226 A NATURALIST IN WESTERN CHINA 



referred to are principally due to numerous species of 

 Viburnum, Vitis, Malus, Sorbus, Pyrus, and Acer, together 

 with Enkianthus deflexus, which surpasses all in the richness 

 of its autumn tints of orange and crimson. 



At 6200 feet the ascent becomes increasingly difficult, 

 and having surmounted a formidable flight of steps, 800 feet 

 high, we were glad to rest at the temple of Hsih-hsiang-chiih. 

 All the temples on Mount Omei occupy lovely and romantic 

 situations, but none more so than this, which has one side 

 flush with the edge of a precipice, and the others sheltered by a 

 grove of Silver Fir. The hospitable priests regaled us with tea 

 and sweetmeats and entertained us with much that was curious 

 and amusing. They claimed that it was at this particular 

 place that P'u-hsien Pu'ssa alighted from his elephant to allow 

 the footsore animal to bathe in a near-by pool ; the spot 

 to-day is marked by a cistern. 



Immediately on leaving this temple two steep flights of steps, 

 followed by a slight descent, led us to a small wooded plateau 

 which shelves away from a vertical precipice. Hereabouts 

 Sorbus munda, with white fruits, was a most conspicuous 

 shrub. A climbing Hydrangea [H. anomala) reaches to the top 

 of the tallest trees. Several other species of Hydrangea grow 

 epiphytically on the larger trees and so also do two or three 

 species of Sorbus. Rhododendrons are fairly abundant, 

 more especially near the edge of the precipice. The first few 

 Rhododendron bushes were noted growing at 4800 feet, and 

 altogether I gathered thirteen species on this mountain. 

 But as compared with the region to the westward Mount Omei 

 is poor in Rhododendrons. The same is true of Primulas, 

 of which four species only were met with. 



At 9000 feet the most difficult stairway of all occurs, and 

 I was fairly exhausted when the top of it was reached at 

 10,100 feet. Winter had laid his stern hand heavily here, 

 and most of the woody plants were leafless. At 10,000 feet 

 Bamboo-scrub puts in an appearance and increases as the 

 summit is neared until finally it crowds out nearly everything 

 else and forms an impenetrable jungle about 4 to 6 feet high. 



From the top of the last stairway an easy pathway of 

 planking leads to the summit, which we reached just as the 



