934 



JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



are many species in Kashmir, are local in their distribution, and do not 

 occupy such an important place in the flora of the country as they do 

 in Switzerland. Gcntiana Kurroo where it occurs is a glorious sight, 

 with its rich blue stars growing in tufts on rocks, and G. Moorcroftiana 

 sometimes clothes a bank with its paler blue flowers. Swertias are found 

 in various situations, Sivertia petiolata on the high margs, brown-speckled 

 S. Ghiraia on sunny slopes, and the peacock-green S. speciosa in damp 

 spots. 



Among the most beautiful sights of Kashmir are the beds of 

 Iris ensata which line the banks of the river Jhelum, and the great 

 rose-coloured Lotus (Nelumbium specioswn) which forms the great 

 feature of the Dal Lake, near Srinagar, in Augusc. In the Dal Lake and 

 in ponds Limnanthemum nymphoides grows like a weed, with other 

 familiar water-plants, such as Menyanthes trifoliata, Bictormis umbellatus, 

 Utricitlaria, &c., and such unfamiliar ones as the Water Chestnut (Trapa 

 natans), which is harvested in August by the Kashmiris, and Euryale 

 ferox, with its spiny crinkled leaves, which are often three to four feet in 

 diameter. 



In this cursory glance at the flora of Kashmir some of the most 

 characteristic plants of the country have not been mentioned, e.g. the 

 Blue Poppy (Meconopsis aculeata), the Crown Imperials, the curious 

 Arisremas, and the little azure-blue Corydalis cashmeriana, &c. ; but these 

 do not form noticeable features of the vegetation, as they only occur in 

 certain localities. It is perhaps interesting to note that in different 

 districts, apparently similar in general conformation, preponderance of 

 certain families sach as the Composite obtains, Artemisias, Jurineas, and 

 Saussureas being very common in the Gurais district. 



