FLOWERING PLANTS. 81 ' 



rooted elecampane {I mi la Brita7inica\ and the 

 stinking bugvvort i^Cimicifiiga foctidd). Ferns [Poly- 

 podiicm vidgare, Adiantum pedatitm, Asplenmm sp.) 

 also abound in these forests. 



On the open hill-sides in the tree-belt grow 

 varieties of saxifrage, red lily [Lilinvi tcnuifoliiuii), 

 hyssop-leaved dragon's-head {pi^acoccphahtvi Ruys- 

 ckiaua), Senccio pratensis, ScJmltiza sp., Allium sp., 

 Gentiana sp., AJtiga sp. 



In the open valleys in spring we saw numbers of 

 flowering Iris ; and in summer : aster [Aslcr artati- 

 cus), common sorrel [Rttmex Acctosd), Persicaria 

 {Polyg07i7im polymoip/mm), primroses i^Primiila 

 Sibiricd), forget-me-nots {Myosotis sp.), hare's-ear 

 {^Buplearitni sp.), Gaitiana sp., Anemone sp., Arie- 

 misia sp., Melica sp., Elymiis sp., Spodiopogon sp., 

 Lolium sp. ; Ramtnc2ilus, Oxytropis, and Potentilla. 



One kind of the last-named flowers familiar to 

 us under the name of \vild tansy {Potentilla ansc- 

 rina), is called here djiima, and supplies an edible 

 root, large quantities of which are dug up by the 

 Chinese and Tangutans in autumn or spring. The 

 roots are washed, dried, and then boiled in water, 

 and eaten with butter or rice ; they taste something 

 like beans. A poisonous kind of grass {Lolium sp.) 

 grows here and in the Ala shan mountains ; it is 

 called KJioro nbusu by the Mongols, and is very 

 injurious to cattle, especially camels, the native herds 

 carefully avoiding it. 



But the most remarkable plant of the tree-belt is 

 the medicinal rhubarb {Rheum palmatuni), known 



VOL. II. G 



