136 The Gardens of the Sun. [ch. vi. 



now landed, and after a long walk through the tall forests, 

 which are carpeted in moist places and near streams by 

 lovery steel-blue aspleniums and lindsayas, and also by 

 the freshest and most luxuriant of selaginellas, had, after 

 ascending a sloping and rather dry hillside, come upon a 

 plant which I saw at a glance was zingiberaceous, but it 

 was so distinct in port and flower to anything that I had 

 previously seen that I sent roots of it to Chelsea, and a 

 few of these fortunately survived. Its fate was not known 

 to us at the time we again visited the spot, and so the 

 object in again running the canoe among the nipa plumes 

 at this place was to obtain a fresh supply. I shall long 

 remember this second journey to collect Burbidgea nitida, 

 since I was ill with fever at the time, and on Mr. Peter 

 Veitch devolved the duty of a long tramp through the 

 tall forest; past numerous felled gutta-yielding trees 

 (Isonandra sp. ?), and up the hill slope beyond, until just 

 below the rocky summit, this plant is found at a place 

 called the ' Devil's House ' (' Satan puny a ruma ') 

 where are some dark deep holes in the face of perpendi- 

 cular rocks, frequented by the swallows which build the 

 edible nests so highly valued by the rich Chinese. The 

 burbidgea grows on low wet sandstone boulders, on which 

 their rhizomes and roots form a perfect mat, and among 

 the plants as thus elevated decayed leaves and other 

 forest debris is blown by winds or washed by rains. Al- 

 though growing in rich shady forest, and subjected to a 

 heavy rainfall, and high, albeit fresh and often windy 

 atmosphere, the plants rarely exceed a yard in height. 

 To this place Mr. Veitch went with a body of trusty 

 natives, and many bundles of the plants were brought 

 back, some of them fine masses of twenty or thirty stems, 

 each having recently borne a large cluster of its rich, 

 orange-coloured flowers. 



