Thalietrum.] floka indica. 17 



utrinque acutiusculis, stylo dilatato demum deciduo apiculatis, valide 

 costatis. 



a. vulgare ; glabrum, foliis minoribus. — T. minus, L. et Aitct. 



p. foelidum ; gland uloso-pubescens, foliis minoribus. — T. minus, j3. 

 glandulosum, Koch ; Led. PL Rosa. i. 8. T. foetidum, L. et Auct. T. va- 

 ginatum, Royle! III. 52. — (». u.) 



y. majus ; glabrum vel glaucescens, foliis majoribus. — T. majus^ 

 Jacq. et Auct. T. Kemense, Iries! Led. M. Ross. i. 13. T. Maxwellii, 

 Royle! III. 52.— Cw. v.) 



Hab. In Tibet occidentali vulgatissimum ; et in Flimalayee occidentalis 

 jugis interioribus, alt. 9-12,000 ped., in graminosis : Nubra ! Ladak ! 

 Zanskar ! Kashmir! Kishtvvar ! Kanawer et Piti, Royle ! etc. Sikkim 

 igterius, alt. 11-12,000 ped. — Var. a. (forma EuropEea) in India rarius 

 occurritin sylvis Himalayas interioristemperatse; /3. in Tibetia vulgaris, 

 etiam occurrit in montibus altioribus Kislitwar et Kanawer ; y. quae in 

 Tibet in pratis Zanskar et Piti erescit (alt. 10-11,000 ped.) vulgatior 

 est in siccioribus Himalayse interioris. 



DisTKiB. Europa tota ! Africa borealis ! (et australis ?) ; Asia tem- 

 pera tal 



Serla 2-4-pedalis, erecta vel basi prostrata, ramosa ; radix fibrosa. Fanicula 

 multiflora, fere aphylla. Sepala vii'idi-purpuraacentia, elliptica, nervosa. Antherce 

 elotig.-^tte, mucronatEe. 



This species, which Is extremely abundant in all parts of Europe and Siberia, is 

 exceedingly polymorphous, and has received at the hands of European and Siberian 

 botanists a vast number of names ; while the great variation in the opinions of dif- 

 fereut authors as to the limits of the ditFerent species which they distinguish from 

 one auother is, we thinli, in itself sufficient to prove that the number of these has 

 been considerably over-estimated. We have devoted much time to a careful com- 

 parison of our extensive suites of Indian specimens with the very large collection of 

 authentically-named European and Siberian forms in the Hookerian Herbarium ; and 

 after attempting in vain to find characters sufficient to distinguish the large-leaved 

 variety, we have felt ourselves driven to the conclusion that only one species exists 

 in India. In this we follow Hooker and Arnott, who in the British Flora (fifth 

 edition) have united all the European forms under T. minus, L. T. saxutile, 

 Schleicher and DC, has been referred unhesitatingly by Planehon, in Herb. Hook., 

 to T. minus ; while T. collinum, Walk'oth and Ledebour, and T. elatum, Mun'ay and 

 DC, appear to be forms of T. majus. T. Kemense, Fries., which is identical with 

 T. Ma.ei/>ellii, Koyle, is distinguished by Ledebour from allied species by the pre- 

 sence of stipeUffi at the divisions of the compound leaf. This character we have 

 unfortunately found entirely to fail, as these organs are present or absent on dif- 

 ferent leaves of the same specimen and parts of the same leaf. The number of 

 synonyms might be much increased if this were the proper place to do so, and if 

 authentic specimens were available. The dingy purple hue of the deusdy-panicled 

 flowers, and the long stamens, seem to characterize all the forms, but the fruit varies 

 somewhat in length, being usually, though not invariably, thicker and shorter in the 

 larger states. 



13. T. isopyroides (C. A. Meyer in Led. PI. Alt. ii. 346); foliis 

 ternatim decompositis, segmentis ultimis minutis oblongis obtusis, pa- 

 nioula ramosa, foliis floralibus parvis ssepe bracteeeformibus, acheniis 

 3-6 subsessilibus oblongis utrinque obtusiusculis valide costatis. — 

 I^d. Ic. Alt. t. 397, M. Ross. i. 7. 



D 



