2 26 Flora of the Cafe Region. [zoe 



form a large part of the vegetation. The sands of the sea shore from 

 Todos Santos to San Jose abound in Euphorbia leucophylla, and Ipo- 

 mcBaPes-caprcB; Rhachidospermum and Marty nia are usually in com- 

 pany with them; the fences and hedges about the fields and gardens 

 are the home of the tall climbing Asclepiads; the lagoons near La 

 Paz are filled with mangrove ( Rhizophora Mangle), and the saline 

 flats of their vicinity produce most of the chenopods of the flora. 

 The high mountain flora consists mostly of one species of pine 

 (Pmics cenibroides), oaks, madrono and Nolina, with some cotton - 

 woods and willows along the streams, and with smaller plants, such 

 as Lopezia, Heterotoma, Lobelia, Dysodia, Eupatorium, Sphacele, 

 Gilia, ferns, etc., growing amongst them. 



Although most of the vegetation, especially that of the lower 

 elevations, blooms during the rainy season, there are some notable 

 exceptions. Some plants are in flower during the whole year, but 

 produce a greater abundance either in spring or the ' ' rainy sea- 

 son." The scarlet flowers of Justicia, Beloperone and Calliandra, 

 can be found at any time, but are most common in March and 

 April. Rubus, Heterotoma, Sphacele, of the high mountains, and 

 Eucnide, most of the Daleas, Tephrosia, Fouquieria, Viguiera, 

 Perityle crassifolia of the lower elevations, are examples ot plants 

 that are in flower the whole year, but their blossoms are most abun- 

 dant during the rainy season. 



The following plants belonging to the flora of the mountain tops 

 blossom only during the first months of the year, in the ' ' dry sea- 

 son:" Thalictrum, Ranunculus, Stellaria, Sagina, Hypericum, Nas- 

 turtium, Geranium, Trifolium, Hosackia, Prunus, Fragaria, Hete- 

 romeles, Ribes, Epilobium, Rumfordia, Perezia, Lobelia, Arbutus, 

 Gilia, Erythraea, Mimulus, Sibthorpia, Brunella, Polygonum. Popu- 

 lus, Salix, Epipactis, Sisyrinchium, Juncus, Carex, Tripsacum, Fes- 

 tuca. All these genera, with two or three exceptions, belong to a 

 temperate climate and are found within the tropics only on high 

 mountains. The fact that they retain the habit of blooming in the 

 spring contrary to that of the mass of vegetation of the region is a 

 most interesting one. With the advent of the rains comes a great 

 crowd of flowers such as Desmodiums, Oenothera, Lopezia, Cy- 

 clanthera, Begonia, Mitracarpus, Valeriana, Stevia, Viguiera, Car- 

 minatia, Baccharis, Verbesina, Heterospermum, Bidens, Dysodia, 

 Tagetes, Buchnera, Clevelandia, Dicliptera, Mirabilis, and most of 



