Database of Vascular Plants of Himalaya

Suresh Kumar Rana1, Gopal Singh Rawat1

1 Wildlife Institute of India, 248001, Dehradun, India

Corresponding author(s): Suresh Kumar Rana (envsuresh09@gmail.com)Gopal Singh Rawat (rawatg@wii.gov.in)

Received {date}; Revised {date}; Accepted {date}; Published {date}

Citation: Combination of authors, year of data paper publication (in parentheses), Title, Journal Name, Volume, Issue number (in parentheses), and doi of the data paper.

Resource Citation

Rana S K, Rawat G S (2017): Database of Vascular Plants of Himalaya. v1.6. Wildlife Institute of India. Dataset/Occurrence. https://ibif.gov.in:8443/ipt/resource?r=himalayanflora&v=1.6

Abstract

Himalaya forms the largest and highest mountain rage on the earth. Extending over 2400 km nearly east-west with complex topographical features Himalaya provides a wide variety of climate and soils and consequently supports a remarkable assemblage of vegetation types and vascular plant diversity. In this database we examined all available 31 floras published in 42 volumes for different regions of Bhutan, Nepal and Indian Himalayan states and compiled a comprehensive checklist of all plants reported from Himalaya with information on their geographical and elevational distribution. The species names of vascular plants were assessed against updated taxonomic list of botanical names available from www.theplantlist.com (The Plant List, 2013). Further all names were assessed in the GBIF backbone taxonomy using species matching service on GBIF website.

Keywords: elevational ranges, geographic distribution, Himalaya, mountains, occurrence, vascular plants

Project details

Project title: Plant diversity gradients along the Himalaya
Personnel: Suresh Kumar Rana, Gopal Singh Rawat
Study area descriptions/descriptor: The Himalaya represent the largest and highest mountain system on the globe. Climate varies from subtropical to high alpine and the northwest is notably drier than the east. A complex topography generates a wide variety of climate and soils and consequently supports a large assemblage of vegetation types and richness of vascular plants. In so far as it has been studied, within all groups of plants and animals, species richness declines from a biodiversity hotspot in eastern Himalaya to the less diverse northwest Himalaya. This database was compile to understand the species richness patterns of Himalayan vascular in more details.
Design description: Himalayan region was divided into six regions viz. Arunachal Pradesh, Bhutan, Sikkim & Northern Bengal, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and vascular plants species reported by all floras in each region were compiled with information on elevational range of each species. The occurrence of all species in each of the six regions has been reported with the respective elevational range in this database.

Data published through GBIF: https://ibif.gov.in:8443/ipt/resource?r=himalayanflora

Taxonomic coverage

General taxonomic coverage description: All the species of vascular plants reported from Himalayas. A list of families reported is as under:
Taxonomic ranks
Family: Acanthaceae, Achariaceae, Actinidiaceae, Adoxaceae, Aizoaceae, Alismataceae, Amaranthaceae, Amaryllidaceae, Anacardiaceae, Annonaceae, Apiaceae, Apocynaceae, Aponogetonaceae, Aquifoliaceae, Araceae, Araliaceae, Araucariaceae, Arecaceae, Aristolochiaceae, Asclepiadaceae, Asparagaceae, Balanophoraceae, Balsaminaceae, Basellaceae, Begoniaceae, Berberidaceae, Betulaceae, Biebersteiniaceae, Bignoniaceae, Bixaceae, Boraginaceae, Brassicaceae, Bromeliaceae, Burmanniaceae, Burseraceae, Butomaceae, Buxaceae, Cactaceae, Calceolariaceae, Calycanthaceae, Calophyllaceae, Campanulaceae, Cannabaceae, Cannaceae, Capparaceae, Caprifoliaceae, Cardiopteridaceae, Caricaceae, Carlemanniaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Casuarinaceae, Celastraceae, Ceratophyllaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Chloranthaceae, Circaeasteraceae, Cleomaceae, Clethraceae, Clusiaceae, Colchicaceae, Combretaceae, Commelinaceae, Compositae, Connaraceae, Convolvulaceae, Coriariaceae, Cornaceae, Crassulaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Cupressaceae, Cycadaceae, Cyperaceae, Daphniphyllaceae, Datiscaceae, Diapensiaceae, Dichapetalaceae, Dilleniaceae, Dioscoreaceae, Dipsacaceae, Dipterocarpaceae, Droseraceae, Ebenaceae, Elaeagnaceae, Elaeocarpaceae, Elatinaceae, Ephedraceae, Equisetaceae, Ericaceae, Eriocaulaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Eupteleaceae, Fagaceae, Flacourtiaceae, Garryaceae, Gentianaceae, Geraniaceae, Gesneriaceae, Ginkgoaceae, Gnetaceae, Grossulariaceae, Haloragaceae, Haloragidaceae, Hamamelidaceae, Hernandiaceae, Hydrangeaceae, Hydrocharitaceae, Hydroleaceae, Hypericaceae, Hypoxidaceae, Icacinaceae, Illiciaceae, Iridaceae, Iteaceae, Juglandaceae, Juncaceae, Juncaginaceae, Lamiaceae, Lardizabalaceae, Lauraceae, Lecythidaceae, Leguminosae, Lentibulariaceae, Liliaceae, Linaceae, Linderniaceae, Loganaceae, Loganiaceae, Loranthaceae, Lythraceae, Magnoliaceae, Malpighiaceae, Malvaceae, Marantaceae, Marsileaceae, Martyniaceae, Melanthiaceae, Melastomataceae, Meliaceae, Melianthaceae, Menispermaceae, Menyanthaceae, Molluginaceae, Moraceae, Morinaceae, Moringaceae, Musaceae, Myricaceae, Myristicaceae, Myrsinaceae, Myrtaceae, Nartheciaceae, Nelumbonaceae, Nitrariaceae, Nyctaginaceae, Nymphaeaceae, Ochnaceae, Olacaceae, Oleaceae, Onagraceae, Ophioglossaceae, Opiliaceae, Orchidaceae, Orobanchaceae, Osmundaceae, Oxalidaceae, Paeoniaceae, Pandanaceae, Papaveraceae, Parnassiaceae, Passifloraceae, Paulowniaceae, Pedaliaceae, Penaeaceae, Pentaphylacaceae, Phrymaceae, Phyllanthaceae, Phytolaccaceae, Pinaceae, Piperaceae, Pittosporaceae, Plantaginaceae, Platanaceae, Plumbaginaceae, Poaceae, Podocarpaceae, Podostemaceae, Polemoniaceae, Polygalaceae, Polygonaceae, Pontederiaceae, Portulacaceae, Potamogetonaceae, Primulaceae, Proteaceae, Putranjivaceae, Rafflesiaceae, Ranunculaceae, Resedaceae, Rhamnaceae, Rhizophoraceae, Rosaceae, Rubiaceae, Rutaceae, Sabiaceae, Salicaceae, Salviniaceae, Santalaceae, Sapindaceae, Sapotaceae, Saururaceae, Saxifragaceae, Schisandraceae, Scrophulariaceae, Selaginellaceae, Simaroubaceae, Smilacaceae, Solanaceae, Sphenocleaceae, Stachyuraceae, Staphyleaceae, Stemonaceae, Stemonuraceae, Stylidiaceae, Styracaceae, Symplocaceae, Talinaceae, Tamaricaceae, Taxaceae, Taxodiaceae, Tetracentraceae, Tetramelaceae, Theaceae, Thelypteridaceae, Thymelaeaceae, Tiliaceae, Tofieldiaceae, Tropaeolaceae, Typhaceae, Ulmaceae, Urticaceae, Verbenaceae, Violaceae, Vitaceae, Xanthorrhoeaceae, Xyridaceae, Zingiberaceae, Zygophyllaceae

Spatial coverage

General spatial coverage: The vascular plant species database include species reported from Himalaya covering mountainous regions of 3 countries viz. Bhutan, Nepal and Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Northern West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir states of India. The species checklist was obtained by compiling all species reported in the 31 floras published in 42 volumes from different parts of Himalayan region. Synonyms were eliminated by assessing all species names in floras against the updated species names from The Plant List (2013) and GBIF backbone taxonomy.
Coordinates: 26°30'0''N and 35°0'0''N Latitude; 73°30'0''E and 97°0'0''E Longitude 

Temporal coverage: 1903 - 2014

Methods

Method step description: 

Datasets

Dataset description
Object name: Darwin Core Archive Database of Vascular Plants of Himalaya
Character encoding: UTF-8
Format name: Darwin Core Archive format
Format version: 1.0
Distribution: https://ibif.gov.in:8443/ipt/archive.do?r=himalayanflora
Publication date of data: 2019-11-05
Language: English
Licences of use: Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License

Metadata language: English
Date of metadata creation: 2017-06-03
Hierarchy level: Dataset

References
Babu, C.R. (1977) Herbaceous flora of Dehradun. CSIR Publications, New Delhi.
Bhellum, B.L. & Magotra, R. (2012) A catalogue of flowering plants of Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts Kashmir Himalaya. Bishan Singh Mahenddra Pal Singh Dehradun.
Blatter, E. (1927) Beautiful flowers of Kashmir (Vol.1-2). Staples and Staples Limited, Great Britain.
Chauhan, A.S., Singh, K.P. & Singh, D.K. (1996) A contribution to the flora of Namdapha Arunachal Pradesh. Botanical Survey of India, Calcutta.
Chowdhery, H.J. & Wadhwa B.M (1984) Flora of Himachal Pradesh (Vol.1-3). Botanical Survey of India, Culcatta.
Chowdhery, H.J., Giri, G.S. & Pramanik, A. (2009) Materials for the flora of Arunachal Pradesh (Vol-3. Hydrocharitaceae-Poaceae). Botanical Survey of India, Culcatta.
Collet, H. (1921) Flora Simlensis. Thacker, Spink & Co., London.
Dhaliwal, D.S. & Sharma, M. (1999) Flora of Kullu district (Himachal Pradesh). Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehradun, India.
Dhar, U. & Kachroo, P. (1983) Alpine flora of Kashmir Himalaya. Scientific Publishers, Jodhpur, India.
Duthie, J.F. (1903-23) Flora of the upper Gangetic plain and of The adjacent Siwalik and sub-Himalayan tracts. Botanical Survey of India, Dehradun.
Gaur, R.D. (1999) Flora of the district Garhwal northwest Himalaya. Transmedia, Srinagar U.P. India.
Ghosh, D.K. & Mallick, J.K. (2014) Flora of Darjeeling Himalayas and foothills (Angiosperms). Bishen Singh Mahendrapal Singh, Dehradun.
Giri, G.S., Pramanik, A. & Chowdhery, H.J. (2008) Materials for the flora of Arunachal Pradesh (Vol-2. Astraceae-Ceratophyllaceae). Botanical Survey of India, Culcatta.
Grierson, A.J.C. & Long, D.G. (1983-2001) Flora of Bhutan (Including a record of plants from Sikkim) (Vol. 1-2). Royal Botanical Garden, Edinburgh.
Gupta, R.K. (1968) Flora Nainitalensis: A hand book of the flowering plants of Nainital. Navayug Traders, New Delhi.
Hajra, P.K. & Badlodi, B. (1995) Plant wealth of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve. Botanical Survey of India, Calcutta.
Hajra, P.K., Verma, D.M. & Giri, G.S. (1996) Materials for the Flora of Arunachal Pradesh (Vol. 1). Botanical Survey of India, Culcatta.
Hara, H. & Williams, L.H.J. (1978-82) An enumeration of the flowering plants of Nepal (Vol. 1-3). Trustees of the British Museum, London
Kanjilal, U.N. (1928) Forest flora of the Chakrata, Dehradun and Saharanpur forest division. Government of India Press, Calcutta.
Kapur, S.K. & Sarin, Y.K. (1990) Flora of Trikuta hills (Shri Vaishno Devi Shrine). Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehradun, India.
Lal, K. & Rawat, G.S. Flowering plants of Sirmour district: A catalogue. (In Press).
Naithani, (1984-85) Flora of Chamoli (Vol. 1-2). Botanical Survey of India, Hawrah.
Noltie, H.J. (1994-2000) Flora of Bhutan (Including a record of plants from Sikkim and Darjeeling) (Vol. 3, Part 1-2). Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh.
Osmaston, A.E. (1994) A Forest Flora of Kumaon. Bishen Singh Mahinder Pal Singh, Dehradun.
Pearce, N.R. & Cribb, P.J. (2002) Flora of Bhutan: Including a record of plants from Sikkim and Darjeeling (Vol. 3, Part-3), The Orchids of Bhutan. Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh.
Sharma, B.M. & Jamwal, P.S. (1988-98).  Flora of upper Lidder valley of Kashmir Himalaya (Vol. 1-2). Scientific Publishers, Jodhpur.
Sharma, B.M. & Jamwal, P.S. (1998).  Flora of upper Lidder valley of Kashmir Himalaya (Vol. 2). Scientific Publishers, Jodhpur.
Sharma, B.M. & Kachroo, P. (1981) Flora of Jammu and plants of neighbourhood. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehradun.
Singh, H. & Sharma, M. (2006) Flora of Chamba district Himachal Pradesh. Bishan Singh, Mohinderpal, Dehradun.
Singh, G. & Kachroo, P. (1994) Forest flora of Pir Panjal range (Northwest Himalaya). Bishan Singh, Mohinder Pal Singh, Dehradun.
Singh, G. & Kachroo, P.K. (1987) Forest flora of Srinagar. Periodical Expert Book Agency, New Delhi.
Singh, S.K. & Rawat, G.S. (2000) Flora of Great Himalayan National Park Himachal Pradesh. Bishen Singh Mahinder Pal Singh Dehradun.
Strachey, R. (1974) Catalogue of Kumaon Plants. Periodical Experts Delhi.
Swami, A. & Gupta, B.K. (1998) Flora of Udhampur. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehradun.
Uniyal, B.P., Sharma, J.R., Chaudhery U. & Singh. D.K. (2007) Flowering plants of Uttarakhand. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehradun.
Vij, S.P., Verma, J. & Kumar, C.S. (2013) Orchids of Himachal Pradesh. Bishen Singh Mahendrapal Singh, Dehradun.