®fje IXtjobotientJron ^ocietp ^otesl. 
Varieties of 
R. ARGENTEUM. 
The Garden, April 8th, 1882. 
I am collecting various types of this Rhododendron and attempting to 
classify them. It is very curious how many types are to be found in this country, 
and it will be interesting to ascertain, if possible, whence they are derived. 
At Kew there are no fewer than three types, to say nothing of R. longifolium. 
a close ally, of which I have never seen the flower. 
From Messrs. Downie & Laird, of Edinburgh, from Glasnevin, from France, 
and elsewhere, I have received many types, and several that seem intermediate 
between R. argenteum and R. Falconeri. These last may be natural hybrids, 
for Sir J. Hooker relates how “on Tonglo, as it approaches 10,000 feet, R. 
argenteum is suddenly replaced by R. Falconeri,’’ so that in certain locahties 
the species grow side by side. I must say, however, that Mr. Sykes Gamble, 
conservator of forests at Darjeeling, writes to me : " I should say R. argenteum 
is pretty constant.’’ The variations I have found are in the leaf, in the stigma, 
in the number of the stamens, in the lobes of the corolla, and cells of the ovary, 
as well as in the size, colour, and markings of the corolla. Herbarium specimens 
differ very much in some of these particulars, and the plates that have been 
published also. 
The Flora of British India abolishes the name R. argenteum as a 
specific name, replacing it by that of R. grande, which was discovered by 
Griffith in Bhotan many years ago, so that to that country we must look for 
the normal type. Griffith’s herbarium specimens are very small, but Wight, 
who named the species, says: “ He (Griffith) briefly characterizes this species 
in a single word, ‘ magnifique,’ which idea I have attempted to convey in the 
specific name.’’ 
J. H. M. 
106 
