PLANT COLLECTING IN CHINA. 19 



and HippopJtae rhamnoides, with willows, prickly scrub-oak, 

 coarse herbs, grasses, and dense impenetrable thickets of dwarf 

 bamboo. 



The forests are composed exclusively of Conifers, chiefly larch, 

 spruce, silver fir, hemlock, and here and there pines. Specifically 

 we know very little about the constituent of these forests, but, to 

 illustrate their wealth I may mention that on my last journey I 

 collected some thirty different species of spruce! These forests of 

 China are unfortunately fast disappearing and are only to be found 

 ill the more inaccessible parts. 



The tree limit varies according to rainfall and may be put down 

 at between 11,500 and 12,000 feet. 



Our final zone, the alpine zone, extends from 11,000 to 16,000 

 feet. The wealth of herbs in this belt is truly astonishing. Their 

 variety is well-nigh infinite and the intensity of their colors a 

 striking feature. Pedicularis with 100 species is perhaps the most 

 remarkable constituent of this zone. These are largely social plants 

 and occur in countless thousands supplying all the colors save blue 

 and purple. These Pedicidaris are really most fascinating plants 

 and it is a great pity that their semi-parasitic nature prevents their 

 cultivation. Senecio with 100 species supplies the yellow and is 

 represented from cushion plants to strong herbs 6 feet or more tall. 

 Gentiana with 90 species supplies the blue. These again are social 

 plants and on sunny days the ground for miles is often nothing but 

 a carpet of intense blue. Corydalis with 70 species supplies both 

 vellow and blue and is not to be denied a place in this floral paradise. 



Then there is Primula. This genus is represented in China by 

 some 90 species, four-fifths of which occur in the west. These, 

 like gentians, take unto themselves in their season large tracts of 

 country and carpet it with flowers. Sometimes it is a marsh, at 

 other times it is bare rocks or the sides of streams. One of the 

 most beautiful is Primula sikkimensis. Along the sides of stream- 

 lets and ponds this species is as common as is the cowslip in some 

 English meadows. Associated with it we find its purple congener 

 P. vittata. Other striking species are P. Cockburniana with orange- 

 scarlet flowers, a color unique in the genus, P. pulverulenta, a 

 glorified P. japonica with flower-scapes 3 to 4 feet tall, covered with 

 a white meal and flowers of a richer color, and P. Veif.chii which 

 is best described as a hardy P. obronica. 



