WA SHAN AND ITS FLORA 247 



rotting trunks. Some of these Firs could not have been less 

 than 150 feet in height and 20 feet in girth. On the summit 

 there are still a number of trees left, but none of great size, and 

 nearly all have their tops broken off, either by the wind or by 

 the snow. This mountain, in common with others I have visited, 

 shows only too plainly the destructive nature of the Chinese. 

 Fifty years more, under the present regime, and there will not 

 be an acre of accessible forest left in all central, southern, and 

 Western China. The making of charcoal alone imposes a very 

 heavy toll on hardwood trees and shrubs. The preparing of 

 potash salts is a common industry on the mountains west, and 

 is another means of clearing away the vegetation in a ruthless 

 manner. It is to the charcoal-burning industry that I attribute 

 the marked absence of Oak, Beech, and Hornbeam. 



Besides the Silver Fir {Abies Delavayi), the only other 

 Conifers are Tsuga yunnanensis, Juniperus formosana, and 

 Picea complanata. Rhododendrons constitute the conspicuous 

 feature of the vegetation, and their wood is, luckily, not 

 esteemed for making charcoal. They begin at 7500 feet, but are 

 most abundant at 10,000 feet and upwards. In the ascent I 

 collected 16 species. They vary from diminutive plants 4 to 6 

 inches high, to giants 30 feet or more tall. Their flowers, 

 also, are of all sizes and colours, including pale yellow. It was 

 most interesting to watch the displacement of one species by 

 another as we ascended. One of the commonest species is 

 R. yanthinum, which has flowers of various shades of purple. 



The ascent of the mountain commences 100 yards or so 

 from the inn ; cultivation ceases at 6200 feet. Above this, 

 for 1000 feet, is a belt, which has at some time been cleared 

 for cultivation, but is now densely clad with coarse weeds. 

 Among these occur quantities of Rodgersia pinnata, var. alha, 

 Spircea Aruncus, Astilbe, and Pedicularis, with a few bushes 

 of Deutzia longifolia, Philadelphus Wilsonii, and Poison Ivy 

 [Rhus orientalis) interspersed. Above this, for 500 feet, 

 comes a wellnigh impenetrable thicket of Bamboo scrub. 

 The species (Arundinana nitida) is of remarkably dense growth, 

 with thin culms, averaging 6 feet in height. Next above this, 

 till the plateau is reached, is a belt of mixed shrubs and herbs, 

 conspicuous amongst which are Syringa Sargentiana, Hy- 



