88 WILSON EXPEDITION TO CHINA 



In western Hupeh and eastern Szech'uan tliis beautiful flowering tree is very 

 common but we never met with it wild west of tlie Red Basin of Szecb'uan. It 

 occurs in open country, and in thickets and the margins of woods up to 1200 m, 

 altitude. Conspicuous when in flower, it is much more so when laden with its 

 immature reddish crimson fruits. This tree grows from 6 to 15 m. tall and has a 

 moderately thick trunk clean of branches for half its height and a flattened round 

 head. The bark is dark grey and smooth but becomes rough and broken into 

 small plates with age. The flowers vsiry from pale pink to red pink and are pro- 

 duced in great numbers on all parts of the tree including the old branches and main 

 trunk. The wood is close grained, heavy and very durable. Its colloquial name 

 " Lo-chiang shu " signifies that the flowers resemble an open basket. To western 

 minds the significance is not obvious for the flowers more closely resemble a cradle 

 or an open boat with a hooded stem. 



It is doubtful if Cerds glabra Pampanini (in Nuov. Giorn. Bot. Ital. n. ser. XV, 

 is an^i:hing more than a mere form of this tree. E. H. W. 



Cercis racemosa Oliver in Hooker's Icon. XIX. t. 1894 (1889). 



Western Hupeh: Fang Hsien, woods, side of streams, alt. 1300- 

 1800 m., May 15, August and September 1907 (No. 314; tree 5-10 m. 

 tall, girth 0.3-1.2 m,, flowers rosy pink); without precise locality, 

 May 1900 (Veitch Exped. No. 607). 



This remarkable tree is fairly common in the moist woods of central Fang 

 Hsien between 1200-1800 m. alt., but is extremely rare elsewhere in western 

 Hupeh and has not been reported from any other province. It is a low-growing 

 tree, seldom, if ever, more than 12 m. tall, with a single trunk from 1 to 2 m. in 

 girth near the ground, and a wide-spreading head from 4 to 10 m. through of 

 relatively thin branches. The bark is green and smooth but with age becomes 

 pale gray and sphts into thin, irregularly oblong flakes wliich are partially ex- 

 foliated in old trees. The silvery-rose colored flowers are produced in great pro- 

 fusion in pendulous racemes 4 cm. to 10 cm. long. When not in flower the species 

 is easily recognized by its habit and by the leaves which are hairy on the under- 

 side. Apparently it rarely fruits and its introduction to cultivation was only ac- 

 complished on our third expedition. It is essentially a cool temperate tree and 

 in western Hupeh always at higher altitudes than C. chinensis Bunge. 



E. H. W. 



BAUHINIA, 



The species of Bauhinia here enumerated are common in the warm, arid valleys 

 of western Szech'uan where they form an important part of the vegetation. In 

 western Hupeh they are much less common and are found only at low altitudes 

 growing on the cliffs and in glens and ravines. E. H. W. 



Baiihinia densiflora Franchet, PL Delavay, 191 (1890). 

 Western Szech'uan: Tung Valley, arid places, alt. 1000-1300 

 m., June 1908 (No. 3377> in part, flowers only; scandent bush, 2-3 m.). 



Bauhinia Faberi Oliver in Hooker's Icon. XVIII. t. 1790 (1888). 

 Western Szech'uan: Tung Valley, arid places, alt. 1000-1300 

 m., September 1908 (No. 3377, in part, fruits only; scandent bush, 



