Abies Delavayi in Cultivation. 
BY 
WILLIAM GRANT CRAIB, M.A., 
Lecturer on Forest Botany and Indian Forest Trees 
in the University of Edinburgh. 
With Plates CLXII-CLXIV. 
FROM recent correspondence addressed to the Royal Botanic 
Garden it became evident that doubts existed as to what the 
true Abies Delavayi is, as to whether the true plant is in cultiva- 
tion, and if not, as to the identification of plants recently intro- 
duced under that name. The plants at present under cultiva- 
tion come from two districts in China, viz. Western Szechuan, 
where seeds were collected by E. H. Wilson; and Western 
Yunnan, where G. Forrest collected seeds. For some time now 
it has been recognised that the pioneers were mistaken in their 
ideas that the Himalayan and S.W. Chinese floras were practi- 
cally identical. Wherever possible plants of the earlier collections 
were referred to Himalayan species. But more recent critical 
work has shown us that in the S.W. corner of China we must 
recognise certain definite floristic areas. Two such regions 
which must be regarded as distinct are W. Szechuan, the explora- 
tion of which has been so well carried out by E. H. Wilson, and 
that portion of Yunnan which concerns us at present where 
Delavay obtained the material elaborated by Franchet and from 
which no small part of the rich collections of G. Forrest has been 
obtained. Occasion therefore arises for a careful examination 
of the material when one finds Wilsonian plants erumerated as 
identical with Delavayan. Examination of Wilson’s material 
of his so-called Abies Delavayi has afforded additional proof of 
the distinctness of the two regions referred to. Wilson’s 
Szechuan plant is, in my opinion, certainly not identical with 
Franchet’s Yunnan A. Delavayi. For the Szechuan material 
seen by me I propose the new combination A. Faberz, since the 
plant had already been described as Keteleeria Fabri by Masters. 
Further confusion arose owing to the fact that a Forrestian 
plant has been distributed and is growing here as in other places 
{Notes, R.B.G., Edin., No. LV, November r919.] 
