IN VARIOUS PARTS OF THE GLOBE. 151 



from the latter, I collected fine specimens of a curious flat 

 articulated — stemmed, leafless species of Viscum, and a species of 



Copaifera (C nitida, Mart.); the latter a noble, large tree, 

 conmion on the top of the Serra, and affording abundance of 

 Balsam ', it is called Pdo cP Olho by the inhabitants. In the 



Cathiga forests, on the south side of the Serra de Araripe, I 

 saw for the first time the strange-looking Chorisia crisjnjiora, 

 but, like all the other trees there, it was neither in leaf nor 

 flower. It is a large tree, belonging to the natural order Bom- 

 hacece, from thirty to fifty feet high, with a wide-spreading top 

 of branches. The stem bulges out towards the middle, till it be- 

 comes about four times as thick as either the top or bottom parts, 

 and from this circumstance is called by the inhabitants Barri- 

 guda. My visit to Jardim was made as much to ascertain the 

 geological structure of the country, as to make botanical collec- 

 tions. During my excursions in the neighbourhood of Crato I 

 ascertained tliat the whole of the rocks there belonged to the 

 chalk formation, the Serra exhibiting the whole series, from the 

 ferruginous sandstone up to the pure white chalk itself, which, 

 like that of England, contains flints. As I have elsewhere pub- 

 lished a dissertation on this subject, I shall say little moie here 

 than tliat this was the first time the chalk formation was found 

 to exist on the great continent of America ; and that while I was 

 at .Jardim I made a fine collection of fossil fishes from the rocks 

 belonging to this formation, as well as a few shells. These 

 fishes were all new to science, and what is remarkable, tliough 

 to be expected, belonging to forms equivalent to those which 

 are found in the fossil state in the chalk rocks of England. On 

 my return to Crato I again made a ^ew excursions in that neigh- 

 bourhood, and tlius added considerably to my Herbarium. One 

 of the finest plants met with at this time was a most beautiful 

 new species oi AUamanda {A. violacea, Gardn.), a shrub from 

 four to six feet high, bearing numerous large flowers not unlike 

 those of Gloxinia speciosa in colour. This is by far the most 

 beautiful species belonguig to the genus, all of which, with this 

 exception, bear yellow flowers. I unfortunately did not meet 

 with it in seed. 



It was not till about the middle of February, 1839, that I was 

 enabled to leave Crato. It had ramed there for about a fort- 

 night, and as the herbaceous vegetation springs up with astonish- 

 ing rapidity as soon as the rains set in, I was assured that now 

 there would be no lack either of grass or water for my horses. 

 Just before leaving Crato I was so fortunate as to be able to en- 

 gage a young Englishman, who had travelled a good deal in the 

 interior, to accompany me as an assistant. My object now was 

 to gain the city of Oeiras, the capital of the province of Piauhy, 



