ASPECTS OF VEGETATION IN KASHMIR. 



933 



I am only mentioning a few of the commoner forms of vegetation 

 which would strike the observer when traversing some of the forests, but 

 must not omit to notice Parrotia Jacquemontiana, which is like a Hazel ; 

 the elegant Staphylea Emodi, and Elaagnus umbellata, with its silvery 

 scurfy scales and scented flowers, which grows in scrubs. 



You seldom come across great cliffs or escarpments in the formation 

 of the country, but instead, the very steepest of hillsides, which though 

 much grazed over by cattle are in places carpeted with flowers. An 

 English botanist cannot fail to be struck by the variety of Pedicularis, 

 Nepeta, and Astragalus he sees ; and though many old friends, such as 

 the Geums, Veronicas, Lamium album, &c, occur, there are no Daisies. 

 On these almost perpendicular hillsides grow colonies of Eremurus 

 himalaicus, apricot-coloured Erysimum altaicum, dark-blue Lindelofia 

 spectabilis, besides Forget-me-nots and other Boraginece, of all the 

 different hues of blue under heaven. In spring a noticeable object on 

 hillsides is the yellow Ferula Jaeschkeana, its stem, which is full of sticky 

 latex, rising several feet above its compact clump of radical leaves. 

 About the same altitude, but in rather less exposed situations, we 

 find Polygonum alpinum, which looks like a mass of seed pearls when in 

 bud, and the rose-pink Lavatera kashmiriana. 



There are, however, often huge slopes where little else grows than the 

 purple-pink Indigofera Gerardiana and I. heterantha, which, though 

 frequently forming patches of fine colour, the traveller grows weary of, as 

 where the shrubs abound they seem to allow few other plants to occupy 

 the same vicinity. Another gregarious genus of plants is the Impatiens 

 tribe : on the outskirts of forest and at certain altitudes, like the Indigofera, 

 they seem to take possession of all the locality, where they establish 

 themselves and grow very thickly. In similar situations Strobilanthcs 

 alatus occurs, and is very common near Sonamarg. 



Characteristic " marg " plants are the deep orange ' Sunflowers 1 (Inula 

 Boyleana), Delphinium incanum, and Delphinium cashmerianum, common 

 in July, and the large cream-coloured and pale-blue Aquilegias. Other 

 marg flowers are the two spiny Morinas. Kashmiri coolies always gather 

 the yellow corollas of Morina Coulteriana with its pleasant odour, dry 

 them in the sun, mix with butter, and use the compound for skin- 

 diseases. The white and ruby-coloured M. longifolia does not seem to 

 possess the same medicinal properties. 



Of Primulas there is the purple Primula Stuartii, var. purpurea, 

 found principally in bare stony places ; P. rosea and P. denticulata in 

 wet ground, near watercourses ; and P. involucrata on dripping rocks. 

 Androsaces seem to prefer grassy spots, though some grow in very dry 

 places. A. rotundifolia and its varieties are ubiquitous throughout the 

 country. The yellow variety of Anemone obtusiloba is always found much 

 higher up than the white or blue forms, and the high passes are dotted 

 abundantly with their primrose-coloured flowers. In July certain spots 

 at an altitude of 12,000 feet are veritable rock gardens, every niche and 

 ledge of a rocky knoll bearing its alpine blossoms. Often where there is 

 a shower of debris or loose stones, and where no blade of grass is visible, 

 Asters, the lace-like Pleurospermum Brunonis, Anemone rupicola, and 

 the large lilac Corydalis crassifolia flourish. Gentians, though there 



