beautifulflowers032840mbp

56 BEAUTIFUL FLOWBBS OF KASHMIK [Plate M
Mertensia elongata,
Benth.
A hairy plant. Rootstock stout, annual stems 8 in. high.
Leaves oblong, radical ones 2 by i in., spoon-shaped, stalk
l in. long, stem-leaves 2 by i in., stalkless, sharp-pointed,
hairs arising from bulbous bases. Racemes many-flowered,
long-stalked, in fruit 34 in. long. Flower-stalks in. long,
rigid, almost erect. Calyx-lobes J in. long, linear, hairy, in
fruit 1 in. long. Corolla J in. diameter, tube i in. long, a
little longer than the calyx, scales in the throat very small,
lobes spreading. Anthers almost stalkless, above the scales.
Style -J- in. long. Nutlets rV in., white or pale, shining.
Locality. At elevations of 5,000-8,000 ft.
Distribution. Apparently endemic in Kashmir.
Mertensia primuloides, C. B. Clarke. Primrose-like
Mertensia.
A hairy plant. Stems 3 in. high, densely leafy below.
Leaves small, elliptic, i by ^ in., narrowed at both ends,
lower ones short-petioled. Racemes dense, not many-flowered,
i in. long in flower. Flower-stalks rV in. long. Calyx-lobes
i in. long, narrowly oblong. Corolla J in. diameter, tube
J in. long, twice as long as the calyx. Scales in the throat
distinct, but small. Anthers overtopping the scales. Style
i in. long.
Flowers. July.
Sar ;
Locality. Khur Mt., 13,500 ft., on rocks ;
Damam
Gilgit, 15,000 ft.
Distribution.
Alpine W. Himalaya.
Mertensia moltkioides, C. B. Clarke.
(Moltkioides means resembling Molikia, another genus of
Boraginaceae.)
A hairy plant, hairs spreading. Leaves oblong orjelliptic,
lower ones spoon-shaped, long-stalked, sometimes 3 by if in.
Racemes many-flowered. Corolla dark blue - purple, tube
by rV in-, about thrice as long as the calyx. Scales in the
throat small. Tips of anthers reaching tips of scales. * Filaments
very short, but distinct. Nutlets brown-black, up to
s in. and more.
Resembles Mertensia elongata, but the leaves are more
softly hairy, the hairs on the midrib beneath are spreading or