Showing 53 results

SUMMARY:
The diary records a halt with a flea outbreak at a disused hut, clearing weather that revealed steep surrounding hills, and exploration up the valley NE of Migitun. Several Primula species and a pretty heath were found on avalanche-swept slopes, while Buddhow discovered a scarce white Rhododendron maddenii (lindleyi) further down the valley.

CONTENT:
a disused hut where some yaks were grazing. Within half a minute or less, Tenduk's legs were covered with fleas - so were my stockings.

25th May. Halt. Stayed more or less in camp till the evening. It cleared up after the last few days of rain, - let us see the country, which is very grand looking, with precipitous sided hills almost all round. Only down here in the valley is it at all open.

26th May Halt. I went up the valley NE of Migitun, - found Prim. 1662 (Yargong-chu) in quantities about 2000 ft up. Nothing else very interesting except a heath 1713 which is very pretty & should do well at home. I hope we get seeds. Prim 1711 (tsariensis) & 1712 (micropila) were both very beautiful. They both grow on slopes swept by snow avalanches & are the first to come out, with that queer little white prim which we found at Chichchar. Buddhow went straight down the valley & at about 5 m. down, found a fine white Maddenii (lindleyi) rhododendron 1702, which unfortunately was very scarce. I hope we can find some more of it. There was another too, which was not in flower. He also got a pretty

SUMMARY:
Left Tsongpen in camp ill; the narrator and Tenduk searched nearby and found no new plants but noted a strong stand of No. 3301 for seed later. On 26 June they went to Wangchelahh via the Nabzi La, filmed blood pheasants with young, and received mail with a seed report from Chris and Elisabeth (except the pink meconopsis); on 27 June they returned to the base at Phobsinna amid mist and rain.

CONTENT:
of day, but no rain till late. Left Tsongpen in camp. He only has fever badly in the evenings. Tenduk and I went down, found nothing new, but a really fine mass of No. 3301 which will do for seed later on if I can send these people back here in September. We did not stay out long, as we are pretty convinced that there is nothing left here.

13500 26th June. To Wangchelahh. A fine morning, very windy. Came back over the Nabzi La. Blood pheasant here all now have their young hatched. We caught one, and for what I think should be some good cine photos of them. In this case there were 2 females and 1 male. A mail arrived en route. This seems to be our lucky place for mails, as it was here that one arrived before. No news of '36 flowers, but Chris and Elisabeth send a good report on seeds, with the marked exception of the pink meconopsis. The hills are particularly beautiful now, look like Scotland up here. They are covered with dwarf rhododendron, just the colour of heather (Rhod. setosum?) and also with Cassiope (Cassiope fastigiata var. densifolia 3372). There are now a lot of flowers out (Pedicularis ludlowii type 3373), but we know them all, and have them already collected.

27th June. To Phobsinna. 12 miles. Back again to the base, for the last time. Fine but misty till 1.0pm. Then rain all day. We seem to

SUMMARY:
Marched 7 miles to Sefu in persistent rain; Pritiman fell into a stream, soaking the rucksack. Presents and letters arrived from Lama Gompa and Domkhar, and later from Penlop Wangdi, with letters from HH and Naku; HH has sent another load. Tenduk rejoined after a long detour via Yundrucholing and Trongsa due to a washed-out bridge over the Wochen Chu, bringing a good collection of iris seeds from Punzor in the Mangde Chu valley.

CONTENT:
8th August. To Sefu. 7 miles. Rained all night: fine till 12.0 then rain all day. Tenduk never came back yesterday, and has not yet turned up. He must have found a bridge washed away, and has had to go back by Trongsa. I hope he has not been washed away too. More presents and letters arrived yesterday from Lama Gompa and Domkhar. I hope that is now all. Pritiman distinguished himself by falling into a stream today. He gets laughed at by everyone, but today he was by himself and no one would have known if he had only emptied the water out of my rucksack which he was carrying. The contents were not improved of course. Tenduk arrived at 7.0 pm, having walked from Trongsa today about 27 miles. On his way back from Punzor he found the bridge over the Wochen Chu washed away, so had to return to Yundrucholing and then round by Trongsa. (Iris decora? seeds - from Punzor, Mangde Chu valley) He has a very good collection of iris seed, which he found fully ripe and mostly thrown in the lower irises, but in good condition higher up, even unripe at their highest limit. I am very glad he is back again. He gives me the unwelcome information that still another load has been sent by HH for me. Three men came yesterday with presents from Penlop Wangdi and letters from HH and Naku. I thought all the present business was over. I'm glad

SUMMARY:
At Bimbi La Camp, Tenduk brought in plants and a Tsongpen sent seed from Chuchar; subsequent halts record collecting seeds of Primula and Gentiana near a pass, with fine weather followed by rain. On the 9th, Lumsden, D and Tenduk accompanied the diarist toward Bimbi La and a talao, collected Androsace seed, and shot three partridges, while mail from Sanga Choling was delayed.

CONTENT:
Bimbi La 157

Cyananthus wardii 2557 sp. nov.
It, under No. 2557. Tenduk brought in a beautiful allardia
allardia glabra 2553
2553, a Tsongpen sent some seed from Chuchar.

Bimbi La Camp
8th Sept. Halt. Went with Danong below camp then up E to a
Gentian
pass about 15500 & collected seed of P. macrophylla & G. przewalskii
P. muscoides 2567 P. macrophylla 2560, 2561
It was fine again again, a perfect night, & only a small
thunder shower in the day. Lovely evening again. Took what
may be another gentian like the Chusam one, up the hill
Gent. trichotoma var. brevicaulis 2558, Gentian phyllocalyx seed 2559
a bit, much paler, not so tall, under No. 2558.

Bimbi La Camp
9th Sept. Halt. Lumsden, D, Tenduk & I went up towards the Bimbi
La, collected some androsace seed, then on to the talao, where
we found some partridges & shot three. Lumsden got one in flight
with No. 2 dust shot. Also saw a lot of G. ornata (?) &
higher up some fine specimens of G. stictantha & some seed
of P. glabra. Then we went on past a dying glacier, over the
ridge to the right & down an awful scree to where Lumsden
had shot kuling before. A lovely day: fine all day. Out
from 7.0 till 3.0pm.

Bimbi La Camp
10th Sept. Halt. Stayed in camp. Rain most of the day, though
P. sikkimensis pantlingii 2568
never very heavy. Still no sign of our mail, which the Sanga
Choling people must be delaying, damn them.

SUMMARY:
A steep climb from above Gundusa through forest to the Byasu La is described, with open grassy slopes, fir, and rhododendron beyond the pass. Several alpine plants are noted, and Tenduk finds a red rhododendron in bloom; houses are present and yaks come up next month.

CONTENT:
It must be about 120° M. Path leaves directly above Gundusa, enters the forest. Thence it is a climb all the way, in places very steep indeed to the Byasu La, which is reached at m 3. The pass is approximately 100 ft above camp. We saw little on the way up, the only flower being a yellow rhododendron which is very like 3063 R. lanatum, except that the indumentum is pale grey coloured, No 3074. Immediately over the pass the country opens out and there are beautiful clear grassy slopes, with fir and rhododendron in between. On the open ground Primula flava is in masses No 3067. Prim. strumosa is common, but barely out in the little nala sides. There are signs of a Prim. involucrata too, but only in leaf so far. Two meconopsis are common. Mec. paniculata and Mec. sinuata? No 3068, which is just on the point of coming into flower. Tenduk found a red rhododendron in full bloom. It is very like Rhod. fulgens, but has no indumentum on the leaf, which is like a Thomsonii rhododendron, No 3075. This must be a lovely place in summer on a fine day. We have just had sufficient glimpse to see how nice it must be. There are some houses here, and the yaks come up next month and stay up.

SUMMARY:
The writer moved camp to a site below Mera to avoid wind and dust, noting bearings for the Cholin La, Sirkim La, and the course of the Mera Chu. On 11 March at Trongsa, the writer and Tenduk searched the hills for flowers, finding Primula whitei common but most other plants not in flower, and noted impressive forests including Abies and Juniperus.

CONTENT:
up there, I moved down to a camp about 4 miles below
Mera, there the wind is not so bad, & there is no
dust. But I fear I won't get much even here. The only
sign of plants were Meconopsis (Meconopsis paniculata 1171,
Meconopsis nepalensis 1172) which of course is not
in flower. This was seen in several places. Blue Primula
(Primula whitei) or a little Gentian. As far as I can see, the Mera valley
here runs pretty well E & W, giving a bearing from Mera to
the Cholin La of about 280. The Sirkim La is one mile
off the road at a bearing of 170°. Mera Chu comes from
about 140° M heading 1 m above Mera, & again to the South
about 1 mile W of the Cholin La.

11th March. Halt. Trongsa, Tenduk & I spent from 6:30 till 2 pm
looking all over the hills for flowers. But we failed to find
any flowers at all, barring Primula 1166 (Primula whitei 1166), which is everywhere
where the moss is damp. I even saw it coming into flower
through the snow in places. The locals say it comes into
seed in the Bhutanese 9th month, but that seems too late
for this flower. Another Meconopsis (Meconopsis nepalensis 1172) was seen, not in
flower. The trees here are magnificent. Besides larch, rhododendron
& birch there are whole hillsides of Abies (spectabilis webbiana?) 1174
(Abies spectabilis 1174) & Juniperus recurva 1175.

SUMMARY:
Notes on unsuccessful searches for bird eggs near Black mountain, observations of Primula involucrata, and receipt of fresh vegetables from HM at Bumthang with a return letter mentioning Bumthang forests and George. On 23rd June at camp on Dungshinggang south of Nabzi La, fine weather accompanied a long collecting day with Tenduk, yielding few flowers but adding a primula (No. 3301), likely P. umbratilis, which was difficult to photograph.

CONTENT:
Black mountain - if we are not too early. All the coolies went out for blood pheasant's eggs today, but no result, except one woodcock's nest with four eggs. In this boggy meadow P. involucrata is common. It has a slight pink tinge. This evening a man arrived from HM at Bumthang, bearing a load of fresh vegetables - lettuce etc - a most welcome gift. I am sending him back tomorrow with a letter in which I have just mentioned the question of Bumthang forests, but have not said anything of George coming.

23rd June. Camp on Dungshinggang S of Nabzi La. 8 miles. Ht. 14000 app.
A most lovely day with not a drop of rain yet (5.0 pm). Clouded over of course after 7.30, but bright sunny patches all day. Still we have a very small collection of flowers - only two - although Tenduk and I were out from 6.0 am till 3.30 pm. But I never mind how few when the list of primulas is added to. Today we got No 3301, which we had seen last time just coming up, now in full flower, but rather scarce. It is a pretty primula, colour of P. macrophylla exactly, and growing in many ways very like P. Cawdoriana. It is a brute to get a photo of, as it won't keep still in the slightest breeze. I presume it is P. umbratilis, but

SUMMARY:
The party proceeds via Chagal, while the Dzongpen departs to Drokpa La with the Trim jigmpu and a coolie, leaving Tenduk, Ahmad Sheikh, and the diarist with 14 coolies. At Chagal Dzong they record weather and notable plants, and exchange calls with the Dzongpen who arranges matters for the next day.

CONTENT:
134

the south side. 2422. Otherwise the only flower of interest was a Delphinium 2424, with white sepals & black petals. Crops are nearly ripe here, & already some are being cut & threshed. When we were here last, they were only about 2-3 inches up. Dzongpen has gone off to the Drokpa La today with the Trim jigmpu & a coolie, leaving Tenduk, Ahmad Sheikh & I with 14 coolies to go on via Chagal. Nothing of any interest here, no birds worth recording.

24th July. Chagal Dzong. 6 m. Fine all day, with clouds & sun. Rain last night. A dull march in, with nothing much to see. Plenty of Ceratostigma on the hillside, & a lot at camp on the N side of the river. The little Primula tibetica collected here on our way to Lung first time, is still in bloom, & has a scape about 2" long. Also a very bright yellow Pedicularis, all over the boggy meadow. Dzongpen very kind. I see him tomorrow. Tenduk visited him this afternoon.

25th July. Halt. Chagal. Fine most of the day, but no sun. Exchanged calls with the Dzongpen, who was very pleasant, & has made all arrangements for tomorrow. Nothing very

[Marginalia:]
Delphinium 2424
Ceratostigma minus
Pedicularis fletcheri 2427
Pedicularis longiflora v. tubiformis 2429
rec. Sherriff on Dricheng La. 2436
Cremanthodium plantagineum 2435

SUMMARY:
Notes on flowering stages of Cyananthus and Primula, with some seeds of P. atrodentata collected. The party met a Bhutanese man with his family returning from Pemako, who spoke with Tenduk and described harsh conditions there. Entry made at Charme after a rainy night that cleared in the morning.

CONTENT:
taken before. Cyananthus will soon be fully out. At present it is just coming out here and there. P. sikkimensis is in masses half way up from here. I counted on one head 76 flowers. Mah Tsongpen here, who had no trouble on the way, but did not find very much either. The summer flowers are mostly getting over now, and the autumn ones are not yet out. Seeds are not ripe either, except P. atrodentata, of which I have taken some more.

We passed today a man and his wife and 4 children. He was a Bhutanese from Tjong who had gone to Pemako some years ago - with 2 children. He was frightfully glad to see his own countryman Tenduk, and had a long talk with him. Pemako he describes as pretty awful, rain and snow, and terrible passes, usually closed by snow. However the rain did not worry him much. He said he could easily stop that - "it is quite simple to stop rain or bring it on," he said. He is returning to his own land, and I hope he will be happy there; a nice man he was, with a very cheerful open face, with a nice looking wife and kids.

28th July. Charme. 10300' 7 miles. Rained all night but was just fine in the morning and the sun is shining here. I made up

SUMMARY:
At Chendebi, the diarist notes mostly fine weather, ripe buckwheat being cut, and a white Crawfurdia observed. The party splits: kit sent to Ritang, Pintso to Dungshinggang for taxation inquiries about Nepali sheep, and Tenduk collecting iris seeds near Punzor; plans are made to travel via the Rinchen Chu and Tang Chu. On 4 August, a halt at Chendebi is recorded; Primula seeds are unripe, a plant clump is taken to send by air mail, and Tsongpen goes to collect P. bracteosa roots.

CONTENT:
3rd August. Chendebi. 14 miles. Fine all morning: some rain in the evening.

This is the wettest month in Bhutan, but so far we have been very lucky. At Domkhar there was always rain, but only at night except on two days, when it rained from 11.0 am on, very hard. Since then we have only had afternoon or evening rain. The only interesting thing seen today was a white Crawfurdia 3504 (Tripleurospermum volubile 3504).

Here the buckwheat is ripe and is being cut. Fields of it on the hillside are rather pretty, the colour of bracken in autumn, only rather redder. From here we split up: My kit, except 10 loads, goes off to Ritang tomorrow: Pintso goes off to Dungshinggang in the Mangde Chu valley.

Tenduk is now down at Punzor, collecting, I hope seeds of an iris (Iris 3535), and will return tomorrow. Then he, Tsongpen and I go up the Rinchen Chu and back to Ritang by the Tang Chu, where Pintso will meet us. Pintso goes to find out about the Nepali sheep, how many there are and so on for taxation purposes.

4th August. Halt. Chendebi. Went to have a look at Primula 3052 (P. flagellaris 3052), but the seeds are not yet ripe, and will not be for a month. So I took a lump to carry along with us and send home by air mail. Kit has gone off to Ritang and Pintso to Dungshinggang. Tsongpen has gone to collect roots of P. bracteosa. (Aster sheriffianus approx 4000 3532)