1838.] Report on the Tea Plant of Upper Assam. 355 



Comparison between the Flora of Upper Assam and that of China, hi 

 someivhat similar latitudes. 



The next subject of enquiry is one of considerable extent, and of con- 

 siderable difficulty, owing to the scanty data of which we are in posses- 

 sion relative to the vegetation of China, as well as for other reasons to 

 which I shall hereafter allude. 



For the Chinese portion of the materials I am indebted to the work, 

 already often alluded to, of Sir George Staunton, in which four lists of 

 plants will be found ; of these I have restricted myself to the use of the 

 two last, viz. those containing plants found in the provinces of Shan-tung 

 and Kiang nan, Kiang-see and Quan-tung. By far the greater portion are 

 taken from Loureiro's Flora Cochinchinensis, but, unfortunately, as it 

 will be seen hereafter, these are not of much value ; the few additional 

 plants are adapted from the lists in Abel's work and Royle's Illustrations 

 of the Botany of the Himalayas. I have already alluded to the loss of 

 the whole of Abel's collections in the Alcesie, a loss the more to be re- 

 gretted, as among the few plants he saved, owing to his having previous- 

 ly presented them to Sir G. Staunton, were several of great interest. Mr. 

 Reeves, of Canton, has, I believe, considerably extended our knowledge 

 the Canton Flora, by transmitting plants and seeds to England ; but 

 with the actual nature of the results I am unacquainted. The latest tra- 

 veller to the Tea districts was Mr. Gordon, but his attention does not 

 appear to have been directed (as it might, with justice have been expect- 

 ed to have been), towards increasing our knowledge of the vegetation of 

 the Chinese Tea districts. A small collection of such plants as strike 

 common observers, is in all such cases of much more importance than is 

 usually imagined ; neither does it involve any material degree of trouble 

 or labour. 



The materials from which the accounts of the Flora of Upper Assam 

 are deduced, were collected during my residence at Sadiya, from March 

 to October, 1S36 ; they w^ere partly published in a very imperfect form 

 in the Journal of the Asiatic Society, for December, 1836 ; but I have 

 since been enabled to render them a little more complete, by a hast)'^ ex- 

 amination of the collections made during the late deputa tion, which en- 

 close a few additional plants of interest. 



The examination was necessarily hasty, owing to the confusion in 

 which the deputation, Herbarium which has been kept at the Botanic 

 Gardens, remains even at this remote period. 



