364 



Report on the Tea Plant of Upper Assam. 



[Oct. 



failed ; or to characterise the one gonu;^ as having a three-lobed, the 

 other a triangular fruit ; a diiFerence which, it is needless to state, can- 

 not be admitted to be of generic vahie. 



I am prepared to state from examination of the Assamese Tea plant, 

 and of two species of Camellia, from the Khasiya Hills, that there is no 

 dirterence between Thea and Camellia : and I am not singular in this 

 point ; for in Dr. Hooker's account of the Tea, in the Botanical Maga- 

 zine, new series, t. 3148, I find that some able European botanists are said 

 to be of the same opinion. The name Thea should be preferred, owing 

 to its seniority, it havingbeen given by K^mpfer, in l/l'-^? while Camellia 

 was constituted by Linn^.us, in 1753. 



Of the family TernstrcemiceaB to which this plant belongs, about 40 

 species are known to exist in India; these belong to the following genera, 

 their stations being given to illustrrite the geographical distribution of 

 the order, and to corroborate the idea that the Tea plant is not found on 

 mountains at any considerable elevations. 



Of Cochlospcrmum, one species only exists : it has a wide range, being 

 found on the Coast of Coromandel, in lower Bengal, and in the north of 

 India at Hurdwar ; its station is chiefly on low hills. 



Of TernstrcBmia, seven speciesexist in the catalogue b3fore alluded to, 

 but all are doubtful ; their range is from Singapore to Tavoy : one may, 

 perhaps, be inferred to exist in the Peninsida of India, but its station is 

 unknown. 



Cleyera. Of this genius there a»'e three species : one from Nepaul, one 

 from the Pundua mountains, by which is meant the Khasiya range, and 

 one from the Peninsula. 



Of Eiinja, seven species exist : they are found equally distributed in 

 the hill and plain flora of India. One species attains the maximum of 

 elevation, so far as the Indian portion of the order is concerned, being 

 found, according to Mr. Pi, oYLE, inlat. 30'^ N., at an elevation of 6,503 

 feet, among pines, oaks, and rhododendrons. I have found one species 

 at the level of the sea, as low as 12° N. lat. 



Saurauja. Six specie? exist in the catalogue ; of these five are from Nc' 

 paul and the Khasiya Hills, one from Penang. So far as my experience 

 goes, no species ascends above 4,500 feet inl^t. 27° 2S' N. Three spe- 

 cies are found in the valley of Assam, having straggled down from the 

 boundary hills. 



Gordo7iia. Of the nine species referred, with some doubt, to this genus, 

 four are found in mountainous countries at elevations of between 3-4,500 

 feet ; the remainder occupy the countries between Chittagong and Singa- 

 pore. On the Khasiya Hills I have seen species ascend as high as 4,500 



