PLANT COLLECTING IN CHINA. 17 



find Rosa laevigata, R. rnicrocarpa, R. microphijlla, and R. Bank- 

 siae; in the cooler places are Rom moschata, R. multi flora, R. 

 macrophylla, and R. sericea. Other Chinese species are R. bracte- 

 ata, R. ivichuraiana and R. rugosa. Take away these and their 

 numerous progeny and our rose gardens would look sorry objects. 



The peach, perhaps the first of all fruits, is likewise a native of 

 China. It reached Europe from Persia and in all probability 

 travelled thither by way of the old trade route from China, via 

 Bokhara. Other notable plants are: — Rhododendron (Azalea) 

 sinense, R. indicum, camellias, Chinese asters (Callistephus horten- 

 sis), sweet orange, mandarin orange, lemon, grape fruit, and lastly, 

 but not the least, Primula sinensis. 



This plant, the parent of the Chinese primroses of our green- 

 houses, is native of Ichang, where it occurs in great abundance on 

 the dry, precipitous, limestone cliffs of the Ichang gorge and its 

 lateral glens. The wildiing is a true perennial with flowers a 

 uniform mauve-pink color. Primula obeonica occurs in this same 

 region but in moist loamy situations. 



For the sake of convenience and in order to make the subject 

 clear I propose to divide the flora into altitudinal zones or belts. 

 The nature of the country lends itself to this; indeed, this seems the 

 only tangible way of dealing with a subject so vast and unwieldy. 



The climate of the Yangtsze Valley up to 2000 feet altitude is 

 essentially warm-temperate. Rice, cotton, sugar, maize, and 

 tobacco are the principal summer crops; in winter opium, pulse, 

 wheat, and rape are generally grown. The flora is of a warm- 

 temperate nature, the following plants being characteristic: — 

 Melia Azedarach, Phyllostachys mitis, Trachycarpus excelsus, 

 Hibiscus mutabilis, Lac/erstroemia indica, Ficus infectoria, Gardenia 

 f.orida, Melastoma Candida, Gleichenia diclwtoma, Pinus Masson- 

 iana, Cupressus funebris, etc., etc. 



Between 2000 and 4000 feet we have an evergreen belt composed 

 principally of various Laurineae and oaks. The Laurineae con- 

 stitute fully 50% of the vegetation in this zone. This belt is inter- 

 esting also as being the home of nine-tenths of the monotypic 

 genera, so prominent a feature of the Chinese flora. 



From 4000 to 9000 feet is the largest and most important zone of 

 all and is composed principally of deciduous flowering trees and 



