George Alexander Gammie

George Alexander Gammie (1864-1935) was an authority on Indian flora and specialized in Sikkim mosses (the genus Gammiella in the Sematophyllaceae is named for him). He worked as a deputy superintendent at the Cinchona plantations, Mungpoo and was able to put into practise a new method of extracting quinine from the Cinchona trees which was very successful. Later he became a lecturer in botany at the College of Science, Poona.

He is perhaps most famous for his book “The Indian Cottons” published in 1907 but for us his paper in Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information Kew No. 82/83:297 1893. “Botanical Exploration of Sikkim-Tibet Frontier” is the most important.

In this article, he describes his trip to Sikkim in 1892 in three parts. He mentions several Primulas – P. denticulata, P. glabra, P. muscoides, P. pulchra, P. pusilla (primulina), P. reticulata, P. rotundifolia, P. sikkimensis, P. soldanelloides, P. stuartii, and P. uniflora (klattii) and as well as many other plant species. Gammie’s botanical specimens can be found in herbariums E, K, BM. Sometimes his locations seem a bit out of sequence but generally it is possible to map his approximate route on Google Earth, which I have done with the help of J.D. Hooker`s map in Himalayan Journals V1, 1854.

Trip 1 – Singalelah to south of Kinchinjunga (June 7- July 7)
Tonglu-Sandakphu-Phalut-Cheabhanjan-Ewanangi*-Megu*-Gambothan-Camp-Rongjing-Jongri-Yoksun-Tumloong

Trip 2 – Lachung Valley (July 24 – Sept 20)
Tumloong-Choongtam-Lachung-Camp-Camp-Tankra La-Lachung-Yeumtong(Yumthang)-Momay Samdong-Donkia La-Momay Samdong-Yeumtong-Lachung-Sebu*-Sethang-Camp-Ghora La-Sethang-Lachung-Tumloong
 
Trip 3 – Chola Range (Sept 22 – Oct 5)
Tumloong-Rungpo-Laghep-Pheyeuggong-Chola Pass-Chamanako*-Buthan*-Kapup-Zeylap La-Kapup-Gnatong-Mongpoo

 *Location unknown