Gaultheria trichophylla Royle

 
  • Family : ERICACEAE
    (Heather Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : RHODODENDRON FAMILY (बुराँश फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System III) : Ericaceae
  • Synonym(s) : Brossaea trichophylla (Royle) Kuntze; Gaultheria nana C.Y.Wu & T.Z.Hsu
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Gaultheria trichophylla Royle
  • Common name : Himalayan Snowberry, Creeping Snowberry, Snowberry
  • Vernacular name :
    • Kaaligedi, Bhuin Kaafal (Nepali)
  • Habit : Shrub
  • Habitat : Montane grasslands, Subalpine forests
  • Comments / notes : It is often found in association with moss on earth, rocks and tree stumps. It is striking for its enchanting sky-blue berries.
  • Key identification features : Leaves with long-ciliate margins; Flowers red or nearly white; Fruits capsule with blue-black succulent calyx.
  • Flower, Fruit : May-September
  • Distribution :
    • Uttarakhand : Rudraprayag district
    • Sikkim : East Sikkim (Gangtok) district
    • Himachal Pradesh : Chamba district, Kangra district, Kinnaur district, Kullu district, Lahaul & Spiti district
    • Arunachal Pradesh : Kameng
    • Meghalaya : Meghalaya
    • Assam : Assam
    • Nagaland : Nagaland
    • Jammu and Kashmir : Jammu and Kashmir
    • Mizoram : Mizoram
    • Manipur : Manipur
    • Tripura : Tripura
  • Native : Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Tibet
  • Exotic/Native : Native
  • World Distribution : North Pakistan to South Central China and North Myanmar
  • Literature :
    • Uniyal B.P., Sharma J.R., Choudhery U., Singh D.K. (2007). Flowering Plants of Uttarakhand: A Checklist. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh: 166
    • GRIERSON A.J.C. & LONG D.G. (1983). FLORA OF BHUTAN INCLUDING A RECORD OF PLANTS FROM SIKKIM Vol. 2: Part 1. ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN, EDINBURGH: 391
    • G.S Giri., A.Pramanik., H.J. Chowdhery., G.D Pal and S.K. Das (2008). Materials for Arunachal Pradesh, Vol (2), Pg: 72
  • Read more :
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2024). India Flora Online. http://indiafloraonline-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Gaultheria trichophylla. Downloaded on 1 April 2025.

Field Image(s)

Habitat

India Distribution

World Distribution

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