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Camp above Singo Samba and attempted crossing of Lo La

LSH/1/1/6/1/39 · Part · 1933-05-17

Part of The Ludlow & Sherriff Collection

SUMMARY:
The party moved up the valley with coolies burdened by heavy loads and delays at Molo, noted weather changes, and observed several rhododendrons and primulas. On 22 April at a camp above Singo Samba, a hazardous bridge crossing led Ramzana to cross while Ludlow forded downstream with Tseringpen. On 23 April, despite fresh snow and the coolies’ refusal to move, Ludlow, Tseringpen, and the diarist scouted and broke a path to the Lo La pass, checking known plant sites now under snow.

CONTENT:
have weighed at least 130 lbs. In most cases the coolies also carried a lot of stuff to trade in Pachakshiri, so they have very heavy loads. We left at 7:15 and were in at 12:15, but transport did not arrive until about 4:00 pm, chiefly because they all went to Molo to drink chang and get extra loads to take for themselves. A small shower of rain at 4:00 pm, but evening clear. Rhododendrons are more in flower up this valley than at Molo, R. 3624 (3631) is common. R. cinnabarinum is just coming into flower and R. vellereum is in flower in a good many places. P. Roylei just in flower common.

22nd April. Camp 4 m. above Singo Samba. 7 miles. Rained and snowed a good deal during the night. Fine but clouded all morning. Fine rain and mist by 12:00 noon and for rest of the day. No flowers today, and really rather few signs of them. Nearly up here, Primula prenantha is common, but only leaves visible yet. P. glabra is just in flower beside camp. P. atrodentata also shown here. The bridge at Singo Samba is not nice - it consists of only one usable plank, with another a foot lower and very wavy. The length is about 30 yards and the height above water 15 ft. Ramzana crossed first in good style, but Ludlow preferred to ford the river 200 yards further down. Poor Ramzana ran, or did his best to, twice more across the bridge when he saw Ludlow about to ford. I'm afraid I was angry with Ludlow for telling no-one but Tseringpen, whom he took with him, what he was going to do. The valley up here looks lovely and should hold good flowers when they come on. Isopyrum is just showing new leaves on the cliffs on the R. bank. A few seed were found.

23rd April, Halted Camp. Clouded early, fine and bright till 2:00 pm, then cloudy and some rain. We were all ready to cross the Lo La and expected an early start, but woke up to find 2" of fresh snow in camp. That really made no difference, but the coolies refused to move, so here we still are after a perfect clear sunny day. As there was nothing else to be done Ludlow, Tseringpen and I went up to the Pass to make a path, ordering a dozen men to follow and stamp it down. Deep snow lay just beyond camp and continued to the pass, but it was not very often that one went through. It only took us 3 hours to reach the top, and we are convinced the coolies could have gone up. I was shown the places P. Elizabethae, Omphalogramma minus and brachysiphon and some rhododendrons were - all under snow now. On our way back we dug down near the P. Elizabethae

Reconnaissance around Pa La and Chubumbu La with field collections

LSH/1/1/6/1/67 · Part · 1937-06-05

Part of The Ludlow & Sherriff Collection

SUMMARY:
The diarist describes views toward Pa La and Lanyong, debates whether the seen pass is Pa La or Lingtsangha La on the route to Migyitun, and notes a prominent peak likely the Migyitun Peak. Camping north of Chubumbu La, they record weather, altitudes, and fieldwork with Thompson, including bird specimens and several Primula and Omphalogramma finds, with a halt day spent revisiting the Chubumbu La.

CONTENT:
about 2 miles from here. From there we could see the Pa La & Lanyong. The Pa La lies at a bearing of 266° & Lanyong at 47°. I should say that the Pa La was further than Lanyong but not much. Again failed to find flowers, though P. tsariensis is in masses everywhere, P. dryadifolia common to the N. of the pass, some P. Valentiniana a mile South. This valley is said to lead to Migyitun, but we could not see how it does so. Shokakuling was bloody pleasant on the way up, but with bare patches. They must be sitting, but we could find no nests. Also collected two more Phylloscopus tibetanus & a flycatcher with eggs c/3. There is obviously nothing yet, this side of the main Range. There is a fine peak to the S. of the Pa La. Can it be the Pk. to the E of Migyitun - (N.E.?). I have heard that the Pass we saw today is not the Pa La but the Lingtsangha La, viz on the road to Migyitun. In that case the peak is almost certainly the Migyitun Peak. It is almost impossible to get information that one can rely on though. - Chubumbu La - see June 2.

6th June. Camp 2m N of Chubumbu La. B.P. 189.8° Temp 35° Time 3.0pm. Ht. approx. 12596'. Rained in the night up to 7.0am, then cleared & was a fine day with a good deal of sun till 3.0pm. Then mist & some rain, clearing up later. Some thunder yesterday evening & again this evening. Thompson & I went direct South from camp over the hills, but ran into a lot of mist, & so to get down to the valley we had a series of cliffs to negotiate. A valley comes in from the SW just above here, up it we went. The only real find was Omphalogramma minus 3970, which is fairly common on the edge of the last bit of abies forest. P. Valentiniana & P. Pauliana & P. tsariensis are coming everywhere. A nice little dwarf rhododendron was No. 3975, common about here, but nowhere else. Although reports of the Chubumbu La are not a bit favourable, we go over it tomorrow & hope for a fine day.

7th June. Halt. Misty, but fine nearly all day: some showers. Went up to the Chubumbu La, at mile 2. B.P. 187.2° Temp. 45° Time 7.30 am. Ht. approx 13900'. A good day on the whole. On our way up to the pass we came across a lot of what I had thought to be a new primula collected beyond the Lo La under No. 3762. At that time I could not make it out, but now I see it

Tsari Sama plant list and locality notes

LSH/1/1/6/1/78 · Part · 1938-06-17

Part of The Ludlow & Sherriff Collection

Primula notes at Kucha La and distribution ranges across nearby passes

LSH/1/1/6/1/110 · Part · 1933-07-21

Part of The Ludlow & Sherriff Collection

Specimen notes for Primula and Omphalogramma from Kulu Phu Chu, Tsarang La, Lo La, La La, and Do La

LSH/1/1/6/1/136 · Part · 1933-09-07

Part of The Ludlow & Sherriff Collection

SUMMARY:
The page lists Primula and Omphalogramma specimens (nos. 6504–6554) with identifications, comparisons to earlier numbers, and locality notes. It records that Primula Elizabethae was collected at its type locality (1886), that on May 15th plants were under 3 ft of snow, and seed likely ripened about 15th September. Several entries note proximity to prior collections (e.g., 5872) and observations on forms and seed set.

CONTENT:
68a

6504 Primula rhodochroa Minut. Sect. Gonyore. Possibly equals no 5890. Yes.

" micropetala? belle-ish? Kulu Phu Chu. hyacinthina. Kulu Phu Chu. I was looking for No 5888 but could not find it. This was some miles away.
" Aliceae. Calliantha. Kulu Phu Chu. Kulu Phu Chu. Calliantha. Taken quite close to where I got 5872, I think there is no doubt it is the same thing.
" Morsheadiana. prenautha. Tsarang La. This is the high altitude form, bigger flower, never candelabra in form.
" Aliceae. calliantha. calliantha Tsarang La. This is from the same place as 5872.
" Valentiniana. Yes. valentiniana Tsarang La. Same place as 5866.
" aff glabra. ? Kulu Phu Chu. Lo La.
Omphalogramma brachysiphon. v. Lo La. Too far gone for me to say. It may be O. minus.
Primula Elizabethae. Yes. La La. From type locality (1886). The seeds are nearly all blown out. This collection represents 2 days' work! On May 15th these were under 3 ft. of snow. Seed must have been fully ripe about 15th September.
Primula ? laeta? Chamaethauma. Do La. Taken from approximately the same spot as the type specimen of P. laeta. It does not appear to be either P. Roylei (calderiana), or P. tsonanensis, the only other two Petiolares I could find there. Roots taken with soil without: the winter bud wrapped in moss.
" Roylei. calderiana. Do La. Only taken in case it might be P. laeta.
" Subularia. v. Do La. Very few seeds in capsules.
" Dryadifolia Sect. tsonapensis. Do La. tsonapensis tsonapensis. This is the same primula as my Nos. 5865 + 5931. This would be very pretty in cultivation. Would like to try seeds on moss on a damp, sloping boulder.

Langong and Chumbumbu La: seed collecting and shipment plans, 17–18 October

LSH/1/1/6/1/148 · Part · 1938-10-16

Part of The Ludlow & Sherriff Collection

SUMMARY:
Lists live plants to be sent by KLM freight to London and the R.B.G. Edinburgh, noting a large quantity of roots, bulbs, and tubers collected. Describes severe weather at Chumbumbu La and successful but difficult seed collecting trips from Langong to the Chiniung La, with plans to march to Migyitun.

CONTENT:
75 Live Plants Collected
Chumbumbu La Oct 17 P. chionantha 6609 P. elizabethae 6610
mec. violacea 6611.

...the live plants wanted, which are now: 1 small plant Pedicularis, 1 small Primula Aliciae, 1 Elizabethae (Lola) 2 Tsariensis (Lola) 1 Rowlei (Lola) & laeta (Lola) 1 ? Clutterbuckii (Lola) 1 Boothii (Lola) 1 yellow Pet. Sect. (Lola) 1 big plant Tsariensis (Lola) 1 yellow Pet sect (Tsari Sama) 1 yellow Pet sect (Chumbumbu La) 1 Elizabethae (Chumbumbu La). All these are at the moment timed to arrive in London on the 12th Dec, & in the R.B.G. Edinburgh on early morning of 13th! Ludlow & Taylor also have a good bundle of roots too, & altogether we have far more roots, bulbs & tubers than ever brought back before. So I hope we get them successfully home this time. I intend to send all by KLM freight, & shudder at the thought of how much they will cost.

17th October. Langong. Rain all night & day. Very cold indeed on the Chumbumbu La, in fact everywhere. Today was a repetition of yesterday, really beastly weather, a strong wind driving rain & sleet. We got a few seed of P. Elizabethae 6610, roots of it & of the Pet. Primula & also seeds of the Primula aff. Clutterbuckii, which I did not expect. Also a few of Omphalogramma brachysiphon 3952. The others I have taken as these are probably nearly all O. minus, with perhaps a small mixture of O. brachysiphon. So cold & beastly up the last camp, that as we were back by 12.30, we packed up at once & came on here, arriving at 4.0pm. No sign of rain stopping, in fact the locals say this is a very wet month, rain below & snow on the hills. We thus save a day, & tomorrow I must go up to the Chiniung La to finish off the Langong collecting.

18th October. Halt. Heavy rain all night & all today. Tsongpen & I went up to the Chiniung La, making an early start. Snow was everywhere above about 13500 & nearly a foot deep on the Pass. However we did better than I expected, & got some of all the seeds we were for except the little dwarf Lonicera, which had dropped its seed & was hardly to be seen. P. macrocarpa had very few seed, nearly every capsule was blind. And so now I have finished all seed collecting from flowers seen this year. The rest of our march is either over new ground, or over the old 1936 ground. But there can be little but Rhododendrons with any seed left. All seems fixed for our march to Migyitun on the 20th, rather to my surprise. At present I cannot make out the route, but