Sapria himalayana
Sapria himalayana flower
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Rafflesiaceae
Genus: Sapria
Species:
S. himalayana
Binomial name
Sapria himalayana
Synonyms

Richthofenia siamensis Hosseus[3]

Sapria himalayana, commonly known as the hermit's spittoon,[4] is a rare holoparasitic flowering plant related to Rafflesia found in the Eastern Himalayas.[3][5] Sapria himalayana represents the extreme manifestation of the parasitic mode, being completely dependent on its host plant for water, nutrients and products of photosynthesis which it sucks through a specialised root system called haustoria.[5] These haustoria are attached to both the xylem and the phloem of the host plant.

Geographical distribution

It has been recorded in Namdapha National Park[5][6] in Northeast India. There are historical records of the species from other areas in Northeast India such as Mishmi Hills[7] Aka Hills[8] in Arunachal Pradesh, and in Assam, Manipur and Meghalaya,[9] but there have been no recent records of the species from these areas.[5] In Thailand it is found in Doi Suthep National Park, Doi Inthanon, Doi Phu Kha National Park, Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary, Kaeng Krachan National Park in the Tenasserim Hills.[10] It is also found in the Dawna and Karen Hills of Myanmar[11] and in Vietnam. Its natural habitat are evergreen forests at altitudes between 800 and 1,450 metres.

In Vietnam, it is only known from the Lang Biang Plateau, where it has been recorded at Tuyền Lâm Lake, the Nam Ban Protection Forest, and the Cam Ly area.[12]

Recently, Sapria himalayana has also been spotted by one amateur researcher and Child specialist by profession Dr. Jayom Karlo in the hills of Perlek Modi (94⁰49′ 18″ E to 94⁰44′ 47″ E and 27⁰ 49′ 10″ N to 27⁰47′ 45″ N) of West Siang District, Arunachal Pradesh.

On 12 Nov 2020, in a village called Khunbi (Yulli), Tengnoupal District (neighbouring district of Myanmar), Manipur, India has spotted Sapria himalayana by a villager while tracking in a jungle nearby the village.

Description

The visible body is globose. The flowers are about 20 cm across, dioecious and unisexual. They have 10 bracts and are bright red in colour covered with sulphur-yellow spots.[5] They appear above the ground, bloom for 2–3 days and have a putrid odour. Flowers are fleshy with imbricate inflorescence. Perianth is campanulate. Male flowers have 2-loculed anthers, broadly ellipsoid, dehiscent by apical pores; apical cupular body base convex; gynostegium blood red. The female flowers have a concave cupular body base with sterile stamens. Gynostegium stouter than stamens. Flowering and fruiting season occurs between December and February.[13] After blooming, the flower dehisces and becomes dark in colour and subsequently decomposes slowly. Fruits are swollen and crowned with perianth. The seeds are of the size of a grape fruit and are blackish-brown in colour.[5]

Sapria is a root parasite and its usual hosts are lianas[14] such as Vitis and Tetrastigma.[3] The flowering shoot is short, erect and unbranched. It has been suggested that flies pollinate it while seed dispersal may be by rodents,[14] but this has not been confirmed by direct observation.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Nayar, M.P. & Sastry, A.R.K. (1988) Red Data Book of Indian Plants, Botanical Survey of India
  2. ↑ Griffith (1844) Proc. Linn. Soc. Lond., 1: 217
  3. 1 2 3 "Sapria", Flora of China 5: 271. 2003. PDF
  4. ↑ Bänziger, H., B. Hansen, K. Kreetiyutanont 2000 A new form of the hermit's spittoon, Sapria himalayana Griffith f. albovinosa Bänziger and Hansen f. nov. (Rafflesiaceae), with notes on its ecology. Nat. Hist. Bull. Siam 48: 213-219.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Adhikari, D., Arunachalam, A., Majumder, M., Sarmah, R. & Khan, M.L. (2003) "A rare root parasitic plant (Sapria himalayana Griffith.) in Namdapha National Park, northeastern India", Current Science 85 (12), p. 1669. PDF
  6. ↑ "Threatened Plants of Arunachal Pradesh", National Wildlife Database. Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. PDF
  7. ↑ Griffith, W. (1847). Journals of Travels in Assam, Burma, Bhutan, Afghanistan and the neighbouring countries, Calcutta
  8. ↑ Bor, N.L. (1938) Indian For. Rec., 1, i–ix, pp. 103–221.
  9. ↑ Chauhan, A.S., Singh, K.P., & Singh, D.K. (1996) A Contribution to the Flora of Namdapha, Arunachal Pradesh (ed. Hajra, P.K.), Botanical Survey of India
  10. ↑ National Park Bulletin, October–November 2005. Wildlife and Park Conservation Department, Government of Thailand. PDF
  11. ↑ "Kayah-Karen montane rain forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.
  12. ↑ Trần HĐ; Lưu HT; Nguyễn QĐ; Nguyễn HC; Athen P; Wong KM (December 2018). "Identification, sexual dimorphism and aspects of the natural history of Sapria himalayana (Rafflesiaceae) on Vietnam's Lang Biang Plateau". Bot Stud. 59 (1): 29. doi:10.1186/s40529-018-0243-9. PMC 6288103. PMID 30535726.
  13. ↑ Borah, Dipankar; Ghosh, Dipanjan (April 2018). "Sapria Himalayana: The Indian Cousin of World's Largest Flower". Resonance. 23 (4): 479–489. doi:10.1007/s12045-018-0637-8. ISSN 0971-8044. S2CID 125375466.
  14. 1 2 Elliott, S. (1992) "Status, Ecology and Conservation of Sapria himalayana Griff. (Rafflesiaceae) in Thailand", Journal of Wildlife in Thailand, 2(1) pp. 44–52 LINK
  • Liming Cai et al.: Deeply Altered Genome Architecture in the Endoparasitic Flowering Plant Sapria himalayana Griff. (Rafflesiaceae). Current Biology, published online January 23, 2021; doi:10.1016/j.cub.2020.12.045. See also:
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