32 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



ful plants met with was a species of Utricularia, U. montana, some- 

 times seen in cultivation. Unlike most of the genus, this is an epiphyte, 

 and the drooping racemes of big white flowers might very well be mis- 

 taken for an orchid. 



As is usual at the higher elevations in the tropics, the lower plants 

 are relatively more abundant than at lower elevations. Besides, the 

 tree ferns there were many others, including several HymenophyllaceEe 

 and two species of Danasa, which were growing abundantly upon the 

 wet banks, and whose large liverwort-like prothallia were found in 

 quantity. The wet banks also yielded a fair number of liverworts, and 

 at the very summit the ubiquitous Lycopodium cernuum was abundant. 

 Mosses and lichens also abounded, but no notes were made of the 

 species. 



To the botanist visiting this region for the first time, the abundance 

 and variety of the palms will first attract attention. Many of them are 

 exceptionally beautiful, and they often grow in large masses giving a 

 characteristic stamp to the forest vegetation. Palms are a far more 

 conspicuous feature in the South American tropical forest than in any 

 part of the eastern tropics with which the writer is acquainted. The 

 Aracese, also, are more numerous and varied than in the tropics of the 

 old world, and none of the old-world forms can rival the giant scandent 

 genera, like Philodendron and Monstera, which are so characteristic of 

 the American tropical forests. 



Of the numerous Scitaminese the common Heliconias with their 

 gorgeous inflorescences will first attract attention, and of course the 

 peculiarly American family, Bromeliaceae, will be of special interest to 

 the European visitor. 



The prevalence of showy flowers in Surinam was noteworthy, as this 

 is not a common feature in the wet tropics, a fact frequently com- 

 mented on by scientific travelers. Whether or not the two go together, 

 it may be mentioned that in Surinam there is also an extraordinary 

 abundance of brilliant butterflies, some of them of wonderful beauty. 



In Trinidad the prevalence of showy flowers was much less marked 

 than in Surinam, although it is by no means deficient in striking flow- 

 ers. As has already been stated, Trinidad in the main features of its 

 flora belongs rather with the continental region of South America 

 than with the other islands of the West Indies. 



