New floral distribution records of Aquilegia nivalis (Baker) Falc. ex B. D. Jacks and Doronicum falconeri C. B. Clarke ex Hook. f. from the Valley of Flowers National Park, Uttarakhand, India Author Rana, C. S. Author Rawat, D. S. text Journal of Threatened Taxa 2012 2012-08-26 4 9 2911 2914 http://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/article/view/794 journal article 10.11609/JoTT.o3036.2911-4 21b53556-1fc6-4c97-bb5f-6eb6f1ca0027 0974-7907 5092837 Doronicum falconeri C.B. Clarke ex Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India 3: 333. 1881 ; Mathur, Flora India 13: 203. 1995 ; Karthikeyan et al., Fl. Plants India 1: 225. 2009 . Specimen examined: 07.vii.2010 , Kunth Khal , Garhwal Himalaya , India , coll. C . S . Rana , 19586 ( GUH ) ( Image 4 ) . Image 3. Herbarium of Aquilegia nivalis Image 4. Herbarium of Doronicum falconeri Stout perennial erect herbs, up to 30cm high, puberulous. Stems simple, erect, ribbed. Leaves obovate to spathulate, acute, irregularly serrate, 2.5–8 x 2–4 cm , puberulous on upper surface, glabrescent on the lower surface; upper most cauline leaves lanceolate, serrate, sessile, amplexicaul; middle cauline leaves spathulate;basal leaves with 2–8cm long petiole;Heads 3–5 cm across, radiate, solitary, pubescent. Involucral bracts lanceolate, 10–12 mm long, acute, serrate. Ray florets yellow, ca. 25mm long; ligule oblong, 20–22 mm long, 3–5 veined, tridentate; corolla tube 4–5 mm long, hairy outside. Disc florets 5–6 mm long; corolla limb 2–3 mm long, 5-lobed; lobes triangular-ovate, ca. 1mm long. Achenes broadly oblong, 1.5–2 mm long, ribbed, white pubescent on the ribs. Pappus of reddish-brown, scabrid deciduous hairs, 4.5–5 mm long; scanty, absent in ray achenes. Flowering & Fruiting: June–July. Distribution: India : Western Himalaya (between 4000–4500 m ), Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh , Uttarakhand ; Pakistan . Ecology: Rare, a small population of 9–12 individuals was observed in a small area on moist slope at 3900–4000 m , Kunth Khal of Valley of Flowers National Park. The presence of A. nivalis and D. falconeri in the Valley of Flowers National Park on the one hand shows richness of flora, and on the other hand indicates better chances of survival of these rare species in the area where anthropogenic stresses are at a minimum. However, since the population sizes are very small, a close watch on the fate of these species is needed in future.