86 FLORA OF KAN-SU. 



— луеге most conspicuous. One variety, twelve feet 

 high, and not deciduous in winter, with tough leaves 

 and sweet-scented white blossoms, was particularly 

 fine, and might also be seen in the forests below the 

 alpine belt. 



The other characteristic plants of this region are 

 the Caragana jubata (the same species as in the 

 Ala-shan mountains), the yellow kurile tea {Potc7i- 

 tilla temn/olia), spiraea {Sp. Altaica), and willow 

 (Salix sp.), growing in thick moss (Hypjumi sp.) 

 chiefly on the northern slopes. It would be impos- 

 sible in this brief sketch to do justice to the profu- 

 sion and variety of the flowering herbs, which now 

 grew in patches among the bushes now covered 

 whole sides of the higher mountains. Amongst the 

 plants we noticed a great many entirely new kinds. 

 The most conspicuous were several kinds of poppy 

 {Papaver), louse-wort [Pedictilaris], larkspur [Del- 

 phiuuim), saxifrage {Saxifragd), gentians [Gentiana), 

 Ranunculi, Potentillcs, g^.rWc (у^//гш;г), Siberian aster 

 {Aslcr Sibiricus), E^'igcron sp., Saussurca grami- 

 nifolia, Lcontopodium alpimim, Antennaria sp., 

 Androsace sp. In the interstices of the rocks 

 grew different varieties of primroses [Pj-imuld), 

 whitlow grass [Drabd), fumaria {Coiydalis), golden 

 saxifrage (Ckrysosplcnium sp.), stonecrop {Sedum 

 sp.), Isopyrum sp., Arenaria sp. ; and among the 

 loose detritus, лvolf's-bane i^Aconitum sp.), Ligulai'ia 

 sp., Saussurca obvallata, Slc. All these herbs and 

 shrubs blossom in the end of June, when the moun- 

 tains are ablaze with the yellow kurile tea, red, 



