92 CLIMATE AXD VEGETATION OF 



the margins reflexed and rougli from tlie presence of small harsh 

 hairs; the nerve'^ sunk on tlie upper surface ; dull but full green 

 above, paler and quite glabrous beneath, and destitute of scales 

 or down. Petioles sometimes quite deprived of hairs. Flowers 

 moderately sized, blood-colour, collected into a compact globose 

 head 4 to 5 inches in diameter. Bracteas oblong or ovate, the 

 inner ones silky, all more or less glutinous. — One of the most 

 beautiful of the Himalayan species, but variable in size and 

 habit. I have seen it forming a low shrub in mossy swamps, and 

 then entirely destitute of bristles on the leaf and flower stalks ; 

 in such a state it was figured and described as R. lancifolium. 



3. R. arboreum. — Distribution and range : throughout 

 the Himalaya. 5000 to 10,000 feet. Most frequent 

 in the drier valleys and ridges. 



Of this well known species no description is necessary : it 

 abounds in the inner ranges of Sikkim, descending to 5000 

 feet beyond the first great ridge ; on that ridge, on the other 

 hand, it is very rare, never descending below 7500 feet, and only 

 appearing in exposed places. It prefers a drier soil and locality 

 than most other species. The leaves are very variable in shape 

 and in the form of their base, which tapers into a foot-stalk or 

 is cordate ; their under surface is generally silvery white, but as 

 the species attain higher elevations they become yellower, and 

 finally rusty underneath, as in the variety CamphellicE. The 

 seedlings partake of the habit, colour, and texture of their 

 parents in a remarkable degree, whence the diflficulty of recog- 

 nizing R. arboreum under several very common forms in our 

 nurseries. A jelly is made from the flowers of this plant in the 

 N.W. Himalaya, but I have never seen the preparation. The 

 honey of wild bees is at the flowering season said to be poison- 

 ous in Sikkim, but opinions are divided as to whether R. ar- 

 boreum or R. Dalhousics is to blame ; if either, I suspect it to 

 be the former, which alone is abundant near the localities where 

 the bees abound. 



After a verv' careful examination I have come to the conclu- 

 sion that the R. Campbellice is only a variety of this ; and I 

 further include the R. nobile, "Wall. ; R. Nilagaricum, Zenker ; 

 and R. Zeylanicum. Its geographical distribution is therefore 

 Ceylon, the peninsula of India, the Khassya mountains and the 

 Himalaya mountains from Upper Assam nearly as far west as 

 the Indus; between the elevations of 5000 and 10,000 in 

 Bhotan, Sikkim, Nepal, and Keniaon, but only between 5000 

 and 7000 elsewhere. It is not found in the valley of Kashmir, 

 but on the south flanks of the mountains bounding that valley 

 on the south. 



