290 OUTLINE OF PLANT GEOGRAPHY 



Many of these have flowers of great beauty which are admirably 

 set off by the background of luxuriant jungle foliage. 



The primaeval forest in the vicinity of Paramaribo in Surinam 

 (Dutch Guiana) is largely a swampy one, but with elevations of 

 drier sandy soil where the tallest trees grow. The largest trees 

 of this forest are the silk-cotton (Ceiba pentandra) and the sand- 

 box (Hum crepitans) which reach gigantic size. 



The trunks and branches of these great trees are covered with 

 numerous epiphytes, among which the Bromeliads take first 

 place. Several species of Tillandsia, including the " Spanish 

 moss" of the southern United States, were the most abundant of 

 these. Clinging to the trunks of the trees, or festooned from tree to 

 t ree, were many lianas, some of great size. These included morning 

 glories of several kinds, Bignonias, and especially the great climb- 

 ing aroids: — Monstera, Philodendron, Syngonium, and others, 

 which were conspicuous in the tangle of creepers. 



A luxuriant undergrowth of dwarf palms, Cannas, Heliconias 

 and showy arums, gave the finishing touch to a truly tropical 

 picture. 



Ferns, mosses and liverworts are not abundant in this forest, 

 and this seems to be true of much of the Amazonian forest region, 

 to judge from Spruce's notes. A few epiphytic ferns, species of 

 Vittaria and Polypodium were noted at Paramaribo, but they were 

 not specially abundant. 



A very different type of vegetation is found in the savannas 

 which are sometimes met with in the coastal regions of Guiana. 

 One of these visited by the writer was an expanse of coarse gritty 

 soil' covered with a sparse growth of coarse grasses and sedges, 

 with scattered clumps of low shrubs. A number of terrestrial 

 orchids were seen, but only one of these, a Catasetum, was in 

 flower. The flowers of this curious species are quite large, greenish 

 in color. 



Here and there were shallow pools in which grew tiny bladder- 

 weeds (Utricularia) with yellow flowers, and minute rush-like 

 plants belonging to the families Eriocaulaceae and Xyridaceae. 

 Small patches of Sphagnum grew under the bushes, and in these 

 were little sundews (Drosera sp.) reminding one of the northern 

 peat-bogs. A beautiful blue gentian (Chilonanthus sp.) was com- 

 mon, and a few ferns, including the common bracken, were noted. 



