An annotated checklist of vascular plants in and around two major high-altitude wetlands of Lahaul-Spiti, Himachal Pradesh, India

Abstract

We document for the first time the diversity of vascular plants of Chandra Tal and Suraj Tal, two high-altitude wetlands (HAWs) spanning the cold desert region of Lahaul-Spiti, showing the occurrence of 188 species and one variety distributed among 97 genera and 29 families. Only one species, Ephedra intermedia Schrenk & C.A. Mey. is a gymnosperm, and the other 187 species are angiosperms. Of the angiosperms, Asteraceae is the dominant family, consisting of 27 species and one variety in 17 genera. Among the species, six are classified as threatened, 17 species are native, and two species (Eritrichium nanum (L.) Gaudin and Ranunculus trivedii Aswal & Mehrotra) are endemic to the Himalayan region. We provide baseline data for future research on the floristic diversity of two major HAWs of Lahaul-Spiti. We also highlight the importance of HAWs for the conservation of species.