REPORT ON A BOTANICAL TOUR IN KASHMIR, 1893. ^9 
and many of the ordinary herbaceous plants, such as species of 
Aconitum Delphinium^ Dipmcus^ etc., attain to gigantic dimensions. 
1 left Palgam on the 6th of August, and encamped on a pine- 
covered ridge above the village of Aro on the western branch of the 
Liddar. There is a fine view from here looking up the Masjid valley 
and of the lofty peaks of Gwashbrari, the highest of which is nearly 
i8|Ooo feet. 
I went up the valley the next day to Liddarwat, a very beautiful 
place surrounded by immense precipices of limestone. My camp was 
pitched in a dense forest of silver fir. The upper part of the val- 
ley beyond Liddarwat is called Kolahoi, and here there are some fine 
glaciers from which this branch ot the Liddar takes its rise. I explor- 
ed this part of the valley on the 8th of August up to the foot of the 
glacier. On returning down the valley 1 observed some Gujars dry- 
ing the leaves of Taraxacum officinale^ \\diich they told me they ate 
as a vegetable and also used medicinally as 2, ionic. They called 
the plant hendi. 
From Liddarwat I went over the Yamharu Pass into the Sind 
valley. The path turns up a small valley towards the west in the 
direction of the high-level lakes, Mir Sir, T4r Sdr, and others. My 
first halting-place was on a ridge about four miles to the east of Tar 
S^r, I explored some very interesting botanical ground near this 
place up to nearly 14,000 feet. 
I crossed over the pass on the 12th. With the exception of the 
last 500 feet the ascent is quite easy. I saw some very fine exam- 
ples of roches moutonneis- at the head of the valley leading to 
the summit, also several rocks with polished and furrowed surfaces. 
Many rare and interesting plants were collected near the top of 
the pass, the elevation of which is about 13,000 feet. 
The descent to Kullan on the northern side is very steep, and 
the path is extremely slippery, especially in wet weather. All this 
side af the Sind valley is densely clothed with'lorest from about ^ 
12,000 feet to the base of the valley. The Kut -(Saussurea 
Lappa) is abundant between 10,000 and 12,000 feet | also 
Royieana with its immense heads. of yellow flowers. 
At Kullan I had to halt for one day to re-arrange loads and attend 
to the numerous botanical specimens which had been collected up 
to that date. I then went up the valley to Sonamar^, from which 
place I visited the Tajwaz valley, where many valuable specimens, 
were collected. Between Sonamarg and B4Ital the road passes 
through a forest composed of Pinus exceisa, Populus ciliata, and 
willow* I noticed that many of the pines were much injured by the 
attacks of the minute parasite, Arceudkobium minutissimum. 
