CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FLORA OF BHUTAN: Henry J. Noltie

184 Pages·2015·2.97 MB·English

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE
FLORA OF BHUTAN:
THE MONOCOTYLEDONS
A collection of papers submitted to
the University of Edinburgh
for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy (by Research Publication)
Henry J. Noltie
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
June, 2000
Abstract
The published work submitted for consideration for the degree
of Ph.D. (by Research Publication) consists of two parts of the
Flora of Bhutan, describing the monocotyledons (some 942
species) with the exception of Orchidaceae. Together with
these are ten precursor papers relating to these parts of the
Flora: the papers include descriptions of new species,
nomenclatural discussion (including typifications) and
phytogeographic information. The critical review gives the
historical background for the whole Flora project, together
with the methods used in my own contribution and some of
my more interesting findings. An enumeration of new taxa
described, and new combinations made, is given in an
appendix.
CONTENTS
Introduction 1
What is a Flora? 2
Brief outline of Bhutan 3
Flora of Bhutan: the history of the project 5
Funding 13
Storage of data 13
Illustrations 14
Biogeography 14
Introduced and cultivated plants 17
History of exploration 18
My own work 28
Fieldwork for monocots 33
Practical uses of the Flora: examples from the monocots 35
The future 36
Conclusions 38
Acknowledgements 39
References 40
Appendix 1. Publications submitted for Ph.D. 46
Appendix 2. New taxa and combinations 48
Appendix 3. Floristic elements in Gramineae 50
Appendix 4. Contributing authors and artists 51
CRITICAL REVIEW
Introduction
This 'critical review' is supposed to describe the aims,
objectives, methodology, results and conclusions of the
published work submitted. Since the project is fundamentally
descriptive in nature, it will not adopt this format, which is
suited to a more experimental methodology. It is also
inappropriate in that my own work forms part of a much larger
project, and the purpose of this review is primarily to put my
contribution to the whole work into context.
I have written two parts of the Flora of Bhutan (with some
contributions from others, separately attributed in the
volumes), covering the monocotyledons excluding
Orchidaceae. In submitting this work to be considered for a
doctorate, I am acutely aware that this represents only a
contribution towards a much greater whole. In achieving this
contribution I am hugely in the debt of others, especially to
David Long and the late Andrew Grierson, who jointly
initiated the project, and undertook the substantial groundwork
required for such a major floristic work. Nevertheless, my
contribution stands as part of a team effort, and has validity as
a section of work in its own right. It includes one very large
family, the Gramineae, the second largest in the Flora with
125 genera and 388 species (Noltie, 1999a, b; 2000a, b), and,
Carex, the third largest genus in the Flora, with 73 species
(Noltie, 1993a, 1994a).
In putting my contribution into context, it is necessary to
explain something of Floras in general, and the particular
history of this one - which is unusual in many respects.
Explaining the cultural, scientific and political background to
this Flora may be a useful contribution to understanding the
difficulties that can attend Western attempts to document the
biodiversity of a developing country.
1
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FIG. I AREA COVERED BY THE FLORA
What is a Flora?
A Flora is, at its simplest, an inventory of plant species
occurring in a defined geographical area; within this basic
definition there exists wide scope in terms of the information
contained, style, etc. The Flora of Bhutan was designed to be
used in the field, without the backup of a large herbarium or
library. The arrangement of families follows the Englerian
system. Introduced and cultivated plants are included, in
addition to native ones. The descriptions are short, and
minimal synonymy is given (chiefly that relating to the Flora
of British India, still the standard floristic text for the region).
Keys are given to genera within families and to species within
genera. Local names and uses are included wherever possible.
Distribution within the country is given, along with ecological
details (altitudinal ranges and habitats). Representatives of all
the families are illustrated by means of line drawings. Not
included in the Flora are citations of specimens or types, the
places of publication of names, or distributions of species
outwith the area. None of these were thought to be of much
use in Bhutan, in the absence of a herbarium or library, though
in retrospect, and especially given the amount of research into
nomenclature and distribution, some of these are perhaps
regrettable omissions.
The existing floristic literature relating to Bhutan is extremely
sparse; a few nineteenth century records (those of William
Griffith) are included in the Flora of British India (1872--97),
and there are some more recent floristic lists (e.g. Hara, 1971;
Subramanyam, 1973). Such a'lack of primary information for
an area of major phytogeographic significance has been a
severe lacuna in world floristic literature, and, at the local
level, in applied fields such as conservation, ethnobotany and
the sustainable use of plant resources (for example in
traditional medicine). In filling this gap, an authoritative
floristic treatment of the plants of Bhutan will enable broader
views to be taken of the distribution and ecology of S Asian
taxa. It is vital, therefore, to stress the fundamental
importance, and pressing need for such a Flora. In more recent
PJ
times, such cataloguing of biodiversity has become a legal
requirement, as one of the conditions arising from signing the
Convention on Biological Diversity, which the Royal
Government of Bhutan (RGOB) did on 11th June, 1992.
A common criticism of Floras is that they are artificial in the
sense that they describe the plants of arbitrary, or at least 'non-
natural' areas. This is undoubtedly true, but does not make
them unimportant or without value. The question of
artificiality of boundaries is true in the case of Bhutan:
although it is naturally defined in terms of its northern and
southern boundaries (the summits of the high Himalaya and
the northern edge of the Bengal plain respectively), the eastern
and western boundaries are more or less arbitrary. The
inclusion of Sikkim and Darjeeling (originally on the grounds
that their plants were better known, being more extensively
collected) makes the area covered by the Flora more
representative of the E Himalayan floristic province than if it
had been restricted to the political country of Bhutan (FIG. 1).
In my own work I have been very conscious of the dangers of
looking too narrowly and have paid especial attention to China
in determining species limits, and also in the fields of
literature and nomenclature. Having been based at the Royal
Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE), with its unique Chinese
collections of herbarium specimens and literature, has been a
significant advantage. This would not have been possible if,
for example, the work had been carried out at Calcutta or other
apparently suitable bases.
Brief outline of Bhutan
It seems appropriate to describe here, very briefly, something
of the physical and geographical background to Bhutan since
this accounts, in a large degree, for its botanical interest. This
is not the place to go into detail, as this is provided in the
summaries in the first volume of the Flora (Grierson & Long,
1983); valuable information is also supplied in the recent Atlas
of Bhutan (LUPP, 1997).
3
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FIG. 2 MAP OF BHUTAN
Bhutan (FIG. 2) is a small kingdom of 40, 077 sq. km, situated
in the East Himalaya. It lies between the longitudes of 88°45'
and 92'10'E, and the latitudes of 26°40' and 28'21'N.
Politically it is sandwiched between China (Tibet) to the north
and north west, and India (the States of West Bengal and
Arunachal Pradesh) to the south west, south and east. The land
rises very steeply from south to north, in a distance of under
175km, the Bengal plain being at about 200m, and the large
Himalayan peaks reaching over 7500m. A series of river
valleys and ridges run north to south throughout the country.
These valleys vary greatly in depth, the deeper ones enabling
subtropical vegetation to enter far into the interior of the
country e.g. north of Punakha. Some, such as the Manas, are
very dry and desert-like in their middle courses.
The dominant climatic feature of the E Himalaya is the
summer monsoon, which brings very large amounts of
precipitation between April and October. Useful figures are
given in Eguchi (1987). The climate is more variable than one
might expect, given the size of the country, due mainly to the
extremely varied topography. Rainfall is greatest in the
southern foothills which receive the brunt of the moisture-
laden winds coming from the Bay of Bengal, so that the
annual precipitation at Phuntsholing on the Indian border is
4222mm (wettest month July, with 1000mm). The deep N-S
valleys are much drier, so, for example, Thimphu only about
70km (as the crow flies) to the north receives 597mm of rain
per year (wettest month August, with 150mm). The eastern
valleys are drier still, for example, the annual rainfall at
Mongar on the Kuru Chu is 518mm. Temperature also varies
greatly - from the subtropical climate of the southern belt
(with small seasonal fluctuations) - to temperate in the central
zone - and extreme alpine in the north (the latter two with
much greater seasonal fluctuations). To take two examples: at
Phuntsholing in the south, the mean temperature in January is
about 18°C and 25°C for June; at Paro, in the central zone, the
mean January temperature is about 6°C and for June about
19°C.
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FIG. 3 VEGETATION ZONES OF WESTERN BHUTAN
Height (m)
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