THE KTTRAM VALLEY, ETC., AFGHANISTAN. 19 



two or three species of Berberis, a little Quercus Ilex, Lonicera 

 Griffithii, with several Artemisias. Amongst the stony debris 

 on the ridges above the river Rheum Riles is very common ; 

 but, strange to say, I could procure no specimens of R. Moor- 

 croflianutn. Near the rhubarb, Convolvulus pseudocantabrica and 

 the two Eremuri were common. On the banks of the river, close 

 to the angle near Drekalla, Uyoscyamus pusillus, Isatis tinctoria, 

 Cousinia microcarpa ?, and C. minuta are frequent, with one spe- 

 cimen of Hyoscyamus reticulata. From Drekalla to Karatigah 

 the stream-bed is very narrow ; and here on both sides a purely 

 deodar and Juniperus excelsa forest exists without any under- 

 growth. These deodars are remarkable for the peculiar style 

 of their growth ; they are extremely tall, over a hundred feet, 

 with excellent timber, having very short thick-set lateral branches 

 not over 4. or 5 feet in length, and have nearly the same average 

 length all the way up the stem. Covering the ground under this 

 forest are masses of Ferula JaescTiJciana and Prangos pabularia ; 

 both of these were obtained on the hills between Sikaram and 

 Matunge, but in small quantity. 



On the 19th of July I ascended Seratigah, following up a ravine 

 to the south-west. The ascent was very gradual to 11,000 feet ; 

 the forest up to this point contained only deodar and Juniperus 

 excelsa. Along the watercourse the two species of Eremurus 

 were in full seed, and the leaves of Rheum Ribes (but not the 

 other rhubarb) in their autumnal tints were common ; but not 

 a single specimen of the fruit of the rhubarb could I obtain. 

 Ferula Jaeschkiana and Prangos were equally common. The 

 former of these has extremely handsome fruiting stems with large 

 masseB of fruit all of a deep reddish purple, but much insect- 

 eaten, so that it was nearly impossible to collect sound fruit. 

 Amongst these, Hordeum caducnm, Munro, was in abundance, and 

 is the fodder-grass of these parts, together with Stachys sp., 

 no. 817, Gar ex divisa, with a very woody nearly leafless Com- 

 posite {Tanacetum sp., no. 820), and Arnebia endochroma, H. f. & 

 T., remarkable for its flowers varying from a greenish yellow to a 

 deep purple-black. 



The forest completely disappears at 11,000 feet, and is re- 

 placed with flat masses of Juniperus communis, interspersed with 

 great hillocks of Acantholimon, enormous ones of Onobrychis cor- 

 nuta, Gypsophila Stewartii, and no. 225 a, a larger form, which 

 may prove to be another species. In the shelter of these occurred 



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