274 TRANSACTIONS OF THE [Sess. lxxviix. 



Note on Rhododendron cyanocarpum, Franch. 

 By W. W. Smith, M.A. 



(Read 15th January 1914.) 



When the late M. Franchet was engaged in describing 

 the numerous Rhododendrons sent by the French mission- 

 aries from Western China — the richest area in Rhododen- 

 drons in the world, — among the material sent by the Abbe 

 Delavay were a few fruiting specimens of a Rhododendron 

 which Franchet saw was exceedingly near to the Himalayan 

 R. Thomsoni, Hook, f . The leaves and calyx of the Yunnan 

 species seemed at first sight identical with those of the 

 Himalayan one. The calyx of R. Thomsoni is very distinct 

 from that of any of the other Himalayan species, and the 

 marked similarity to the calyx of the Yunnan plant led 

 Franchet to consider that when flowers of the latter were 

 obtained, the great probability was that the two plants 

 would belong to the same specific type. However, with 

 great acumen, considering the fragmentary material 

 he had to work upon, he noted certain minor points 

 of difference which were his justification for giving 

 a separate name to the Yunnan plant — R. Thompsoni, 1 

 Hook, f., var. a cyanocarpum ; the varietal name he 

 qualified by putting " species propria " in brackets after it. 

 The species has remained for many years without further 

 elucidation, and only recently additional material, including 

 flowers, has made it possible to justify Franchet's opinion 

 and to establish Delavay 's plant as a good species. 



In the first place, I quote Franchet's remarks in full 2 : — 



" Rhododendron Tliompsoni, Hook, f., Rhod. Sikh. Him., 

 tab. 12, a cyanocarpum (species propria). 



" Frutex in omnibus partibus glaberrimus ; folia basi 

 obtusa vel vix distincte subcordata ; capsula juvenilis 

 cyanea, matura atrocyanea, pedicellis rigide erectis. Flores 

 ignoti. 



" Hab. — Yunnan, rochers du Tsang-chan (Delavay, n. 

 3947,4166). 



" C'est un arbrisseau tres tortueux, epais ; ses feuilles 



1 Misspelt with a " p " by Franchet. 

 - " Journ. de Bot.," ix. (1895), 389. 



