Common names: Lycopodium, Prickly thrift
Synononyms: Acantholimon tibeticum Hook.f. & Thomson ex C.B.Clarke; Armeriastrum lycopodioides (Girard) Kuntze; Statice lycopodioides Girard (RBG Kew, 2020)
Family: Plumbaginaceae
Information: Described online a compact, spiny (prickly) shrub with cushion form, this species is native to Afghanistan north to NW Xinjiang and the Western Himalaya (RBG Kew, 2020).
Ethnobotany: Used locally to treat cardiac disorders and and muscle pain (Hussain et al. 2020 and references therein).
Photos: Top: near Ghondoghoro Glacier, ca. 4350 m, 35° 35′ 7″ N, 76° 22′ 21″ E; 35.585278, 76.3725. By K. Hewitt, 2008 during glacier research described in, eg, Mountain Research and Development 2011
Bottom: Arid valley wall along Baumharel valley leading to surveyed transect, ca 3600 m. N. Hewitt, July 25, 2016.
Sources and additional resources:
GBIF Secretariat (2021). Acantholimon lycopodioides (Girard) Boiss. in GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Online at: https://www.gbif.org/species/4089167. Accessed 11 Jul 2021.
Missouri Botanical Garden (2021). Flora of Pakistan. Online at: http://www.tropicos.org/Project/Pakistan
Hussain W. et al (2020). Acantholimon lycopodioides (Girard) Boiss. Plumbaginaceae. Pp, 1-3 in R. Kunwar et al. (eds.), Ethnobotany of the Himalayas, Ethnobotany of Mountain Regions series, Springer. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-45597-2_7-1 Online at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/347358997_Acantholimon_lycopodioides_Girard_Boiss_Plumbaginaceae.
Nasir, E. & Ali, S.I. (eds.) (1970-1995). Flora of West Pakistan 1-131.
Polunin, O. and A. Stainton (1999). Flowers of the Himalaya. Oxford University Press, Delhi. Entry 173 (p. 238; plate 78).
Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Acantholimon lycopodioides (Girard) Boiss. Plants of the World Online, at: http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:686054-1 Accessed 11 Jul 2021.
WFO (2021): Acantholimon lycopodioides (Girard) Boiss. Available online at:
http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-0000513400. Accessed 11 Jul 2021.
