208 VISIT TO SOUTH AMERICA IN SEARCH OF NEW PLANTS. 



VISIT TO SOUTH AMERICA IN SEARCH OF NEW 



PLANTS.* 



]Mr. Purdie was sent out as a collector of plants for the Royal 

 Gardens of Kew ; and, as we have previously remarked, has sent many 

 very interesting, beautiful, and valuable plants to the Gardens. The 

 many communications from Mr. Purdie to Sir W. .T. Hooker are of a 

 very interesting character, so much so, that Sir William has com- 

 menced their insertion in the " Botanical Magazine" for the present 

 year, and thereby add to the usefulness of that excellent work. The fol- 

 lowing is an extract from the letter inserted in tiie April Number: — ■ 



" Rio de la Hacha, December 14, 1814. 

 " I fear that the four boxes of Orchidese and one of seeds, which 

 were to leave Santa Martha by the November or December packet, 

 may have arrived in England at a time of frost ; so that I am very 

 anxious to secure more of the same plants ; which I shall get in the 

 interior. Among the very fine species are a Schomburghkia, a splen- 

 did Limodorum, and a very singular and uncommon Maxillaria. I 

 have never seen the latter in full bloom, but judging from its strong 

 habit and still stronger Hov.er-stems, I expect it will prove a remark- 

 able thing ; these I hope to procure in a day or two, from the Sierras 

 of Maracaybo. The remainder of the road, 300 miles, lies through a 

 savannah country, and will afford tlie seeds of some fine Palms. I 

 expect the distance M'ill occupy about eighteen days. I shall pack up 

 here the plants collected on tliis side of the Nivada, to be shipped by 

 the first conveyance to Santa Martha, whence they will be despatched, 

 so as to reach England early in April, when there will be no risk of 

 frost. Among other plants gathered on this side of the Nivada, is a 

 magnificent Oncidium, ranking among the most conspicuous of that 

 noble tribe : its bright yellow flowers are slightly striped in the centre 

 witli scarlet, and as large (whicli you will see by the specimens) as 

 those of O. Papilio ; the habit of the species is strictly trailing, like a 

 Manettia. I have some fears about getting this plant to England 

 alive, its pseudo-bulbs being so delicate. I found it climbing over 

 mossy trees, to tlieir topmost branches, on the river San Antonio, at 

 an elevation of about 3000 feet. Tliere is also a showy and fragrant 

 plant, like Catasetum, but a distinct genus. 



" The ascent of this slope of the Nivada has afforded me many more 

 plants than did tlie other side, by way of San Sebastian. The vege- 

 tation is generally stronger and finer. After ascending 2000 feet, I 

 came to a gigantic forest of Laurus Persea (Avocado pear), strewing 

 the ground with its delicions fruits, and the luxuriant foliage aflbrding 

 an impenetrable shade : there were also a few scattered Palms ; the 

 slender and graceful Cliamacdorea gracilis was particularly abundant, 

 producing pendant clusters of golden fruit, whioli imparted a lively 

 aspect to tlie otherwise sombre wilderness. This mixture of trees 

 continued till about 4000 feet of elevation ; where Palms become more 

 predominant, blending Mith the less noble but more delicate and beau- 

 tiful tree-ferns. There was nothing, however, new to me in this 



* Correspondence from Mr. Purdie, collector of new plnnts in South America 

 for the Royal Gardens of Kew, published monthly in the Bolanicul Magazine. 



