Dactylorhiza umbrosa ( Kar . & Kir . ) Nevski ( Orchidaceae ) : an addition to flora of India from Kashmir Himalaya

Dactylorhiza umbrosa (Kar. &Kir.) Nevski is reported for the first time from Kashmir Himalaya, India. A brief description, illustration, photographs of diagnostic features, and a distribution map is provided. Also provided are comparative characters to distinguish D. umbrosa from other species already known from Kashmir Himalaya: D. hatagirea, D. kafiriana and D. viridis. The species shows rare distribution in the alpine habitats of this Himalayan region and overexploitation for local use poses threat to the existence of this rare medicinal orchid species. Therefore, the documentation of this species assumes significance for devising conservation strategies and sustainable use in this Himalayan region.


Notes oN GeoGraphic DistributioN
Globally, the genus Dactylorhiza (Orchidaceae) is represented by ca.75 species that are mainly distributed in the Northern Hemisphere (Pilon et al. 2006;Chuhanet al. 2014).Species of this genus occupy a wide range of open habitats from dune slacks to alpine meadows and including swamps and peat bogs (Pilon et al. 2006).
Dacty lorhiza differs from all other genera in Orchidaceae by its finger-like tuberoids and the name is derived from the Greek words daktylos (finger) and rhiza (root) (Renz and Taubenheim 1984).
Dactylorhiza is one of the taxonomically challenging genera, as demonstrated by the varying number of species worldwide (12-75) recognized by different authors (Bournérias et al. 1998;Pedersen 1998;Hedreń 2001).This taxonomic complexity is largely attributed to frequent interspecific hybridization with nearly all hybrid combinations possible (Averyanov 1990).In India, the genus is represented by three species: D. hatagirea (D.Don) Soo, D. kafiriana Renz and D. viridis (L.) R. M. Bateman, Pridgeon & M.W. Chase.These three species are mainly distributed in the Western Himalayas (Deva and Naithani 1986;Misra 2007;Adhikari et al. 2013).
During recent times, while carrying out floristic surveys in the alpine of Kashmir Himalaya, flowering specimens of an unknown orchid species were collected.After critical examination of its diagnostic characters, the specimens were identified as Dactylorhiza umbrosa (Kar.& Kir.) Nevski, a species hitherto unreported from the region.On screening the relevant taxonomic literature (Duthie1906; King and Panting 1979;Deva and Naithani 1986), it was found that D. umbrosa was not known from anywhere in India.Therefore, this new record of D. umbrosa from Kashmir Himalaya also represents the first record of this species from India.
The Kashmir Himalaya is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent between 33°22ʹ N and 34°50ʹ N latitude and 073°55ʹ E and 075°33ʹ E longitude, covering an area of ca.16,000 km 2 .During this study, standard herbarium methods were followed (Bridson and Forman 1992;Ganie et al. 2015).The voucher specimens were deposited at the University of Kashmir Herbarium (KASH).The micro-characters of the species were studied and photographed with the help of a trinocular stereo zoom microscope (Model: Carl Zeiss DiscoveryV8).
Local distribution: Dactylorhiza umbrosa is here recorded twice from one site only in Kashmir Himalaya.
Until very recently, three species of genus Dactylo rhiza, namely D. hatagirea, D. kafiriana, and D. viridis, have been reported from Kashmir (Deva and Naithani 1986;Misra 2007;Adhikari et al. 2013).These species are differentiated on the basis of leaf, lip and spur characters (Deva and Naithani 1986).This study revealed that the leaves of the D. umbrosa are lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, arranged in lower part of the stem, and sometimes more or less basal, that the lip is usually as long as broad, flat, orbicular or reniform-rhomboidal, tapering towards apex, and that the spur is pendulous, slightly curved towards the apex.Based on these morphological characters, the taxonomic delimitation of D. umbrosa from other species of the genus occurring in Kashmir Himalaya is shown in Table 1.
In this study, Dactylorhiza umbrosa was collected from only one site, which indicates its rarity in Kashmir Himalaya.This species has been used as aphrodisiac and tonic, and thus, local overexploitation poses a threat to the survival of this species.Therefore, documentation of this species is an important step towards devising a conservation strategy and a sustainable management plan of this rare medicinal orchid.

Figure 2 .
Figure 2. A: Population of Dactylorhiza umbrosa.B: An individual plant.C: Flowers.D and E: Floral bracts.F: Leaves arranged in lower part of stem.G: Leaf apex.H: Position of spur and ovary.I: Tuber.

Table 1 .
Comparison of diagnostic characters between different Dactylorhiza species occurring in the Kashmir, Himalaya, India