THE KURAM VALLEY, ETC., AFGHANISTAN. 141 
duction of branches by this palm is due, 1 
> believe, to the arrest of the large inflorescence. 
" When one sees this palm as a tree 20 feet in 
(see woodeut), one can scarcely believe it to 
be the same species as that found in such 
a stunted, miniature state on Mount Tilla, 
in the Salt range, where also it is indige- 
nous. Creeping over the palm (Mannor- 
rhops) scrub, Zehneria umbellata is a very 
characteristic plant, remarkable for its ex- 
tremely varied form of leaf. It is common 
all over India, and is enabled, no doubt, to 
live here through the rigorous winters from 
the protection its perennial root-stocks re- 
ceive under the shelter of the dense palm- 
cover. Among the low shrubs on the Con- 
glomerate formation I picked up a new species 
of Teucrium, a woody shrub about 2 feet in 
height, that seems very common, but which 
was difficult to find in flower. Near Shinak, 
Buxus sempervirens is found in some quan- 
tity as a large dense shrub, its wood being 
employed in making the bowls of pipes. I 
managed to procure a couple of pipes, one of 
which is fairly carved. Here I was informed 
| that the old wood of Rhus Cotinus is used as 
a dye for wool-stuffs, chiefly used in making 
felts of an orange-red colour. In this part 
of the country, like Edwardsia mollis in the 
Kuram and Hariâb districts,the young leaves 
of Adhatoda vasica are largely collected and 
mixed with the grain in the rice-nurseries 
to hasten the process of germination by the 
heat generated during their decomposition. 
In writing of Edwardsia, 1 may just mention 
that I noticed in a paper lately read before 
this Society by Dr. Watt the following 
Branching stem of Nannorrhops Ritchieana, N 2 
Wendl., from a specimen in the Kew Museum. 
Drawn to scale half an inch to the foot. 
