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Taxus contorta Griff., Itin. Pl. Khasyah Mts. 351 1848. (Syn: Taxus fuana Nan Li & R.R.Mill, Novon 7: 263 (1997). ; Taxus wallichiana subsp. contorta (Griff.) Silba, J. Int. Conifer Preserv. Soc. 17: 24 (2010).) as per WCSP;
N. Afghanistan to C. Himalaya as per WCSP;
In most of the literature referring to Taxus in the Himalayas only one species, Taxus wallichiana, is recognized for the entire mountain chain [often referred to as T. baccata ssp. wallichiana (Zucc.) Pilg.]. More recently, all of the populations occurring from central Nepal westward to northern Pakistan and Afghanistan have been assigned to the relatively recently described species T. fuana Nan Li & R.R.Mill (Möller et al. 2007, Shah et al. 2008), which was first known from the Himalayas of SW Xizang [Tibet]. This species has turned out to be synonymous with T. contorta Griff., a much earlier name, that has priority and must therefore be used. This is the only yew occurring in Afghanistan, Pakistan, northwestern India and western Nepal. It also occurs in the Jilong Xian in Xizang, China.The total extent of occurrence is in excess of 20,000 km2. The area of occupancy (AOO) is uncertain, but given that subpopulations are usually small and localized, it is likely to be less than 2,000 km2.
In northwestern India, it occurs in small scattered populations, usually along streams within coniferous forests in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh. It occurs at lower altitudes than in Pakistan (1,700-2,600 m asl), probably due to increased precipitation. In western and central Nepal (ca 83° 30’ E) T. contorta occurs in similar situations as in northwest India.
(From IUCN Red List (LC) on 11.12.13)
GYMNOSPERMS FORTNIGHT :: Taxus wallichiana from Ghanghariya-NS 03 : Attachments (5). 5 posts by 3 authors.
This gymnosperm was shot near helipad of Ghanghariya during VOF Tour….
I got its name as Taxus wallichiana ssp. baccata through discussions in VOF Week..
This should be better named as T. contorta Griff. as per efi link. Thanks Sir, I overlooked this recent post…
VoF Week: Taxus baccata from Ghangriya near helipad:
Taxus baccata from Ghangriya near helipad
An important Medicinal Plant
Taxus wallichiana Zucc. (Syn: Taxus baccata subsp. wallichiana) – Thanks … for the ID along Ghangria – Govind ghat trail 16.08.2012 this one most likely has taxol even in its leaves, not just the bark T. contorta Griff. as per another thread. These fruits (if we call them as fruit, gymnosperms do not produce true fruits) are juicy and edible. I have enjoyed them at Ghangaria. ‘Thuner’ as locally called is an important veterinary medicine also. Yes Taxus contorta http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/39147/0 Gymnosperms fortnight :: Taxaceae » Taxus baccata at Ghangaria :: PKA03: : 3 images. 4 posts by 4 authors.
This tree was spotted near Ghangaria (En-route Valley of Flowers)..
Common name: Himalayan Yew Bot. name: Taxus baccata Family: Taxaceae It sure is a Taxus.
However, the nomenclature and identity of the western Himalayan Yew (Taxus baccata/ T. baccata ssp. wallichiana/ T. wallichiana/ and also T. fauna for some time) has been a matter of debate for long and seems to have settled as under: The eastern Himalayan Yew is Taxus wallichiana and the western Himalayan Yew is now Taxus contorta. Yes … West Himalayan Taxus should be better named as T. contorta Griff.
Although both major databases (GRIN and The Plant List) treat it as synonym of T. wallichiana, it is advisable to follow this recent publication:
Thomas, P. 2011. Taxus contorta. In: IUCN 2013. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Taxaceae family : The Yews There areb 5 genera in it with 23 species. Taxus being the only widespread genus.
Taxus contorta (=T. baccata, T. wallichiana), the Western Himalayan Yew, is locally known as ‘Thuna’, ‘Rakhal’, and ‘Birmi’ in different parts of Himachal Pradesh.
Needles traded as raw drugs under the name ‘Birmi Talish’. Bark locally used in making herbal tea. Photographed in Great Himalayan National Park, Himachal Pradesh.
Thanks, …, for all thse wonderful posts.
The beautiful edible fruits! This species is now more important as a potential source of ‘Taxol”.
Gymnosperm Fortnight: Taxodiaceae- Taxus contorta from Kashmir-GS-51 : Attachments (3). 1 post by 1 author.
Taxus contorta, West Himalayan Taxus,
Photographed from Srinagar, Kashmir.
Male cones of this plants are also attached.
Clicked in Shimla Should it be Taxus contorta Griff. (N. Afghanistan to C. Himalaya as per WCSP) rather than Taxus wallichiana Zucc. (C. Himalaya to China (NW. Yunnan), SE. Vietnam, Sumatera, Philippines, Sulawesi as per WCSP) as per comparative images at Taxus ?
Kindly give me some time to go through details. As it was cultivated at National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), Regional Centre Shimla, I’ll enquire the person who has introduced it at that place. They have collection even from outside India.
We were considering the Taxus species occurring in this area as T. wallichiana only. However, we have to rethink and take it as T. contorta. I have asked someone to provide me key to the Taxus spp. He will give it on Monday.
Thanks for your interest in Taxus species.
It should be within T. wallichiana or T. fuana. As per latest literature (see eflora of china), T. wallichiana occurs in Eastern Himalaya while what is occurring in western Himalaya is T. fuana. I tried to check the characters too, which is also seemingly matching more with T. fuana.
Earlier literatures refer western Himalayan material as T. baccata (say Collett’s Flora Simlensis), which was later designated as T. wallichiana (e.g. Flowers of Himalaya) and now as T. fuana. However, you need to consult HFRI taxonomists to further ascertain its correct identity.
Regarding location, I don’t have any collector number matching with this collection. It is certainly not collected from Kinnaur. However, i roughly remember i collected the same from Great Himalayan NP, Kullu during 2004.
Kudos to your good photography.
Apart from those published, I had a list of some 10-15 plant species which were not reported from Shimla. If you want to have more information about it, we shall work out on this.
Hope this discussion is useful
It was introduced at NBPGR, Regional centre Shimla by …, who is now serving at NBPGR Nee Delhi.
I got the following email reply from him regarding my query.
Ok, Anil ji.
Taxus fuana Nan Li & R.R. Mill is a syn. of Taxus contorta Griff. as per Catalogue of Life and WCSP.
I have asked one scientist to collect it’s cones and seeds for me, which may help me further These photographs were sent to me by Panki Sood ji from UN heritage Great Himalayan Park National Park. I had requested him to click these for me.
Attachments (5)
Attachments (1) – TAXACEAE.published.pdf
These are some useful links:
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=132355 http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=210002198 http://www.efloras.org/object_page.aspx?object_id=109106&flora_id=800 Nice paper on Differences: https://academic.oup.com/botlinnean/article/155/3/307/2420200 Photographs http://www.efloras.org/object_page.aspx?object_id=109105&flora_id=800 http://www.efloras.org/object_page.aspx?object_id=109104&flora_id=800 http://www.efloras.org/object_page.aspx?object_id=109103&flora_id=800 http://www.efloras.org/object_page.aspx?object_id=109102&flora_id=800 http://www.efloras.org/object_page.aspx?object_id=1351&flora_id=2 According to Farjon and Filer in “An Atlas of the World’s Conifers”: “In the Himalaya, Taxus wallichiana occurs E of T. contorta in the wetter parts of the range; the transition zone between the two taxa in Central nepal more or less coin-cides with the climatic transition. it is known from E nepal, sikkim, Bhutan and arunachal pradesh within the Himalayan range. However, T. wallichiana has a much wider distribution.” It was a part of the Taxus wallichiana complex and was also reported as T. wallichiana Zucc. in the literature as is also evident from the herbarium specimens shown at Plants of the World Online (POWO). The Plant List still consider Taxus contorta as a synonym of Taxus wallichiana Zucc. http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:263797-1 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-2434832 The same person, A. Farjon, considered it as T. wallichiana in 2006 but T. contorta in 2008. …, my specimens should be Taxus contorta Griff. only as per the recent literature. Thank you for correcting me, otherwise, I would have kept it as T. wallichiana. Revising my BLOG also. http://anilkthakur.blogspot.com/2020/04/himalayan-yew-potent-anti-cancerous.html |
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