150 MR. J. B.VLL ON THE BOTANY 



Arica is one of tlie few spots on the coast wliere water from 

 the Andes has maclo its way across the arid plains, chiefly through 

 nndiTground channels, and the result is to enable a good many 

 species to maintain a continuous existence. On tlie sandy ground 

 north of tlie j)ort clumps of shrubby Composltae, formed o^ Pluchea 

 Chiiif/ojfo, DC, Baccharis lanceojata, Euiz & Pav., Tessaria 

 amligua, DC, and Trixis fnitescens^ P, Br., rise to a height of six 

 or ci<rht feet. In as horfc walk, durin^- the brief halt of the steamer, 

 I was able to secure 25 species, ineludiiig among them the fine 

 Gcesalpinia GiUiesii, possibly introduced for the sake of ornament. 

 At Tocopilla, a place formerly belonging to Peru, but now 

 auj^cxed to Chili, I, for the first time, found a spot absolutely 

 devoid of all traces of vegetation. Our stay there was very short, 

 but I went for some distance along the base of the rocky slopes 

 that descend very near to the beach, and ascended here and there 

 where the ground was not too steep. I was unable to detect the 

 slightest speck of lichen on the rocks, and I was still more im- 

 pressed by the appearance of the surface, which nowhere showed 

 any indication of weathering. Even in the depressions the angles 

 were all perfectly sharp, and there was no sign that water had 

 ever flowed or trickled over the surface. 



Por a distance of nine degrees of latitude, or about 620 English 

 miles, from Arica nearly to Caldera, the appearance of the coast, 

 wherever wc approached sufficiently near to examine it, showed 

 the same unvaried aspect of absolute sterility ; but I was assured 

 by competent witnesses that at several places rain has, at long 

 intervals, been seen to fall in some abundance, and is certain to 

 be speedily followed by the appearance of numerous flowcrmg 

 ] lants. At Tnltal, a small place about 25° S. lat., the general 

 aspect much resembles that of Tocopilla, but on landing and ex- 

 amining the rocks I was at once struck by slight indications of 

 water action ; and on ascending a little steep gully on the slope 

 I was able to secure three plants, two of which were in flower or 

 fruit. One of these is a Crisfaria, probably 0. Spinolce of C Gi^y? 

 or possibly tlie nearly allied form described as Cfoliosa in the 

 * Florula Atacamensis ^ of Philippi. Many described species of this 

 difficult genus, peculiar to temperate South America, are not to 

 be found in European herbaria, and it is scarcely safe to express 

 a decided opinion as to the value of the diagnostic charactera 



assigned to tl;em. The second plant found at Taltal, and also 

 seen near Caldera, in each case without flower or fruit, may 



