154 RELATION BETWEEN CLIMATE AND VEGETATION 



a species of Jati'Opha, about forty feet high, with small white 

 flowers, and sinuate leaves, not unlike those of the holly, but 

 larger. The footstalks of tlie leaves are furnished with a few 

 long-pointed prickles, and without being aware of the nature of 

 them, I laid hold of a branch to collect a few specimens, but had 

 no sooner done so than my whole hand felt as if it had been 

 dipped into boiling oil, from the venom of the prickles, which in 

 many places had punctured the skin ; and it was not for many 

 hours that it ceased to be intolerably painful. It is called Fa- 

 vella by the inhabitants of the country, and they employ the 

 bark and wood of it to poison pigeons and other birds which 

 come to drink in stagnant pools of water in river courses in the 

 dry season. I'owards Oeiras we passed through some large 

 forests of Carnahuba palms. A revolutionary movement in the 

 neighbouring province of Maranham compelled me to remain in 

 that city about four months, and in consequence I was enabled 

 to make large collections of the plants of that district, and that, 

 too, at one of the best seasons for doing so. I was the first Eng- 

 lishman who penetrated into that distant quarter of Brazil, but 

 not the first botanist ; for about twenty years before me Martius 

 spent a few days in Oeiras on his overland journey from Bahia 

 to Maranham. From the vicinity of this city my Herbarium 

 contains upwards of 400 species. 



The city is situated in a large circular vallej'^, about a league 

 in breadth. The hills around it, as well as a few in it, are low, 

 and composed of a soft wliitish-coloured sandstone. The prin- 

 cipal herbaceous vegetation consists of several species of grasses, 

 many curious ones of JEvolvulus, a few of Hyptis, Stilpnopappus, 

 LeguminoscE^ MalvacecE, Ruhiacece ; and in the sandy fields tlie 

 greatest plenty of the beautiful little annual Angelonia cor- 

 nigera. Some of the shrubs are very fine, such as an Alla- 

 manda {A. verrucosa, Gardn.), about six feet high, bearing 

 large lemon-coloured flowers ; many pretty Mimosas, numerous 

 white, yellow, orange, pink, and purple flowered species of 

 climbing I3iynoHi(B ; botli erect and climbing Malpighiacece ; 

 several kinds of Turnera, Ccesalpinia, Bauhinia, Helicteres, 

 Vernonia, Myrlacece, &c. The trees are small, and not nume- 

 rous. Among them may be noted the Cashew, a Mouriria, a 

 fine Qualea, bearing large yellow flowers, a Callistliene, two 

 species of Copaifera, Salvertia convallariodora, numerous Le- 

 guminosce, such as the Jatobd (^Hymenceci), and the beautiful 

 Martia parvifoUa, Benth., bearing large panicles of orange- 

 coloured blossoms, and large flat-winged crimson-coloured pods ; 

 a large pink-flowered arboreous jBignonia, a %cild Jig, the Piki, 

 and the Tingi. The range of hills which surround the city do 

 not rise more than 500 feet above the surrounding level country, 



