

Pieris. ] ERICACEAE. 235 



1. PIERIS, Don. 



P. lanceolata, Don, is a small tree of the Khasia Hills, and P. fonnosa, Don 

 (Andromeda formosa, Wall. ; Brandis 280. Vern. Sheaboge, Nep.), an evergreen tree 

 of the Himalaya from Kumaun to Bhutan. 



1. P. OValifolia, Don. Andromeda ovalifolia, Wall. ; Brandis 280 ; 

 Kurz ii. 92 ; Gamble 50. Vern. Ayatta, eilan, dial, arnr, arwdn, aira, 

 rattan/cat, erana, yarta, Pb. ; Aydr, Hind. ; Anjir, angiar, aigiri, jag- 

 guckal, Nep. ; Piazay, Bhutia ; KangsJiior, Lepoba. 



A small deciduous tree. Bark brown, peeling- off in long narrow- 

 strips, deeply cleft, tbe clefts often extending spirally round tbe stem. 

 Wood ligbt reddish brown, moderately hard. Annual rings marked 

 by numerous larger pores in the spring wood. Pores small in the spring 

 wood, very small in the autumn wood. Medullary rays fine, short, marked 

 on a radial section as long narrow bands. 



Outer Himalaya from the Indus to Assam, usually between 4,000 and 8,000 feet, 

 Khasia Hills, and hills of Mavtaban from 5,000 to 7,000 feet. 



Growth slow. Brandis says 34 rings per inch ; our specimens gave 18 rings per 

 inch for the Simla and 6 rings for the Darjeeling specimen. Weight, 41 Ibs. per cubic 

 foot. Wood not durable, warps and shrinks very badly in seasoning, is only used for 

 fuel and charcoal. The young leaves and buds are poisonous to goats ; they are 

 used to kill insects, and an infusion of them is applied in cutaneous diseases. The 

 bark of the Darjeeling tree is not so characteristically thick ast hat of the North- 

 West tree. 



Ibs. 



H 17. Simla, 7,000 feet 41 



E 3328. Darjeeling, 6,500 feet 



2. ENKIANTHUS, Lour. 



1. E. himalaicus, Hook. f. and Th. ; Gamble 50. Vern. Chothn, 

 Nep. 



A small tree with thin [grey bark. Wood white, moderately hard, 

 even-grained. Annual rings marked by a belt of more numerous pores. 

 Pores very small and extremely small. Medullary rays moderately 

 broad and fine. Numerous, wavy, fine, concentric bands of soft tissue. 



Sikkim Himalaya, 10,000 to 12,000 feet. 

 Growth slow, 40 rings per inch of radius. 



E 976. Chumbi Valley, Tibet, about 10,000 feet. 



3. RHODODENDRON, Linn. 



Contains about 50 species, found chiefly and in great abundance and of great 

 beauty in the inner Sikkiin Himalaya. Four species extend to the North-West 

 Himalaya, three to the hills ot Burma, and one to the Nilgiris. Some species are 

 epiphytic, and among these are found two which are perhaps the finest and largest 

 flowering, viz. : J..Da2A0uue,Hook. f. ; Gamble 52. Vern. Guras,Nep. and H. Edge- 

 worthii, Hook. f. ; Gamble 52, both of Sikkim, the first with very large cream coloured 

 scented flowers, the second with woolly leaves and pure white flowers, having the odour 

 of cinnamon. Some species are only small heath-like bushes found on the rocks at 

 high elevations; among these are R. Anthopoyon, Don; Brandis 282. Vern. Nlchni 

 Mfffankdf, ncra, Jlu'lum ; Tnzak-tsum, Kashmir ; Kdizaban, morua, talisa, Ravi; 

 Talixri, Beas; 2W.svV. Sutlej ; Tulisfar, Kumaun; Palu, Bhutia, found in the Hima- 

 laya from Kashmir to Sikkim above 11,000 feet, and on the Chor and Kedarkanta, 



