l U " ANNALS OP EOYAL BOTANIC GARDEN, CALCUTTA.
ft speoieB of the first order further observation must Bhow. We oonsidor it nt nreeent a subspecies
of D. chcilanthum, with wHoh wo unite also Trautvet ter' s D. Middendorffii. We have thus—
Subspecies I, CITEILANTHUM VEKUM ; stem glabrous; inferior leaves trisect, Intoral aegmoTits
again 2-or even 4-800t or pnrtite; segments divergent, rhorobio or rhomboo-obloug in cntliQe, trifld,
l a c i n i » incised; upper ones 3- to S-seot, segments subentii e ; petaloid staminodes euborbicular, quite
e n t i r e or shortly bilobed ; follicles reticulate,—Siberia.
Subspeoiea II. MIDDESDOEFFII, Traixtt.-, stem glabrous; leaves finely pubescact or glabrons
b e n e a t h ; basal ones deeply tripartite, lateral seginsnts again bipartite; all segments diveigeiit, obovateoiineate,
tri- or biBi; segments of oauline leaves rliombeo-lauceolato in outline, deeply cleft, lacinisc
l i n e a r ; petioles shortly sheathing; pedicels patulous; lamina of petaloid staminodos obovate; sepala
aiiiptio-oblong,—Siberia, Northern Mongolia.
SubspeoicB III, 8CUIZ0PHTLLUM, P. B.\ tall, erect, glabrescent; leaves sparsely pubescent, darkgreen
above, pole beneath; lower cauline leaves deeply tripartite, lateral segments very b:oad, about
4 - p a r t i t o ; pai'titiona ani middle segment ovovJapping, ihombic, laoinias broadly linear or lanceolate,
deeply incised and sparsely serrate, laciuulas lanceolate to Inneeolato - l i n e a r ; upper oauline leaves less
f r e q u e n t l y divided, the ultimate segments very long and linear, acute; infloresoeneo rancmose
oompound below, las; bracts triseot below, lanceolate upwards; pedicels erect, recurved and pubescent
a t tbe tip, elongating af:er flowering, lower ones 5—6 cm. long; bracteoles lanceolate-subulate, a little
below the flower; sepals bright blue, broadly elliptic, about 18 mm. long, lateral ones about 15 mm,
broad; spui- longer than lamina; staminodes shorter than the sepals; lamina of petaloid staminodo
subotbicular, ettaxginate, yellow-bearded near the base; pistils 3; ovaries hairy; follicles oylindrio,
about 22 mm, long; teeds rouudod obpyramidal, large; testa muoh puckered, more or less folded up
along the edges.—Kumaon.
I'LiTB 131. fig. 19. Seed of Bilphinium ckiUanthsm, Linn., subsp. ichizophyllum.
DELPUINIUÍI DICTYOCARPUM, DC.
Perennial; stem tall, 3—5 mm. thick near baso; leaves subcoriaceous, deeply tripartite,
-with tbe latei-al segments 2—3-partite; inner divisions lanceolate or acutely deltoid in outline,
all of them pinnately cleft and incised, laciiinlaj broad- or narrow-lanceolate; petioles eome-
•what dilated at the base; inflorescence raoomose-paniciilate or racemose, very lax or rather
dense; sepals blue; anterior stamiaodes shorter than the sepals, blue, rarely pale purple;
lamina ovate shortly bilobed or subbifid, yellow-bearded about the middle; carpels 3;
seeds obpyrainidate, narrow-winged along the edges.
Distribution.—Altai; Setchwan; Tsang,
Subspeoiea I. LAXiFr.oBuu, DG. pro up.; sepala l'O—25 mm. long; anterior stminodes I io I tbe
l e n g t h of the sepals, sparsely oiliate with short yellow bristles; ovaries and follioles pubesceut with dense
crisp hai rs.—Al tai ; Setchwan or Eastern Tibet.
Subspecies II, I>ICTTOCARPUM PROPAICM; sepals 11—15 rarn.long; anterior staminodes villose-ciliate
with whi t e hairs; ovaries sparsely pilose or densely pubescent.—Altai.
Subspicies III. TiBKTicuM, F. B.-, sepals 12—18 mm. long; anterior staminodes | the length of
t h e sepals, shortly bilobed, villose-ciliato with white hairs; ovaries densely pubasoonl.; inflorescence subdensely
le.—Southern Tibet, between the northern frontier of Sikhim and Lliassa,
Var. a. GLAKRUL08UM, P. B.\ floral ftxi,'? and pediccls glandular hairy.
Var. /8. CINERECM, p. B.', floral axis and pedicels densely pubssccnt with short soft grey hairs (inrfumenium
like that of the floral a'is of the onlinary form of D, incanum). This is probably the
Ddphiniutr. referred to by Hooker and Thomson in the Flora of Br. Ind. in the words:
DICSClilPTIONS OF NEW AND BA1W5 INDIAN PLANTS.
" Fragment s of a LelphMum olosely allied to D.
Tibet, north of Sikkim; it differs from
were brought by Df . Hooker from
t b e slightly notched petals, and may be
PiATB 119, Jig. 83, Scud of Delphinium áictj/oearpum. DC.
DELPHINIUM AT.TISSIMUM, Wall.
The grroot reserablnnce which the vegetativo parts of the Kbasian larkspurs boar to those of Wallich's
D. altimmum has induced botaniats to refi-r them to the latter species. It is true tiiat the infloresceuco of
t h e Khasian plant is muoh opeuer, that the colour of the staminodes is dark-bluo instead of ligbt-pnrplo, and
that WaElch omits to make any remark about the odour of tbe flowers, which in the Ehasian plants ni e fetid
like til ose of a StapcUa -, but theso characters may be considered cf rr.inor importance and not sufficient to
separate two form-groups as species. Eeoeutly, however, Dr. King's collectors have gathered fruiting specimens
near the Nipal frontier, and we know now that the seeds of D. aUii'imum are very different f rom those
of the Khas ian üclfihvñmi. The latter has the seeds of D. gran-.iyioriim and D. tlalurn, Tihere the lightbrowii
epidermis is thrown iuto wing like folds along the edges of the obpyiamidate -Beeii and becomes more or
loss puckered on tbe dorsal aud ventral surfaces (see plate 121, flgurcs 10, <r, ¿, c); on the other hand, Iho
seed of B- aU'mimum is obovoid, has a brownish-black testa, and although obscurely wrinkled it is neither
winged nor scaly, and therefore constitute?, as f a r as larkspurs go, a distinct type of seed (see plate 121, fig,
11 a, !i). The cells oí the epidermis are much larger in the Khasian plant (plate 121, fig. 10 a) than in
D. altissimum (ibidem, fig. l i c). The Khasian plant will thercfuro bo described under the name D.
ilapelioxmim.
There is comparniively little to be added to Wallich' s description of D. aHmimvm in the second VOIUTDO
of his Plant. Js. liariorei : the few additions concern the seed and Ihe remai'kable foim defined below as subspeoies
drtpanocenlriint. Kegel reports D. ailissimum from Turkestan ; but, in the absence of specimens from
that country, and in consequence of Regel not mentioning the colcui- of the staininodes or the structure
of the seeds, the writer is unable to say whether the Turkestan specimens are referable to B. a'Ussimim, or
whether they may not be a variety of D. rantinculifolium, Wall., Indian speciroeus of which raight often
easily be confounded with B. ahxmmum.
The Indian forms may bo grouped as follows:—
D. ALTissiMUM, Wall., a tall perennial herb ; stem glabrescent below or densely hirsute from the
base; lower leaves very long-petioled, blade reniform or siibisodiametric, much paler below, deeply
tripartite, lateral segments unequally 2 - ^ - lobed, segments and lobes trifid, crenate-serrate; inflorescence
racemose or racemnse-paniciúate; racemes elongate, many-flowered, lax or l a t h e r dense, epur as long as,
or longer than, Iho sepals; sepals blue; staminodes shoitor than the sepals, light-pnrple, blade of
petaloid staminodes shortly bilobed, hairy; follicles 3, patulous, subcylindric, about 1'5 cm. long; seeds
obovoid, brownish black, obscurely wrinkled, neither winged nor scaly.
Subspecies I. WAI-LICHII ; s tem upwards pubescent with fine crisped colourless hairs; upper surface of
leaves rather sparsely covered with adpressed hairs, nearly glabrous beneath cscept the neives; spur
l i t t l e longer than the sepals, nearly straight or gently recurved; ovaries ciliato on the ventral suture,
otherwise glabrous or spawely and finely pubescent,
Var. a. KiPAi.KNsis, P. B.\ bracteoles remoto from fho flower, smnll, lanceolate; sepoline spui
s t r a i g h t or slightly incurvcd.—Nipal {WnlL I). This is probably Don's B. Ourda.
Var. fi. niALLUTExsis, P. B.; bracteoles close to fho fluwer, rntber conspicuous, linear; sepalina
spur often slightly recurved,-Sikkim : near Eikongam 12,000'; SubikDng,
P h u l l u t (¿inff's collcclors .').—Flowers in August.
Subspecies II. DUKPAKOCEKTRUM, P. B.-, a middle-sized herb; the whole stem coveied with
dirty-yellow more or less deilexed, partly glandular hairs; blade of leaves hairy above, snbhirsute
beneath; biooteolce olose to the flower, linear; sepaline spur distinctly longer than the sepals, sickles
h a p c d ; ovuriea huBute.—Westejn Sikkim, near WallanchOn (Kwg'i ,ol:eclor»I). Flowers in August
and Beptemcor.