618 Hastings: Flora of central Chile 



shrubs, Talgiicnea, Colletia, Proustia ptingens, and others ; pois- 

 onous shrubs', Lithraca caitstica, Colliguaya odorifera, C. integer- 

 riina and Cestnim Parqui ; and a few species of thornless broad- 

 leafed trees, as the species of Eseallonia. On the driest slopes 

 are cacti, Cereus Quisco and smaller species, Piiya coarctata and 

 Eryngium paniadatunL The last two stand singly or in small 



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groups and attract attention from a distance. Piiya has a short 

 prostrate trunk covered with the bases of dead leaves, at the end 

 of which rises a crown of narrow, spine-toothed leaves often three 

 feet long ; from the center of this crown springs the flowering 

 stalk, six to nine feet high, bearing a pyramid of blue-green flowers. 

 These flowers contain an abundance of nectar and are much 

 visited by bees and humming birds. Eryngium panictdatum re- 

 sembles Piiya in habit but is smaller. There are a few vines in 

 this region. Eccremoccxrpus scaber is abundant in the moister situ- 

 ations, climbing over the shrubs and small trees, covering them 

 with clusters of scarlet blossoms. In drier situations Mntisia sub- 

 tdata and M. liniarifolia climb over anything to be found, and 

 with their large heads of bright red are among the few bright 

 flowers of summer. Of other plants the more common are spe- 

 cies of Calceolaria^ Tropacohiin, Patagoninm^ Verbena, and com- 

 posites. Except along the small streams the vegetation is scat- 

 tered, so that the gray, brown, or reddish soil gives the prevailing 

 colors to the mountain sides. Near the streams the vegetation is 

 denser. A shrub frequently found along the streams is Aristo- 

 telia Maqui ; the purplish berries are used by the country people 

 to prepare a beverage or to color wine. Some of the Myrtaceae 

 are also found along the streams, chiefly species of Eugenia^ 

 Myrtus, and Blepharoealyx\ while the '' ^^wmo^ CryptocaryaPemmis, 

 the soap-tree, Quillaja saponaria, and Kagcneckia oblonga become 

 trees forty to fifty feet high. Where the ground is swampy Dri- 

 mys Winteri, the only representative of the Magnoliaceae in Chile, 

 is found. 



At an altitude of about 5,000 ft. in the outer mountains and of 

 7,000 ft. in the interior, Kagencckia angusiifolia is found, marking 

 the upper limit of tree-growth. Above that comes the high 

 mountain vegetation. 



In this last region two zones are found. In the lower the 



