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4.2 Habitat
Trillium species prefer cold, shaded and moist climate (Case and Case 1997; Ohara
et al. 2006). Most of these species grow as understory in the temperate deciduous
forest (Samejima and Samejima 1987; Kawano 1994; Case and Case 1997). However, T. undulatum and T. govanianum, are reported in the transition zones between
hardwood forests and boreal or subalpine coniferous forests (Osaloo et al. 1999).
In Indian Himalayas, T. govanianum is reported under the canopies of mix temperate (Quercus spp., Abies pindrow, Juglans regia, Cedrus deodara, Picea smithiana,
Betula utilis, Rhododendron spp., Juniperus indica, Salix spp.) and sub-alpine forests
(Rhododendron spp.) with thick humus and slowly decomposing litter. Due to the
specific habitat requirement the species has patchy distribution and limited to specific
pockets in the Himalayas.
4.3 Herbivory
Chauhan et al. (2018) documented herbivory as a threat to the populations of T.
govanianum. Herbivory of T. govanianum by domesticated animals and wild deer is
reported. Grazing has been documented to reduce the performance of other Trillium
species (Thompson and Sharpe).
4.4 Reproductive Constraints
Trillium are generally self-compatible and has varying levels of inbreeding depressions that results in highly reduced seed set or fruit production (Sage et al. 2001).
The seed production in Trillium species can also be limited by insufficient pollination
(Jules and Rathcke 1999). Vegetative propagation is limited or may be completely
missing in some species. The commercial propagation methods for the species are
lacking (Nivot et al. 2008) that makes the Trillium species more vulnerable. Attempts
for mass propagation of T. govanianum are in progress, however, preliminary studies
do not show encouraging results.
4.5 Climate Change
Climate change is impacting the survival of several high altitude species (Ordonez
et al. 2016). Although the effect of climate change on the T. govanianum is not
studied, however, the studies on other Trillium species confirms that climate change
may limit these populations to recover from stress (Ream 2011). The emergence of
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