During my 6^th Semester, We were assigned to prepare extension materials of different plant species. And among them, I luckily got assignment of Rhododendron, national flower of Nepal. Though I had enjoyed trekking in Rhododendron area several times, I got to know more about Rhododendron (Laligurans ) during this assignment time. Since, then I am lured at writing about Laligurans and its diversity in Nepal in this elite platform.

Of the over thirty species of Rhododendron in Nepal the most renowned is Rhododendron arboreum, known as Gurans in Nepali. There are extensive and magnificent Rhododendron arboreum forests throughout the country ranging in elevation from around 1,400 to 3,600 meters. Rhododendron is a very widely distributed genus, occurring throughout most of the Northern Hemisphere and extending to areas in southeastern Asia and northern Australasia.

Rhododendron diversity in Nepal

30 species of Rhododendron are found in Nepal. These are listed below :

1. R. anthopogon
2. R. arboreum
3. R. barbatum
4. R. campelliflorum
5. R. campanulatum
6. R. camplyocarpum
7. R. ciliatum
8. R. cinnarinum
9. R. dalhousiae
10. R. falconeri
11. R. fulgens
12. R. grande
13. R. glaucophyllum
14. R. griffithianum
15. R. hodgsonii
16. R. lepidotum
17. R. lindleyi
18. R. nivale
19. R. pendulum
20. R. pumilum
21. R. setosum
22. R. thomsonii
23. R. trichocladum
24. R. triflorum
25. R. vaccinoides
26. R. virgatum
27. R. wallichii
28. R. wightii

Culture and Rhododendron

There are numerous poems and songs referring to Lali Gurans. Among the most famous songs are Prakash Shresta?s ?Timi Lali Gurans Phule Jastai?, Kunti Moktan?s ?Laligurans Banai Bhari? and Narayan Gopal?s ?Ma Ta Laligurans Bhayechu? which uses phrases such as ?I became a Lali Gurans I blossom in the whole forest and in your heart if somebody is there to look I will blossom in their eyes?.

Tourism and Rhododendron

The beauty of the flowering rhododendrons draws thousands of trekkers to Nepal every year. Trees begin flowering at lower elevations in early March and the season can extend into May at the higher elevations. The most extensive forests are in the eastern part of the country though there are still patches of forest in the far west. The major areas for seeing rhododendron while trekking are Langtang National Park, Makalubarun National Park, Milke Danda-Jaljale Himal (a transverse mountain range in the east which separates the Tamur and Arun river systems), the Upper Tamur River Valley and the Annapurna Conservation Area.