Showing 11 results

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:
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

SUMMARY:
Notes record Parnassius butterflies, a woodcock nest with four eggs found on 22 June, and a list of Primula species observed. The writer describes the steep peaks of Dungshinggang, clear views toward Sikkim and beyond Chomolahri, getting soaked in a noon storm, and a 25 June entry noting rain overnight, a clear morning, and later cloud.

CONTENT:
that he will not let you know when he has fever. Saw lots of Parnassius butterflies in good condition, but fancy all are common. We put up four pairs of woodcock, which I think were nesting, as the coolies found one nest with four eggs on 22nd June. We saw no eggs or young chicks.

We expected rather too much today and did not take any waterproofs, so were wet pretty well through in the heavy storm at noon, but dried before getting home. I suppose we have not really done badly with primulas. We now have 26, 11 of which are different to last year's, and seven of which I have not collected before. Two are, I hope, new.

The three peaks of Dungshinggang are very steep, the rock rotten, but I think that they should be possible to get up, though difficult. I had hoped we might try, but camp would have to be a good deal nearer than this, especially if one were to get up before the mist covered everything. The snows were again very clear, some cloud in Sikkim, but none away to the East as far west as beyond Chomolahri. The following primulas
were seen here: P. strumosa, P. glabra, P. pusilla, P. Menziesiana,
P. umbratilis, P. sapphirina, P. macrophylla, P. Roylei (over), the small
P. nivalis sp., and P. atrodentata. P. Hopeana not yet in flower.

25th June. Hall - Rain all last night, clear early morning, cloudy rest.

SUMMARY:
The author remarks on a prominent peak remembered from Dumpshinggang, sights two Lerwa and skins one, and records several alpine plants on and below the pass as snow rapidly melts. On 9–10 June, during halts, the assistants return few specimens despite instructions; the party makes a short excursion up a western valley before rain, and the author laments the absence of Tsongpen while criticizing Ngudup and considering sending him back to H.H.

CONTENT:
sign of it, it is obvious that one can't see it from anywhere near the Pass. But the other peak is a fine one, which I well remember seeing from Dumpshinggang. On our way back I saw two Lerwa. At least that is what I think they are, but it is so many years since I've seen them, that they appeared nearer Kuling to me, though that seems impossible. In case they are, I skinned one of them. We found on the pass, P. glabra, & lower down masses of Anemone narcissiflora, Lloydia serotina, one Nomocharis nana & many Prim. pusilla about 1" high in bud. So things are moving, there is no doubt they are. I have noticed how very quickly the snow is melting now; each day shows marked changes, that means flowers will be on the move too. I wish these two lads knew something of flowers. They go out & look at many cliffs, but unless they see a flower, they can tell me nothing.

9th June Halt - Another fine day, but no flowers. The two boys came back with only 15 specimens for their three days down the valley. They must have left many flowers behind, but neither knows what to do really, & I suppose I cannot expect them to bring much. But they even did not bring flowers I particularly asked for. A disappointing day, when I had expected a good deal. How I miss Tsongpen now, when I can't get about so much.

10th June Halt. Another good day until 2.0, when we got back. There was heavy rain then, but we were in in time. We all went up the valley to the west of here & had quite a good day. Ngudup is the one who is most disappointing always now. Everything is an effort to him, & I often think of returning him to H.H. to be

SUMMARY:
The party halted near Migyitun, explored east up the valley to the Tsokar lake via the Nga La and Pang La, and collected game while noting Primula species abundant around 13,000 ft amid continuous rain. A mix-up over a horse with the headman occurred earlier, and on a subsequent rainy halt day they stayed in to pack and finally received a long-awaited mail.

CONTENT:
Primula, with very hairy leaves, was seen, but it is not yet out; it will be a full week or more before the first are in bloom. I thought a horse had been ordered for me, and was rather peeved with the headman when it did not turn up. So I made him carry my camera and come with me. But it appeared afterwards that he never got the order for a horse.

31st May. Halt. Went up all together up the valley E of Migyitun, then up the road to the Tsokar lake, over the Nga La and Pang La. I shot two Lerwa and a snow cock, Ludlow 3 Lerwas. The snow cock seems to be a new species altogether, much smaller than the usual one. Saw no new flowers, but P. glabra and the purple Roylei — a beauty — were everywhere at about 13,000 ft. Rained all day.

1st June. Halt. Rained all day. None of us went out and spent the day in packing up and rearranging loads. Our mail arrived at last, and was a good fat one. What a joy it is to get the mail after just on two months. It is really worth waiting for. I suppose it was not really

SUMMARY:
High-altitude collecting around 14,000 ft yielded several small plants and a lake, with monal and burhel observed. The diarist notes mail delays, sends letters and parcels to H.H., Raja Dorji, and Betty during a halt, then crosses the Hubsing La to reach Kantanang in wet monsoon weather.

CONTENT:
very steep indeed. At first we found little, but at the highest altitude, about 14000, found a good many little things, including P. glabra (19011), P. sapphirina (19025), P. hopeana (Lud. Sherriff 19030), P. macrophylla, a good Aster and one Mec. paniculata (Lud. Sherriff 19019) in flower, but not elongated. Plec. simplicifolia is everywhere, but a miserable thing. Saw a few monal, and a pair with 3 young. Also some heads of burhel lying about. It was lovely up at 14000, and we found a nice lake there, the which may be worth visiting again later on. But I think almost every stream starts in a lake up here. Although the weather was so good, we did not see anything very much in the way of a view, but a press of flowers was worth more.

Still no mail. It is a good long time since I heard from Betty now, and I hope she is alright. Her last letter came very quickly to me, written on 13th and reached me 15th at Menjisi. I have sent her 2 or 3 letters since then, but I feel perhaps the dak may be slowing up now with all the work it has to do. In 1937 I had bigger mails, but not so often, and all except one came through alright. That one was found later abandoned by the roadside - no harm done, but just left there.

1st June. Halt. Our last day here. We leave some boxes behind, and calculate that we will be back in 3 weeks at most. A poor day, with a good deal of rain. I sent off a mail today - a letter to H.H., a parcel to Raja Dorji and a parcel of books and a letter to Betty. They reach Bumthang tomorrow, but I wonder when they will be sent on from there. There seems to be some delay now in the mails, which at first came so quickly.

2nd June. Kantanang. There was heavy rain all last night, and although little rain today, it is very monsoonish and misty and wet. A pity as we came over a hellish pass, the Hubsing La, of about 14500 I should say, and would have had a very fine view on a good day.

SUMMARY:
Diary entries note plant collections and observations around Migitun and a camp above Nga La, with heavy mosquitoes and heat. Assistants Danong and Tsongpen worked valleys near Migitun collecting flowers and some seeds, and bears were seen on a hill. Travel progressed from Migitun to a camp above Nga La with continued botanical collecting.

CONTENT:
152

Delphinium 2495
Delphinium from P.S. which may or may not be different. Here at camp there is a large thistle which is very handsome, growing to about 8 ft high. Danong went up the hill to look for seeds of some primulas, & found only a few of two. He came across two bears up there. Mosquitoes are very bad indeed down here, but all, so far, Stegomyia, not Anopheles. (P. glabra 2497, P. dickieana pantlingii 2498, P. sandemaniana 2499). A few specimens of the primula with hairy leaves pressed under No. 2499.

26th August. Migitun. 9500' 5 miles. Reasonably fine all morning. (Rhod. megeratum 2505, Spiranthes sinensis 2509, Aconitum volubile 2510, bulbiferum). Very hot & enervating down here. (Migitun).

27th, 28th, 29th August. Halt. Usually fine in the morning. Midges, flies & mosquitoes very bad. Danong & Tsongpen have worked the valley W. of Migitun & got some new flowers & a few seeds, & have been up the E. valley only for seed of the little yellow primula. A sikkimensis primula of (P. loessa sp. nov. type 2514, P. prenantha 2516) a beautiful pink mauve colour 2514 is abundant in the valley W. of Migitun. I think this is the one I found (Frag. globosa 2525, Acon. bulbiferum 2517, Acon. souliei 2523) between Mupa & Tama La, though perhaps the flower is not so big. It has a fine scent, & grows very prettily. (Migitun - Nga).

30th August. Camp above Nga La. 5 miles Ht. 12800'. (Gentiana palaeocristata sp. nov. 2527). Fine for an hour or two in the morning: rain the rest of the day. I think we...

SUMMARY:
A wet halt at Pang-Sunda where the diarist scouted the valley while Danang and Tsung-pen explored rocky slopes, collecting multiple Primula taxa and noting promising sites. Notes mention Rhododendron campylocarpum, Viburnum cordifolium, and Paraquilegia anemonoides. The next day they moved to Migitun via steep paths through mixed forest, recording conditions and elevations.

CONTENT:
77

Rhod. campylocarpum 1628, which is 1628, a yellow one, with rounded leaves with no thick indumentum. Viburnum (V. cordifolium) 1631 is also quite a fine tree. Paraquilegia (anemonoides) 1632 is on all cliff faces. It is a different one to the Tsang one, very pretty.

Pang-Sunda
22nd May. Halt. A very wet day nearly all day, but otherwise good. I went down the valley and saw some things to collect tomorrow. Danang and Tsung-pen went up opposite camp into the precipitous rocky part of the mountains. There they came across 1614 (Prim. vernicosa) again in numbers: a different colour of 1621 (P. tsariensis) collected under 1650 (P. barnesii); P. glabra 1642 (P. dickieana). 1654 a beautiful new primula - new at any rate to us. And 1658 (P. prenantha) another new primula with rather an inconspicuous flower, but dainty for all that. Promises of other good things there were too, including another two primulas. A nice camp and a good place for flowers.

23rd May. Migitun. 4 m. Road down right bank, very steep path for a mile to a bridge to left bank. Thence still steep down left bank through pretty thick mixed forest the rest of the way. BP. 194.8 Temp 59. Time 5.15 pm. Ht. 9757. It rained on and off all day, and the clouds are

SUMMARY:
Page lists Primula specimens with notes on morphology, flower colors, abundance, and growth habits, including forms such as P. caveana, P. muscoides, P. glabra, and P. waddellii. Mentions comparison with earlier collections at Waitang and a reference to a specimen from 1938.

CONTENT:
(3) 136 33.

53. 19185 P. atrodentata Same as 3636 in 1938.
    19186 P. walshii Scape up to 1" long bearing 1, 2 or 3 flowers. No farina.
54. 19190 P. bellidifolia.
    19195 P. sikkimensis. A fine form with big flowers, yellow or almost white.
    19203 P. muscoides. 34.
    19204 P. strumosa. See my 19000 A B or C taken at Waitang where a glorious mixture of colours
    19211 P. caveana v. alba
55. 19212 P. tenuiloba
    19213 P. concinna 35. I think this is correct because of the fairly copious yellow
    19216 P. macrophylla v. macrocarpa
    19226 P. caveana v. alba. A good collection of 5 sheets, but they are odd plants
    19227 P. capitata.
56. 19231 P. muscoides. Mixed blue and white, which grow actually touching each
    19244 P. macrophylla v. macrocarpa
    19245 P. glabra
    19251 P. umbratilis. Not fully grown.
    19255 P. caveana - full grown.
57. 19318 P. atrodentata. With new plants growing out from old flower head.
    19325 P. glabra.
    19330 P. waddellii 36. The colour of this is so distinct, that it cannot be confused with P.
    19332 P. umbratilis. I have never seen so much as on this cliff. All of it is very pale indeed, or some
    19346 P. soldanelloides 37 I never noticed before the quite different texture of the corolla. Ask for
58. 19364 P. muscoides. White form. Here v. common.
    19373 P. waddellii. Very common indeed here, in quite big clumps, not singly, as
    19378 P. jonardunii. 38 Common here, on open steep grass hillsides, not so much
    19383 P. caveana. Much scarcer here than round about Waitang.
59. 19392 P. concinna v. alba. 80% of P. concinna here are white, remainder pink purple, no

SUMMARY:
Checklist of Primula species collected in 1937, with notes on prior collection status and several specimen numbers. Localities mentioned include Chendebi and Tang Chu.

CONTENT:
x not collected in 1936
xx " " " before.
Primulas collected. 1937.

42. P. bracteosa.

1 P. Boothii.
P. erythrocarpa
P. flagellaris
P. sp. nov. Chendebi xx
5 P. strumosa elongata
P. Roylei.
P. macrophylla.
P. glabra.
P. geraniifolia xx
10 P. sp. nov. Tang Chu. xx
P. Hopeana
P. sapphirina x
P. tenella. xx
P. Winteri.
15 P. Boothii high alt. var.
P. pusilla. x
P. Stirtoniana x
P. obliqua. x
P. prenantha? xx
20 P. nivalis dwarf sp.
P. tenuiloba.
P. sikkimensis.
P. Menziesiana xx
P. bellidifolia xx
25 P. atrodentata
P. Griffithii sp. hancini
P. vernicosa.
P. pudibunda 3370
P. sikkimensis var. 3353. xx
30 P. sp. nov. 3366 hancini xx
P. " " 3367 xx
P. " " 3383. xx
P. umbratilis white 3384 xx
P. " blue 3394 xx
35 P. capitata.
P. soldanelloides. x
P. muscoides.
P. obtusifolia Caveana xx
P. Walshii 3413 concinna xx
40 P. Caveana 3410 xx
P. uniflora 3438. x
P. involucrata 3226. x