THE LIANAS 



they occupy. As a matter of fact, they have fallen into this position ; 

 the stem fell away from the tree, and the cables had to lengthen 

 themselves in order to follow it. 



One of the greater lianas is the Giant Bean or Entada scandens, 

 which is distributed throughout the tropics. Its pods, almost as 

 broad as a man's hand and more than a yard in length, are woody 

 in texture, and hairy; the glossy brown beans are driven ashore by 

 the ocean currents as far afield as Greenland and Europe. With 

 its forked leaf-tip tendrils this giant liana climbs the tallest trees 

 of the forest, and it is interesting to follow the windings of the 

 massive stem with the eye as it rises from the ground, climbs a tree, 

 on the further side of which it descends in spiral convolutions, 

 slanting through the air to the ciotch of another tree, and covering 

 in all perhaps a horizontal length of a hundred yards. 



The Brazilians use the thin, elastic stems of their Cipos as riding- 

 switches, having first burned off their bark. It is the lianas which 

 make the use of the bush-knife or cutlass necessary when travelling 

 through the forest. With this heavy sickle-shaped blade one strikes 

 right and left at the cables crossing one's path; none the less, one's 

 progress is slow, as the ground is covered with snares and nooses 

 for the unwary foot, and the naturalist who catches sight of a rare 

 butterfly and hastens after it, full of enthusiasm, will suddenly find 

 himself on the ground, unpleasantly conscious of the thorns, nettles 

 and ants which abound there, while the butterfly flits away. 



Since the lianas commonly blossom overhead, above the tree-tops, 

 one sees hardly anything of their splendid blooms from the interior 

 of the forest. 



But if one comes upon a grassy hill, and looks down upon the 

 forest outspread below, one may often see, in Humboldt's words, "a 

 forest above the forest." I shall never forget the growth of Harpalyce 

 above the forest of Pernambuco. It undulated over the tree-tops like 

 a field of violet-blue ears of corn. The blossom is like that of the 

 sweet pea, and the leaves are trifoliate, like clover. 



The colouring of the Pernambuco landscape in September was 

 magnificent. The season was hke our European spring; the birds 

 were singing and the frogs were uplifting their voices. A rich 

 fragrance, as of cedar oil, floated on the air; it came from the 

 Fleabane (Ruellia). It was a world of glowing violet and yellow. 



If I approached the edge of the forest, the lower part of the green 

 wall was flooded over with the violet trumpet-flowers of Ipomaea 

 floribunda, and above these were scattered the orange-yellow, 



G 97 



