BROMELIADS — FOSTER 353 



forests of the Serra do Mar, mountains along the sea, stretch for 

 miles both north and south, and there is a wealth of material for the 

 botanist within a comparatively short distance of the coast. It is 

 probably for this reason that the greatest number of bromeliads have 

 been taken from this area Avithin the past half century. 



Strangely enough, one of our most pleasant experiences in Brazil 

 was the visit to Alto da Serra, where we could not collect any plants. 

 It is a sanctuary where the balance of life is to be sacredly maintained. 

 Man is not to disturb the plant, animal, or insect life in any way. He 

 may come there and see it unfold before his eyes, but no collecting 

 or molesting is allowed. This is the great plan of the able Dr. F. C. 

 Hoehne, of the Institute de Botanica at Sao Paulo, whose sincere de- 

 sire it is to preserve for posterity a complete rain forest in one of the 

 most unusual situations in the world. Here is Brazil's greatest rain- 

 fall. It is at the high edge of the Serra do Mar mountains, which 

 rise abruptly from sea level. The warm rain clouds from over the 

 sea striking this cold mountain barrier produce almost continuous 

 precipitation in the form of either rain or fog. This makes a perfect 

 home for innumerable moisture-loving epiphytes. 



A very comfortable guest house had recently been built here for 

 the accommodation of observing scientists, and we were complimented 

 by being the first guests to use it. This was one of our favorite "col- 

 lecting" spots, where we collected only photographs and many an 

 impression on the nnnd's eye of the luxuriant fantasies in myriad 

 forms of plant life. Everything was doing its individual bit toward 

 making this one of the natural beauty spots of Brazil. 



We were also invited to be the first guests to use Dr. Hoehne's 

 unique crention, a botanical truck. It was a giant Chevrolet, rebuilt 

 so as to have sleeping quarters for six, with ample storage space for 

 supplies, and, best of all, it had a heating "oven" where a huge press 

 of fresh botanical material could be "cooked" until thoroughly dry. 

 In this truck we experienced a truly delightful trip in the land of 

 the decorative Pinheiro do Parana (Araucaria hrasUiensis) . 



Villa Velha should be as well known in Brazil as the Painted Desert 

 or the Bad Lands in North America, but so far few others than natu- 

 ralists are aware of it, "Old City" it is called, because from a distance 

 it resembles the skyline of an ancient abandoned city. It is a "rock 

 continent in a sea" of vast rolling plains. Mother Nature has for 

 centuries been slowly revealing this marvelous work in sandstone which 

 stands now tranquil, dominant, in a turbulent sea of shifting sands. 

 For miles we had rolled over treeless land to reach this "rock of ages." 

 Only the time-carved monoliths had vegetation. They were covered 

 with Arecastrum palms {C oeos plumosa) and Araucarias (the Parana 

 "pine"), cacti, ferns, orchids, and bromeliads living in every crevice, 



