Abstract
Sighting Sapria in the wild is a lifetime experience for a botanist. Because this rare, parasitic flowering plant is one of the lesser known and poorly understood taxa, which is on the brink of extinction. In India, Sapria is only found in the forests of Namdapha National Park in Arunachal Pradesh. In this article, an attempt has been made to document the diversity, distribution, ecology, and conservation need of this valuable plant.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Suggested Reading
W Griffith, Journals of Travels in Assam, Burma, Bhootan, Afghanistan and the Neighbouring Countries, Calcutta, India, 1847 (Reprinted in 1857, Mittal Publications, Delhi).
N L Bor, A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Aka Hills, Assam: A Synecological Study, Indian Forest Record (N.S.) Bot., Vol.1, No.i–ix, pp.103–221, 1938.
S Elliott, Status, Ecology and Conservation of Sapria himalayana Griff. (Rafflesiaceae) in Thailand, Journal of Wildlife in Thailand, Vol.2, No.1, pp.44–52, 1992.
T J Barkman, S H Lim, KM Salleh and J Nais, Mitochondrial DNA Sequences Reveal the Photosynthetic Relatives of Rafflesia, the World’s Largest Flower, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol.101, No.3, pp. 787–792, 2004.
L A Nikolov, Y M Staedler, S Manickam, J Schonenberger, P K Endress, E M Kramer and C C Davis, Floral Structure and Development in Rafflesiaceae with Emphasis on Their Exceptional Gynoecia, American Journal of Botany, Vol.101, No.2, pp.225–243, 2014.
A S Chauhan, K P Singh, D K Singh and P K Hazra (Ed), A Contribution to the Flora of Namdapha, Arunachal Pradesh, Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata, India, p.257, 1996.
A Arunachalam, D Adhikari, R Sarmah, M Majumder and M L Khan, Population and Conservation of Sapria himalayana Griffith. in Namdapha National Park, Arunachal Pradesh, India, Biodiversity and Conservation, Vol.13, pp.2391–2397, 2004.
H J Chowdhery, Arunachal Pradesh–The Cradle of Flowering Plants, In G S Rawat (Ed): Envis Bulletin Special Habitats and Threatened Plants of India, Vol.11, No.1, pp.77–82, 2008.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Additional information
Dipankar Borah has just completed his MSc in Botany from Rajiv Gandhi University, Arunachal Pradesh, and is now pursuing research in the same department. He specializes in Plant Taxonomy, though now he focuses on Conservation Biology, as he feels that taxonomy is nothing without conservation.
Dipanjan Ghosh teaches Botany at Joteram Vidyapith, Bardhaman. He is also a popular science writer and science educator associated with various governmental and non-governmental organizations in India and abroad.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Borah, D., Ghosh, D. Sapria Himalayana. Reson 23, 479–489 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12045-018-0637-8
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12045-018-0637-8