EXCURSIONS ON THE COAST. 
391 
many families ; it seems, indeed, a characteristic feature of 
forest vegetation here. Occasionally the buttresses partially 
separate from the main trunk, remaining attached to it only 
at the point from which they start, so that they look like 
Buttressed Tree (Eriodendrum Sumauma). 
distinct supports propping the tree. I copy here an ex- 
tract from Mr. Agassiz's notes upon the vegetation of the 
Amazons, in which allusion is made to the Sumaumera. 
" Any one coming from the North to the Tropics, if he 
has been in the habit of observing the vegetation about 
