HIMALAYAN FLORA.

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20807, 17 March 1933, Page 17

HIMALAYAN FLORA.

♦ PLANTS OF KASHMIR AND TIBET. LEtTI'RE BY PROFESSOR WALL. Interesting botanical observations made by Professor Arnold Wall, while journeying in the Himalayas in the Kashmir province, India, and in Little Tibet, were passed on Jo a large gathering of Christehurch horticulturists last evening, when Professor Wall gave a lantern lecture on the subject to the Canterbury Horticultural Society. The Canterbury Automobile Association's Hall could not fully accommodate the largo crowd which attended the lecture and additional scats had to be secured. Tho lecturer gave an extremely interesting summary of tho botany of an area which has yielded to the world many famous horticultural specimens, and there were references to many species familiar in New Zealand gardens. Many of these were illustrated by finely coloured slides. Professor Wall was introduced by tho president of the Society (Sir Iteaton Rhodes), who said that the crowded hall was the best tribute the society could pay to the lecturer. The Country Covered. Professor Wall stated that he. was not allowed to penetrate into Tibet; few Englishmen were allowed into the interior of that country, but. he did see tho country in Kashmir and Little Tibet. Kashmir was nearer the equator than New Zealand, but the elevation of the country balanced the climate. His work was carried out in altitudes ranging to 18,500 feel. Most of his observations were made in Kashmir, where, as an indication of the climate in comparison with that of New Zealand, the winter frosts were about the same as were experienced in Christehurch. The sunshine of summer was a little warmer than in Christehurch, and the rainfall was about the same in Kashmir valley as in Christehurch. Of course, conditions were altered in the mountains. In Little Tibet things were very different, there was a barren, rainless, stony, desert, where only few plants could grow; but higher 'up there was fine alpino vegetation. An important; p_oiiit was that practically the whole area was comparatively freo from high winds. This had an important bearing on vegetation: in New Zealand it seemed that tho character of the alpine vegetation was determined by the persistently strong winds. All over the Himalayas beasts of burden \<rcrc driven to very high levels, and the vegotation was "disturbed; but many of his pictures were taken in an area reserved to conserve water, Professor Wall continued. Tn his journey through Little Tibet he had been able to secure sonic j;ood pictures, some from localities at. an altitude of :"000 foot above that of Mount Cook. Par from Everest. Tho extreme north and north-western part of the range of the Himalayas, visited, by tho lecturer, was approximately 1000 miles away from Mount Everest. All the forests were conifers —spruce, pine, and firs chiefly—and all the valley of the Kashmir was so intensively cultivated that one would think it impossible to find wild flowers. But on the roads there were species of irises; higher up there was to bo found a beautiful tulip: and in waters were necn line water lilies. In the Himalayas the great winds of New Zealand seldom occurred, and plants were found growing to remarkably tall heights. At 14,000 feet one was able to walk waisthigh in fields of the most beautiful flowers. The range of colour was also remarkable: the gentians, columbines, primulas, and larkspurs cultivated in Now Zealand were all found there in the greatest varieties of colour. The most important plant families represented in the Himalayas included the gentians, primulas, tlowers of the but-ter-cup ranunculus order, wallflower (all tall and showy), forget-me-nots, columbines, aconites, balsams, and saxifrages. Professor Wall said that he

was disappointed to find that the rhododendrons and azaleas were not well represented—the azaleas were not to be found at all. Seeds Brought Back. Some of the species of seed which he brought to .Yew Zealand were planted in the Kashmir Valley as vegetables, said Professor Wall. Seeds of an amaranth brought back were eaten by a grub imported with the seed, before germination, .and tho grub was, of course, destroyed. Seventy packets of tho seed brought back to New Zealand by the lecturer were sent to an English nursery, for the owner of which they were collected. The seeds of 30 of tho best species had been planted in a nursery at Shirley, and of these 20 had germinated already. Jacob's Ladder was quite a weed in Kashmir and in the season coloured the whole landscape; some seed brought back had already germinated. The seeds of a huge geranium, which grew on a smaller scale in New Zealand, were also growing, while a big anemone, approaching in character the New Zealand mountain lily, had also germinated. Valuable Slidos. The slides shown by Professor Wall constitute a really valuable collection. All aro illustrative of the ruggedly beautiful country which the professor traversed in his travels in India, arid of the remarkable variety of vegetation which covers the valleys and- the mountains of Kashmir. Many of the slides of individual species of plants seen by the lecturer are faithfully coloured. Some of the plants wero photographed at altitudes of 14,000 feet; some were growing in areas -which experience no more than one inch of rain a year. One of the slides most interesting to botanists and horticulturists illustrated the famous blue poppy of Kashmir, some of the seeds of which Professor Wall is endeavouring to germinate in Christchurch. On the motion of Sir Heaton Rhode* Professor Wall was accorded a hearty vote of thanks.