Culture · Shingba Rhododendron Sanctuary
On Hooker's trail: rhododendrons of Sikkim
In 1849 Joseph Hooker collected rhododendrons in this valley that changed British gardening. Learn to recognise a few species on the drive to Yumthang, including Sikkim's state tree, and see the forests behind a botanical story.
Photo: albert kok · CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Joseph Dalton Hooker spent 1848 and 1849 exploring Sikkim, including the Lachung valley, and his illustrated Rhododendrons of Sikkim-Himalaya brought many species to European attention. Seeds he sent home grew into the rhododendron collections of British estates. The forests he described are now largely inside the Shingba sanctuary.
You do not need to be a botanist to enjoy this. Notice the differences as you climb: big-leaved tree rhododendrons lower down, with leaves the size of a hand; smaller, tougher species higher up; and dwarf, aromatic shrubs near the tree line. Flower colours shift too, from reds and pinks to whites, yellows and purples.
Sikkim's state tree, Rhododendron niveum, carries rounded heads of lilac to purple flowers in spring, and the Shingba area is often cited as one of its homes. A local guide can point it out if it is flowering on your day.
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Who was Joseph Hooker?
Joseph Dalton Hooker was a British botanist, later director of Kew Gardens, who explored Sikkim in 1848–49. He collected and described many Himalayan rhododendrons and wrote the Himalayan Journals, in which he called Lachung the most picturesque village of Sikkim.
What is Sikkim's state tree?
Sikkim's state tree is Rhododendron niveum, a rhododendron with rounded heads of lilac to purple flowers in spring. It grows in a limited belt of Himalayan forest. Shingba Rhododendron Sanctuary is often cited as one of its habitats.
How many rhododendron species are there in Sikkim?
Figures vary by source, but Sikkim is commonly said to have several dozen rhododendron species. Shingba alone is credited with about forty in Wikipedia, and over twenty-four in the Yumthang article. Botanists continue to revise these counts.
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