Two Primulas from Everest Epedition of 1921

In 1921, the British Mount Everest reconnaissance expedition set off to explore possible routes up Everest. Since Nepal was closed to foreigners at the time, the expedition approached through Sikkim, into Tibet's Chumbi valley, then west to Tingri Dzong (north of Everest), which they used as a base. From here members explored south for routes up Everest including the Rongbuk valley, and Nangpa La. The expedition naturalist, A. F. Wollaston (image above, standing, at left) collected flora and fauna specimens which included two new Primulas; Primula buryana named for one of the expedition members, C. K. Howard-Bury, and Primula wollastonii named for himself. The route he travelled was a loop to the west of Mount Everest, first to Nyenyam (Nyalam) and then through Lapche to the Rongshar valley.

Primula wollastonii

In Howard-Bury's book "Mount Everest the reconnaissance, 1921" on page 298, Wollaston wrote about this side-trip and provided notes on the Natural History of the area. He writes of the discovery of the two Primulas;
"Crossing a pass to the East of Nyenyam, we camped on a level spot covered densely with white primulas (P. buryana) six to eight inches high; and inch or two of snow fell during the night, and so white are these flowers that it was difficult to see them against the snow. Near the top of another pass we found at about the same altitude, 15,000 feet, another primula (P. wollastonii) with three to six bells on each stem, the size of a small thimble, of a deep blue color, and lined inside with frosted silver."

Primula buryana

Using Wollaston's diary (Letters and Diaries of A.F.R. Wollaston) for July 20 (Nyenyam) to July 25, and a map of the expedition (Preliminary Map to illustrate the route of the Mount Everest Expedition 1921) plus more modern maps (NH 45-14 Tingri Dzong), it is possible to find the type locations for these two Primulas. The Tibet Handbook, page 263 describes the route in detail between Lapche and Trintang which where the Primulas were found. Wollaston incorrectly refers to Trintang as Rongshar. The route starts at Lapche (28° 6'56.56"N 86°10'17.96"E), heading NE up the main valley for about 6kms before turning into a side valley going to the SE. Wollaston camped at 15,200ft up this valley where he found Primula buryana. The next day he crossed the Kangchung La (28° 5'35.55"N 86°14'28.97"E) descending into an area of broken up glacier covered in moraine before going over the Kanchen La (28° 4'32.97"N 86°15'9.07"E), where he found Primula wollastonii, eventually crossing "two steep spurs" which are named Oodungpa La and Sobje La and are separated by a small lake. The route then descends directly down to Trintang.


Map of area Lapche-Trintang

The type for P. wollastonii is in Kew K000750421, with a syntype on the same sheet and the type herbarium sheet for P. buryana is also in Kew K000750442. Both are species in section Soldanelloides, which are high alpine species, with bell shaped flowers and pubescent leaves.

Primula buryana var. purpurea

A purple variety of P. buryana was discovered at Michet, Nepal by Sharma July 9, 1932 (#E345a). The collection can be seen at BM BM000521890 or at E E00024733. It Is possible that this represents a distinct species. 
 

Pam Eveleigh © 2018

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The Black Mountain (Bhutan) - Primulas and Problems

Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park covers 1,730 sq kms in south-central Bhutan and contained within the park is Durshingla, the Black Mountain. (JSWNP Facebook page)

Durshingla © Darlo Letro

In 1915, Roland Edgar Cooper made the first botanical expedition to Durshingla, which he called Joedawnchi. From Cooper's 1914 and 1915 Bhutan expeditions, 19 species of Primula were described though only six are now considered to be distinct species: P. chasmophila, P. eburnea, P. erythrocarpa, P. strumosa, P. umbratilis and P. xanthopa. He wrote about those trips and specifically about the Primulas he found in Notes of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Vol.18, Nov. 1933.

Ludlow and Sherriff (L&S) visited Bhutan several times and Sherriff's 1937 expedition was specifically to Durshingla which he called Dungshinggang. He found no new Primula species there but he was able to recollect known species.


Sherriff's route up Durshingla in 1937

Both expeditions used a route from Chendebi, travelling west over the Lamse La into the Phobjikha valley. From there they ascended the ridge over the Byasu La to Chapepusa and then followed the ridge east until it met the main N-S ridge leading to the peak.

Primulas & Problems

1. The most interesting species found on Durshingla is Primula chasmophila and, so far, it is only found on this mountain. Cooper first discovered it in September and his herbarium specimen was sparse, so it was described from cultivated plants grown from seed. Sherriff collected it on the mountain ridge near the Nabzi La. Though it was scarcely in flower, he noted its deep, rich blue violet color, red eye and its cliff ledge habitat and compared it with Primula umbratilis, a much more widespread species that is also found on the mountain (Cooper 4822). What to photograph if you see this species? Variations in flower color, details of the hairs on the flower scape, leaf study.

Primula chasmophila L&S 3301,
courtesy Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

2. The type of Primula hopeana was collected by Cooper on Durshingla, in September, so the plants were in seed. In the description it was noted that sometimes the tube of the flower was "pink", which was seen by Sherriff on the mountain and is seen in populations in Arunachal Pradesh. This species resembles Primula sikkimensis and is sometimes considered a variety of it. Species in the Sikkimensis Section hybridize in the wild and it is very difficult to sort some populations into species. Sherriff noted that he saw true (yellow) sikkimensis here also, so I would expect some hybridizing. What to photograph if you see this species? Leaf study with the corresponding flower color and flower shape. Variations in flower color (don't forget to also show the flower face).

Primula hopeana

3. On the ridge to the NW of the Lamse La and also on the lower ridge of Durshingla Sherriff found a plant he thought was Primula strumosa but was later found to be Primula elongata. Primula elongata, P. barnardoana, P. sikkimensis and P. strumosa are all yellow flowered, so you must look to other characteristics to distinguish between these species. In Bhutan two variations of P. elongata occur, having slightly different leaves. What to photograph if you see this species? The most important image is a leaf study! The flower tube is also important to determine this species (side of the flower).

Primula elongata

4. On the high hills and passes surrounding the Pobsikha valley and lower on the ridge of Durshingla grows Primula whitei. The type location for this species is the nearby Pele La. This is another problem species as it is close to or the same as Primula bhutanica. See this blog post for details. What to photograph if you see this species? Any population of P. whitei should be checked to see if plants have any characteristics of P. bhutanica in particular the calyx (side of the flower). A leaf study, especially of the older leaves, would be useful.

Characteristics of P. bhutanica. Can you find plants like these in a population of P. whitei?

5. Another species in the Petiolares section was found growing in this area (Lamse la, Lao La). It caused Sherriff a lot of confusion as he thought it might be P. boothii, but it was later identified as Primula bracteosa. The Flora of Bhutan has P. boothii as a synonym of P. bracteosa, but there is a distinction between the two in that P. bracteosa develops leafy bracts among the inflorescence as it goes into fruit. In flower, the two species are indistinguishable though it is said that P. boothii does not have farina and has a slightly different calyx. What to photograph if you see this species? It is best if the same plants can be visited in flower and in fruit. The calyx detail and any farina should be photographed. A leaf study of the plants in flower and in fruit, including the later leaves in the inflorescence is necessary.

Primula bracteosa,
courtesy Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

6. The first Primula encountered by Sherriff on the way to Durshingla was Primula flagellaris, which he found within a mile of Chendebi, on the right side just before cliffs, on the way to the Lamse La. This has been a problem species because it has also been considered a variety of Primula tenella. The distinctions between P. tenella and P. flagellaris are in the flower size and color, number of flowers per scape (1 or 2), presence or absence of bracts and presence or absence of stolons. I believe the species described in 2004 as Primula rebeccae is a synonym of Primula tenella. What to photograph if you see this species? Both a flower study to show size and color variation and a leaf study (both surfaces) with measurements would be helpful. Images of the stolons (runners) and the new plantlets that form on the ends of the stolons. Flower stalks should be checked for bracts (which look like a tiny leaf) and photographed if found. Sherriff believed there was an altitudinal difference between the two species, with P. flagellaris at a lower altitude than P. tenella. It would be exciting if P. tenella was found at higher elevations on Durshingla.

Primula tenella usually has 1 flower and a bract.

If you are at Chendebi, look for a small species on the near by hills (SW) for Primula erythrocarpa which looks like P. atrodentata or a small P. denticulata. Check for basal scales under the leaves and show the hairs on the leaves.

Other Primula species found on Durshingla: P. atrodentata, P. munroi, P. calderiana, P. megalocarpa, P. waddelli, P. bellidifolia, P. obliqua, and P. glabra.

I am uncertain of the exact location of Nabzi La on Durshingla. If you have the GPS coordinates for it or a GPS track for the route up the ridge, please contact Pam. If you are interested in more details of these species or locations, or if you have images of these species, please contact Pam.

A video of Foresters in Bhutan https://leythro-darlo.blogspot.ca/2017/02/conservation-journey-video.html

Pam Eveleigh © 2017

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J. D. Hooker and Primary Data Sources (Primula pulchra)

P. denticulata, a common species near Lachen, Sikkim

The easiest way to investigate a species is to read secondary sources of information. These are often such works as monographs or regional floras. We are now at least one generation removed from some of the prominent explorers and plant hunters of the Himalaya, such as George Sherriff (1898-1967), Frank Ludlow (1885-1972), Frank Kingdon-Ward (1885-1958) and even further removed from such explorers as Joseph Dalton Hooker (1817-1911). When William Wright Smith and Harold Roy Fletcher wrote a series of articles (see bottom of this book list) in the 1940's on Primula, they effectively wrote a monograph of the Genus. This is a secondary source of information, but the great advantage of their work was that they could personally consult some of the explorers. Now that those explorers are no longer alive, we can't ask their opinion on the distinction between two species, or what the wild habitat was like or even the most obvious question : Where exactly did you discover that species?

Joseph Dalton Hooker (public domain)

Secondary sources can be frustratingly vague on that most basic of questions by copying the location given on the herbarium sheet or in the field notes. Often this location is given as the name of the nearest prominent place to the collection site - not where the specimen was actually collected. Such is the case of Primula pulchra (see my related blog post "Primula pulchra - Hide and Seek with P. gambleana". Hooker gave his unnumbered collection as the type of the species and cited the location as "Lachen, 12,000ft", June 8, 1849. Since Lachen is actually at an elevation of approximately 8,700ft, it is obvious that this is not the actual collection location. So exactly where did Hooker make this collection?

Hooker wrote a two part book called the Himalayan Journals about his travels in this area. Unfortunately this isn't a day-by-day account and so we have to piece together his route by reading several pages starting at pg 47 in Volume 2. We find that he was in the Zemu Valley, and camped at the junction of the Zemu and Thlonok rivers at a place we now call Tallem 27°46'50.48"N 88°29'31.50"E which is at an elevation of approximately 10,700ft - still not high enough to be the collection site. On page 50, Hooker tells us that he repeatedly ascended the north flank of Tukcham mountain (now called Lamo Angdang), but that he also went up the Zemu valley, either of which could get him to the correct elevation of 12,000ft.

Looking from Lachen to the head of the Zemu Valley (L side)
Photo: Abhinaba Basu (Flickr, CC)

Luckily we have access to a primary source of data - Hooker's diary and letters from that time. Thanks to Cam Sharp Jones at the Joseph Hooker Correspondence Project, Kew, I was able to read Hooker's diary entries for June 7th and 8th, but it was still unclear as to exactly where Hooker had ascended on June 8th. Luckily, Hooker wrote a letter to Archibald Campbell on June 9th describing in detail his activities on June 8th. Included is a hand drawn map showing his camp spot which is on the south side of the river, not the north side where modern expeditions camp. He describes his ascent of the mountain (Tukcham) to the south of his camp:

"I went up to nearly 14,000ft by a steep torrent, snowed the whole way up i.e. from 11,000ft up to perpetual snow at 13,500ft, which was there continuous and flanked by lofty black precipes wholly inaccessible. The fatigue of the ascent was very great from the snow, slipperiness, and enormous rocks which are constantly tumbling from above."

There is a gully rising up the mountain from Hooker's camp spot and there is no doubt in my mind that this is where Hooker went. There is an image of this gully
on a website detailing a trip up the Zemu. This a dangerous place to ascend and it is a testament to Hooker that he was able to do it without being injured, especially considering the rock fall. It is likely that Primula pulchra will be found in the nearby Kishong La or up the Zemu valley towards Green Lake, so I have hopes that someone will soon take images of this elusive species.

Pam Eveleigh © 2017

 

 

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Primula Hunting in NW Yunnan

There are many remote places to explore for rare Primulas and NW Yunnan is one of them. The area west of Zhongdian (Shangri-La) 27°50'10.19"N 99°42'15.44"E, towards the Myanmar border and crossing the Mekong (Lancang) and Salween (Nujiang) rivers is prime Primula habitat.

Getting to this area isn't easy, and it is limited to people willing to go beyond road-side botanizing. However there is a Plant Hunting Expedition run by Whistling Arrow going here in 2017*. Simon Crutchley from Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh will be along as the botanical consultant. If you are in need of an adventure, check it out.

What Primulas grow there?

Starting at the Mekong river valley is the town of Cizhong, home to a Catholic church built under the supervision of Father Theodore Monbeig, and completed in 1911. This replaced a previous church which was located 3kms south at the village of Cigu ( 28° 0'21.07"N 98°53'51.59"E) that was destroyed in 1905. Overlooking Cigu is Thrana "the black nose", an outcrop of rock which is the type location for Primula monbeigii, now considered a synonym of Primula henrici, a woody cushion species with bright rose flowers. No images exist of this species in the wild.

Thrana, above Cigu, location for Primula monbeigii

Straight west and just south of Mount Biluo is the Sila Pass, type location for Primula silaensis, a dainty pink relative of Primula amethystina.

Moving further west, past the town of Bingzhongluo ( 28° 0'57.97"N 98°37'23.26"E) located on the Salween river, rises Mount Kenyichunpo (approx. 5000m). Joseph Rock in 1926 explored its slopes and more recently in 2006 the southern slopes were explored by the Gaoligong Shan Biodiversity Survey around Chukuai lake.

Primula agleniana

This is a fairyland for Primulas! In the meadows grows several species including the stately Primula agleniana, in its white form, sometimes flushed rose, but always with deeply lacerate leaves. Primula biserrata (formerly P. serratifolia), is also here, with unusual flowers having petals with a distinct bar of orange-yellow running from the mouth of the tube to the tip of each petal and an outer edge of white. See image at top. Primula firmipes is also a meadow species.  It is a smaller relative of P. alpicola, The tidy oval leaves have a heart shaped base, the flowers are cream colored drooping bells. A sharp eye will spot Primula muscarioides. This species has a spike of purple-blue flowers on stems to 40cm and in this area the leaves may vary to almost cut-leaved.

Primula dryadifolia

The rocky habitats around the lake are also home to Primulas. Here we will find Primula dryadifolia forming mat-like cushions with dark rose flowers. Perhaps the rarest Primula species to be found here is P. triloba. It was first found north of Cizhong at Londre. The leaves are tiny 6-8mm, each with three lobes, but the plants form cushions 5-10cm across. The flowers are rose with a yellow eye and a hairy throat.

Other species that may be seen are the stunning red bells of Primula valentiniana, the dainty yellow Primula prenantha, and Primula lihengiana, a species recently described in 2009. With this area being little botanized there exists the possibility of seeing other exciting species and even new ones!

* For information purposes only, I am not affiliated with this company.

Pam Eveleigh © 2016

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Field Book Project

Field books or notes (and field diaries) are documents written during field research about specimens collected and observations pertaining to those collections. For type collections in particular, they are invaluable as a primary source for understanding distinguishing characteristics, habitat and type locations. They serve a check to verify a herbarium specimen's provenance. 

A published field book by Kingdon Ward

Sometimes these books have been published, but unfortunately these documents are often hidden away in institutional libraries and archives and require special permission for access. As these documents are hand written, they can not be scanned and then interpreted automatically by using optical character recognition (OCR), rather, the interpretation must be done manually.

The good news is that there is a Field Book Project initiative under the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History to increase access to these types of documents in digital format. Recently they have teamed up with the Biodiversity Heritage Library to provide central access.

Two field books that have been digitized are of interest to Primula researchers, both by Joseph Rock.

Field book entry by Joseph Rock

The first is Joseph Rock's field book for collections No. 16001-18850 from NW Yunnan and SW Szechuan Multi and Konka in 1928-1929. The transcription of the book can be found here. In this book we can find the entry for the type collection of Primula rockii, No. 16451, which was named for Joseph Rock and was collected in the mountains of Kulu, Muli. Other collections of Primula rockii are Nos. 17401 and 17402, and No. 17885.

Primula rockii

The type entry for Primula cerina, No. 17702, found on the Djesi La (29°49'39.42"N 101°46'26.31"E) south of Kangding is also found in this book as is the type entry for Primula chlorodryas (now Primula dryadifolia subsp. chlorodryas), No. 17027, found on the Mekong-Salween divide and the type entry for Primula stenocalyx var. lueofarinosa (now considered a synonym of P. stenocalyx), No. 17520, found on the Minya Konka range and additional collection No. 17549.

Many other Primula entries can be found in the second of Joseph Rock's field book for collections No. 8035 - 9999 from NW Yunnan and SE Tibet in 1923. Other field books of Joseph rock exist but have not been digitized.

I certainly hope that other institutions start their own Field Book projects to bring these valuable sources of information to light.

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Going around in circles - Primula minutissima, Victor Jacquemont, and Mangled Maps

Primula minutissima

It's my curiosity that not only keeps me interested in studying Primula species, but also leads me to exciting side trails of investigation. Such is the case of Primula minutissima, which I was researching yesterday. Looking at several sources of information, the distribution of the species is given as NW & W Himalayas. As this is a large area, I wondered where the type location was.  Most of the images in Primula World are from the area near Rupin, Nalgan and Hampta Passes in Himachal Pradesh. Looking to the original description in “Prodr. [A. P. de Candolle] 8: 42. 1844”, the location is given as “Ghanti India”. So where is that? Smith & Fletcher don’t mention the exact type location in their description of P. minutissima – only that the type sheet is in the Paris herbarium. Sometimes detailed collection information is given on the herbarium sheet, so I looked to sheets P04544185 and duplicate P04544180 to see if there were clues there. Nothing! According to Smith & Fletcher, Royle first collected this species in Kunawar in 1831, but Duby used Jacquemont’s collection #1537 to describe the species. So that started me down the path of investigation into Victor Jacquemont.

Victor Jacquemont - from Bibliotheque nationale de France

Victor Jacquemont was born in 1801, but sadly lived a short life, dying in 1832 at age 31. Despite his young age, he was part of the intellectual circles of Paris in the 1820’s and his botanical contacts included Adolphe-Théodore Brongniart who worked at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle and Adrien-Henride Jussieu who worked at the Jardin des Plantes. It was Pierre Louis Antoine Cordier from the Muséum who invited Jacquemont to India, which he accepted, departing in August 1828 and arriving in India nine months later in May 1829. He continued his travels to Delhi, arriving in March 1830, and then he headed north into the Western Himalaya. He made extensive collections and notes of plants (4787 entries at Paris) and animals, made drawings, recorded observations in geology, geography, meteorology and anthropology and famously wrote many letters to friends and family. In March 1832 he became ill and eventually succumbed eight months later on July 30th. Posthumously his notes, drawings and letters were published.

A search led me to Raj Kumar Gupta’s paper "Botanical explorations of Victor Jacquemont (1801-1832) (PDF)" which gives a description of Jacquemont’s life and which includes a simple map of his route in the Himalaya. Unfortunately there is no place marked “Ghanti”. Gupta says that after Jacquemont’s death his notebooks were received in three parts: V1 Calcutta to Delhi and the Himalayas Nos. 101-2528, V2 Punjab and Kashmir Nos. 1-1541, V3 Delhi to Bombay Nos. 1-818 and also a separate volume enumerating his notes on Hortus calcutensis. It is unfortunate that these original documents don’t seem to be online as the connection could be made from the collection number to a date and then location details in his diary. Maybe there is a clue in the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle booklet on Jacquemont (published in 1959), but it is not online either. 


Foiled by Google

With such fame, I thought it would be easy to find a map detailing Jacquemont’s route in the Himalaya, but it proved more difficult than I thought. I looked in the books of Jacquemont notes and letters published posthumously (listed below). In one book, I was able to find a mangled map. RANT – all very nice that old books are scanned by Google (and others), but maps are rarely unfolded and scanned so all we see is a tantalizing piece of a mangled map! Eventually I found a version of the book with the map scanned properly - but the map isn't of sufficient resolution to read the names.

That meant I had to look for other sources of maps from that time period. One of those sources is "The Jummoo and Kashmir Territories: A Geographical Account" by Frederic Drew but once again the maps were scanned in a mangled version. However, I was rescued by PAHAR, which keeps a digital dataset of old maps, specifically those from the Indian subcontinent, pre 1899. Drew's maps didn't help, but the 1874 map "Route Map For Western Himalayas and N India by Montgomerie" was promising but too complex to read. Another map included in "Victor Jacquemont dans l'Himalaya (1830-1831)" by Emm. de Margerie has a map of Jacquemont's route in Kashmir (page 402) but it isn't of high enough resolution to view.

The Buspa Valley from Sungla by Samuel Bourne 1865

Going back to the Jacquemont books, I was able to find references to "Bouroune-Ghanti", variations on the name's spelling - Bouroune, Bourando or Burunda, and where it was located. Some more searching led me to the earlier spelling of "Boorendo" and the paper "Narrative of a journey from Caunpoor to the Boorendo Pass" by Lloyd and Gerard and a simple map showing the pass connecting the Pubbur (Pabar) and Buspa (Baspa) river valleys. Now it all becomes clear and I find I have travelled in a circle...we are at Rupin Pass! According to Montgomerie's map Burunda and Rupin passes may lie side by side, possibly with Burunda at 31°23'15.44"N  78° 8'43.83"E and Rupin at  31°21'7.21"N  78° 9'18.02"E.

Of course, that's what I discovered yesterday. Perhaps more information will come to light another day...
 

1.  Correspondance de V. Jacquemont avec sa famille et plusieurs de ses amis: pendant son voyage dans l'Inde, 1828-1832 (various editions).
2. Letters from India: describing a journey in the British dominions of India
3. Voyage dans l'Inde.

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Sweet Caroline... section Carolinella

Where it began,
I can't begin to knowin'
But then I know it's growing strong

Was in the spring
And spring became the summer
Who'd have believed you'd come along

... Sweet Caroline.*

 

Primula cardioeides in Vietnam

In 1891, Augustine Henry married Caroline Orridge, though their marriage lasted only three years due to Caroline's tragic death from tuberculosis. Henry's job as a Customs officer lead him to Mengzi (modern Honghe) in southeastern Yunnan. By this time he was well established in plant collecting and his collection Henry 10735 from the forests SE of Mengzi was described as Carolinella henryi, named for his late wife. Though it was thought to be a new Genus, Pax later included it within Primula as section Carolinella and the species became Primula henryi. Unfortunately this name had already been used, so it was given the new name "Primula carolinehenryi" by S.O'Brien in the book "In the Footsteps of Augustine Henry". This name has since been corrected according to the International Code of Nomenclature to "Primula carolinehenryae" as it honors a women.

Primula carolinehenryae E00255693
courtesy Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Two additional Henry collections were described from the area around Mengzi under the genus Carolinella: C. cordifolia (now P. partschiana) and C. obovata (now P. rugosa). The distinguishing feature of section Carolinella is the calyptrate capsule (the capsules don't split into 5 valves as most other species do, or by crumbling, but rather have a lid which lifts to expose the seeds). Some authorities recognise subgenus Carolinella which includes this section. The species in the section are distributed in SE Yunnan, S Guizhou, N Guangxi, S Hunan, N Guangdong, and N Vietnam.



P. rugosa, P. kweichouensis, P. wangii from Flora of China

In 2000 the paper "Pollen morphology in Primula sect. Carolinella (Primulaceae) and its taxonomic implications" was published, with SEM images of 7 species. It was found that there was considerable variation in the pollen morphology encompassing all 3 main pollen types (tricolpate, trisyncolpate and polycolpate) of the genus Primula and that this indicated that the group was heterogeneous.

Primula cardioeides pollen
From Pollen morphology in Primula sect. Carolinella (Primulaceae) and its taxonomic implications

In 2010 the paper "Circumscription of Primula subgenus Auganthus (Primulaceae) based on chloroplast DNA sequences" was published. The result of this study was that species assigned to subgenus Carolinella are dispersed among the species of subgenus Auganthus and that as defined, neither subgenus is monophyletic and it is inferred that the calyptrate capsule has evolved multiple times in the genus Primula. Also P. wangii which was initially placed in section Carolinella, but subsequently placed by Richards into section Monocarpicae, has an ambiguous position.

 

In 2015 the paper "Non-monophyly of Primula subgenera Auganthus and Carolinella (Primulaceae) as confirmed by the nuclear DNA sequence variation" was published and it is similar to the 2010 study. It was concluded that the calyptrate capsule has evolved independently at least four times in Primula. P. wangii was found to be close to P. kwangtungensis and P. kweichouensis and so together with P. levicalyx (not sampled) this seems to be a distinct group within the section. In 2014, the species P. hunanensis was described and placed in this group and the following key was presented.

The species presently included in section Carolinella are: P. calyptrata, P. cardioeides, P. carolinehenryae, P. chapaensis, P. hunanensis, P. intanoensis, P. kwangtungensis, P. kweichouensis, P. levicalyx, P. partschiana, P. rugosa, and P. wangii. In future, we can expect that the section will be split to follow the results of genetic study. See the Species Gallery under each of these for more information.



Key (excludes P. hunanensis) from

"Primula calyptrata, a New Species in Section Carolinella (Primulaceae) from Yunnan, China"

* Don't recognise these lyrics? They're from Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline"
 

Pam Eveleigh © 2016

 

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Bonvalot and d'Orléans in China

In 1889-1890 Gabriel Bonvalot and Prince Henri d'Orléans embarked on a journey from Siberia through Tibet and Yunnan ending in Tonkin (Vietnam). See Map. A detailed map is also available. Bonvalot's account of the journey is in the book "De Paris au Tokin a Travers Le Tibet Inconnu" which is translated into English in "Across Thibet". They were accompanied by Father Constant de Deken who acted as interpreter. His account of the journey is detailed in the book "A Travers L'Asie".

Botanical specimens were collected on the expedition, including several Primula species. These were described by the French botanists Adrien Franchet and Édouard Bureau of the Paris Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in a document "Plantes Nouvelles du Thibet et de la Chine Occidentale". The species are Primula vittata (synonym of P. secundiflora), Primula leptopoda (synonym of P. stenocalyx), Primula diantha (collection date should read 1890 not 1860) Primula henrici and Primula pycnoloba. These all have specific collection dates, with the exception of P. pycnoloba, so using Bonvalot's book and the maps above, we can find the approximate type locations. All the type specimens are in the Paris herbarium.

Primula pycnoloba

Two other species were collected by Prince Henri d'Orléans on another trip, this time from Tonkin to Assam in 1895. See Map in the book "From Tonkin to India by the sources of the Irawadi". They are Primula cyclaminifolia (synonym of P. partschiana) and Primula microdonta (synonym of P. sikkimensis). Both species are listed as having been collected in 1894 in their original descriptions, but this is incorrect and should read 1895. The type for P. cyclaminifolia is P00649649 and a small label indicates it was collected on the 18th of March in Lami which corresponds to that given in the book. It is harder to decipher where P. microdonta was found as it is given only as "Mekong, June" but the month seems to relate to when the specimen was received at Paris, not when it was collected as there is a small label on the type herbarium sheet, P04544192 which says 14th September, col (undecipherable). At this date, Prince Henri was climbing out of the Mekong valley to the Salween via a pass to the south of Landjre (28°11'46.76"N 98°49'18.11"E) instead of following the pilgrimage route up the Dokar La.

Primula secundiflora

Read more about these Primula species in the Species Gallery. A recent popular book, Race to Tibet, is loosely the story of Bonvalot and Orléans' journey, with embellishments.

Pam Eveleigh © 2016

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Farrer & Purdom 1915 Expedition to "Kansu"

Primula stenocalyx. 

Trying to understand Primula species is more than just looking at herbarium specimens and reading technical descriptions. Delving into the original plant collector's expeditions provides valuable insights into plant locations, habitats and field observations - and often it is pure and simple entertainment. In the course of trying to understand the Blue Nivalids, I traced the route of Reginald Farrer and his companion William Purdom in 1915 through the Datung Alps, now within Qinghai, not Gansu.

From "The Rainbow Bridge"

Surely you have heard of Reginald Farrer: plantsman, explorer and writer of excessive descriptive prose! Farrer wrote about this expedition, a continuation of his 1914 journey, in a series of articles in the Gardeners' Chronicle. His book “The Rainbow Bridge” is a full account of this expedition which started in Sining (Xining, Qinghai) and explored north and slightly east from there. For a few months, Farrer and Purdom made "Wolvesden house" their base and they explored as far to the east as Tien-tang (Tiantangcun) and as far north as Gan Chang Ssu (Ganchankou). Though there is a map in this book, in his “Report of Work in 1915 in Kansu and Tibet” in the Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society vol XLII, there is a crude map, but with better detailed locations.

"Wolvesden House, I feel, though abandoned again for evermore to mules and muleteers, remains perpetually my property Dear little house, how dull you sometimes were; how desirable you always are. Sitting up there, far away, lost and lone in your deep grove of the great Thibetan Alps. Those who may wish, (in days I hope still distant) to commune with my ghost must take a long journey, to where it will be found cheeping and chittering wanly round the mud-plastered walls of Wolvesden, rather than on the Schneeberg or the Tombia or even Moncenisio." From "the Rainbow Bridge"

The plant that I was investigating is Primula farreriana, but there are other Primula species to be found in the same area and Farrer & Purdom collected most of them. Unfortunately Farrer has an annoying habit of calling the plants sometimes by their Latin Name and sometimes by his own English Name. It can be difficult to decipher which plant he is talking about! Primulas found on this expedition include; P. farreriana (My Own Primula), P. gemmifera (Welcome), P. pumilio, P. reginella (Little Queen), P. stenocalyx (Clusterbeauty), P. tangutica, P. urticifolia (Pretty One), P. woodwardii (Imperial), P. erratica (Lavandine, P. stenocalyx dealbata). However, his articles are certainly worth reading!

The Russian explorer Nikolai Przewalsky (Przhevalsky) had been to this region in 1880 and made several Primula collections which were then described by Carl Johann (Ivanovič) Maximowicz. These include P. flava, P. pumilio, P. stenocalyx and P. urticifolia. There is an interesting map which shows Przewalsky's routes in the area, part of a set made by Filchner in  "Kartenwerk der erdmagnetischen Forschungsexpedition nach Zentral-Asien 1926 - 28". From this you can see that Farrer & Purdom's route overlapped with Przewalsky's.

Farrer & Purdom 1915 route

How well Farrer sums up the feeling of coming back from a botanical expedition : "Indeed, the Rainbow Bridge has long since reached its bourn; we have long been roaming at ease on the far golden shore, and found it barren; now, upon a bridge of sighs we must embark upon a return journey across the abysm of tears towards the desolated shell-holes and slag-heaps of the present days. Yet do not be misled if I seem to grizzle and peeve as I return. For there is laughter in every sigh and complaint, and a twinkle of not unkindly derision that any such should be emitted." from "The Rainbow Bridge".

I am looking for images of Primula species from this area of Qinghai/Gansu. Please contact me if you have any or if you are planning a trip to the area in the future.

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