Kathmandu, Nepal – A team of ethnobotanists from Kathmandu have recorded
14 new plant species for Nepal recently. The species were catalogued
following a plant collection and inventorying expedition in Ilam and
Pancthar districts of eastern Nepal, in the foothills of the Kangchenjunga
mountains.
“This is an exciting discovery. We have always known that the true extent
of biodiversity in the region has been vastly underestimated. There are
bound to be more new species identified in the future,” said Dr. Krishna
Shrestha, President of the Ethnobotanical Society of Nepal (ESON), the
organization that surveyed the area.
ESON’s plant collection expedition studied the floral diversity in nine
Village Development Committees (VDCs) along the Lower
Kangchenjunga-Singalila Ridge in eastern Nepal. The survey team comprised
eight members from the ESON team led by the organization’s President Dr.
Krishna Shrestha and two members representing local partners - the Deep
Jyoti Youth Club in Panchthar, and the Shree High Altitude Herb Growers
Group of Ilam.
During the three weeks of the expedition, the team recorded the status,
richness, and diversity of plants of forest and agricultural land in the
project sites. This information was then disseminated to the local
community, who gained knowledge about the management and significance of
such ecological research.
Following plant collection, the dried specimens were matched against
depository specimens at Tribhuvan University’s Central Herbarium and those
stored at the National Herbarium in Godavari, both located in Kathmandu.
Literature and documents on the flora of China, Bhutan and Sikkim were
also consulted to aid in identification. The final check in the
identification process was at Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Garden, one of the
world’s leading authorities in identifying and naming plants.
ESON’s plant survey was made possible through a grant from the Critical
Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF). The grant is part of CEPF’s strategy to
conserve key biodiversity areas in the Eastern Himalayas.
Biodiversity in the area surveyed by the ESON team is threatened by
chronic collection of non-timber forest products; harvest of trees for
fuel, fodder, and lumber; and conversion of forests for agriculture
leading to ecosystem degradation and loss of habitat. CEPF grants are
available to NGOs working in the Eastern Himalayan region in Nepal, Bhutan
and northeast India to combat these threats.
CEPF is a joint initiative of Conservation International (CI), l’Agence
Française de Développement, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the
Government of Japan, the MacArthur Foundation and the World Bank. In the
Eastern Himalayas region, WWF leads the regional team responsible for
facilitating, coordinating and monitoring grants for CEPF-supported
conservation projects.
Notes
The species identified as new to Nepal are:
1. Acronema ioniostyles (Umbelliferae)
2. Asparagus filicinus (Liliaceae)
3. Begonia flaviflora (Begoniaceae)
4. Bothriochloa bladhii (Gramineae)
5. Calamogrostis lahulensis (Gramineae)
6. Carex cruciata var. agrocarpa (Cyperaceae)
7. Juncus clarkei (Juncaceae)
8. Juncus khasiensis (Juncaceae)
9. Polygonatum leptophyllum (Liliaceae)
10. Potentilla lineata (Rosaceae)
11. Potentialla sundaica (Rosaceae)
12. Rubia hispidicaulis (Rubiaceae)
13. Strobilanthes helicta Anderson (Acanthaceae)
14. Swertia wardii C. Marquand (Gentianaceae)
14 new plant species for Nepal recently. The species were catalogued
following a plant collection and inventorying expedition in Ilam and
Pancthar districts of eastern Nepal, in the foothills of the Kangchenjunga
mountains.
“This is an exciting discovery. We have always known that the true extent
of biodiversity in the region has been vastly underestimated. There are
bound to be more new species identified in the future,” said Dr. Krishna
Shrestha, President of the Ethnobotanical Society of Nepal (ESON), the
organization that surveyed the area.
ESON’s plant collection expedition studied the floral diversity in nine
Village Development Committees (VDCs) along the Lower
Kangchenjunga-Singalila Ridge in eastern Nepal. The survey team comprised
eight members from the ESON team led by the organization’s President Dr.
Krishna Shrestha and two members representing local partners - the Deep
Jyoti Youth Club in Panchthar, and the Shree High Altitude Herb Growers
Group of Ilam.
During the three weeks of the expedition, the team recorded the status,
richness, and diversity of plants of forest and agricultural land in the
project sites. This information was then disseminated to the local
community, who gained knowledge about the management and significance of
such ecological research.
Following plant collection, the dried specimens were matched against
depository specimens at Tribhuvan University’s Central Herbarium and those
stored at the National Herbarium in Godavari, both located in Kathmandu.
Literature and documents on the flora of China, Bhutan and Sikkim were
also consulted to aid in identification. The final check in the
identification process was at Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Garden, one of the
world’s leading authorities in identifying and naming plants.
ESON’s plant survey was made possible through a grant from the Critical
Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF). The grant is part of CEPF’s strategy to
conserve key biodiversity areas in the Eastern Himalayas.
Biodiversity in the area surveyed by the ESON team is threatened by
chronic collection of non-timber forest products; harvest of trees for
fuel, fodder, and lumber; and conversion of forests for agriculture
leading to ecosystem degradation and loss of habitat. CEPF grants are
available to NGOs working in the Eastern Himalayan region in Nepal, Bhutan
and northeast India to combat these threats.
CEPF is a joint initiative of Conservation International (CI), l’Agence
Française de Développement, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the
Government of Japan, the MacArthur Foundation and the World Bank. In the
Eastern Himalayas region, WWF leads the regional team responsible for
facilitating, coordinating and monitoring grants for CEPF-supported
conservation projects.
Notes
The species identified as new to Nepal are:
1. Acronema ioniostyles (Umbelliferae)
2. Asparagus filicinus (Liliaceae)
3. Begonia flaviflora (Begoniaceae)
4. Bothriochloa bladhii (Gramineae)
5. Calamogrostis lahulensis (Gramineae)
6. Carex cruciata var. agrocarpa (Cyperaceae)
7. Juncus clarkei (Juncaceae)
8. Juncus khasiensis (Juncaceae)
9. Polygonatum leptophyllum (Liliaceae)
10. Potentilla lineata (Rosaceae)
11. Potentialla sundaica (Rosaceae)
12. Rubia hispidicaulis (Rubiaceae)
13. Strobilanthes helicta Anderson (Acanthaceae)
14. Swertia wardii C. Marquand (Gentianaceae)
