Lilium mackliniae
| Lilium mackliniae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Lilium mackliniae in flower at the type locality, Shirui Kashong, Ukhrul district, Manipur | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Embryophytes |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Liliales |
| Family: | Liliaceae |
| Subfamily: | Lilioideae |
| Genus: | Lilium |
| Species: | L. mackliniae |
| Binomial name | |
| Lilium mackliniae | |
Lilium mackliniae, the Shirui lily (also spelled Siroi lily; locally Kashong Timrawon),[1] is a bulbous perennial plant in the family Liliaceae. The species is endemic to a small area of Northeast India, where it occurs principally on the upper slopes of the Shirui Kashong peak in Ukhrul district, Manipur, with a smaller population in the adjacent Dzukou Valley on the Manipur–Nagaland border. It was described in 1949 by the British botanist J. Robert Sealy from material collected three years earlier by the plant hunter Frank Kingdon-Ward and his wife Jean Macklin, after whom the specific epithet was coined.[2][3]
The plant grows to about 30–90 cm (12–35 in) tall and produces between one and seven nodding, bell-shaped flowers that are pale pink to ivory inside and tinted purplish on the outside. It is restricted to a high-altitude band of montane meadow and dwarf-bamboo grassland between roughly 1,730 and 2,590 m (5,680 and 8,500 ft), where it flowers from May to June at the start of the monsoon. The species is listed as Endangered, recorded in the Red Data Book of Indian Plants, and is the official state flower of Manipur.[4][5]
Taxonomy
[edit]Discovery and naming
[edit]The species was collected in 1946 by Frank Kingdon-Ward during a botanical expedition undertaken on behalf of the New York Botanical Garden, with his wife Jean Macklin accompanying him in the field. Working from a base in Ukhrul that the couple nicknamed "Cobweb cottage", they encountered the plant on the upper slopes of Shirui Kashong and brought back living material, including seed and bulbs, that was subsequently grown at the Royal Horticultural Society's gardens at Wisley.[6][failed verification] Kingdon-Ward initially regarded the plant as a species of Nomocharis on the basis of dried material, an attribution under which it was provisionally circulated in horticultural notes of the period.[6][7][failed verification]
The species was formally described by J. R. Sealy of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in the Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society in 1949, on the strength of cultivated material that had flowered at Wisley.[2][8] The specific epithet mackliniae honours Jean Macklin, Kingdon-Ward's wife. The introduction was awarded an RHS Award of Merit at first flowering in cultivation.[9]
Phylogeny and infrageneric placement
[edit]Morphologically, L. mackliniae belongs to a group of small, nodding, bell-flowered lilies traditionally placed in section Sinomartagon of Lilium, and it has often been discussed alongside the former genus Nomocharis. Modern molecular phylogenies of plastid and nuclear ribosomal markers have shown that Nomocharis is nested within Lilium rather than separate from it, and the two are now treated as a single clade.[10][11] Within this expanded Lilium, L. mackliniae is regarded as a southeastern outlier of the Himalayan and Hengduan lineage and is closely allied to L. nanum and L. wardii.[7] A 2025 paper describing Lilium evansii from western Yunnan noted that the new species, although geographically nearest to L. henrici, is morphologically most similar to L. mackliniae, from which it is separated by the Kachin plains.[12]
The species is reported as diploid, with a chromosome number of 2n = 24.[7]
Description
[edit]Lilium mackliniae is a small, slender, bulbous perennial. The bulb is ovoid, about 2–2.5 cm (0.79–0.98 in) in diameter, with fleshy elliptic scales. Aerial stems are unbranched and erect, typically 25–55 cm (9.8–21.7 in) tall in the wild and sometimes reaching 90 cm (35 in) in cultivation. Leaves are sessile, lanceolate, scattered along the stem and tend to crowd toward its upper part.[3][6]
Each stem carries between one and five nodding, broadly bell-shaped to shallowly campanulate flowers, with tepals that curve outward at the tips into a slightly recurved "turk's-cap" form rather than being fully reflexed. The interior of the perianth is ivory to pale pink, often with a few maroon flecks toward the throat, while the outer surface is washed with a reddish-purple or pale violet tint that fades as the flower ages.[6][7] The peak of flowering in the wild is between mid-May and early June, coinciding with the onset of the southwest monsoon, with sporadic flowering continuing into July at higher elevations.[3][13] Anthers are yellow to orange and the fragrance is faint and sweet, most noticeable on still, misty mornings.[7]
Seed germination is delayed and hypogeal: a subterranean bulblet forms in the first season before any aerial shoot is produced. Plants raised from seed take several years to reach flowering size.[7][14]
Distribution and habitat
[edit]
Lilium mackliniae is endemic to a narrow belt of montane country in Northeast India. The type locality, and the population that gives the plant its English name, is Shirui Kashong, the third and highest peak of the Shirui range, about 18 km (11 mi) east of Ukhrul town in Manipur. Plants there occur between approximately 1,730 and 2,590 m (5,680 and 8,500 ft) above sea level, with a distinct concentration on the open meadows of the summit plateau.[3][13]
A second, larger natural population is recorded from the Dzukou Valley on the Manipur–Nagaland border, behind Mount Japfü. The Dzukou material had for some years been treated as a distinct species under the name Lilium chitrangadae, published by H. Bikramjit of Manipur University in 1991 and named for his mother Chitrangada. Subsequent comparison with type material of L. mackliniae showed that the two are not separable on morphological grounds, and current floristic treatments place the Dzukou population in L. mackliniae. A rare albino-flowered form, with ivory-white rather than pink tepals, has also been recorded from Dzukou.[3][15]
Both localities sit within the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot and share a cool, persistently humid, fog-immersed climate. The lily grows in association with dwarf bamboo (Yushania rolloana, formerly Sinarundinaria rolloana), Allium wallichii, Gentiana spp., Swertia chirayita, species of Roscoea and Satyrium nepalense, in shallow, humus-rich soils over sandstone-derived substrates.[3] Maximum-entropy species distribution modelling of 65 georeferenced occurrences identified elevation and annual temperature range as the strongest predictors of suitable habitat, with the species effectively restricted to a few square kilometres of contiguous land in Ukhrul district.[4]
Ecology
[edit]The plant emerges through the dwarf-bamboo sward in April, flowers across May and June, and sets seed by the time the monsoon ends in late September. The flowering peak typically falls between 15 May and 5 June.[13] Pollination is poorly studied, but the pendulous, bell-shaped flowers and absence of strong scent are consistent with visitation by bumblebees and other long-tongued bees, which forage in the same meadows during the brief flowering window.
The species has narrow ecological tolerances. Singh and Phukan, who surveyed wild populations at four sites, reported that L. mackliniae grows only on open, subalpine hilltops largely devoid of trees, in patches typically no more than 100 m2 (1,100 sq ft), where moisture, light and air movement are all high. The largest single population recorded in the wild is in Dzukou Valley, although it too is subject to frequent dry-season fires.[3]
Conservation
[edit]The species has been listed as endangered in successive editions of the Red Data Book of Indian Plants and is treated as endangered in regional IUCN assessments.[5][16] The principal threats identified by recent studies are:
- Invasion of the meadow habitat by dwarf bamboo, whose dense rhizome mat suppresses lily regeneration. Surveys of the third Shirui peak between 2016 and 2023 documented a steady contraction of the lily's distribution as bamboo cover advanced.[17]
- Annual dry-season burning of the slopes, originally practised in the belief that it suppressed weeds and encouraged the lily, but which in fact destroys above-ground seed and damages the shallow rhizome.[17]
- Grazing by domestic livestock, which crop young lily shoots along with the surrounding grasses.[17]
- Plucking and uprooting by visitors during the flowering season, which removes pre-seed inflorescences and so depresses recruitment.[4]
- Slash-and-burn cultivation on the lower slopes and unregulated eco-tourism, both of which fragment the population and reduce habitat quality.[16]
In situ protection
[edit]Shirui National Park was proposed in 1982 by the Government of Manipur, with a footprint of roughly 41–100 km2 (16–39 sq mi) centred on the Shirui range and elevations from about 1,715 m (5,627 ft) in the foothills to 2,835 m (9,301 ft) at Shirui Kashong, taking the lily's habitat as its principal conservation target. The park's final gazette notification has been a matter of long-running negotiation with Shirui village, whose customary land covers most of the proposed boundary, and the area continues to be managed in practice through a hybrid of state protection and Tangkhul community regulation of access to the summit.[16][18]
In November 2023, the Manipur State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority convened a multi-agency meeting on the bamboo invasion of the third Shirui peak, after which the Shirui village authority and youth club began manual cutting of dwarf bamboo within the lily's habitat over the winter of 2023–24, in preference to the previous practice of burning.[17]
Ex situ propagation
[edit]Because seed-grown material takes several years to flower and the lily resists transplantation to elevations or climates very different from those of Shirui, much of the modern conservation programme has focused on tissue culture. An in vitro protocol developed by Ekta, Sahoo and Mukherjee in 2015 used Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 2,4-D to induce callus from bulb explants; the friable callus regenerated roughly twelve times more efficiently than the compact form.[5] In May 2015, a team led by Manas R. Sahoo of the Central Agricultural University transplanted 375 in vitro-raised plantlets onto the Shirui peak in a lab-to-land trial; subsequent monitoring confirmed survival and flowering of the introduced material at the type locality.[19] Earlier, on 19 February 2015, the National Institute of Bio-resources and Sustainable Development had launched a complementary campaign to raise plants in the laboratory for distribution to nurseries elsewhere in the state.[19]
Cultural significance
[edit]L. mackliniae is the official state flower of Manipur, a designation that dates to 1989, and is widely used in the visual identity of the state's tourism and conservation bodies.[13] It also features on a commemorative postage stamp issued by India Post.[13]
Older Tangkhul tradition also records a belief that the plant cannot be successfully grown away from the Shirui ridge, a notion reinforced by repeated failures of early colonial attempts to transplant it.[13]
The annual Shirui Lily Festival, inaugurated in May 2017 by the Government of Manipur and held at Ukhrul and Shirui village, is timed to coincide with the flowering peak and combines floral tourism, Tangkhul cultural programmes and conservation outreach. The festival was suspended in 2023 and 2024 owing to the ongoing inter-community violence in Manipur, and resumed on 20 May 2025 under elaborate security arrangements, the first major state-sponsored tourism event held after the conflict began.[19]
Cultivation
[edit]In horticulture, L. mackliniae is regarded as a refined but exacting subject, suited to cool, humid temperate gardens with reliable summer rainfall. It grows best in humus-rich, free-draining soil, lightly shaded from direct summer sun, and resents both drought and waterlogging. Plants can be raised from seed or from offset bulbs; seed should be sown thinly, lightly covered with grit or compost, and kept cool and well-lit, since artificial heat tends to inhibit germination. Most seed germinates only after a winter chill.[14][6]
The species has been used sparingly as a parent in breeding work with related Asiatic lilies, although its narrow ecological tolerances have limited its uptake. Cultivated stocks descended from Kingdon-Ward's original 1946 introduction remain in cultivation in a small number of European specialist collections.[6]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ De, L. C.; Singh, D. R. (2016). "Floriculture Industries, Opportunities and Challenges in Indian Hills". International Journal of Horticulture. 6. ISSN 1927-5803.
- 1 2 "Lilium mackliniae Sealy". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Singh, K. P.; Phukan, S. (2013). "Distribution and status of Lilium mackliniae Sealy, an endemic lily of north east India". The Indian Forester. 139 (2): 170–174.
- 1 2 3 Zimik, N.; Meetei, W. A. (2023). "Effect of various factors which endanger the survival and multiplication of Lilium mackliniae Sealy, the State flower of Manipur". Journal of Applied and Natural Science. 15 (1): 1–9.
- 1 2 3 Ekta, K.; Sahoo, M. R.; Mukherjee, A. (2015). "Standardization of in vitro regeneration protocol for conservation of Shirui lily (Lilium mackliniae) under changing climatic conditions". Materials Today: Proceedings. 2 (4–5): 3446–3454. doi:10.1016/j.matpr.2015.07.319.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Cox, Peter (March 2010). "Variation in Lilium mackliniae" (PDF). The Plantsman: 38–39. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 October 2020.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Lilium mackliniae". Lilium Species Foundation. 7 November 2025. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
- ↑ "Lilium mackliniae Sealy". World Flora Online. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
- ↑ Coombes, Allen J. (1985). The Hamlyn Book of Plant Names. Reed International. p. 118. ISBN 0-600-57545-4.
- ↑ Gao, Y.-D.; Harris, A. J.; Zhou, S.-D.; He, X.-J. (2013). "Evolutionary events in Lilium (including Nomocharis, Liliaceae) are temporally correlated with orogenies of the Q–T plateau and the Hengduan Mountains". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 68 (3): 443–460. Bibcode:2013MolPE..68..443G. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2013.04.026. PMID 23665039.
- ↑ Gao, Y.-D.; Harris, A. J.; He, X.-J. (2015). "Morphological and ecological divergence of Lilium and Nomocharis within the Hengduan Mountains and Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau may result from habitat specialization and hybridization". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 15 (6) 147. Bibcode:2015BMCEE..15..147G. doi:10.1186/s12862-015-0405-2. PMC 4518642. PMID 26223837.
- ↑ Wang, Jing-BO; Yuan, YU-MEI; Ma, WEI-YIN; Yan, MAO-LIN; Yang, Chun-Meng; Pai, ZAO-ZHA; Li, HAI-TAO; Gao, YUN-Dong (2025). "Lilium evansii (Liliaceae), a new species from Yunnan, China, formed by ancient hybridization and subsequent isolation". Phytotaxa. 693 (3): 205–220. Bibcode:2025Phytx.693..205W. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.693.3.2.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "About Shirui Lily and the Festival". Shirui Lily Festival, Government of Manipur. Archived from the original on 22 April 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
- 1 2 "Lilium mackliniae". Alpine Garden Society. Archived from the original on 2 April 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
- ↑ "Rare Dzükuo lily's decline sparks concerns for its future survival". Morung Express. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
- 1 2 3 Zimik, Ngayaipam; Meetei, Waikhom Arunkumar (2026). "A comprehensive review on conservation efforts of Shirui lily (Lilium mackliniae Sealy) of Manipur, India". Discover Plants. 3 98. doi:10.1007/s44372-026-00537-9.
- 1 2 3 4 "Manipur's Shirui lily under threat: plucking of flowers among major reasons". Ukhrul Times. 19 June 2025. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
- ↑ "Shirui Hill". Kalpavriksh. 23 July 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
- 1 2 3 "In conflict-scorched Manipur, Shirui Lily festival kicks off: All you need to know, about the festival and the flower". The Indian Express. 20 May 2025. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Lilium mackliniae at Wikimedia Commons- "Lilium mackliniae Sealy". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
