7G DE. R. sruroE on equatoeial-ameiiica:n' pal^s. 



Andes, its Lcopoldinias and Lepidocaryuins from the Granite, 

 and so on. It must, however, have existed for untold ages so 

 nearly in its present state that it ought to have acquired special 

 forms of its own, like the other regions ; and yet I am unable to 

 point out any such with certainty. 



That noble palm Maximiliana regia, ^^Inaja" of the Brazilians, 

 " Cocurlto" of the Venezuelans and of Humboldt, one of the 

 most conspicuous ornaments of the primitive forests of the Ama- 

 zon, is still more frequent in the Casiquiari Eegion, and (besides 

 being dispersed over the whole plain) is commonly seen perched 

 on the granite peaks, wherever there is a ledge or hollow on 

 which the decay of less noble vegetation has furnished a matrix 

 for its roots, up to a height of 2000 feet at the least. It proba- 

 bly existed there at a period when the surrounding low country 

 was one great lake, or a series of lakes, out of which stood these 

 •island-peaks. As we near the Andes, it becomes much scarcer. 



I have thought that Astrocarymn Jauar% a prickly palm of for- 

 bidding aspect, fond of growing on low islands and by river-sides, 

 might be considered characteristic of the Middle and Tfpper Ama- 

 zon \ for it only begins to appear at nearly 400 miles from the mouth 

 of the river, and extends thence upwards almost to the Andes. But 

 on ascending the northern tributaries of the Lower Amazon, such as 

 the Trombetas, we soon fall in with the Jauari ; and it grows more 

 frequent when we reach the rapids, where the river-bed is of 

 granite. It is the same on the Eio Negro ; and as I have 

 seen this Palm so abundant on the Uaupes, the Casiquiari, and 

 the Upper Orinoco, in the centre of the Granite Eegion, I can 

 hardly doubt that there is its true home. 



Its nobler congener, Astrocaryumvulgare^ the " Tucum" of the 

 Brazilians, is almost equally common in dry forests throughout • 

 the length and breadth of the great plain, which it seems to have 

 reached from the campos of Central and Eastern Brazil, where, 

 as we learn from Martins, it abounds even more than in the 

 forests of the Amazon* 



§ G. The Scaly -fruited Palms of JEqiiatorial Ainerica. 



All the Palms of the Amazon valley that have fan-shaped pahna- 

 tijtd leaves have also scaly or loricated fruits. They are species 



A few additional facts, bearing on the distribution of the genera nn*^ 

 species, will be found in the descriptive portion of this memoir. 



