306 



Pothos scandens, whose jointed grassy stems and narrow 

 foliage are seen creeping up the trunks of trees. 



The graceful Bamboo Cane grows abundantly on the banks 

 of brooks, where its thickly clustered stems are often waved 

 by the wind, which causes these hollow reeds to emit a great 

 variety of agreeable sounds. This plant attains its extreme 

 height in the short course of one rainy season; during 

 the following years it becomes woody, and shoots out lateral 

 stems, but without any increase of size. The young sprouts 

 are eaten like asparagus. There are several species described 

 by Loureiro as natives of this place, but not having seen their 

 inflorescence, we could not ascertain this point. 



The plains consist alternately of woods and savannahs; but 

 nothing can be poorer than the vegetation of the latter; 

 consisting chiefly of two species of grass, which grow about 

 eight feet high, and probably ripen their seeds in autumn. 

 There are a very few dwarf plants, mostly of the leguminous 

 tribes, and these grow under the shade of an arborescent 

 •Species of Bauhinia which appears singly at considerable 

 intervals. These savannahs are often set on fire, both to 

 prepare them for cultivation, and that they may produce 

 younger vegetation for the cattle. 



A particular species of Musa [Banana or Pisang), of 

 which the fruit is not esculent, is cultivated for the sake of its 

 fibrous stem, and considered preferable to many others. 

 The filaments (being the long vessels of its peduncle) extend 

 the whole length of the stem, which is generally about eigbt 

 feet ; and they are of various degrees of fineness, according 

 to their outer or inner situation. Tims the same plant 

 affords the fibres of which are made the excellent anchor 

 cables, almost exclusively employed by the Spanish vessels 

 here, and that more delicate flax which is used in the manu- 

 facture of the fine striped cloths of which the cleanly people 

 of these islands make very elegant shirts. 



^ Another Palm grows here, {Palma de Cahello mgro •') '^ 

 yields a strong, black, coarse fibre, much esteemed for ropes 

 and cables, and far preferable to what is obtained from the 

 Eotang, which, though employed by the Chinese and many 



