Gaultheria trichophylla

Himalayan snowberry
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Gaultheria
Species: G. trichophylla
Binomial name
Gaultheria trichophylla
Royle [1]

Gaultheria trichophylla, commonly known as Himalayan snowberry, is a species of plant in the heath and heather family, native to the Himalayas. The flowers range in color from red, to pink, to white; fruits are blue-colored berries; and leaves are approximately 3 mm in length.

In volume one of his book Illustrations of the Botany and Other Branches of the Natural History of the Himalayan Mountains, and of the Flora of Cashmere, J. Forbes Royle wrote this about the natural habitat of G. trichophylla: “This plant is an inhabitant of cold and lofty situations, as Jumnotri, the top of Choor, and of the mountains surrounding Cashmere, and like many plants of such situations is furnished with setae on the younger upper parts of branches, probably to protect them from the severity of the cold. The calyx is adherent to the lower part of the capsule, becomes succulent, and forms an edible fruit in the month of September.” [2]

References

  1. ↑  Gaultheria trichophylla was originally described and published in Illustrations of the Botany and Other Branches of the Natural History of the Himalayan Mountains, and of the Flora of Cashmere. 260, pl. 63, f. 3. 1835. "Name - Gaultheria trichophylla Royle". Tropicos. Saint Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved June 27, 2011. Type-Protologue: Locality: China: Sichuan: vicinity of Daqian-lu; Collector: A.E.Pratt; Note: described from the Himalayas
  2. ↑ J. Forbes Royle (1839). Illustrations of the Botany and Other Branches of the Natural History of the Himalayan Mountains, and of the Flora of Cashmere (PDF available through the Biodiversity Heritage Library). London: Wm. H. Allen and Company. p. 260. Retrieved June 27, 2011.

External links


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