102 THE VEGETATION OF TEMPERATE AND ALPINE SIKHIM. 



between 17 and 18,000 feet, bears the honour of being the most Alpine 

 wootiy plant in the Himalayas. 



For miles and miles the traveller trudgjes by sheep paths through 

 impenetrable scrubs of rhododendrons. Their flowers are of varied 

 colours, but none are blue. They are devoid of strong perfume, with 

 the exception of E. Anthopoffon, li. setosiim and li. nivale. These three 

 when bruised or trodden upon, exhale an overpowering scent from 

 the superficial glands with which they are crusted, aggravating the 

 headaches suffered by every one at high elevations. The discomfort 

 is intensified in bright weather, as the warmth engendered by the 

 sun causes the vapours to rise in greater volume. Many loads of 

 their twigs are annually collected and taken to the Buddhist temples 

 of Sikhim, where they are burned as incense. They are also of much 

 service in camp, as they burn readily when lighted, a consideration of 

 extreme importance in a country where the wetness of ordinary wood 

 causes such delay in obtaining brisk fires. 



By comparison with the drier regions of Upper Sikhim, the chief 

 characteristics of the vegetation along the Siugalelah Range are its 

 poverty in variety of forms, and its wealth in individual species of 

 rhododendrons. Sir J. D. Hooker, in his appendix on the Physical 

 Geography of Sikhim, thus explains the cause of this peculiarity: — " The 

 banks (of rivers between 8,000 and 14,000 feet are generally covered 

 with rhododendrons sometimes to the total exclusion of other wooded 

 vegetation, especially near the snowy mountain, a cool temperature 

 and great humidity being the most favourable conditions for the luxu- 

 rious growth of this genus." Such conditions prevailing throughout 

 the Singalelah Range, due to its proximity to Kanchinjingna, account 

 for the overwhelming abundance of rhododendrons, and may also be 

 accepted as probable reasons for the comparative absence of variety in 

 herbaceous plants, most of which would be unable to maintain a 

 struggle for existence in such an adverse climate and against such 

 formidable competitors. 



The Alpine jmrt of the Lachung Vallei/ and its siirronnding heights. — 

 The first quickly obtainable introduction to the flora of this dis- 

 trict can be had by visiting the Tankra mountain which overlooks the 

 eastern bank of the river. A magnificent forest of enormous pine 

 trees extends without a break from 9,500 to 12,500 feet. 



Polgpodium siilcanoenimi, P. Ilcndersoni, P. hastatiim, and P. erythro- 

 carpmn depend gracefully in large clusters from their stems. A great 

 variety of plants grows along the banks of the rapidly flowing Tunkra 

 river, a tributary of the Lachung. Here, as elsewhere, edible fruits 

 are few in number, the only plants yielding them being Fragaria Dal- 

 toniana, a strawberry with long oval fruits, and Fragaria vesca, the wild 

 strawberry of Europe, both possessing the well-known and appreciated 



