Western Himalayan Subalpine Conifer Forests
The Western Himalayan subalpine conifer forests is a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion of the middle and upper elevations of the western Middle Himalayas of Nepal, India, and Pakistan. Setting The ecoregion forms a belt of coniferous forest covering on elevations between . It extends west from the Gandaki River in Nepal, through the Indian states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir into northern Pakistan. This belt of conifers is the highest expanse of woodland to be found on the slopes of the Himalayas, treeless alpine scrub lying just above its ecotopic frontier. It is a valuable ecosystem as many Himalayan birds and animals migrate seasonally up and down the mountains spending part of the year in the conifer forests, so conservation is a high priority. This ecoregion is drier than the Eastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests, which receive more moisture from the Bay of Bengal monsoon. Flora Several distinct forest types are found in this ecoregio ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cedrus Deodara
''Cedrus deodara'', the deodar cedar, Himalayan cedar, or deodar, is a species of cedar native to the Himalayas. Description It is a large evergreen coniferous tree reaching tall, exceptionally with a trunk up to in diameter. It has a conic crown with level branches and drooping branchlets. The leaves are needle-like, mostly long, occasionally up to long, slender ( thick), borne singly on long shoots, and in dense clusters of 20–30 on short shoots; they vary from bright green to glaucous blue-green in colour. The female cones are barrel-shaped, long and broad, and disintegrate when mature (in 12 months) to release the winged seeds. The male cones are long, and shed their pollen in autumn. Chemistry The bark of ''Cedrus deodara'' contains large amounts of taxifolin. The wood contains cedeodarin, ampelopsin, cedrin, cedrinoside, and deodarin (3′,4′,5,6-tetrahydroxy-8-methyl dihydroflavonol). The main components of the needle essential oil include α-terp ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the northwest, Tibet to the north, Nepal to the east, Uttar Pradesh to the south and southeast, with a small part touching Haryana in the west. Uttarakhand has a total area of , equal to 1.6% of the total area of India. Dehradun serves as the state capital, with Nainital being the judicial capital. The state is divided into two divisions, Garhwal division, Garhwal and Kumaon division, Kumaon, with a total of List of districts of Uttarakhand, 13 districts. The forest cover in the state is 45.4% of the state's geographical area. The cultivable area is 16% of the total geographical area. The two major rivers of the state, the Ganges and its tributary Yamuna, originate from the Gangotri and Yamunotri glaciers respectively. Ranked 6th among the Top 1 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Abies Gamblei
Firs are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus ''Abies'' () in the family Pinaceae. There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Eurasia, and North Africa. The genus is most closely related to '' Keteleeria'', a small genus confined to eastern Asia. The genus name is derived from the Latin "to rise" in reference to the height of its species. The common English name originates with the Old Norse ''fyri'' or the Old Danish ''fyr''. They are large trees, reaching heights of tall with trunk diameters of when mature. Firs can be distinguished from other members of the pine family by the way in which their needle-like leaves are attached singly to the branches with a base resembling a suction cup, and by their cones, which, like those of cedars, stand upright on the branches like candles and disintegrate at maturity. Identification of the different species is based on the size and arrangement of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Abies Pindrow
''Abies pindrow'', the pindrow fir, West Himalayan fir, or silver fir, is a fir native to the western Himalaya and adjacent mountains, from northeast Afghanistan east through northern Pakistan and India to central Nepal. Description It is a large evergreen tree growing to tall, and with a trunk diameter of up to . It has a conical crown with level branches. The shoots are greyish-pink to buff-brown, smooth and glabrous (hairless). The leaf, leaves are needle-like, among the longest of any fir, long, flattened in cross-section, glossy dark green above, with two whitish stomatal bands on the underside; they are arranged spirally on the shoots, but twisted at the base to lie in a flat plane either side of the shoot. The conifer cone, cones are broad cylindric-conic, long and broad, dark purple when young, disintegrating when mature to release the seeds 5–7 months after pollination. The closely related Gamble's fir occurs in the same area but on somewhat drier sites; it di ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cupressus Torulosa
''Cupressus torulosa'', commonly known as the Himalayan cypress or Bhutan cypress, is a species of Cupressus, cypress tree native to the mountainous northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, in the western Himalayas. Description It is a medium to extremely large tree, typically growing up to in height. Distribution ''Cupressus torulosa'' is an evergreen conifer tree species found on limestone terrain in the western Himalaya at . Information on its distribution further east is conflicting. It may occur in Vietnam. However, according to ''Conifers of Vietnam'', only cultivated forms exist there. References External links Cupressus, torulosa Flora of India (region) Flora of Tibet Plants described in 1824 Least concern plants Least concern biota of Asia {{conifer-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Picea Smithiana
''Picea smithiana'' is a species of evergreen tree in the family Pinaceae family. It is referred to by the common names morinda spruce and West Himalayan spruce, and is a spruce native to the western Himalaya and adjacent mountains, from northeast Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, India to central Nepal. It grows at altitudes of 2,400-3,600 m in forests together with deodar cedar, blue pine and pindrow fir. Description ''Picea smithiana'' is a large tree, an evergreen growing to 40–55 meters tall (exceptionally to 60 m), and with a trunk diameter of up to 1–2 m. It has a conical crown with level branches and usually pendulous branchlets. The shoots are pale buff-brown, and glabrous (hairless). The leaves are needle-like, the longest of any spruce, 3–5 cm long, rhombic in cross-section, mid-green with inconspicuous stomatal lines. The cones are broad cylindric-conic, 9–16 cm long and 3 cm broad, green when young, maturing buff-brown and opening to 5–6 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pinus Wallichiana
''Pinus wallichiana'' is a coniferous evergreen tree native to the Himalaya, Karakoram and Hindu Kush mountains, from eastern Afghanistan east across northern Pakistan and north west India to Yunnan in southwest China. It grows in mountain valleys at altitudes of 1800–4300 m (rarely as low as 1200 m), reaching in height. It favours a temperate climate with dry winters and wet summers. In Pashto, it is known as ''Nishtar''. This tree is often known as Bhutan pine, (not to be confused with the recently described Bhutan white pine, '' Pinus bhutanica'', a closely related species). Other names include blue pine, Himalayan pine and Himalayan white pine. Description The leaves ("needles") are in fascicles (bundles) of five and are 12–18 cm long. They are noted for being flexible along their length, and often droop gracefully. The cones are long and slender, 16–32 cm, yellow-buff when mature, with thin scales; the seeds are 5–6 mm long with a 20� ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Betula Utilis
''Betula utilis'', the Himalayan birch (''bhojpatra'', ''bhūrjá''), is a deciduous tree native to the Western Himalayas, growing at elevations up to . The Latin specific epithet ''utilis'' means "useful", and refers to the many uses of the different parts of the tree. The white, paper-like bark was used in ancient times as a writing surface for manuscripts of Sanskrit literature. It is still used as paper for the writing of mantras, with the bark placed in an amulet and worn for protection. Selected varieties are used for landscaping throughout the world, even while some areas of its native habitat are being lost due to overuse of the tree for firewood. Taxonomy ''Betula utilis'' was described and named by botanist David Don in his ''Prodromus Florae Nepalensis'' (1825), from specimens collected by Nathaniel Wallich in Nepal in 1820. ''Betula jacquemontii'' (Édouard Spach, Spach), first described and named in 1841, was later found to be a variety of ''B. utilis'', and is now ' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rhododendron Campanulatum
''Rhododendron campanulatum'', the bell-flowered rhododendron or bell rhododendron, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae, native to northeastern India, eastern Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, and southern Xizang in China, where it grows at altitudes of . Growing to in height, it is an evergreen shrub with leathery leaves that are elliptic to oblong-obovate, 7–12 by 2.5–5 cm in size. The flowers are purple-red to white, with red spots. Flowers bloom from April to May and are white to lavender in color. It is the state flower of Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan .... References campanulatum Flora of West Himalaya Flora of Nepal Flora of East Himalaya Flora of Tibet Plants described in 1821 {{Ericaceae-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Quercus Semecarpifolia
''Quercus semecarpifolia'' is an Asian species of oak. It is native to the Himalayas and nearby mountains in Tibet, Afghanistan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan, where it is referred to as kharsu. It is classified in subgenus ''Cerris'', section ''Ilex''. ''Quercus semecarpifolia'' is an evergreen tree up to tall. The leaves are up to long, with a few teeth along the sides but rounded at the tip. It has been grown in middle Europe, Western Germany, winter-hardiness zone 7, withstanding -14 °C, without any damages. It gives a good, showy bush to small tree with lush green leaves. The epithet ''semecarpifolia'' refers to a resemblance between the leaves of this species and those of ''Semecarpus anacardium.'' In its native range, it serves as a keystone species, exhibiting up to 80% dominance at elevations between 2700 and 3300 meters. In areas where less degradation has occurred, ''Q. semecarpifolia'' reduces light at the forest floor, encouraging the growth of shade toleran ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Abies Spectabilis
''Abies spectabilis'', the East Himalayan fir, is a conifer species in the family Pinaceae and the genus ''Abies''. It is sometimes held to include the Bhutan fir (''A. densa'') as a variety. It is found in Afghanistan, China (Tibet), northern India, Nepal, and Pakistan. It is a large tree, up to tall. ''Abies spectabilis'' has a wide distribution, but it has suffered from logging and deforestation, especially at the lower elevations. In 2011, IUCN assessed it as "Near Threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as that may be vulnerable to Endangered species, endangerment in the ne ...". ''Abies Spectabilis'' occurs most commonly in mountains between 1600 and 4000 meters high, especially in the Himalayas. While it does appear in strips of its kind, it is more common to find an ''Abies Spectabilis'' around other similar trees, such as ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bay Of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southeast Asian Countries of the Bay of Bengal, countries are dependent on the Bay of Bengal. Geopolitically, the bay is bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between Sangaman Kanda, Sri Lanka, and the northwesternmost point of Sumatra, Indonesia. Cox's Bazar Beach, Cox's Bazar, the longest sea beach in the world and Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest and the natural habitat of the Bengal tiger, are located along the bay. The Bay of Bengal occupies an area of . A number of large rivers flow into the Bay of Bengal: the Ganges–Hooghly River, Hooghly, the Padma River, Padma, the Brahmaputra River, Brahmaputr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |