2 to 4 cm in width, acute, slightly narrowed to the base. Flowers crowded, in long pendulous racemose of 10 to 25 cm, sometimes even more, from the apex of the stem. Sepals and petals pale bright yellow, lip is bright orange yellow with paler margins. Sepals ovate-elliptic, obtuse. Petals broader than the sepals, ovate-orbicular. Lip orbicular-rhomboid, basal half convolute, apical half spreading, its upper surface hairy and with fringed margins.

The Pursuit

On arrival of spring, all the houses of the region, irrespective of tropical valleys or hills, is full of this attractive bright yellow flowers of the species. The local population has widely collected the species from its habitats and planted it in their homes. It is observed that the species bears healthy flowers when planted in pots. Luckily because of its huge population, it still survives in the wild, even though its numbers are alarmingly reduced every year. Only a couple of orchid species of the region got the “club shaped” erect stems, hence this species attracts attention of all plant hunters. If it is in bloom, the same can be spotted a mile away. I had spotted a few good population of this plant from various region and observed that the colouration of the lip varies from the descriptions of Sir. George King and Robert Pantling. They described the lip as, “orange-yellow colour, paler towards the margins”. Even though widely photographed by many, no photographs showed the colour variations on its lips. Determined to try my micro lighting experience, I was looking for flowers with the exact lip descriptions. Finally found the same from an intermediate altitude, between the tropical valleys and sub-tropical region, a good population of the species on tall trees on a densely wooded valley. The previous year I had stayed in the area for more than 40 days, so got a good number of friends there. With a huge number of people ready to help, I proceeded in the morning to the location. By the time I changed my trekking boots and trousers, some of them were already up the 60 ft tall trees. When more and more people are there to help, things will go very smooth. With great ease I was also up the tree in no time. Photographed a very long racemose, after a few shots only I observed that its lip is very hairy and got a lot of dust particles, particularly small ashes (may be from the remains of forest fires) on it. It was so disappointing to have a long day work of many go in vain. I explained to my friends that those type of photographs are of no use, we need fresh flowers. Ideas came in, in the form of, “taking a plant home”, “covering the buds” etc. I was determined to wait for another racemose to bloom and shoot the flower in the early hours of its bloom. Spotted a healthy plant with a long racemose. Every day visited the spot with the entire “army” with more and more joining each day and finally on the sixth day it was in full bloom, that also, the whole buds of the racemose was in bloom. The flowers were also of the same descriptions of the referral book. As I was there early in the morning, the flowers were void of any dust. Spent considerable time up the tree with many others to make this beautiful photograph of the most photographed species. While back in the village, an old man was asking, the purpose of this much difficulty I made to photograph the flower when he got it in plenty in his house!!!.

Dendrobium crepidatum Lindl.

Epiphyte. Stems long as 7 to 20 cm long and thickened around 1 cm at the base and 1 to 2 cm at its apex, green marked with parallel white lines, gradually going thickened upwards from the base, nodes slightly swollen, pendulous. Leaves 4 to 6 cm long, linear-lanceolate, deciduous during flowering. Flowers in short peduncles from the nodes of leafless stems, 2 cm across, often solitary but also seen with two or three together, fleshy, sepals and petals white with pale pink margins, sepals three and petals one veined; lip white with a large pale yellow spot of its middle portion. Sepals and petals broadly oblong. Lip obovate, broad, with undulate edges.

The Pursuit

The species got much attention of Sir George King and Robert Pantling during their monumental work. They found much variations in the property of the species from specimens collected from Sikkim and as well as from Assam and Khasia Hills. They described the Sikkim specimens as “unattractive” and those from the Assam and Khasia Hills as “rather handsome flowers”. I had earlier studied the same species from Assam and Khasia Hills in the year 2009 and 2010 respectively. I was so enthusiastic to find the difference of it from the specimens of the Sikkim-Himalayas and was there in the region in the early summer of 2012. In the earlier visits itself I had found this plant from various tropical valleys. Its thickened, fleshy, leafless, white veined, green, pendulous and leafless stems, 3 or 4 together can be spotted very easily from its habitats. However, the species bloomed much earlier than expected and I missed a “well planned” opportunity. Lost the hope in getting it in flowers that year and marked as “pending observation”. But in the middle of April, I was at an altitude of around 3000 ft on the other side of the district for some other species and I found the same one in bloom, a few of them in flower and in buds. Those opened flowers were somewhat withered and with spots and dirts. So I decided to wait a couple of days for the buds to bloom and got this perfect photograph with its yellow spot and fleshy property of the sepals and petals well recorded. On comparison with the evidences of the species from Assam and Khasia Hills, it has been found that the Sikkim-Himalayan specimens are comparatively smaller in size but equally attractive.

Dendrobium anceps Swartz.

Epiphyte. Stems erect, compressed and as long as 15 to 30 cm and 1 to 2 cm in width. Leaves shortly ensiform, coriaceous, lanceolate, acute with overlapping (equitant) bases, 2 to 4 cm long and 1 to 2 cm in width. Flowers axillary and produced singly on small floral bracts, lateral. Flowers 2 cm across, greenish yellow with reddish brown markings and shades on the disc of the lip and its underside. Sepals unequal, elliptic, obtuse with the lateral ones clasped together at the base and much larger than the dorsal. Petals much narrower than the sepals, spreading, elliptic and blunt. Lip oblong, slightly decurved, the edges entire in the lower portion and crisped in the upper part.

The Pursuit

Due to its over collection for commercial purposes, this species almost disappeared from its natural habitats. In my 3 to 4 years of flower hunt in the region I had come across only a few plants of this species from the wild. It is a native of tropical valleys and the forest fires, a common feature of summer days, had almost destroyed most of its habitats. Luckily I got this species 4 years back and decided to document it the next blooming season itself, as I predict a new dam construction near to its habitat will make all the trees disappear sooner or later. For three continuous years, part of my study tours I regularly visited North East states during April and May. In the year 2011 I added this species also to my agenda. My anxiety was whether the plant will be there or not? After crossing the first hurdle with happiness, then it was to find out the buds and its blooming dates. The plants were at an height of 35 to 50 ft up on tall trees and the buds were on the other side of the stem which prevented a good view from the ground. To ascertain the buds, every day I climbed those rough tall trees, badly bruising my thighs. The temperature on those tropical valleys was also very high which make one exhausted at a quick pace. Mostly with vanishing species, I have to put extra efforts to document it. This species was one of that category. Finally, after several visits and unending climbs, I found them in bloom. To produce perfect photographs on top of a tall tree with not much support is also a very difficult work. The camera, flashes and its accessories together make up a more than a few kilos and handling them at those heights need much courage and experience. Those were my class room days and I was not a good “jungle man” to handle all those tricky things on top of a tall tree. However, the photograph I got was a perfect one, that also without much hurt.

Dendrobium amoenum Wall.

Epiphyte, mostly pendulous. Stem long as 35 to 70 cm and 1 to 2 cm in diameter, slightly thickened at nodes. Leaves alternate, 4 to 6 cm long and 1 to 2 cm in width, oblong lanceolate, apex acute. Flowers beautiful, 2 to 3 cm across, arising from nodes of leafless stems, 2 to 3 from short bracteate penduncles. Sepals white with pale violet margins, petals white with a violet blotch on its tips tip, lip white with a violet blotch near its apex and another greenish yellow towards its middle with a few purple streaks on its sides. Sepals oblong-lanceolate, obtuse, three veined, slightly longer than the petals. Petals broader than the sepals, ovate, obtuse, one veined. Lip long as the sepals, oblong-obovate, clawed at the base with broad side lobes; the terminal lobe with undulate edges and rounded or sometimes with pointed tips; with puberulous upper and lower surfaces.

The Pursuit

“One of the most charming of Indian Dendrobes” – wrote Sir. George King and Robert Pantling. The plant’s pendulous and long stems always attract attention. Found growing in the tropical valleys and to altitudes up to 5000 ft in the hills. I had spotted the species, a few of them, from an intermediate altitude and waited for the monsoon season to see them in flowers. The month of May is the season of many blooming and I am forced to travel long distances every day to study and document various other species. But always remembered this “charming” one. Visited the area in the mid of May to see them in buds. Hoping it will be in bloom, visited the spot after 8 days to find it again in buds only. The whole program to the North hills was to be re-scheduled for this species and I waited for the next few days to see it in bloom. Every morning I made a long drive to the spot to see buds only, but seeing the buds swollen was encouraging. Finally, on the fourth morning, I got to see this “charming” beauty in full bloom. Selected the best of the best flower, a very difficult job – to select a beauty from a dozen beauties!!! The pendulous and long stem always swings in the wind thus making it difficult to pin sharp the flower. However, I am lucky enough to have the experience of working in those windy conditions and produced this wonderful photograph with some extra micro lighting techniques.