THE FLORA OF NORTH-WESTERN YUNNAN. 



201 



profusion, and are much the same shades as those of our indigenous 

 species, but more strongly fragrant. The corollas are 5 to 7 inches 

 in length. 



Primula sinomollis Balf. fil. and P. helodoxa Balf. fil. are two of 

 the finest new species of the region. The latter is a marsh plant of 

 strong growth, with bold foliage and numerous whorls of large rich 

 yellow blooms ; it grows in heavy clay ground, often in company with 

 P. Poissoni Fr. P. cinerascens Fr., a shade-loving woodland species 

 with rose-coloured flowers, is also found on the surrounding hills. 

 The finest species of the genus found there is P. pseudomalacoides 

 Stewart. It might be termed the western form of the malacoides 

 type, which is common further to the east. It differs from the true 

 P. malacoides in having coarser foliage, much stiffer scapes, and more 

 numerous and larger flowers. It affects shady situations on the 

 margins of open thickets, loves a free soil, and is a winter-flowering 

 plant, at its best in January and February. 



The country between Tengyueh and Talifu, fully 200 miles in 

 extent, is a rolling plateau, rising in parts to nearly 11,000 feet, and 

 intersected by the deep valleys of the Salween and the Mekong and 

 their tributaries. The summits of the ridges are more or less densely 

 clothed with pine and mixed forests, especially on their northern aspects, 

 thinning out to heavy thickets of shrubs on their lower slopes. In the 

 shadier and drier situations Rhododendron Viali Fr. and R. formosum 

 are seen to perfection ; in the more open places, forms of R. Fortunei. 



Many species of Clematis abound, the most common being 

 Clematis Armandi, C. fasciculi flora, C. nutans, forms of C. montana, 

 and, in the driest and sunniest situations, the beautiful C. chryso- 

 coma, than which, with its soft rose-coloured flowers and golden, 

 glistening foliage, none more beautiful. One of the finest new 

 species found is C. Forrestii Smith. This is a scandent shrub of 

 20 to 30 feet in height. The foliage is finely cut and ornamental, 

 the flowers pendulous on long pedicels in axillary clusters of five to six. 

 Each is nearly an inch in diameter, the perianth a soft, creamy 

 yellow, with anthers and filaments a brilliant shade of rose-magenta. 

 The combination reminds one of the coloration of Anemone Pulsa- 

 tilla. It is as striking a species in fruit as in flower, the achenes being 

 densely clothed in heavy, glistening hairs. 



On the more open hillsides are a multitude of dwarf shrubs, the 

 principal genera represented being Rubus, Dipelta, Viburnum, Spiraea, 

 Philadelphia, Deutzia, Styrax, Illicium, Ligustrum, Berberis, Coriaria, 

 Buddleia, Benthamia, Kerria, Camellia, Magnolia, Hydrangea, 

 &c. One of the most striking species is Dichroa febrifuga, with its 

 deep purple-blue flowers and indigo-coloured berries. 



Much of the grassland, especially where marshy or moist, for 

 the duration of the season is ablaze with a wealth of herbaceous 

 plants, such as Anemones, Primulas, Gentians, Corydalis, Pedicu- 

 laris, Spiraeas, Senecios, Potentillas, and Asters. 



On the highest limestone peaks of the Shweli-Salween divide, 



