as I. howellii (Anon, 1920). Farrer 866 was used as a syntype of this species along with E.B. Howell 15 (K!, E!). Very little is known about Edward Butts Howell (1879–1952), who worked for the Chinese Maritime Customs Service (until 1912 it was the Imperial Maritime Customs Service) from March 1899 as a ‘Fourth Assistant, B (additional)’ until he retired (actually he resigned) on April 30, 1930 as Commissioner of Customs at ‘Tientsin <strong>and</strong> Chinwangtao (temp.)’ in northern China (Figs. 1 <strong>and</strong> 2). He was awarded the Order of the Chia Ho, Fourth Class (July 1919) <strong>and</strong> Third Class (September 1923) (R. Bickers & N. Martl<strong>and</strong>, pers. comm.). From 1911, he was the Assistant-in-Charge of the Custom House in Tengyueh (now Tengchong), NW Yunnan. ‘I arrived here on the 4 th January <strong>and</strong> am quite delighted with the place. Imagine the scenery of rural Engl<strong>and</strong> with the hills & moors of Scotl<strong>and</strong>, the climate of Switzerl<strong>and</strong> in spring & the knowledge that one can go anywhere, can camp, shoot, fish & ride anywhere one likes without the possibility of the slightest impediment or discourtesy! I have already been out several times during weekends & have seen enough to make me long for more.’ (Letter from Howell to Prof. B. Balfour, February 27, 1911) Tengyueh is situated at c. 1645 m <strong>and</strong> is about 182 km from Bhamo, the nearest Burmese town. ‘Tengyueh was one of the more recent <strong>and</strong> remote of the treaty ports created in China to serve British <strong>and</strong> other Western interests in trade, diplomacy <strong>and</strong> evangelism. It had only been staffed since 1899........... Compared with the older, larger coastal treaty ports, Tengyueh was a lonely <strong>and</strong> difficult European posting.’ (McLean, 2004) Thus Tengyueh was regarded as an important staging post to the interior of west Yunnan (Howell, 1913). E.B. Howell 15 was collected around Tengyueh <strong>and</strong> tentatively called I. pendula. A note on the Kew specimen shows that it must have been gathered in early 1912 or before: ‘Certainly near I. pendula Franchet but not quite that species. More material will probably prove them quite distinct.’ (W.G. Craib October 29, 1912). 78 © The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 2011.
Fig. 1. Portrait of Edward Butts Howell (1879–1952), in 1899. © The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 2011. 79