82 DE. E. SPRUCE ON EQUATOKIAL-AMERTCAIPT PALMS. 



ever, I remained in as complete ignorance as before of its true 

 native country, I saw at once that the Venezuelans, along with 

 the plant, had got also its name from the Andes, but travestied ; 

 for the Peruvians call it (in their native quichua) " Pisho-guayo,'' 

 i. e. Bird-fruit, whence to " Pijiguao " the transition is easy. 



This is not its only Andine name ; for it is also very commonly 

 called " Chonta-ruru," i. e. Palm-egg or Palm-fruit (which indeed 

 applies to the fruit of all Palms, but is considered to pertain to 

 the Peach Palm^ar excellence) — and also ^^Chonta-dura," although 

 this name belongs rather to the wood, which is black and tough 

 and takes a fine polish, and is the usual material for lance-shafts 

 among the Jibaro and Zaparo Indians. Humboldt heard the 

 Peach Palm called "Chontadura" at Popayan, on the western 

 side of the Andes of New Granada, where also it appears to have 

 been cultivated*. 



Although I am compelled to leave the native country of the 

 Peach Palm doubtful, I quite expect the wild plant will still be 

 met with in some unexplored recess of the Oriental Andes, perhaps 

 with the fruit so much smaller and drier than what it has become 

 by long cultivation as to be not easily recognizable. 



§ 8. The Heiglits attained hy Palms in the Amazon Valley. 



I shall supplement this chapter by saying a few words on the 

 height of palms. Humboldt having seen at some points of his 

 South-American journey the crowns of palms standing so com- 

 pletely above the surrounding forest as to give the idea of " a forest 

 above a forest," that has been rashly assumed by some writers 

 to be a universal characteristic of American palms. A traveller 

 approaching by sea the cities of Panama, Guayaquil, and many 



wi 



Man 



their base ; but the latter are by no means forest-trees, nor is the 

 Coco a forest-palm. Let him, however, leave the coast and pene- 

 trate the virgin forest beyond, and he will see that the loftiest 

 palms do not usually exceed the exogenous trees of average 



*- "Clionta" is the Peruvian word for "Palm." In Maynaa the common 

 word for " fruit " is " guayo (huaju)," in Canelos ** ruru." Yelasco says ''Frtnt, 

 in the language of Peru, is called ruru, and in that of Quito lulun, whicl\ also 

 means * egg ; ' hence tlie fruit of any Palm is called Ckonfa-ricru. And it is to 

 be noted that sometimes the fruit is taken for the whole tree, and the tree for 

 the fruit, as happens also in other languages " (/. c. p. 53). 



