164 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



— being a fluctuating one in this series. I have seen but a fragmentary 

 specimen. 



Chinese Species of the Bella Section. 

 Lilac-purple flowers. 

 P. bella, Franch. (fig. 69) 

 P. Bonatiana, Petitm. 



Section Minutissima. 



One Chinese species — P. diantha, Bur. et Franch. — seems to have 

 its nearest ally in the Himalayan P. minutissima, Jacquem., and I 

 therefore name it here as in Pax's section Minutissimae, which includes 

 the Himalayan plant. But I do not yet place it definitely, and the section 

 Minutissima will probably require recasting. P. diantha, Franch., 

 is a minute lilac-flowered species known only in specimens collected by 

 Prince Henri d'Orleans in the high area near Batang. 



Chinese Species of the Minutissima Section. 

 Lilac flowers. 

 P. diantha, Bur. et Franch. 



Section Yunnanensis. 



This section includes small species with farinose meal — golden 

 or silver — leaves oblong, closely, regularly toothed, forming compact 

 rosettes. The scapes are slender, usually exceeding the leaves, and 

 the flower- truss is composed of from two to six lilac-purple flowers, 

 usually on stalks or nearly sessile, always more or less mealy. 



There are five species, and four are in cultivation. One of them — 

 P. yunnanensis, Franch. — is not a free grower. Its flowers are in 

 pairs on long, slender stalks. It is often confused with P. kichanensis, 

 Franch., which is the plant met with in gardens under the name 

 P. Clementinae, G. Forrest. P. kichanensis is easily grown and is a 

 free flowerer, distinguished from P. yunnanensis, Franch., by its almost 

 sessile flowers. The spreading calyx, after flowering with its mealy 

 upper surface, is a conspicuous mark of it as of P. yunnanensis, Franch. 

 P. umbrella, G. Forrest, resembles P. kichanensis, Franch., in many 

 points, but has a shorter scape and a calyx without long, sharp lobes. 

 P. membranifolia, Franch., is one of the best of the series as a garden 

 alpine. The bright green of its leaves is a delightful setting to the 

 colour of its flowers. The flowers are remarkable in that, when they 

 open, they are quite small, but gradually they enlarge to twice their 

 first size. These four species were introduced by Bees, Ltd., in 1908. 

 Seed was collected by Forrest. P. kialensis, Franch., is not in 

 cultivation. It seems to stand midway between P. yunnanensis, 

 Franch., and P. kichanensis, Franch. 



