BKAZIL PROVINCE OF MINAS GERAES. 253 



would-be botanists of England are claiming for lier more than 

 is legitimately hers. 



Leaving tlie Cidade Diamantina, and passing along the top of 

 the Serro do Frio (an elevated table-land similar to that between 

 the city and Mendanha, but more undulating), a journey of about 

 twelve days brought us to Cocaes, one of the English gold 

 mines. The first part of the journey was through a cold arid- 

 looking country, wooded only a little in the hollows, and very 

 thinly inhabited. Nevertheless it proved a ricli field for my 

 researches, and I added many beautiful subalpine shrubs and 

 herbaceous plants to my collections. Among these may be 

 mentioned various species of Lychnophora, Vellozia, Bar- 

 bacenia, Andromeda, Phijsocalyx, Albertima, Venionia, 

 Luxemburgia, beautiful Melastomacece, Lavradias ; numerous 

 Eriocaulons, a few JBegonias, a fine terrestrial Epide?idr-um, 

 several lierbaceous Composites. The country between the Serro 

 do Frio and Cocaes is lower than tlie Serra itself, but of the 

 same undulating nature. The woods are mostly in the hollows, 

 forming round clumps, called Capoes, an Indian name which 

 signifies Islands, a term well applied to these isolated patches of 

 trees. The liills ai'e either covered with Pteris caudata, a rank 

 fern, very much resembling our own Pteris aquilina, and a 

 great pest to the agriculturists, or by a low compact-growing 

 grass, which, from a slightly glutinous matter that exudes from 

 it, is called Caapim gordura [Melinis minutiflora. Pal. de Beauv,). 

 Although this grass is now one of the most abundant gregarious 

 ones in Minas, there are great reasons for suspecting that it is 

 not indigenous to the soil. It is well named an ambitious grass 

 by St. Hilaire, for it soon destroys all other herbaceous vegeta- 

 tion by usurping its place. Its progress northwards has been 

 observed by the inhabitants to be very rapid ; the seeds, which 

 are small and glutinous, being easily transported eitlier by man 

 or animals. On the Serra Geral, between Minas and Goyaz, I 

 met with a few plants of it ; and there can be no doubt tliat ere 

 many years it will there, as in Minas, become one of the most 

 common grasses. Cattle are fond of it, but it is said not to 

 fatten them. One of the finest plants collected in this low 

 country was a climbing Mutisia (^M. campanulata, Less.) ; and 

 the most remarkable, considering the natural order to which it 

 belongs (^Labiates), a Hyptis, which was one of the largest trees 

 in the woods, l>eing upwards of fifty feet high, and with a stem 

 about three feet in circumference. Many Vertionias of equal 

 size are to be met witli in the Gold District. I remained alto- 

 gether about six weeks in mining districts, making tlie mine of 

 Morro Velho my head-quarters during tlie greater part of that 

 time. Excursions were made in many directions, and many no- 



