Rheum nobile in Sikkim

Come to think of it, it is a noble looking plant! Across the young and exuberant Teesta, several tall and mature, full bloomed Rheum plants exhibited their presence loudly, in the open scree and meadow-lands. There is something wild and beautiful about this plant that grows in such open and exposed aspects!

Rheum nobile, the Noble rhubarb or Sikkim rhubarb, is a giant herbaceous plant native to the Himalaya, from northeastern Afghanistan, east through northern Pakistan and India, Nepal, Sikkim (in India), Bhutan, and Tibet to Myanmar, occurring in the alpine zone at 4000--4800 meters altitude.

It is an extraordinary species of rhubarb (genus Rheum). At 1--2 m tall, R. nobile towers above all the shrubs and low herbs in its habitat, and it is visible across valleys a mile away.

R. nobile is often called a glasshouse plant because of its outer curtain of translucent bracts which pass visible light, creating a greenhouse effect, while blocking ultraviolet radiation. These are important defenses against the increased UV-B exposure and extreme cold in its high altitude range.

Source: Wikipedia

This footage is part of the professionally-shot broadcast stock footage archive of Wilderness Films India Ltd., the largest collection of imagery from South Asia. The Wilderness Films India collection comprises of thousands of hours of high quality broadcast imagery, mostly shot on HDCAM 1080i High Definition, HDV and XDCAM. Write to us for licensing this footage on a broadcast format, for use in your production! We are happy to be commissioned to film for you or else provide you with broadcast crewing and production solutions across South Asia. We pride ourselves in bringing the best of India and South Asia to the world... Reach us at wfi @ vsnl.com and admin@wildfilmsindia.com.