IN PERNAMBUCO. 287 



flora, Benth.) which I have since introduced to England. This 

 was the only plant I found near Bahia, not already in cultiva- 

 tion, worthy the attention of cultivators. Near the same place 

 an annual species of Cuphea, with large purple flowers, grew 

 very abundantly. Along this road I observed some very large 

 Mango trees. When growing alone this tree has a magnificent 

 appearance ; more so, indeed, than almost any other I have 

 seen. The stem, which is often of great thickness, seldom rises 

 above 8 or 10 feet before it branches ; but those rise to a great 

 height, at the same time that they spread out widely, and are so 

 densely covered with their dark-green shining leaves, that they 

 form an impenetrable shade to the burning rays of the sun. The 

 Jack tree {Artocarpus integrifolia) is also a very large one, and 

 at this season it was in fruit, which, of enormous size, was 

 hanging from the trunk and large boughs. On the branches of 

 these trees, as well as on the stems of the Cocoa-nut and other 

 large Palms, I obtained some fine plants of Coryanthes speciosa. 

 I regret much that my time did not permit me to go some dis- 

 tance into the country, particularly on account of the Orchids 

 and Ferns which are no doubt abundant in the forests, 



A residence of several months in the province of Pernambuco 

 enabled me to obtain large collections of its vegetable produc- 

 tions, and consequently a pretty accurate knowledge of its general 

 vegetation. The country is still flatter than it is about Bahia, 

 so much so that as we made the coast the houses and Cocoa-nut 

 trees stood out in relief above the horizon, and the soil is gene- 

 rally sandy. For the Hrst few days my walks extended but little 

 beyond the suburbs of the town, and as the dry season had com- 

 menced, the herbaceous vegetation on the more exposed situa- 

 tions was beginning to sufi^er for want of rain. For many miles 

 round the town the Cocoa-nut and other large Palms grew in 

 the greatest profusion, mixed with fine trees of the Cashew 

 (^Anacardium occidentale) , which was then covered with its 

 yellow or reddish coloured fruit ; with Mangos {Mangifera 

 Indica), which here attain a much larger size than they do at 

 Rio, though still far from equalling those of Bahia; and the two 

 species of Bread-fruit (Artocarpus incisa, and integrifolia), the 

 ends of the branches in the former, and the trunks and main 

 boughs of tlie latter, supporting their monstrous fruits. More 

 attention seems to be paid here than at Rio to the gardens which 

 are attached to the houses near the town, many of them being 

 adorned with beautiful flowering shrubs principally of Indian 

 origin. 



During my first walks I collected specimens of the fol- 

 lowing plants : — Turnera trioniflora, which grows profusely in 

 waste and cultivated spots, and by road sides, even decorating 



