i L 
150 EOTA^'Y OF THE VOYAGE OE H.M.S. HEII.VI.D. 
tte purple or rose-coloured flowers, and the acliteuia being c^uite the same, except that I find no more than 
twenty to twenty-three flowers in the foregoing species. Dr. Seemann's specimens are almost in a fading state. 
569. MiKAxiA (SpicEeformcs) hiostachya, Benth. Plantte Hartweg.p. 201.no. 1110. Forests of 
Panama. 
Dr. Seemann's plant helongs, without any douht, to this species, although I have not seen the au- 
thentic specimen gathered hy Ilartweg. Bentham's short diagnosis entirely agrees with our specimens, 
except that they arc here and there conspersed with a few slight hairs (which however are not visible 
except with the assistance of a lens) in the uppermost ramifications of the panicle, and in the nerves of 
the under surface of the leaves ; otherwise our plant is glabrous. "Walpers has omitted this species in his 
' Kcpertorium Botanices Systematica).' 
570. MiKANiA (Ecordatse) Guaco, Humb. et Bonpland. Plant, fiquinox. tom. 2. p. 84. tab. 105 
(optimc !).— H, B. K. Nov. Gen. et Sp. tom. 4. p. 136. no. 7.— De Cand. Prodr. tom. 5. p. 193. no. 
47. — Mikania scahra, WiUd.l Herbar. no. 15,091 (non De Cand.), specimen Humboldtiamim ! — 
Nomina vernacul. " Guaco" et " Ycrba dc Guaco." In forests all over the Isthmus. 
" Among the numerous plants used by the inhabitants of America to counteract the cfEcct of the bites 
of venomous snakes, those called Guacos or Huacos occupy a prominent place. Some extraordinary stories 
are related of them, but it remains yet to be ascertained how far they can be depended upon, and tra- 
vellers will have yet to identify the vernacular names of these plants with their respective scientific appel- 
lations. Dr. M. Colazio, a friend of mine, found the Indians of Central America very dexterous in 
catching the most dangerous snakes ; they were never bitten by them, — on the contrary, the reptiles seemed 
to fly their presence, and if taken wound in their hands as if touched by a hot iron. On asking for an 
explanation of so remarkable a phenomenon, the natives informed him that they had ' guaconized' them- 
selves, i. e. taken Guaco, which, if true, would prove the plant to be not only an antidote but also a 
prophylactic. Great misconception appears to prevail, and much has been written about the plant which 
ought to be considered the true Guaco. But the fact is that nearly every country has its peculiar Guaco. 
At first the name was probably confined to only one species ; when however in newly discovered regions the 
original plant was not found, the appellation was transferred to another that happened either to resemble 
it in appearance or possess similar properties. The derivation of the word ' Guaco' could doubtless throw 
some light upon the subject ; unfortunately it is xmknown : some spell it Guaco, others Huaco ; and in 
Peru, Ecuador, and the Isthmus of Panama, the same name is applied to the ancient Indian tombs ; but 
whether there is any connection between the name of the plant and that of the native burial-places, I 
have no means of determining. Nor do I know to which of the American languages the word belongs. It 
soxmds most like a corruption of a Quichua one, and if this should prove to be the case, those who spell it 
' Huaco* would be the most correct. The Guaco plants are referred by most authors to an Aristolochia, a 
MiJcania, and some unknown ConvoJvulacea. In the interior of Ecuador the inhabitants showed me 
pieces of wood bearing the name of Guaco, and said to have come from the coast ; they were extremely 
bitter, but their structure and size differed entirely from any of those to which I have alluded. The Guaco 
of New Granada is the Mihania Guaco, H. et B., the variegated leaves of which render it a conspicuous 
object LU a forest, and make it a matter of surprise that it is not more frequently met with in our gardens, 
now that plants with a similar foliage are so much in fashion. In Mexico several plants are called Guaco 
or Huaco, and Dr. Pablo de la Llave seems to have been eagerly collecting materials for a general article 
on them. Among his posthumous papers is one on this subject, which apparently is unfinished, and would 
have been much better left unpublished ; but as it has already appeared in a Mexican periodical, I shall 
make the following extracts from it : — ' I liave received from Cordoba,' says the Mexican naturalist, ' four 
plants, all of which are species of MiJcania (M. coriacea, M. re^anda, M. an^ulala, and M. Tlaxicoi/an) , 
