198 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. IX, 



elevations being already well understood, I must omit anything but casual 

 mention of the tract between Yoksun and Tumlong, and also the valley of 

 the Teesta to the junction of the Lachen and Lachung. This restriction 

 divides my narrative into three parts— the first dealing with the vegetation 

 of the exceedingly moist mountains forming the western boundary of Sikkim, 

 the second with that of the temperate and drier territory north of the junc- 

 tion of the Lachen and Lachung, and the third with that of the Chola Range. 



First Tour.— Journey along the Singalelah Eange to the tracts on the 

 southern flank of Kinchinjunga, and the march ad-oss the valleys of the 

 Eanjit and Teesta to Tumlong. 



This excursion lasted from the 7th June to the 7th July. The rainy 

 monsoon broke with almost unparalleled severity on the day of my departure 

 and the most interesting portion of the journey, namely, that at high eleva- 

 tions, was accomplished through incessant fogs and storms of wind and rain. 

 I thus enjoyed few opportunities of viewing the surrounding scenery, and 

 had perforce to confine my observations to the vegetation within access to 

 practicable paths. 



The Singalelah Range is an elevated mountain mass, springing from the 

 face of Kinchinjunga and extending southwards to the plains of India. 

 Owing to the facilities of travelling afforded by the Nepal frontier road to 

 Phalut, the range so far is much frequented by general travellers, and is in 

 consequence too well explored to induce one to linger on the way in search of 

 novelties. Some Yew trees {Taxus baccata) grow close to the road beyond 

 Tonglu, and Abies Webbiana is first seen on the last ridge between Tonglu 

 and Sandakphu, from whence onwards it exists in profusion up to 13,000 feet 

 in elevation, covering mountain sides with dense and sombre forests. There 

 are trees of Tsuga Brunoniana below Phalut, and Juniperus pseudo-sabina 

 abounds near the path to Cheabhanjan, but the other species of Conifers, so 

 characteristic of drier Sikkim, are altogether absent. Above 11,000 feet the 

 most notable plants are Aconites and Meconopsis Wallicliii, and a few species 

 each of the genera Ranunculus, Anemone, Potentilla, Primula, &c, Fragaria 

 Daltoniana occurs here and there, bearing narrow oblong fruits, reminding 

 one of small strawberries and resembling them in flavour. The road from 

 Sandakphu to Phalut passes through a forest of Abies Webbiana, associated 

 with Pyrus foliolosa, Betula utilis, Acer caudatum and Prunus rufa, &c, 

 underneath which are thickets of various Rhododendrons and two species of 

 bamboo. One of the latter is Arundinaria spathiflora which flowered two 

 years ago, a fact attested by the dead culms still bearing the withered spathe- 

 like sheaths of the inflorescence. Its average height is 10 to 12 feet. The 

 other is what Mr. Gamble named A. Gammieana from specimens of the 

 foliage only ; but having since examined flowers, he has discovered it to be 

 A. racemosa, Munro, a plant which, although so abundant round Darjeeling as 

 to be almost exclusively used as fodder for ponies, has never been known to 

 flower there. The Phalut plant, which differs so much in size and appearance, 



