

the very powerful odour of musk, which is not peculiar to this 

 species of the genus, but exists in other high alpine species, 

 which form a peculiar group, with large half-closed membrana- 

 ceous flowers, whence the mountaineers erroneously suppose 

 that the musk-deer feed upon them, and thereby communicate 

 the peculiar odour to their glandular secretions. The D. mos- 

 chatmn, Munro, is now, by Hooker and Thomson, rightly re- 

 ferred to the present plant. Our plants are raised from seeds 

 lately sent by Dr. Cleghorn. 



Descr. Whole herb musky. Stem erect, six to eight inches 

 to a foot or more high, simple or branched, viscoso-puberulous 

 or tomentose. Lowest leaves long-petioled j petioles three, four, 

 and six inches long, sheathing at the base : the blade appress- 

 edly pubescent, three to four inches long, and more broad, 

 reniform, deeply lobed, with the lobes strongly inciso-dentate : 

 stem-leaves smaller, and on shorter petioles ; uppermost ones tri- 

 partite and toothed. Flowers corymboso-racemose ; peduncles 

 erect, naked, or bracteated : two small ligulate bracts at the base 

 of the flower. Flowers large, pale-blue, bright-purple towards 

 the margin, yet black in the very centre. Sepals nearly orbi- 

 cular, an inch long, veined ; spur infundibuliform, tapering into 

 a long, subulate, slightly flexuose apex. Posterior petals, with 

 the lamina pale-coloured, obovato-spathulate, two-lobed. 



Fig. 1. Flower, with sepals removed, — slightly magnified. 



