THE CHINESE FLORA. 



899 



section Aria, occurring in woods and shrubberies, deserve mention. 

 Many are remarkable for their ornamental fruits and the autumnal tints 

 of their foliage. 



Acer. — Forty species, wonderfully diverse in appearance, including 



A. palmatum, A. Henry i, and A. Davidii. 



Ilex. — Thirty species, in woods and shrubberies. 



Vitis. — Twenty-five species, of which I was able to introduce about 

 twelve, including V. Thomsonii, and V. Henry ana. 



Corydalis. — Sixty- six species, with flowers of many different colours. 

 C. thalictrifolia and C. Wilsoni are worthy of mention, as also are the 

 allied Dicentra spectabilis and D. macrantha, a species with yellow 

 flowers. 



Gentiana. — Ninety species, covering alpine meadows. 



Anemone. — Forty species, very variable in appearance, including A. 

 dentata and A. caroliana. 



Bubns. — Seventy species (and good species too), including B. rosae- 

 folius and B. bambusarum. B. parvifolium, B. xanthocarpum, and 



B. rosaefolius are worth growing for their fruit. 

 Saxi/raga.- -Forty-five species, including S. sarmentosa. 



Amidst this great wealth of plants it is remarkable to notice the 

 absence of Gorse (Ulex), Broom (Cytisus), Heather (Erica and Calluna), 

 and Cistus (Rock-rose family). The place of Gorse and Broom is taken 

 by Forsythia and Berberis Wallichiana ; that of the Heathers by very 

 tiny-leaved Rhododendrons, of which there are at least ten species, while 

 the Cistus family is not represented. 



The open country, which would compare with our common land, is 

 covered with Berberis, Spimea, Sophora viciifolia, Caragana, Bosa, 

 Crataegus Pyracantha, Cotoneaster,^1iiladelphus, &c. 



As in the Himalaya, so in Western China, Rhododendrons form a 

 special feature of the vegetation ; indeed, Bhododendron is the largest 

 genus recorded from China, no fewer than 140 species being known. On 

 my second journey I collected about seventy species, and succeeded in 

 introducing about fifty. Of these about twenty are new to science. Rhodo- 

 dendrons begin at about 5,000 feet, but do not become really abundant 

 till 8,000 feet is reached, and they extend up to 15,000 feet, the limit 

 of ligneous vegetation. Rhododendrons are gregarious plants, and nearly 

 every species has a well-defined altitudinal limit. In June the moun- 

 tains are one mass of colour, and no finer sight can be imagined than 

 miles and miles of these mountain sides covered with Rhododendrons 

 in full bloom. They vary in size from trees 40 feet in height to alpine 

 plants only a few inches high. In colour they range from pure white 

 through clear yellow to the deepest and richest shades of crimson. 

 It is impossible to exaggerate their beauty, and from the altitude and 

 latitude in which they occur there is every reason to believe that they 

 will prove hardier than their Himalayan congeners. 



Lilium is another genus well represented in China, thirty-two species 

 having been recorded, seventeen of which are peculiar to the country, 

 including Henryi, Brownii, microphyllum, formosum, concolor, giganteum, 

 tigrinum, Bakerianum, nepalcnse. L. sutcliuense I have found growing 

 on the cliffs around Talien-lu at an altitude of upwards of 8,000 feet. 



