166 RELATION BETWEEN CLIMATE AND VEGETATION 



rocks of Itacolumite, and accompanied by many species of 

 Vellozia which I had not before seen, the curious Melastome 

 named in Brazil Pao-papel, or paper-tree, and described by the 

 last-mentioned gentleman under the name of Lasiandra papy- 

 rifera. The Quina do Campo (^Strjjdmos pseudo-china) abounds 

 in the Campos wliich extend beyond the small chain, as does also 

 a species of Sarsapaiilla which forms rounded bushes ; the 

 Mangabeira {Hancornia speciosa), the savoury fruit of which 

 makes a delicious preserve ; and the Pao Violet (wood violet), of 

 which I was unable to procure any flowers, but which appeai'ed to 

 be a species of Jacaranda. The small virgin woods of this 

 district are remarkable for the number and variety of their 

 climbers. The long aei'ial roots of the Imbe {Philodendron 

 Imhe, Schott), which are used instead of ropes, and which never rot, 

 even under water, hang from every branch ; and nearly every 

 tree is the prey of some parasitic fig called generally Gamel- 

 leiras,* the roots of which intertwine and anastomose so as to 

 form a complete sheath over the trunk on which they grow. 



As far as Goyaz our route had been explored by several 

 European travellers ; LangsdorfF, Natterer, Gardner, A. St. 

 Hilaire, Spix and Martins, Pohl, Claussen, and several others 

 having followed the same route. From this point we entered a 

 new and almost unexplored country. We determined to proceed 

 north, down the Araguay to the confines of Para, and then back 

 up the Tocantins, which flows nearly parallel with the last river. 



On the 3rd of May we quitted Goyaz for Salinas on the Rio 

 Crixas, where we prepared for our expedition. 



Towards the end of March the lainy season was over, and 

 a scorching sun followed. Tlie Campos were already changed in 

 appearance; the rich verdure which had I'esulted from the long- 

 continued w^et had begun to lose its freshness ; in many places, 

 as is common in Biazil, fire had been set to the dried grass, and 

 clouds of smoke and long lines of flame marked out the approach 

 of tlie destroying element. This process of clearing the surface 

 of the Campos is nearly universal, and has become in some degree 

 necessary to their vegetation ; it seems tliat many plants would 

 not come up, or at all events flower, unless their activity were 

 excited by some such means. The beautiful little Mimosa 

 called in Brazil Flor da qtieimada, or fire-flower, makes its 

 appearance as soon after the fire as the ground has begun to 



* These plants are met with not only on living trees, but very frequently 

 on the posts of the cattle-sheds in Brazil, where they are useful as a screen 

 from the burning sun ; in this case the Gamelleira is, to a certain extent at 

 least, nourished by its roots directly fi'om the soil, from which it no doubt 

 first sprung. 



