650 BOTANICAL NOTES. 
be termed a ledge of Pichincha; but the country towards the - 
north and south widens into an extensive plain, clothed with 
a short grassy turf, and is similar in every respect to those 
tracts of land, called in England “downs.” So much do the 
gramineous plants resemble ours, that no one but a botanist 
could pronounce them specifically distinct. We again recog- 
nize the genera Poa, Festuca, Bromus, and Alopecurus, so 
very important as affording food for cattle. On spots that 
have been subjected to cultivation, we even find Sinapis 
arvensis, Thlaspi Bursa-Pastoris, Stellaria media, and Ana- 
gallis cerulea ; plants that must have been originally intro- 
duced with European Cerealia. But we nowhere observe the 
red poppy and blue bugloss, by us, it is true, regarded as 
weeds, though certainly very pretty and ornamental. The 
red poppy (Papaver Rheas) is so highly esteemed by the 
Spanish Americans, as to be cultivated in parterres, and even 
in pots; while many handsome native flowers that would 
excite the admiration of the European horticulturist, are held 
in no estimation whatever. 
Such are the Calceolarie, of which the vicinity of Quito 
affords a very great variety. The ravines that furrow the 
sides of Pichincha produce Calceolaria lavandulefolia (No. 
26) one of the handsomest of the tribe, and C. floribunda 
(No. 28). The former does not prosper below the level of 
10,000 feet, while the latter reaches the valley of Chillo, 
about 2,000 feet lower down. C. lavandulefolia grows 
plentifully on the plain to the south of Quito, where the 
mean annual temperature is 1? below that of the city. Pur- 
suing the same direction, we find it on the grassy plain of 
Machachi, near the northern acclivity of Tiopullo. We again 
meet with it at the base of Chimborazo, near the village of 
Mocha, and it finally disappears on the northern slope of the 
Paramo of Asuay. The province of Loxa, which borders on 
the Peruvian territory, scarcely produces a single individual 
belonging to this genus. 
Eight thousand feet may be considered as the lowest 
