70 



SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



38991 to 39101— Continued. 



covered with a dark-colored rugged bark, very different from the prevail- 

 ing beautiful papery clothing of the genus. The flowers are a pale 

 sulphur color." (J. D. Hooker, Rhododendrons of Sikkim-Himalaya.) 



39066. Rhododendron lepidotum Wallich. Ericaceae. Bhododendron. 



" A shrub found on the temperate and alpine Himalayas, from Kashmir 

 to Bhutan at altitudes between 8,000 and 15,000 feet. The medicinal 

 properties of this plant are similar to those of R. anthopogon [S. P. I. 

 No. 39051]." (Watt, Dictionary of the Economic Products of India.) 



"A low, evergreen, sometimes nearly deciduous shrub, usually 1 to 2 

 feet high in this country, but said to be 4 feet high in the Himalayas; 

 young wood, leaves, leafstalk and flower stalks dotted thickly with 

 minute scales. Leaves oblong, 1 to li inches long, about one-half inch 

 wide, only hairy on the margins when young. Flowers rosy crimson, 

 produced singly or a few together during June, each about 1 inch across, 

 flat and saucer shaped, and borne on a stalk 1 to IJ inches long; corolla 

 tube very short, lobes rounded. Stamens about 10, hairy toward the 

 base, not protruded; calyx lobes one-eighth inch long, rounded. 



" Native of the lofty interior ranges of the Nepal and Sikkim Hima- 

 layas, up to 16,000 feet altitude, and in Yunnan. It is hardy at Kew, 

 and one of the most distinct and interesting of dwarf rhododendrons. 

 Sir Joseph Hooker mentions varieties with golden-yellow flowers and 

 greenish yellow flowers, which do not appear to be in cultivation. Seeds 

 are frequently borne." (W. J. Bean, Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the 

 British Isles, vol. 2, p. 366.) 



39067. Rhododendron setosum Don. Ericaceae. Bhododendron. 



"A small and elegant shrub found in Sikkim and Nepal at altitudes 

 between 13,000 and 16,000 feet. The natives attribute the oppression 

 and headaches attending the crossing of the loftiest passes to the strongly 

 resinous odour of this rhododendron. A useful volatile oil of no less 

 marked character than that of the American Gaultheria might probably 

 be obtained from the foliage by distillation." (Watt, Dictionary of the 

 Economic Products of India.) 



"A dwarf evergreen shrub, 6 to 12 inches high, of close, bushy habit; 

 young shoots densely clothed with pale bristles and minute down. 

 Leaves oblong, tapered at the base, rounded at the apex, three-eighths 

 to five-eighths inch long, bristly on the margins, very scaly above, rather 

 glaucous and less scaly beneath. Flowers 3 to 8 in a terminal cluster; 

 corolla 1 inch across, reddish purple, lobed to two-thirds of its depth ; 

 calyx comparatively large, scaly and downy, with five ovate lobes one- 

 fourth inch long ; stamens hairy at the base ; flower stalk scaly, slender, 

 one-fourth inch long. 



" Native of the Himalayas up to 16,000 feet. The plant is very distinct 

 in its bristly character and strong resinous odor. Introduced in 1825, 

 this curious alpine species is now very rare. It thrives well in the 

 Edinburgh Botanic Garden, but in the South misses its winter covering 

 of snow and is often excited into growth too early." (W. J. Bean, Trees 

 and ShruM Hardy in the British Isles, vol. 2, p. 378-379.) 



