BUSHES. 79 



southern, i.e. sunny slopes, and at an elevation of 

 nearly 1 2,000 feet among the Alpine shrubs. This 

 tree is held sacred by the Mongols and Tangutans, 

 who burn the branches for incense during prayer 

 time. 



The bushes are of course most abundant on the 

 banks of the streams. Here we saw syringa {P/nla- 

 dclphus coronarius) in full bloom in June; two kinds 

 of wild rose [Rosa sp.), one with white, the other 

 red flowers; two kinds of barberry [Berberis sp.), 

 one covered with thorns an inch and a half long ; 

 the Chinese elder {SambiiciLS CJiineusis) ; gooseberry 

 (Rides sp.) in large bushes 10 feet high, with big 

 yellowish bitter berries ; a raspberry {Riidics ptnigcns), 

 with delicious fruit of a pale red colour ; another 

 raspberry {Rubtis Idcctis ?) similar to the European 

 species, but only two feet high, growing on the 

 exposed hill side in the zone of the alpine shrubs ; 

 and seven or eight kinds of honeysuckle [Loniccra), 

 one yielding a long blue fruit, which is edible.^ 



Among the other bushes we may mention the 

 Spiraea, black currant (Rides), cherry (Prunus), 

 spindle tree (Ezionymns), wild pepper (Daphne 

 Altaica ?), Cotoueasler, Hydrangea pubesce7is, and 

 the Eleutherococcns seniicosns found on the Amur. 

 The Lespcdeza, however, a native of the same 

 country, is not found further than the Munni-ula, 

 not being met with either in the Ala-shan or 



• Professor Maximovitch, of the Botanical Gardens, St. Petersburg, 

 informs me that this species of honeysuckle nearly resembles the 

 Lonicaa an-ulca of Siberia, which is also edible. —M. 



