Daphne.] LXIII. THYMELACEiE. 385 



tinct reticulate veins. Flowers white, with a pink tinge, slightly scented, 

 subsessile, in terminal heads of 3-9 fl., without bracts, or with a few small 

 early deciduous bracts. Perianth-tube J in. long, outside densely grey- 

 tomentose, segments acute, ovate or lanceolate, half or three-fourths of 

 the length of tube, tube glabrous inside and marked with 8 longitudinal 

 nerves, 4 terminating in the tips of segments. Stamens inserted on the 

 longitudinal nerves, those of the lower series in the upper half of the 

 tube. Fruit when ripe orange or scarlet. 



Eastern flanks of Suliman range between 3000 and 7000 ft. Common in 

 the Himalaya between 2300 and 9000 ft. Also found in the inner more 

 arid valleys of the North-West Himalaya. Fl. Sept., Oct. ; fr. May, June 

 ("blooms May -July, at times Oct., the fruit usually ripening June -Oct." 

 Stewart). The inflorescence is sometimes abnormally enlarged and trans- 

 formed into angular subglobose lumps. Attains 7-8 ft., bark shining, dark 

 grey or reddish brown, rugose and irregularly undulate. Wood white, mottled 

 with wavy lines, soft, used in Chamba to make charcoal for gunpowder. Bark 

 and leaves are used in native medicine, the berries are eaten, but are said to 

 cause nausea and vomiting. On the Sutlej a spirit is distilled from them. 



D. Cachemireana, Meisner in DC. Prodr. xiv. 535, from the Pirpanjal, is 

 described with wholly glabrous leaves and axillary short-pedunculate flower- 

 heads. I have not seen specimens corresponding to the description. 



D. acuminata, Boiss. et Hohenacker ; DC. Prodr. 536, from Kurdistan, 

 Persia, Afghanistan, Beluchistan, has longer pedunculate flowers and short ob- 

 tuse segments of perianth. There are, however, specimens from Afghanistan 

 intermediate between this species and D. mucronata, and the question arises 

 whether these species should not be united. 



D. oleoides, Schreber ; as described by Meisner in DC. Prodr. xiv. 533, is 

 closely allied to the Himalayan plant, which he partly refers to it. All 

 Himalayan specimens, however, both from the inner and outer ranges, belong 

 to one species. Dr Stewart proposed to unite under D. oleoides the Hima- 

 layan, West Asiatic, and Mediterranean forms, including D. acuminata, buxi- 

 folia, collina, and sericea, and this view will probably be confirmed by far- 

 ther researches" of botanists who may be fortunate enough to study these 

 shrubs in the Mediterranean region, Western Asia, and India. At pre- 

 sent it seems preferable briefly to state the slight and variable characters by 

 which these European and West Asiatic forms are supposed to be distin- 

 guished : 



1. D. oleoides, var. brachyloba, Meisner, a small depressed shrub. Leaves 

 crowded at the ends of branches, glabrate, acute. Heads of 2-6 white fl., tinged 

 with pink. Segments of perianth ovate, acute, shorter than half the tube. Fl. 

 May, June. Western Asia. 



2. D. oleoides, var. jasminea, Meisner Syn. D. jasminea, Sibth. Fl. Grseca, 

 t. 358 ; D. glandulosa, Reichenb. Fl. Germ. t. 553. Same as preceding, but seg- 

 ments of perianth acute, lanceolate, nearly as long as or longer than half the 

 tube. South Europe. 



3. D. buxifolia, Vahl ; DC. Prodr. 534. Leaves pubescent, segments of peri- 

 anth subobtuse, shorter than half the tube. Western Asia. 



4. D. collina, Smith ; Sibth. Fl. Grseca, t. 359 ; Reichenb. Fl. Germ. t. 554. 

 Leaves hairy beneath. Fl. large, pink or purple, segments of perianth ovate, 

 obtuse. South Europe, Asia Minor. Hardy in England. 



5. D. sericea, Vahl ; DC. Prodr. xiv. 535. Leaves oblanceolate, obtuse, pu- 

 bescent beneath, flowers numerous in bracteate heads, segments of perianth 

 obtuse, shorter than one-third the tube. Greece, Western Asia. 



2 B 



