A BOTANICAL EXPEDITION TO THE SUBANSIRI DIVISION OF THE NORTH-EAST FRONTIER AGENCY

PATRICIA COX

THE North-East Frontier Agency is the least explored area of the Himalayan chain. One part of this, the Subansiri Division, had never been botanically collected from before, except in the lowest foothills and a little along the Tibetan frontier. The latter area was visited by Mr. Frank Ludlow together with Major George Sherriff and also by Mr. Frank Kingdon Ward, the well-known plant collectors.

We set out from Shillong at the end of March, accompanied by two botanists from the Botanical Survey of India (Eastern Division) and their team. One of the botanists had been collecting in the lower altitudes around the Apa Tani Valley. We were to make our headquarters in this valley at Hapoli (now referred to as Ziro).

On reaching North Lakhimpur, we had a wonderful view of the country we were to work in.

1. The North-East Frontier Agency
2. The South-East Ridge

 

 

The North-East Frontier Agency

Along the foothills to the north lies the intricate, folded country of the Himalayas, where everything seems to live on the near perpendicular. To the south are the immaculate tea gardens, the thatched villages with their betel-nut palms and banana trees and the huge grey river itself, flanked by the ever-changing mud flats.

We left next day for Ziro. The new road is no mean engineering achievement, threaded along the near vertical slopes and carving its way through dense subtropical jungle. From the foothills we could see the nine thousand-foot ridge, which was to be our first objective, quite clearly. On the way we were taken to an agricultural experimental station and in a creaky bamboo hut on stilts were fed on delicious omelets, raw onions and carrots, all washed down with rum. It was very welcome as, apart from a banana for breakfast, it was the first food we had had that day. We were now in the country of the Dafla people and we saw parties of them on their way down to the plains. By now it was dark and groups of them were huddled round their fire under the shelter of some trees. A ring-tailed civet was briefly lit up in the headlights as it ran across the road and occasionally a mithun loomed out of the darkness.

On arrival at Ziro we were put up in considerable comfort in the newly built Circuit House instead of having to rough it in our tents. The morning revealed a fascinating panorama. The Circuit House lies at the south-east end of the beautiful valley of the Apa Tanis, perched on a knoll studded with Primula denticulata (C & H 356). Below us the ricefields spread in a scaly pattern across the valley which, as it is some ten miles long by five across, is the largest patch of level ground in the Eastern Himalayas. Every available corner had been used for the rice which is the main crop and the main occupation for the Apa Tani people, some 10,000 of whom live in the valley yet they manage to grow a small surplus to trade with neighbouring tribes like the Dallas. Altogether the Apa Tanis manage to live in remarkable harmony in this densely populated valley, due to a finely adjusted tribal system and the long tradition of co-operative working in the villages. The NEFA Administration has been careful to preserve this tribal organization and to interfere an absolute minimum in the running of the villages.

The steep slopes that surround the valley which lies at about 5,000 feet are partly wooded, although jhum or slash and burnt cultivation has scarred them in many places. The first signs of temperate genera could be seen, we found a species of Malus in bloom (C & H 335) and a Fyrus (C & H 344) and we found one huge tree of Ward's Carmine Cherry, Prunus cerasoides (C & H 359). It was some 80 feet high and even after finding the fallen flowers on the ground, we could scarcely distinguish it from the forest canopy above. From the slope opposite, however, it stood out in a blaze of colour. Orchids were now fewer than they had been lower down but Coelogyne nitida (C & H 353) was in full bloom and we found Calanthe plantaginea (C & H 371) quite plentiful in one place, a lovely terrestrial species with scented pink flowers.

But probably the most striking features of the surrounding hills are the groves of Pinus wallichiana (P. excelsa) which tradition says were brought by the forebears of the Apa Tanis to this valley. Indeed it does not seem to grow naturally anywhere in the near vicinity, although it is now starting to regenerate itself on the surrounding slopes. They are certainly magnificent trees, with towering straight stems 200 feet or more in height.

The climate of this valley is surprisingly dry, and cold in winter. We were informed that in November a temperatiuv of 12° C. below zero had been recorded and that in November and December it quite often drops to 5° or 6° C. below. There was evidence of considerable scorching of some species of Eucalyptus. Little snow falls, however, probably because most of the annual precipitation falls during the wet summer months of the monsoon. The total rainfall is only 50" to 60", as compared with something probably in the region of 200" on the slopes which face south on to the Assam plains.

Our first trip down into the village below Circuit House brought us face to face with a row of Apa Tani chiefs who greeted us with cheerful grins and cries of ‘Jai HindThey then surveyed us with a close scrutiny up and down ; visitors with curious pale skins must have been quite a novelty. They wore short red coats issued by the Government and underneath nothing but the traditional Apa Tani cane belts, dyed red and brought into a tail behind. Like some of the surrounding tribes, they have their hair gathered into a topknot on their forehead, with what looks like a knitting needle stuck through it but the Apa Tanis have a distinguishing blue mark on their chins. They are short and stocky people, somewhat Tibetan in their general appearance, and we could not help noticing the tremendous development of their calf muscles. They are never without their dao, a short chopping sword which they carry slung across their chests and under their arms.

 

 

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The South-East Ridge

We spent just under a week collecting in the area round the valley and making preparations for our trip to the ridge which we could see lying away to the south-east. Through our binoculars it appeared to be sprinkled at the very top with trees and shrubs in bloom, an enticing prospect. When the morning of our departure came, we had planned for an early start and were ready by 8-30 a.m. By 10-30 there was quite a group of porters sitting around chattering but it was another hour before the loads were lifted and the tin trunks tied to the head bands with which everything is carried by the flimsiest looking strips of bamboo. 20 kg. is the official Government amount for a load and there was a good deal of testing of weights before everybody was satisfied. When we joined the collectors from the Botanical Survey, however, we found that only 11 out of the 20 porters they needed had arrived and these were demanding extra-ration carriers as the country to which we were going was uninhabited. The laid-down scale is that there should be one ration carrier to every five porters and one sirdar to every ten.

Finally one of the Botanical Survey botanists was left to follow on the next day when more could be collected.

Our first day's march was therefore only some miles up over a low ridge, through pines and then dense subtropical forest. We finally dropped down to our first camp by a marshy clearing in the trees. Across the far side of the bog we could see two plants with white flowers and while the camp was being prepared we waded across through the mud to find that the first was a rather scraggy Michelia, rather surprising at this low altitude of about 5,400 feet, but cheering as the first sign of a temperate flora. As we approached the other shrub, however, our spirits rose. It was Rhododendron nuttallii (C & H 374) just coming into flower with its huge lily-like flowers almost luminous in the evening light. Unfortunately a fine crop of supposedly unopened seed pods which were there for the taking turned out to have been scoured by bugs with incredible thoroughness. We found not one viable seed. Rhododendron maddenii also grew at the edge of the marsh still, of course, in tight bud but again interesting to find at this low altitude.

Our first night's camp was a little disorganized as it was dark by 6 p.m. and the porters had made themselves at home on top of all our trunks under their tarpaulin, at any rate those who were not crowding around studying our every movement, examining our kit and generally getting in the way. However, we spent a surprisingly insect-free night and the next day started climbing in earnest. The additional height soon brought us among more rhododendrons. First a mysterious little seedling with hairy leaves, then we started to find fallen flowers of R. parryi (C & H 373). But it was some time before we could spot a plant in the high forest canopy and even later before one could be found growing on a tree that could be climbed. It was indeed a fine flower, white with a yellow throat and, of course, sweetly scented. Among other rhododendrons was R. griffithianum (C & H 389), not nearly in flower, but these may be smaller than usual as the seed capsules which we did find were very small. Patricia Cox also found a seedling of R. edgeworthii (C & H 421) and although we found this again several times it never appeared healthy and no flower buds for this year were found.

We stopped at the river which runs along the foot of the ridge which was our objective as we were told that from thereon water would be very scarce. Fortunately every container was filled as indeed our next camp turned out to be dry and the porters cooked their rice for the evening meal along the riverside. It was most picturesque with the smoke rising among the river boulders and the jungle crowding in above us from the steep slopes. We then had a long steep haul to our next stopping place at 7,200 feet, perched on a spur of the ridge.

Next morning we were on the move again. The forest above the camp was in full and spectacular flower. Michelias were hung with fragrant and fragile flowers ; in all, there appeared to be three species. The stark branches of Magnolia rostrata were not yet in leaf and far from flowering but the litter of cones on the forest floor were proof of last year's abundance. Soon after we found a rhododendron resembling the arboreum- like species lower down but with a better truss and with papery leaves, pointed at the end, that might have suggested one of the irroratum series. It turned out to be R. kendrickii (C & H 416), which was only growing on a narrow belt on the mountainside. What we thought was a poor but unusual form of R. arbor eum turns out on our return home to be R. peramoenum (C & H 387) named by Mr. Davidian of the Royal Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh. It usually comes from Yunnan. It has very narrow leaves and unfortunately this form has a rather small truss of red flowers.

Rhododendron grande soon began to appear, magnificent trees in full flower varying from cream to pale yellow, sometimes with a strong pink tinge. The trees were occasionally as much as 50 feet high with trunks two feet in diameter ; they were a magnificent sight wherever a view could be had, although standing under them one could scarcely see anything except the trusses silhouetted against the sky and well out of reach. Luckily there was an abundance of small seedlings to be collected. This form, unlike some from further west, has a good compact truss and should prove a first-rate plant for mild or sheltered gardens. A small leaved form of R. vacciniodes was common on trunks and branches of R. grande and other trees from 7,000 to 9,000 feet.

We made camp in a small damp hollow below our ridge where again, in spite of the continual drips, we were short of water and had to rely on a tiny trickle on the hillside. This was to be our base for exploring the ridge. It was hard even to cook a meal with the sodden wood around and before long the ground was everywhere churned to mud, as the party was in all nearly 70 strong. There were our own porters and those for the Botanical Survey and, of course, there were ration carriers and sirdars for these porters. It was a fairly crowded encampment perched in this damp notch on the mountainside and level space was at a premium.

From this camp we spent some time making excursions along the ridge and into the rain forest that clothed its flanks. The crest itself was about six miles long and shaped something like a tent with two small peaks at either end, the one just above our camp being 9,250 feet and the one at the far end 9,750 feet. It was cold and dismally wet up on the ridge. Although the rain was not quite continuous, the mist was and indeed the shrouding only broke twice for intervals of a few minutes during all the time we were up there. The result was that the forest formed a ceaselessly dripping canopy, even when the rain stopped the slightest gust of wind would bring a rattle of drops on the taut roof of the tent.

On the ridge, the spine itself was often only three or four feet wide, but the thickness of the forest and the mist prevented one from having any sense of the immense drop on each side of this precarious little gangway perched 9,000 feet up in the clouds. The curious feeling of being in a private world was only broken once when the mist suddenly parted and revealed a breathtaking panorama. To the north were endless folds of the Himalayas, looking as if they had been cut from varying shades of blue cardboard. To the south the hill ran away in an almost unbroken slope to the plains of Assam, sunlit more than 8,000 feet below us. We could see the twisted ribbon of the Brahmaputra and even the Subansiri River running out to join it. It was only minutes before the mist hemmed us in again.

The temperate rain forest which covered the ridge was a remarkable plant community. The dominant plants were rhododendrons, particularly R. grande, with other evergreen trees and these formed a nearly continuous canopy 40 to 50 feet above the ground. Here and there one could see the sky where a deciduous tree had not broken into leaf, perhaps a species of Sorbus or Magnolia campbellii var. alba with its great flowers looking like white birds perched on the branches. Below this canopy the ground was relatively clear except where brakes of bamboo occurred. Underfoot there was a springy layer of humus often feet thick and covering the ground so completely that we scarcely saw a stone or bit of bare rock along the entire six-mile length of the ridge. It was evidence of the tremendous turnover in vegetable matter, growing and falling and then being preserved in (his thick quiet layer, half-decomposed.

And everywhere, covering everything, was moss ; thick wads of it on the upper sides of branches, drapes of it on the lower, long wisps of it hanging from the twigs and leaves. In this moss wrapping of the forest existed a whole plant community to its own. There were many epiphytes, species of Agapetes, Vaccinium and Smilax and little Pleione maculata whosq white flower occasionally studded the dark green of the moss. Rhododendron vacciniodes (C & H 419) also perched on branches, a rather undistinguished plant with small leaves like some kind of box.

The only plant which escaped this covering of moss was a most interesting rhododendron (C & H 418). We called it ' Old Baldy’ on account of its great trunk of pinky-brown bark, which gave the moss no foothold and left it looking rather naked in this forest. In spite of its name it was a fine species, obviously close to R. neriiflorum, but a tree of up to 45 feet in height. At this time, in mid-April, the flowers were nearly all over and the growth buds were well advanced. The flowers again bore considerable resemblance to JR. neriiflorum, they were waxy red in trusses of ten to fifteen. Another notable rhododendron was R. arizelum (C & H 427). At first seen only in bud, we later saw a colony in full flower, a beautiful form with fine foliage and lovely deep rose-pink flowers. Again we were lucky to be able to collect a number of seedlings of this plant. It was an interesting find as R. arizelum has never been recorded from so far west before. Previously its habitat was regarded as being North-West Yunnan and Upper Burma.

There were a number of other interesting plants in this rain forest, including a Daphne (C & H 412) which made a small tree of up to 25 feet. It had the typically scented, tubular flowers which were white stained with reddish-purple. Another more humble Daphne (C & H 403) grew as a small shrub on the forest floor. It had also white scented flowers, which it produced none too generously. A species of Clethra (C & H 453), probably C. delavayi, appeared occasionally in the forest, making a rather gawky tree of about 25 feet. It was, of course, far from being in flower yet although we managed to get a little seed still unshed from last year's capsules. But probably the most surrealist figure in the whole community of the rain forest was a holly, Ilex oblata (C & H 424), which scarcely ever reached the canopy above and so had to live its life in the gloom. To catch what light there was, its branches were spread out in great horizontal fans, each of the tiny leaves touching one another, in crinkly layers of rich green. From these tubular layers of foliage the moss hung as always in drapes. The small red berries were rare and we only found a dozen or two after much searching, as we were anxious to introduce the tree, for although Kingdon- Ward found it on several occasions it does not seem to be in cultivation.

As might be expected, herbaceous plants were scarce in the dark rain forest. We did, however, see two species of Primula, both growing in quite dense shade.

The very tips of the two peaks at each end of the ridge were the only places clear of forest and without the competition of the big rhododendrons. There we found several plants growing which we failed to find anywhere else. Rhododendron micromeros (C & H 420) grew on stumps of trees and fallen trunks and sometimes on the bare ground. It was not quite in flower when we found it but a collected plant was later seen to have pale yellow flowers with greenish spots. We were able to collect both plants and seeds of this species. It is at present very rare in gardens but should be possible to grow in the milder west coast areas. The other species of rhododendron in this small area appeared to be typical R. euchaites (C & H 422) again not yet in flower, with one specimen as tall as 12 feet.

Other interesting plants growing on the peaks were Leucothoe griffithiana (C & H 426) with elegant arching branches about four feet in height. It had obviously flowered profusely the previous year and we were able to collect a quantity of seed. We also collected seed from what appeared to be a Hypericum (C & H 439) and a Buddleia (C & H 428). A sweetly scented Osmanthus (C & H 425) was in full flower, it may be O. suaris, and there was a promising looking vaccinium (C & H 432) probably V. nummularia, with bright pink flowers just beginning to appear. Unfortunately we could find no seed on either of these two plants.

On the journey back, we were shedding layers of clothes as the climate grew appreciably warmer with every thousand feet we dropped. When we reached the marshy area where we had made our first camp, some time was spent exploring the forest round about. A long search was made for mature specimens of the small hairy rhododendron which we had collected on the way up and eventually three rather unhealthy looking plants were found after we had just about given up hope of finding it. This was later identified as a member of the Ciliicalyx subseries of the Maddenii series. The flower buds were swelling and when we cut them open it appeared that the flower was going to be yellow. Fortunately we managed to obtain a little seed of this interesting plant. We also found another most interesting rhododendron (C & H 459), although at first we scarcely recognized it as belonging to this genus. It was a small epiphytic shrub with curious leathery leaves and, after we had found some capsules, we came to the conclusion that it must belong to the vacciniodes series on account of the long ‘tails' on the end of the seeds.

On our arrival back at Ziro to reorganize ourselves for the trip to the higher ridge to the west, which lies between the Subansiri and Kameng Divisions, we were informed that this was now impossible, due presumably to the tension on the Tibetan border. This was a great disappointment to us, as the specimens collected on the smaller ridge proved; we had found two to three possible new species of rhododendron, plus many other very interesting plants. What new ones might we have found on the higher ridge?

The Political Officer gave an enchanting party the night before we left Hapoli, where we bid farewells to the many people who had been so kind and helpful to us. We were entertained with tribal dancing by some Miri girls and two cine-films on Kameng and Subansiri. We were very sorry to have to leave with our work uncompleted.

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