36 MARTIUS ON THE BOTANY OF BRAZIL. 



interior of this almost wholly unexplored tract, between the 

 Ocean and Madeira River. As the vegetation here so mucli 

 depends on the abundance of water, Von Martius calls the 

 plants Naiades. By far the greater part of the country is 

 covered by very lofty forest vegetation (Caa-ete,) which in 

 the neighbourhood of the waters (where it is called Caa- 

 Ygabo) is particularly intricate and wild, but never so grand, 

 or so beautiful, as the forests of the more south-eastern parts 

 of Brazil. Pasturage does not exist here as in the elevated 

 lands of the mining districts, but is found chiefly on tiie light 

 hilly lowlands, seldom on the low scattered mountains. The 

 group of Parime-mountains in the north, and the ramifica- 

 tions of the Andes bound this extended tract of land to the 

 north and west. A lower, rougher, and very stunted border 

 of forest, in its individual character extremely peculiar, (the 

 Ceja de la Montana,) appears to mark the boundary of this 

 vegetation, and that of Peru on the borders of Popayan and 

 Maynas ; — and this kind of vegetation extends into the dis- 

 trict of the great Rio de Madeira, far to the south, beyond 

 the union of the Iteney or Guapore and Mamore. Its ex- 

 treme boundary in the south may be taken at about the 13° 

 of S. lat. (near the Destacamento das Pedras,) where the 

 banks of the river are more elevated and steeper, so as to 

 check the floods, and where the branches of the Serra geral de 

 Cujaba in the west, and the Serra dos Guarajus in the north, 

 mark the commencement of the mining district. Brazil 

 therefore presents, on its northern and western sides, a very 

 connected Flora which encloses a great portion of the other 

 vegetable districts. The plants of Mato Grosso appear all 

 to belong to this line of vegetation : or if from the higher 

 districts of the province, (which is known to agree in the 

 mountain-formation, and its riches in gold and diamonds, 

 with Minas Geraes and the highlands of Goyaz,) they are 

 then constituent parts of the mountain Flora, sometimes the 

 same species as those found further east, oftener species of 

 similar genera. Links of these vegetable forms occur along 

 the Madeira River and the other great tributaries to the 



