158 APPENDIX. 



level with the bottom of the extinct crater, for on this side its walls have entirely given 

 way, while towards the north, east, and west they rise abruptly some 500 or 600 

 feet. No trace of vegetation is to be seen on their upper part. The upper edge of 

 the crater has fallen away in places, leaving very irregular indentations. At the bottom 

 is a small lake about 100 feet in diameter, its banks studded with compact rows of oaks 

 supporting Bromeliads, Columneas, and Usneas. Among other epiphytes growing here 

 is the pretty little Odontoglossum cerstedii. 



CErsted describes this crater as one of the most beautiful and romantic spots of 

 Central America. The air is fresh and pure (the thermometer at 3 a.m. being 53°*6 Fahr.), 

 and the flora the most interesting in the neighbourhood of the volcano. It exhibits a 

 remarkable blending of tropical vegetation with more northern types, such as Hieracium 

 irasuense, Alchemilla, Viola, Geranium, Vaccinium, and others, recalling to the Euro- 

 pean traveller the memory of his distant fatherland. Among the more conspicuous 

 plants in the neighbourhood of the lake may be mentioned Senecio oerstedianus, easily 

 recognized by its ample glossy leaves with a beautiful dark green upper surface, though 

 tomentose and white as snow below. The Eeventado river, which has its source in 

 the lake, winds down the whole length of the southern slope, and, after providing the 

 town of Cartago with delicious water as pure as crystal, it falls into the Eeventazon. 



The Volcan de Cartago, or Irazu, is the highest peak of this part of Central 

 America, and is seen both from the Pacific and the Atlantic, and produces a much 

 more imposing effect from a distance than from the small tableland of Cartago, at the 

 very foot of the volcano, for it rises towards the north by such a gentle slope that its 

 height appears less than it really is, and it would seem almost possible to ride up to 

 its very summit on horseback. All the southern slope, as high as 7000 to 8000 feet, 

 is cultivated or laid out as pasture-land. Here is situated Cot, the highest town of 

 Costa Rica. The banana, the orange, and the coffee-plant at this point disappear 

 before the peach, the quince, and other European fruit-trees, and maize (which reaches 

 its highest limit in this region between 7000 and 7500 feet) is replaced by wheat, 

 peas, and potatoes. 



From the southern slope the forests have almost entirely disappeared before 

 cultivation, and only in the valleys do small woods exist. Eugenia leucadendron, 

 E. cartagensis, several arboreous Composites, and various species of Bubus, including 

 M. irasuensis, are the principal plants. The region of oaks is next entered ; this ranges 

 from between 7000 and 8000 to 10,000 feet, and contains four conspicuous species 

 which are peculiar to Costa Rica, and which were first discovered and brought to 

 Europe by CErsted : they are Quercus costaricensis, Q. citrifolia, Q. granulata, and 

 another. The underwood is as remarkable as that of the Volcan de Barba for its 

 variety, richness, and beauty. CErsted had much greater facilities for becoming 

 acquainted with the flora of this district, and but few of the numerous plants which he 

 brought home with him were already known. Some representatives of tropical genera, 



