Desideria species- on the arid banks of Rakshas Tal, Tibet


Kailas Manasarovar Route::Wild flower for ID NSJ-SEP 16/19 : 6 posts by 3 authors. Attachments (2)
Wild flower for ID. Located on the arid banks of Rakshas tal, Tibet. Altitude 15000 feet. Aug 2016.
I can suggest upto family level, see in Brassicaceae..
Thanks, ..., for pointing out the family.
It appears to be some Desideria species not in efi so far?
Yes, Desideria is a sound suggestion as to genus (the family is Brassicaceae - formerly Cruciferae).
Sometimes it is essential to have fruits to confirm identification especially in less well-known genera or those which are more difficult.
I knew the genus before as Ermania.
There are 4 species in the genus recorded from Ladakh, some of which no doubt occur in 'Central' Tibet where this was found but there could easily be species not known in Ladakh.
So if it is a Desideria:
We can rule out Desideria (Ermania) himalayensis as the foliage is completely different - fleshy oval, toothed leaves & small lilac flowers.
Also, D.pumila.
Desideria linearis is, according to Stewart, distinguished by small flowers, second (meaning one side of an axis) racemes and linear silicules. It is recorded from Tibet.
Desideria stewartii is found from 3900-4950m, so this is promising altitude-wise - there is an image of this in the Kew herbarium but cannot access it at the right size to assess it.
That is the best I can do at this point - and as mentioned, there may be other species to consider.




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