174 MR. SPRUCE'S BOTANICAL EXCURSION 
petioles, but I have seen terete and inflated petioles rising from the same 
root, and the inflation seems merely assumed to suit the natant habit. 
Tn all these species, and in another very pretty one gathered in lakes 
near Santarem, I observe the fibres of the root to be capped by a sort 
of calyptra, as I believe you have yourself remarked in some of this 
tribe. I made out the existence of at least one real Willow on the shores 
of the Amazon, for I have procured both its flowers and fruit; another 
willow-like tree I could get only in leaf. 
The crew of our vessel consisted almost entirely of Tapuya Indians, 
with whom I had frequent conversations respecting the plants of the 
environs of Santarem. Amongst others, they told me of a wonderful 
water-plant, called, in lengua geral, *Oapé' but in Portuguese, 
*Furno, from its leaf resembling in shape and size the mandiocca- 
furnaces of this country. They added, that the leaf was purple on the 
underside, where it was also furnished with numerous spines. This 
description could refer to no other plant than the Victoria, and I was 
confirmed in this conclusion by further testimony when I arrived at 
Santarem. Here nearly everybody had seen the ‘Furno,’ and some 
wondered I should inquire so eagerly about a plant which they had 
known for the last forty years, and never dreamt to be anything rare. 
Our countryman, Captain Hislop, one of the oldest settlers at Santarem, 
had, however, ascertained the plant to be the Victoria, from an account 
of Schomburgk's discovery of it in Guiana, which he had seen in some 
review. As soon as I conveniently could, I planned an excursion to 
one of the stations, a lake in the Ilha Grande de Santarem, the largest 
island of the archipelago formed by the junction of the Amazon and 
Tapajoz. In this I was materially aided by Mr. Jeffreys, another 
countryman, who not only lent me his galiota, but also accompanied 
me. We started early, and it took three hours’ pulling with six 
oars to reach the opposite shore. We disembarked at a sitio, the 
nearest point to the lake, whither we were now to proceed overland ; 
but we were told that the intervening campo had not yet been fired 
(as is usual in the dry season), and that it was clad to the depth of six 
feet with rank grasses and bushes, so as to be quite impassable. We 
were advised to land at another sitio, a little farther down, where we 
should find a path leading through the woods to an igarapé, com- 
.  munieating with the lake. Following this advice, we at length 
reached the igarapé, and were at once gratified by seeing the Victoria 
