Griffith (1844) established the genus Sapria with a species S. himalayana (Rafflesiaceae) from Mishmi Hills of erstwhile Assam, now in Arunachal Pradesh. This genus consists of three species, viz., S. himalayana Griff., S. poilanei Gagnep. and S. ram Banziger & B. Hansen and is confined to Southeast Asia with restricted disjunctive distribution.
Burkill (1924) enlisted S. himalayana in his paper on the Botany of Abor
Expedition. Abor hills are now in Siang districts of Arunachal Pradesh. Bor
(1938) reported the species from Aka Hills, now in Kameng district of Arunachal
Pradesh. Kanjilal & al. (1940) cited the collections of Burkill (from Khasia
Hills, N.E.F. Tract) and Bor (from Balipara Frontier Tract). Deb (1961) reported
this species from Koupru in Manipur. Adhikari & al. (1983) treated it as a
rare and endangered species in the Namdapha National Park. Chauhan (1987)
included Arunachal Pradesh (Namdapha), Manipur and Meghalaya under
its distribution, and categorised it as a rare species. Bhaumik & al. (1997)
recorded this species from Mehao Wildlife Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh.
This species was also collected from Kopli Hydroelectric area in N. Cachar
hills of Assam by Barua during 2006 - 2008.
In 2013, Pandey, Singh, Sinha & Verma have recorded S. himalayana, for the first time from Mizoram. Plants were seen in blooming on the shaded forest floor with moist humus soil in the Tawi Wildlife Sanctuary, Aizwal, located in the northeastern part of the state at altitudes ranging from 400 to 1700 m. The fleshy, globose flower buds of this root-parasite are visible only when they emerge from the soil. The flowers persist for 2 - 3 days after blooming and emit a putrid odour. They are unisexual, c. 20 cm in diam., and bright red in colour with sulphur yellow spots. Gradually they become dark and then decompose slowly. In Mizoram, it flowers during November to December.
Reference : Envis Letter Vol. 18(1):2013
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