Two New Species of Chenopodiaceae from the Western Himalaya

Abstract

Whilst recent material collected in the western Himalaya was being checked, two new species of Chenopodiaceae came to light. On further research it was found that one of these, Halogeton kashmirianus, was represented in the herbaria at Kew and the British Museum (Natural History) by older nineteenth century collections, primarily by Falconer, R. Strachey and T. Thomson, long included under H. glomeratus C. A. Meyer. The western Himalaya, especially from Chitral to Gilgit, Hunza and Ladakh fall within the rain shadow of the Indian Monsoon. Precipitation in this region is low and falls primarily as winter snow. Woodland is sparse except along the bottoms of river valleys and there are large areas of semi-arid country above 1500 m altitude. In such regions members of the Chenopodiaceae are fairly abundant, often growing in areas of sandy soil or where salts accumulate close to the surface. Most of these species occur in similar neighbouring regions of China (Tibet), Afghanistan and the southern USSR (Pamir Mountains). Most tend to flower during the late summer and fruit during the late autumn and early winter and for this reason are frequently overlooked and undercollected. It would be especially valuable to obtain good fruiting material of all the various Chenopods from the western Himalaya.