• Balanophora involucrata. Plants dioecious. Rhizome yellowish brown, rarely reddish brown, branched or unbranched, surface densely covered with granular warts and yellowish stellate lenticels; branches urceolate, 2.5-5.5 × 1.5-2 cm. Scapes yellow to orange, 3-10 × 0.6-1 cm, base subtended by distinct rhizome sheath. Leaves connate into a single sheathlike whorl, surrounding middle of scape. Male inflorescences ovoid-spheroid, 1.4-2.4 × 1.2-2 cm. Bracts truncate with expanded liplike margin, fused side by side into a hexagonal alveolus. Male flowers: pedicellate, inserted basally in alveolus, usually 3-merous, ca. 4 mm in diam. Perianth lobes 3, rarely to 6, ovate to broadly deltoid, ca. 2 mm in diam. Synandria sessile, depressed discoid; anthers transversely dehiscent. Female inflorescence ovoid to ellipsoid. Spadicles obovate, shortly stiped, apically truncate; cuticular ridges of apical cells labyrinthlike. Female flowers: only on main axis of inflorescences. Jul.-Aug

 

 

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  Bergenia stracheyi. Herbs perennial, ca. 20 cm tall. Rhizomes thick. Leaves all basal; petiole 1-1.8 cm, sheathless part to 1 cm, sheathing base rigidly ciliate at distal margin; leaf blade obovate, 7-7.5 × 4.2-4.6 cm, both surfaces glabrous, base cuneate or rounded, margin serrate or doubly so, rigidly ciliate, apex obtuse. Inflorescence cymose, 5-8 cm; branches and pedicels long glandular hairy. Hypanthium glandular hairy. Sepals subovate, 5-6 × 3.5-4 mm, fleshy, abaxially glandular hairy, veins many, not confluent at apex, margin denticulate-ciliate. Petals red, subspatulate, ca. 9.5 × 4-5 mm, base gradually narrowed into a claw 2-3 mm, apex obtuse. Stamens 6-7 mm. Ovary ovoid, ca. 6 mm; styles 2, ca. 7 mm. Fl. Jun-Oct. 2n = 34

 

 

• Dactylorhiza hatagirea.  Medicinal herb which is now considered critically endangered. It is a perennial herb with erect, leafy, stout and hollow stem. Leaves are oblong-lance-shaped, with sheathing base. Pink purple flowers are borne in an upright spike. Flowers are purple and the bracts green, narrowly lance-shaped, lower longer than the flowers, upper slightly shorter. Flowers are about 1.8 cm long, including the curved spur. Sepals and petals are nearly equal. Three of them form a hood, and the two side sepals spread outwards. The lip is rounded and shallowly 3-lobed, spotted dark purple. Marsh Orchid is found in shrubberies, open slopes and marshes, in the Himalaya.  Roots are tuberous, divided into 2 or 3 lobes.  2800-4000 m. Jun.-Jul.

 

 

 

 

 

• Fritillaria roylei . Herbacious plant, 0.5-2 ft tall, commonly found in alpine slopes and shrubberies of the Himalayas, from Pakistan to Uttarakhand, at altitudes of 2700-4000 m. Flowers are yellowish-green to brownish-purple and usually with a chequered pattern in dull purple. Flowers are broadly bell-shaped, hanging looking down, borne singly on the stems, but sometimes in groups of 2-4. Petals are narrow-ovate. 4-5 cm long. Leaves are linear-lancelike, often long-pointed, 5-10 cm, arrange oppositely or in whorls of 2-6 on the stem. Flowering: Jun.-Jul.

 

 

 

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  Meconopsis aculeate. Bristly- haired monocarpic plant with erect stem to 60 cm. leaves deeply and irregularly pinnate-lobed, sparsely bristly haired; lobes usually rounded-tootyhed and widely spaced. Flowers blue, very rarely purple-red, 5-7 cm across. Distinguished from the rather similar Meconopsis latifolia, which it overlaps in range, by its deeply cut leaves and fewer flowers. 3000-4000 m. Jun.-Aug.

 

 

 

 

• Podophyllum hexandrum.Perennial herb, 15-40 cm tall, native to the Himalayas. It is low to the ground with glossy green, drooping, lobed leaves on its few stiff branches. The ornamental appearance of the plant made it a garden plant in the West. Podophyllum gets its name from the Greek words podos and phyllon, meaning foot shaped leaves. The plant has an erect unbranched stem, bearing two large, lobed leaves at the top, encircling the single large, white or pale pink cup-shaped flower. Flower is 2-4 cm across, with 3 sepals which fall off soon. The flower has six petals and six stamens, which inspired its species name hexandrum, meaning six stamens. Leaves are rounded in outline, 10-25 cm long, deeply cut into 3 ovate, toothed lobes, sometimes further lobed. Fruit is a large scarlet or reddish berry, 2.5-5 cm, with many seeds embedded in pulp. It can be propagated by seed or by dividing the rhizome. It is very tolerant of cold temperatures, as would be expected of a Himalayan plant, but it is not tolerant of dry conditions. 2400-4500 m. May-Aug.

 

• Rhododendron anthopogon.This is probably one of the smallest of rhododendrons. Grows to no more that 2-3 ft high. The white or yellow flowers, tinged with pink, grow in small compact clusters of 4-6 and each flower is 2 cm across. The dark green oval leaves are strongly aromatic and densely scaly underneath. 3000-4800 m

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Rhododendron campanulatum. It is a spreading shrub, 2-6 m tall. Its leaves are very interesting. They are broadly elliptic to oval, to 14 cm long, dark glossy green above, with brown felted wooly hairs below. In fact, running a finger on the underside of the leaves gives one a velvety feel. Beautiful bell-shaped flowers are pale mauve to rosy-purple, rarely white, purple spotted inside. Flowers grow in large trusses, or clusters, which can be up to 10 inches across. Each flower is shaped like a small bell about 1 - 1.5 inch long. 3000-4400 m. Apr.-Jun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Taxus wallichiana . Medium-sized evergreen coniferous tree growing up to 30 m tall, but usually less than 10 m. The shoots are green at first, becoming brown after three or four years. The leaves are thin, flat, slightly sickle-shaped, 1.5-2.7 cm long and 2 mm broad, with a apex with a short point. They are arranged spirally on the shoots but twisted at the base to appear in two horizontal ranks on all except for erect lead shoots. It is dioecious, with the male and female cones on separate plants. The seed cone is highly modified, berry-like, with a single scale developing into a soft, juicy red aril 1 cm in diameter, containing a single dark brown seed 7 mm long. The pollen cones are spherical, 4 mm diameter, produced on the undersides of the shoots in early spring. 2100-3400 m. Mar.-May.

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