68 



SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



38991 to 39101— Continued. 



"An evergreen shrub, 6 to 10 feet high, somewhat thin and sparse of 

 habit, the branches long and slender, scaly when young. Leaves 2 to 4 

 inches long, three-fourths to li inches broad, oval, tapering about equally 

 to each end, smooth, and of a grayish green metallic luster above, scaly 

 beneath, and varying in color from glaucous green to reddish brown; 

 stalk one-third inch long. Flowers funnel shaped and, like those of 

 Lapageria, li to 2 'inches long, very variable in color, ordinarily of a 

 dull cinnabar red, produced during May and June, from five to eight in 

 terminal heads. In other forms the corolla is orange red outside, yel- 

 lowish within, sometimes greenish. Calyx with four short, broadish lobes 

 and one longer narrow one, or sometimes with all five nearly equal, scaly. 

 Stamens 10, scarcely so long as the corolla, hairy at the base ; flower stalk 

 one-third inch long, scaly. 



" Native of Sikkim and Bhutan ; introduced in 1849. This distinct and 

 striking species is chiefly remarkable for the variability of the color of its 

 flowers and the under surface of its leaves." (W. J. Bean, Trees and 

 Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles, vol. 2, p. 351.) 



39061. Rhododendron dalhousiae Hook. f. Ericaceae. 



Rhododendron. 



" Of all the Sikkim rhododendrons this is perhaps the one which has 

 excited the greatest interest, partly from the great size and beauty of the 

 fragrant flowers and partly from the peculiar place of growth, generally 

 in its native localities among moss, with ferns and Aroidese, and upon the 

 limbs of large trees. This rhododendron is a native of East Nepal, 

 Sikkim, and Bhutan at elevations of 6,000 to 9,000 feet. It is a straggling 

 bush, 6 to 8 feet high ; the stems are clothed with a reddish papery bark, 

 and the branches are straggling in distant whorls, each branch bearing its 

 leaves and flowers only at the extremity, three to five in number, very 

 large and fragrant." {Curtis' s Botanical Magazine, pi. JtllS.) 



39062. Rhododendron falconeri Hook. f. Ericaceae. Bhododendron. 



"A moderate-sized tree or frequently a gregarious shrub, abundant in 

 the eastern Himalayas from east Nepal to Bhutan at altitudes between 

 9,000 and 13,000 feet. The wood is of a reddish white color and shining, 

 with a satiny lustre, takes a beautiful polish, is hard, and does not warp. 

 It is easily worked and is not apt to split. It is admirably adapted for 

 use in the parched and arid climate of Tibet, and the Bhutias make from it 

 cups and spoons and many other useful domestic articles." {Watt, Dic- 

 tionary of the Economic Products of India. ) 



"A large shrub or a small tree, ultimately over 30 feet high, with stiff, 

 very thick, somewhat sparse branches, woolly when young. Leaves oval 

 or oblong, 6 to 12 inches long, 2^ to 6 inches wide (sometimes larger) ; 

 very stout, thick, and strongly veined, the upper surface dark green, 

 curiously wrinkled, but otherwise smooth, the lower surface covered with 

 a dense, rust-colored felt ; stalk 1 to 2 inches long. Flowers about 2 inches 

 across, creamy white, shaded with lilac and marked with a conspicuous 

 dark-purple blotch at the base, fragrant, produced in spring in large 

 terminal clusters 6 to 9 inches across, the flowers tightly packed. Corolla 

 bell shaped, 2 inches long, its lobes varying in number from eight to ten ; 



