2 ME. J. BALL ON TUE FLOEA 



highest vi]lage in the valley of the Eimac, and to that place I 

 proceeded in company with my friend Mr. Eichard Ward, to 

 whom I am indebted for kind assistance in collecting plants and 

 for several plants gathered by him in a subsequent visit, which 

 have added twelve phanerogams and one fern to the following list. 

 Of the three days spent at Chicla two were employed in the 

 neighbouring part of the Eimac valley, while one was destined 

 to an excursion to the npper region towards the summit of the 

 western ridge of the Andes, commonly distinguished in Peru as 

 the Cordillera, Unforeseen difficulties and delays limited the 

 extent of this excursion. Less than two hours were available for 

 botanizing, about 600 feet above the wretched hamlet of Casa- 

 palta, at a height of about 14,300 feet above the sea, and in going 

 and returning it was necessaiy to pass by spots which would 

 have afforded many additional species. It is obvious that a col- 

 lection made under such circumstances must fail to give an ade- 

 quate representation of the flora of even the single valley to 

 which I Avas confined j but as I find that it includes much more of 

 novelty than I could have expected, it seems to supply a slight 



M 



contribution to onr knowledge, and occasion for discussing some 

 questions connected with the history and distribution of the 

 Andean flora. 



I must remark that, as my excursion from Lima was limited to 

 the western slope of the outer range of the Peruvian Andes, the 

 statements here made must be understood to refer to that region 

 only. Of the extensive plateau region lying between the great 

 parallel ranges — the western and highest, known in Peru as the 

 Cordillera, and the eastern, to which the term Andes is there ex- 

 clusively confined — and of the eastern sloj^es towards the Brazilian 

 frontier, forming what is termed the montana, 1 have no personal 

 knowlege. The climatal conditions of the two regions are very 

 diff'erent, those of the montana in particular being characterized 

 by abundant, and in some parts by excessive, rainfall. 



As is well known, the coast region of Peru is marked by exces- 

 sive aridity, and is commonly termed rainless. This is not 

 strictly accurate, as slight showers of rain recur at intervals, 

 which may be as long as three or four years, and during the 

 winter (June to August) dense fogs prevail over the low lands, 

 which must deposit a considerable amount of moisture, often in 

 the form of fine rain or Scotch mist, and the country, at least in 

 the neighbourhood of Lima, then produces an abundant though j 

 short-lived vegetation. The ridge of the Cordillera in Central 



