Showing 3 results

SUMMARY:
Notes describe a distinctive blue flower and, at Sanga Chöling, a lovely day interrupted by a hailstorm while collecting seeds of several species. The party met Pemako people who encouraged a southern approach, camped in the same garden where an incarnation welcomed them with tea and peaches, and heard mail was in Tsona with plans to send a man. The following day was a halt for letter writing and drying seeds, with Gentiana specimens noted for specific passes.

CONTENT:
not seen before. The blue is not intense, but clear, & the plicae show up a more lilac blue, quite distinct from the lobes. It opens well out to a [T-shape] shape, & though stumpy, is very pretty. It grows more or less singly, but has up to 4 flowers on a scape.

21st Sept. Sanga Chöling. 10 m. 10900'. A lovely day, with a very bad hailstorm in between sun & clear sky. We all dawdled down here,
Gen. veitchiorum 2596 G. waltonii 2597 Cyananthus incanus 2593
only getting in at 4.0pm. spending the time collecting seed. A few expected things were not ripe, like Prim. pulchelloides, & the big androsace. But we got some of P. szechuanica, P. tibetica, the pretty, dry zone iris, & two salvias. Met the same Pemako people who were here with us last, & they again affirmed how ready they would be if we were to go to Pemako, from the South or North. They favored the South & said it was much easier that way, - they could come down much near the plains. They seem a very nice lot. Camped in the same garden, & were met by this incarnation with tea & peaches. No sign of a mail, but we hear it is in Tsona & intend sending a man off in a couple of days.
Sanga Chöling

22nd September Halt. A lovely day, no rain. Wrote letters & dried seeds etc.
Gentiana urnula for Traka La 2704, G. algida for Sokpo La 2705 2707
" waltonii for Shirap

SUMMARY:
Diary notes describe failed hopes of reaching Tsari due to snow on the Tsari La, bulb collection of Lilium wardii near Lilung, and negotiations with local officials for transport. The writer arranges men and yaks to cross near Singo Samba, dispatches Tsongpon with coolies, reorganizes supplies, and collects Primula and Cyananthus seed while preparing to move toward the Lo La and Langong.

CONTENT:
there does not now seem any hope of getting in, but I wonder if even Ludlow will see it before he has gone too far. The gyampon here tells me that it will be impossible to get round Tsari Sama — too much snow on the Tsari La.

29th September. Camp 2 miles above bridge on Molo road. A beautiful day till 3:00 pm. Then thunder and very heavy rain. I could find no one who knew of a lily near Lilung, but eventually an old man said he did, and came on this morning to show us. We needed no showing, as there are plenty, when once seen. I took about 50 bulbs and have ordered another 50 to be collected for Taylor. So that it should be introduced all right. No. 6541. Little else seen on the way up.
Lilium wardii 6541.
Abies strigillosa 6539.
Lactuca macrorhiza 6540.

30th September. Molo. Fine all day. Beautiful evening. Back to Molo for the fourth time, and I hope the last. Kusho optimistically took everything for granted when he was told transport would be supplied. But it will not be as easy as all that. I had a long argument with the gyampon this afternoon, and he has supplied three men for Tsongpon to go tomorrow. He should reach the Lo La on return on the 8th. Molo cannot supply men for me, but we have arranged for 6 men and 4 yaks, the latter to swim the river at Singo Samba, while we cross by the bridge. It all seems a little doubtful yet, especially as Kusho avoided telling them I was going to Tsari Sama. If they don't know that before starting, they will never agree to go when we get to Trashigong. Gentiana veitchiorum very common all over the open meadows and hills here. Got a little Primula seed, and some Aquilegia and Primula jaffrayana.
Tsangpo La Lo La

1st October. Molo. A perfect day. Hard frost last night. Tsongpon got off with three coolies in good time this morning. The coolies were remarkably early and quite cheerful about going. I spent the whole day in rearranging all my kit, flower stores and so on, and am now ready to go on to the Lo La and Langong, victualled for 15 days.

2nd October. Molo. Another perfect day. Went down the river bank and got a good deal of Primula seed. Salvia hians has thrown all its seed. One Cyananthus seed also collected, but nothing else. I do hope this weather will hold for a few weeks now. It would make all the difference.
Cyananthus sherriffii 6545

SUMMARY:
Seed collecting was limited by pests and grazing yaks; noted species include P. elongata, Arabis, Gueldenstaedtia, Cypripedium tibeticum, Sorbus ursina, and an Aconite bulbifera with bulbils in leaf axils. After rain and colder weather, the party planned to go to the pass; on 20th September they halted, dug roots of P. strumosa, photographed Gentiana veitchiorum, and admired a green lake below the pass with snowy peaks.

CONTENT:
can be everywhere at once. We got very little today - some P. elongata, an Arabis, Gueldenstaedtia not quite ripe, Cypripedium tibeticum ditto. Sorbus ursina up here has masses of fruit. From about 500-600 fruit taken I am keeping 11 only. The rest all have a small caterpillar in them, & some of the 11 may have also. Otherwise too, seed is difficult here. If the plant grows on a cliff, one can get seed; if not the yaks eat it. P. elongata has been eaten in a place there was masses, & all we got was what remained on a cliff. The most interesting thing today was an Aconite bulbifera 19752, taken once before, which has bulbils in the leaf axils. I did not know this happened in aconites before, & certainly have seen it in no other species than this one. Very heavy rain last night again & when we left today, but it has been mostly fine today, but with little or no sun. We mean to go up to the pass tomorrow unless weather very bad. It has got very much colder up here now.

20th September. Halt. After a lot of rain at night & a thick mist in the morning, this turned out to be a lovely day, one on which we could well have gone up to the Mula Karchung La. But we stopped on the way several times to get roots of P. strumosa, & to take photos of Gentiana Veitchiorum, which with a nice sunny day, were at their very best. Even the yaks cannot dispose of all of them, though they do their best. For that reason, one finds banks which are undercut and safe to walk on, have the finest show of this Gentian - yaks don't go there to graze. The lake below the pass was beautiful indeed. It is green, & the snows behind with a blue sky make a wonderful setting. I tried to get some Gentians as a foreground to