The Rhododendrons of Sikkim-Himalaya

It has been well remarked by the illustrious Wallich (the Father of Nepalese Botany), that in Nepal the genus Rhododendron claims the highest rank amongst the plants, of that rich kingdom. From the proximity of sikkim to Nepal, a similarity in the botanical features of these countries might be expected; and also that the difference should ratherexist in individual species than in the genera or higher groups. The outline of the two countries is very similar, their latitude the same; so is their geology; and difference in climate is slight, and only evident in the increased humidity of the eastern region. Rhododendrons are distributed in sikkim as they are in Nepal, crowing those sub-Himalayan hills which attain 7,000 feet of elevation, and at a still greater, altitude increasing in number of species and individuals: some species being replaced by others which have no greater, perhaps less, apparent adaptation for resisting vicissitudes of climate, and yet accompanying several of the more local kinds throughout the elevations they severally attain.