Bull. Natn. Sci . M us., Tokyo, Ser. B, 27(4), pp. 119- 131, December 22, 2001

Studies of Parnassia (Parnassiaceae) in the Sino-Himalayan Region.
Notes on Parnassia pusilla Wall. ex Arn. and P chinensis Franch. in Nepal
Shinobu Akiyama* and Hideaki Ohba*** Department of Botany, National Science Museum, Tokyo,
4- 1- 1 Amakubo, Tsukuba, lbaraki 305-0005, Japan
E-mail: akiyama@kahaku .go.jp**Department of Botany, University Museum, University of Tokyo,
7- 3- 1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
E-mail : ohba@um.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Abstract In Parnassia pusilla Wall. ex Arn. and P chinensis Franch ., variations offloral characters are examined based on our recent collections from Nepal. In Nepal
P pusilla and P chinensis are clearly distinguished by the shape of the petals. A variety of Parnassia chinensis is newly described.
Key words:

Parnassia , Nepal, Himalaya, Sino-Himalayan region

Introduction
The genus Parnassia is diversified in the Sino-Himalayan floristic region. Since
Drude ( 1875) the genus has been studied by several taxonomists. Hara (1979) recognized six species from Nepal , two of which, P pusilla Wall. ex Arn. and P chinensis
Franch., occur in the alpine zone and are similar to each other in their short stems,
small flowers , white petals distinctly larger than the sepals and trilobed staminodes.
Parnassia pusilla ranges from the Himalaya to southern Tibet, while P chinensis is
known from the Himalaya, southern Tibet, northern Burma and southwestern China.
In his monograph of section Nectarotrilobus, Nekrassova (1927) wrote that "petala
elongato-ovata, integerrima ..." in P pusilla and " petala spathulata, late flabellata, basi
fimbriata ..." in P chinensis. Later Pan ( 1985) distinguished P chinensis from P pus ilIa by its petals, which are dentate apically or ciliate below the middle; those of P
pusilla are entire or finely dentate at the apex. Grierson ( 1987) considered the petalsof P chinensis to be "ciliate or dentate near base" and those of P pusilla to be "entire
below middle." Ku ( 1995) described the petals of P chinensis as having "the apicalpart entire, undulate or irregularly dentate, 114 of the basal part (except the claw)
densely long fimbriate," and those of P pusilla as "the basal part short fimbriate except the claw, and the apical part dentate or undulate." Although the shape and size
and the marginal processes of the petals have been regarded as important characters

120

Shinobu Akiyama and Hideaki Ohba

to distinguish the species of Parnassia, they seem to be rather variable, as mentioned
above.
During our taxonomic studies relating to the Flora of Nepal, we observed recent
collections of these two species mainly from the Jaljale Himal (Ohba & Akiyama,1992) and from the Hinku and Hunku valleys (Ohba & Ikeda, 2000) in eastern Nepal
and from Ganesh Himal (Ohba & Ikeda, 1999) in central Nepal.

Observations
Parnassia pusilla [Figs. I and 2]
Figure 1 shows the five calyx lobes , five petals and two staminodes of a single
flower of Parnassia pusilla collected in Ganesh Himal. The calyx lobes are 3- 3.7 mm
long, 1.3-2.2 mm wide, ovate, rounded at the apex, entire to finely erose on the margins, and with or without a small projection near the base. The petals are 5.8- 6.3 mm
long, 2.5- 3 mm wide, narrowly obovate, erose on the margins throughout or in partand without hairs at the base. The staminodes are ea. 1.6 mm long and trilobed; threeFig. I. Calyx lobes, petals and staminodes from a flower of Parnassia pusilla (Miyamoto et al.
9420044). AII X6.
Ca lyx lobes, petals and staminodes of Parnassia pusilla. Top (left to right): Mi yamoto etal. 9440024, Ohba et al. 9 110172 , Ohba et al. 9153220, Miyamoto et al. 9580206. Secondrow (left to right): Miyamoto e1 al. 95842 10, Miyamoto et al. 9592183 , Mi yamoto et al.
9592570, Miyamoto et al. 9596424, Wakabayashi et al. 97 1015 8. Third row (left to right):
Wakabayashi et al. 9710187, Wakabayashi eT al. 9710299, Wakabayashi et al. 97 10420, Wakabayashi et al. 9720172. Bottom (left to right) : Wakabayashi et al. 9720247, Wakabayashi etal. 9720308, Wakabayashi et al. 97203 13, Wakabayashi et al. 9730214. All X 6.

Fig. 2.

Parnassia pusilla and P chinensis in Nepal

121

122

Shinobu Akiyama and Hideaki Ohba

lobes are nearly the same in size. Figure 2 (left at top) shows a calyx lobe, a petal anda staminode of a flower of another specimen collected in Ganesh Himal. The variation in shape and size of the calyx lobes, petals and staminodes is narrow within andamong individuals in Ganesh Himal.
Figure 2 shows variation in 17 sepals, petals and staminodes of P pusilla collected in Ganesh Himal, Jaljale Himal and the Hinku and Hunku valleys. The calyx
lobes are 2- 3 (-4) mm long, 1- 1.6 (- 2.4) mm wide, oblong to ovate, rounded at theapex, glabrous, and usually without hairs or small projection at the base, althoughrarely one hair or small projection is present. The petals are 5.4- 6.6 mm long, 2.4-4.3
mm wide, narrowly obovate to obovate, obtuse or slightly retuse at the apex, attenuate
at the base, and erose on the margins throughout or partly without hairs at the base.
The range of variation is greater than in the individual plasticity shown in Fig. I andalso among the specimens collected in Ganesh Himal. Although some plants from
Jaljale Himal (nos. 9110172 and 9153220) and from the Hinku and Hunku valleys(no. 9720313) have wider petals, the margins are always finely erose and not fimbriate. In these, the staminodes are always trilobed; the three lobes are nearly equal insome flowers but in others the middle lobe is larger or smaller than the lateral ones.
No local differences were found among plants from Ganesh Himal , Jaljale Himal andthe Hinku and Hunku valleys.

Parnassia chinensis [Fig. 3]
Figure 3 (upper row) shows the five calyx lobes, five petals and two staminodesof a single flower of P chinensis collected in Ganesh Himal. The calyx lobes are ea.
2.5 mm long and 1.6-1 .8 mm wide, oblong, rounded at the apex, and with a few hairson the basal margins and between the calyx lobes. The petals are ea. 5.8 mm long, ea.
3.3 mm wide, obovate, obtuse to slightly retuse at the apex, attenuate at the base, andslightly fimbriate on the margins except at the apex and base and without hairs at thebase. The staminodes are ea. I. 7 mm long, trilobed and with the middle lobe smaller.
The variation in shape and size of the calyx lobes, petals and staminodes is narrowboth within and among individuals.
Figure 3 (middle and lower rows) shows the five calyx lobes, five petals and fivestaminodes a flower of P chinensis collected in Jaljale Himal. The calyx lobes are
3.7- 5 mm long, 1.6- 3 mm wide, oblong to ovate or elliptic, rounded at the apex ,glabrous, and usually with one to a few hairs between the calyx lobes or on the basal
margins. The petals are obovate, 8.3- 10 mm long, 3.6- 6 mm wide, obtuse or slightly
retuse at the apex, attenuate at the base, and distinctly fimbriate except at the apex
and base, and usually with a few hairs at the base. The staminodes are always trilobed
Fig. 3. Calyx lobes, petals and staminodes of Parnassia chinensis. Upper: From a flower(Miyamoto et al. 9420220). Middle (left to right): Ohba et al. 9 11011 6, Ohba et al. 9 110199,
Ohba et al. 9120178. Lower (left to right): Ohba et al. 9 1202 15 , Ohba et al. 9153264. AII X6.

Parnassia pusil/a and P chinensis in Nepal

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124

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Parnassia pusil/a (Miyamoto et al. 9420044).

Parnassia pusilla and P. chinensis in Nepal

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...... _ Nopal.. _(1'1)

Fig. 5.

Parnassia pusilla (Ohba et al. 91 10 172).

125

Shinobu Akiyama and Hideaki Ohba

126

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Fig. 6.

Parnassia chinensis (Ohba et al. 9120215).

Parnassia pusilla and P chinensis in Nepa l

127

FJora of Gaoesh Hi mal. Central Ncp.1l
l>l<ult'111rd l'rtwt1 1~ t ol\tr>lh t.~fTtllt.yutl1J

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F 11-hyamrno, K. R. Rujhh:u~tbn , S ALJyarrus. ~t Anlltntt.
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Fig. 7.

Parnassia chinensis var. ganeshii (Ohba et al. 9420220, holotype).

128

Shinobu Akiyama and Hideaki Ohba

with the three lobes nearly the same size or the middle lobe smaller than the others.
In comparison with the plants from Jaljale Himal , it is notable that the plantsfrom Ganesh Himal have smaller stems, smaller and more hairy calyx lobes, andsmaller less fimbriate petals with no hairs at the base.

Discussion
In Nepal Parnassia chinensis and P pusilla are clearly distinguishable by theshape, size and processes of the petals and by other characters as shown in the figure s
and by the following key.
A. Plants 1-10 cm tall ; margin of petals erose throughout or partly without hairs
pusillaand small projections at base
A. Plants 5- 20 cm tall; margin of petals fimbriate except apical and basal parts usually with hairs.P chinensis
Parnassia pusilla was found in the three regions, Ganesh Himal, Jaljale Himal
and the Hinku and Hunku valleys, but P chinensis was not found in the Hinku andHunku valleys. As discussed above, the plants of P chinensis from Ganesh Himal areconspicuously smaller than those from Jaljale Himal, and have smaller flowers withhairier calyx lobes and less fimbriate petals without hairs at the base. The less fimbriate petals without hairs at the base approach those of P pusilla. The dissection of themargins of the petals, i.e. fimbriate versus erose, is the key for distinguishing the two
species, as shown in Figs. 1-3.
The type of P chinensis was collected on Cang Shan, Dali [Tsang-chan au-desus
de Tali, alt. 3800 a 4000 metres], Yunnan, China. We collected and observed P chinensis in southwestern China and Tibet. In China the classification of Parnassia isalso controversial. Specimens of P chinensis from Yunnan have flowers resembling
those from Jaljale Himal, but larger than those from Ganesh Himal. Hara (1975)
recorded P chinensis from Topke Gola and Kipuphu in eastern Nepal and Sandakphu
in Darjeeling and wrote that the specimens from Sandakphu agree well with the typespecimen of P chinensis from Yunnan. We examined Hara's specimens in TI andfound that they resemble those from Jaljale Himal. In conclusion, we consider the
specimen collected in Ganesh Himal to represent a local variety.
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Taxonomic treatment
Parnassia chinensis Franch. in Bull. Soc. Bot. France 44 : 252 ( 1897). Nekrassova in
Bull. Soc. Bot. France 74: 650 (1927). Hara in Ohashi (compl.) Fl. E. Him. 3: 48(1975); in Hara & Williams, Enum. Flow. PI. Nepal 2: 156 (1979). Wu (ed.), Fl.
Xizang. 2: 523 , fig. 170 7- 11 (1985). Ku in Bull. Bot. Res . North-East. For. Univ.
7(1 ): 33 (1987); in Fl. Reipubl. Pop. Sin. 35(1 ): 26, fig . I 4-6 (1995). Grierson in
Grierson & Long, Fl. Bhutan 1(3): 516 (1987). Ohba & Akiyama, Alp. Fl. Jaljale

Parnassia pusilla and P chinensis in Nepal

129

Him.: 29 (1992); Contr. Fl. Ganish Himal.: 30 (1999).
[Figs. 3 (middle and lower) and 5]
var. chinensis
Parnassia mysorensis auct. non Heyne: Hara in Kihara (ed.), F. & Fl. Nepal
Him.: 143 (1955); in Hara (compl.), Fl. E. Him.: 115 (1966); 2: t. 9a (1971 ).
Specimens examined. Nepal. Koshi Zone, Sankhuwa Sabha Distr., Milke
Danda, Chhippon- Gidde, 2980- 3500 m (Ohba et al. 9110116, 19 July 1991, n); Jaljale Himal, around Banduke, ea. 4150m (Ohba et al. 9110199,9120178 & 9153264,
25 July- 3 Aug. 1991 , n); Jaljale Hi mal, Banduke- Jomle, 4150-4000 m (Ohba et al.
9120215, 4 Aug. 1991 , n). Darjeeling (Singalila). Sandakphu, 3600 m (Hara s.n., 16
Sept. 1964, Tl ; Kanai et al. 721351 & 723123, 1 Aug. 1972, Tl); 3900 m (Hara et al.
69676, 14July 1969, Tl). Tonglu(Kurosawas.n., 12July 1969, n).
var. ganeshii S. Akiyama & H. Ohba, var. nov.
[Figs. 3 (upper) and 7]
A typo differt petalis toto minoribus , ea. 5.8 mm longis, ea. 3.3 mm latis, margine sparse fimbriusculis et calycis lobis margine basi multo ciliatis differt.
Type: Nepal. Bagmati Zone, Rasuwa Distr., around Seto Kund, 3930 m(Miyamoto et al. 9420220, I 0 Aug. 1994, Tl -holo, KATH and TNS-iso).
Parnassia pusilla Wall. [Numer. List: 34, no. 1245 (1829) , nom. nud.] ex Arn. in
Comp. Bot. Mag. 2: 81 (1837). Hooker & Thomson in J. Linn. Soc. Bot. 2: 81(1857). C. B. Clarke in Fl. Brit. India 2: 403 ( 1878). Baehni in Candollea 16: 219(1958). Hara in Ohashi (compl.), Fl. E. Him. 3: 48 (1975) in Hara & Williams,
Enum. Flow. PI. Nepal 2: 156 (1979). Wu (ed.), Fl. Xizang. 2: 521 , fig . 169 10-14(1985). Ku in Bull. Bot. Res. North-East. For. Univ. 7(1 ): 38 (1987) ; in Fl. Reipubl.
Pop. Sin. 35(1): 35 (1995). Grierson in Grierson & Long, Fl. Bhutan 1(3): 516(1987). Ohba & Akiyama, Alp. Fl. Jaljale Him.: 30 (1992); Contr. Fl. Ganish Him.:
30 ( 1999).
[Figs. I, 2, 4 and 5]
Specimens examined. Nepal. Koshi Zone, Sankhuwa Sabha Distr. , Topke Gola,
3600 m (Kanai et al. 723253 , 19 June 1972, n); Thudam- Lama Chungbu, 3500 m(Kanai et al. 720679, 23 June 1972, TI); 4000 m (Shakaya 1690, 23 June 1972, n);Lama Chungbu- Thudam, 4400- 3400 m (Kanai et al. 723254, 24 June 1972, TI); Phujeng La- Topke Go la, 3800 m (Kanai et al. 720820, 27 June 1972, TI); Jaljale Himal,
Khokling- Jaljale, 3420-4030 m (Ohba et al. 9153220, 21 July 1991 , TI); Jaljale
Himal , Jaljale- Tin Pokhari, 4030-4170 m (Ohba et al. 9110172, 22 July 1991, Tl).
Sagarmatha Zone, Solukhumbu Distr. , Saure Kharka- Tangna, 4000 m (Miyamoto etal. 9580206, 5 Aug. 1995, Tl , TNS); 3700 m (Miyamoto et al. 9592183 , 5 Aug. 1995,
TI); Kahre- Tangna, 4360 m (Miyamoto et al. 9584210, 20 Aug. 1995, TI); TangnaSamakang Kharka, 3925 m (Miyamoto et al. 9596424, 23 Aug. 1995, Tl , TNS);
Jumbesi- Kensa, 3300 m (Miyamoto et al. 9592570, 2 Sept. 1995, Tl); around Khola
Kharka , 4100 m (Wakabayashi et al. 9710158, 7 Aug. 1997, n); Khola KharkaRangdu Kharka, 3900m (Wakabayashi et al. 9710187, 8 Aug. 1997, n); Rangdu
Kharka- Horsola Kharka, 3620 m (Wakabayashi et al. 9720172, I 0 Aug. 1997, TI);

130

Shinobu Akiyama and Hideaki Ohba

Horsola Kharka-Tangnag, 3750m (Wakabayashi et al. 9730214, 11 Aug. 1997, Tl);around Tangnag, 4300m (Wakabayashi et al. 9710299,20 Aug. 1997, n); TangnagMosom Kharka, 4040m (Wakabayashi et al. 9720247, 21 Aug. 1997, Tl); Thuli
Kharka-Kurki, 3920 m (Wakabayashi et al. 9720313, 28 Aug. 1997, TI); 4100 m(Wakabayashi et al. 9720308, 28 Aug. 1997, Tl); Junbesi-Sete, 3350 m (Wakabayashi
et al. 9710420, 1 Sept. 1997, Tl). Bagmati Zone, Rasuwa Distr., Yure Kharka-Tinbu
Kharka, 3600 m (Miyamoto et al. 9420044, 26 July 1994, n); 3650 m (Miyamoto etal. 9440024, 26 July 1994, Tl, TNS ); Singum Gompa-Gosainkund, 3200-4200 m(Kanai et al. 721855 & 723255, 23 Aug. 1972, n); Gosainkund- Gopte, 3500-4400 m(Kanai et al. 723256, 25 Aug. 1972, n); Thale Patil-Mangen, 3100- 3400 m (Kanai etal. 723257, 27 Aug. 1972, Tl); Chilime Khola, Oo Kharka-Mul Kharka, 3400-3800
m (Kanai & Shakya s.n., 1 July 1970, Tl); Mul Kharka, 3800-4100m (Kanai &Shakya s.n., 2 July 1970, Tl).

Acknowledgement
We wish to express our deepest thanks to Mr. Madhu S. Bista, the Director General of the Department of Plant Resources, Nepal. We are indebted to Dr. David E.
Boufford, the Harvard University Herbaria, for reading the manuscript. Thanks arealso due to the members of the field research in 1991 (Jaljale Himal), 1994 (Ganesh
Himal), and 1995 & 97 (Hinku and Hunku valleys). This study was supported by
Grants-in-Aid for International Scientific Research (Field Research) from the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture, Japan, no. 03041029 in 1991 (to H.
0.) and no. 06041030 in 1994 & 95 (to H. 0.), no. 08041137 in 1996-98 (to H. 0.),and a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, no. 11691178 in 1999-2001 (to H. 0.).

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nebst einer systematischen Revision seiner Arten. Linnaea, 39: 239- 324.
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