I have always operated\u00a0primarily with GENERA.\u00a0 When I come across a plant in the UK or the Himalaya that I do not immediately recognise which SPECIES it belongs to, I start thinking which genus?\u00a0 Failing that, which family?\u00a0 I do not think in terms of tribes.\u00a0 I have found very few people think in terms of families and\u00a0almost none of tribes.<\/div>\n
In the past, both floras and guides (such as Flowers of the Himalaya) were arranged ‘Systematically’ by supposedly related families.\u00a0 I NEVER found this helpful, so rapidly adopted a ALPHABETICAL approach, which I encourage (although as one can see\u00a0on eFI) there have been many name changes of families in recent decades.\u00a0 Nowadays in the UK, very few people learn about plant families or even if they know lots of them, think in terms of which other families are closely-related.<\/div>\n
Regardless of whether the genus or species is new to eFI, I doubt if there will have been many postings – as like, Fritillaria delavayii<\/i>, which I have just posted about, this species is another ‘high’ alpine.\u00a0\u00a0 Not many botanists\u00a0or other members of this group from India have reached such elevations particularly if major treks are required.
<\/font><\/div>\nThe image below was scanned in from a slide taken in the early 1990s when I was working as a consultant to\u00a0The Royal Government of Bhutan.\u00a0\u00a0The\u00a0pressed specimen was collected for the mini-herbarium at the National Institute of Traditional Medicine, Thimphu on stony slopes<\/font> at some 4400m on Yak La, Lingshi district in July 1990.<\/font>
<\/font><\/div>\nSoroseris hookeriana<\/i> is illustrated in ‘Flowers of the Himalaya’ recorded<\/font> on stony slopes & screes in drier areas<\/font> from Himachal Pradesh to SE Tibet @ 4300-5500m.<\/font>\u00a0 Is this known from Uttarakhand, I wonder?
<\/font><\/div>\nFlora of Bhutan\u00a0records this<\/font> from among boulders and on screes<\/font> @ 3650-4720m in Sikkim, Chumbi and Bhutan.<\/font><\/font><\/div>\nPopulations in NE Bhutan and the Sikkim\/ Chumbi border do not fit well within this species, seeming to be intermediate between this species and