Distributional Status of Hippophae tibetana: A New Report from Changthang Valley of Ladakh

Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir (India) reportedly harbours two species of genus Hippophae viz; H. rhamnoides ssp. turkestanica and H. tibetana. While the latter is restricted to Zanskar region of Kargil district the former is more abundant and widely distributed across Leh and Kargil. During 2011–2013 various areas of Leh including valleys of Leh and Nubra at different altitudes were scanned, and fourteen populations analysed at the morphological level. Data on both qualitative and quantitative traits were documented. Another population surveyed in 2013 from Chumur locality of Changthang valley (Leh) was also subjected to similar examination. These plants were found to be different from the remaining populations of Leh in almost all the characters studied. On comparing these data with the published literatures, samples from Chumur were found to fit the description for H. tibetana. This paper represents the occurrence of H. tibetana for the first time from Leh.