Showing 6 results

SUMMARY:
At W. Tsanangho, the diarist reports heavy rain and poor visibility, explores the Tsanangha valley, and notes scarce primulas overall but finds two primulas new to them (No. 5865 of the Dryadifolia section and No. 5872, a nivalid close to P. sino-purpurea). Logistics are disrupted due to Kushu’s arrangements, reducing planned time on the Kuchaha; Kesang and a local accompany the outing, with observations of musk deer and local attire from Kongbo.

CONTENT:
And we found Cassiope wardii for the first time 5846. Primulas are more remarkable for their absence than anything else. We only saw P. Paulingii, P. prenantha, P. Dryadifolia & P. doshongensis (or is it P. Kongboensis?). No new ones, none of the old favorites like P. baileyensis, P. valentiniana or even P. Rockii, nor is there any sign here of P. Elizabethae. Thanks to Kushu's bad arrangements—it is his fault rather than the coolies—I can only stop here 1 day, owing to shortage of coolies' rations. And instead of 6 days on the Kuchaha, I will have but 2.

W. Tsanangho
18th July. Halt. A very wet night, & pouring rain all day. I would like to have seen this place on a clear day, with its glaciers & towering cliffs. It should be a fine sight, but there seems no hope in the monsoon, this year at any rate. We went straight up the main valley today to the Tsanangha. I certainly don't think laden coolies could manage it now, but why did they not say that was their reason.

We found the hillside very bare at first, on the whole there is remarkably little in this valley, good as it appears to be in the distance. However it had some good things. P. Valentiniana is profuse over a wide area, P. prenantha also, & P. Paulingii & P. vernicosa. P. Rockii is over, but common—a rather small form. P. Jonarduni too is common above 14000 ft. But we at last managed to find two new primulas—new to us anyway—after I had almost given up hope. One is I think another of the Dryadifolia section, or so it would appear from the roots & leaves & general habit. But it also has a marked pompom of hairs at the throat, which I thought was peculiar to the Bella section. It is a pretty little primula (5865) & oddly enough, grows close to P. Jonarduni. But the best found was No 5872, a Nivalid which appears to be close to P. sino-purpurea. Except for the colour, rich purple—it gives one an idea of P. obliqua, with the adaxial lobes reflexed in exactly the same way. I think it must take pride of place this year with P. Elizabethae, another nivalid. Musk deer seem to be pretty common here, as we walked on to two. Lerwa also common, & a lot of Coelicolor above.

Kesang & a local came with me today. The local wore a vampire hat, peculiar to the wet districts of Kongbo, made of coarse felt, with a wide undulating brim, very useful in this rain. Very cold indeed today, with a strong wind on the hilltops from the SW, driving what was then almost sleet. Fresh snow again on the highest peaks.

SUMMARY:
The diarist travels through swampy valleys near Tum La in persistent rain, noting mallard and snipe, yakherd huts, and that the pass is very low. Botanical work records several Primula species mostly past flowering; an attempt to explore the ridge in thick mist results in getting lost and retracing the route with help from a local.

CONTENT:
Tum La

the whole valley bed is a huge swamp, which made walking here an extremely wet job. But these lakes contain water lilies in profusion. Up here I came across about 30 mallard, this evening I hear many snipe flying round and calling. Occasionally one of them drums. Brahmins are also here in considerable numbers. The mixture of Tibetan and Lopa coolies I have all seem quite cheerful. They are an infinitely nicer lot here than round about Molo and Langong. This pass must be one of the lowest, if not the lowest along the whole Range. I would guess its height at little over 12000 ft from here, but we will see tomorrow or the next day. We are still far too far away from the Pass to make camp for our three days, so must go on tomorrow.

7th July. Camp. 1 m N of Tum La. 4 miles. Rain at night, then rain all day today except for an hour or two at midday. We came on through a swamp the whole way here, past a few huts with yakherds. Camp is at the foot of the steep ascent to the Tum La. I am too late here. This pass is very low indeed, and although there are some good things on it, it is not high enough for many primulas. P. Elizabethae is still just in flower and there are some others over, one like P. Boothii, another with leaves like P. Roylei, P. prenantha and one which is perhaps P. alpicola violacea (3770) or like it, with deep velvety purple flowers. Rhododendrons are over. We went down the S side of the pass for ½ mile, but there was nothing much to be seen. Rain very heavy indeed today. The main valley continues beyond this - in fact the Nyam Chu is a very large river still - quite unfordable I should say. It comes in from 285° M.

8th July. Halt. Tum La. Rained hard all night and all today except from 4.0 to 6.0 am. I went up to the Tum La, (B.P. 190.4. Temp. 55° T. 7.0 am. Ht approx. 12243') then turned East, keeping roughly along the ridge. But the mist was very thick and we could see nothing of the country. In fact it was so bad, that we were completely lost for over an hour on our way back: this in spite of having a local with us who had often been up that way. We luckily recognized one place we had passed, and the Lopa was able to track our footsteps in the grass, till we knew where we were. It was a disappointing day though, on the whole. There are P. vernicosa (in seed). P. Roylei (seed) P. Elizabethae, nearly over, P. aff. alpicola (5770) P. prenantha, P. barbatula No 5791 a primula I have never seen before, but unfortunately the flowers

SUMMARY:
Notes on the Kyag Chu spring’s seasonal flow, a halt at Trashiying with poor weather, and a wet march to the Tsokang at Shacho Pebo in Tsari Sama. The diarist describes logistical issues with coolies and rations, and records abundant Primula and Rhododendron, including vast masses of P. valentiniana; blood pheasant chicks are noted.

CONTENT:
'Kyag Chu' or Indian spring. During the winter it does not flow - but is said to flow to India. On the 10th of the 4th Tibetan month it begins to flow here again. All the coolies washed in it as soon as they arrived.

14th June. Halt. Trashiying. Cloudy & rainy nearly all day. I went up the hillside E of camp for about 2000 ft or more, but the mist was very thick & decided not to traverse on to the head of the valley, which abounds in cliffs & has a good deal of snow still lying. We went over the ridge to the next valley & returned by the Trashi La. Very little seen of any interest. P. tsariensis everywhere, but no P. valentiniana. Mec. simplicifolia very common & good colour. Blood pheasant now have their chicks hatched out - one or two days old.

15th June. The Tsokang at Shacho Pebo, Tsari Sama. 7 1/2 miles. BP. 187.7°. Temp. 46°. Time 3.30 pm. Ht. app. 13576'.
A wet night last night, & a terrific downpour all day today, without a pause, with a strong wind. Yesterday evening one of my four coolies returned - with no rations - but with a chit to say the coolies were to return to Langong. This was not from the gyunpa but from his underling. He added that the Trashiying people would take me round Tsari, but ignored the fact that there are only five people there. Tsoupon-Kusho did some good work & for some rations - to be repaid in kind - from the locals, & my coolies - now 14 - agreed to come with me. It was raining hard at 4 am & has not yet stopped. I have seldom had such a bad day for weather, as there is a high wind with it all. We had hoped to cross to the South of the Himalayas, but this pilgrimage apparently keeps to the North. At first there was nothing at all to be found. Then we got into good country, & here it is very good, must be like the Lo La N. side, only a little higher. Of flowers, there is masses of P. Roylei (calcareum) - a very fine form - P. tsariensis, P. valentiniana, P. kongboensis, P. prenantha, P. pudibunda, P. elizabethae & others, besides one new to me - P. subularia 5561. Rhododendrons too are good, very interesting ones seen today, there are R. ludlowii 5555, & R. campylogynum (mekongense) 5560. Another nice one is one of the Glaucum Ser. (charitopes) No. 5565. The finest sight of all, is certainly P. valentiniana, which is in masses. We can see, when the mist rises a little, vast areas, coloured a deep wine red. I went this afternoon to have a look at it, & was amazed at how much there is. Beside it & among it are Rhodo. ludlowii (mekongense) & P. elizabethae. We reached here about 12 noon, all soaked to the skin. The

SUMMARY:
List of plant specimens noted at Tsongpen from Tsanang La, including taxa such as P. prenantha, Streptopus simplex, and Viburnum kansuense with associated numbers. No dates or personal names are mentioned.

CONTENT:
Tsongpen - from Tsanang La

P. prenantha 6523. calliantha 6524
P. valenteneana 6524.
Gen. namlaensis 6525.
Streptopus simplex 6527.
Viburnum kansuense 6528
Pyrus rotundifolia 6529
Pedic. megalobulba 6532
Rh. pumilum 6533
? " trichocladum 6536

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:
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...