ROBBER Y AND MURDER. 229 



tree seems to be striving to outvie its fellow, struggling 

 upwards towards light and air — branch, leaf, and 

 stem — regardless of its neighbours. Parasitic plants 

 are seen fastening with firm grip on others, making 

 use of them with reckless indifference as instruments 

 for their own advancement. Live and let live is clearly 

 not the maxim taught to us in these wildernesses. 

 There is one kind of parasitic tree, very common 

 near Para, which exhibits this feature in a very 

 prominent manner. It is called the Sipo Matador, 

 or the ' Murderer Liana.' It belongs to the Fig 

 order. The base of its stem would be unable to 

 bear the weight of the upper growth ; it is obliged, 

 therefore, to support itself on a tree of another 

 species. In this it is not essentially different from 

 other climbing plants and trees ; but the way the 

 Matador sets about it is peculiar, and produces 

 certainly a disagi-eeable impression. It springs up 

 close to the tree on which it intends to fix itself, and 

 the wood of its stem grows by spreading itself like 

 a plastic mould over one side of the trunk of its 

 supporter. It then puts forth from each side an 

 arm-like branch, which grows rapidly, and looks as 

 though a stream of sap were flowing and hardening 

 as it went. This adheres closely to the trunk of 

 the victim, and the two arms meet on the opposite 

 side and blend together. These arms are put forth 

 at somewhat regular intervals in mounting upwards, 

 and the victim, when the strangler is full-grown, 



