IN THE CINCHONA FORESTS 301 



notable for its extensive orangeries, which produce 

 the finest fruit in Ecuador. Here the valley opens 

 out wide, and by an almost imperceptible descent 

 mingles gradually with the plain. The river 

 became muddy, still, and tolerably deep. The 

 vegetation is now unmistakably tropical, and there 

 is as noble forest around Pozuelos as I have any- 

 where seen. Palms are far less varied than on the 

 Amazon, but the Attalea above mentioned grows 

 immensely tall and stout. An Astrocaryum, whose 

 clustered trunks are perfect chevaux dc frisc, from 

 the long flat prickles with which they are beset, is 

 very frequent. Mimosse are abundant, and so are 

 papilionaceous twiners, among which I noted an 

 Ecastaphyllum. The beautiful arborescent Passi- 

 flora (Astrophea) grows far larger than at San 

 Antonio, and I could not help now and then 

 stopping my horse under its stems, which here and 

 there bent gracefully over our path, to admire the 

 large pendulous glaucous leaves and the clusters 

 of white flowers ; but I sought in vain for ripe- 

 berries. In marshy places there are beds of rank 

 ferns, and in pools an Eichhornia and a Pontederia. 

 The common weeds of hot countries begin to 

 appear, such as Asclcpias cnrassai'ica and Tiaridium 

 /iK/icinu, the latter of which I had not seen since 

 leaving the Amazon. 



[After much delay at !'><>< Ic^as, waiting lor 

 the small steamer, (iiiayaquil was reached on 

 October 6, and a portion of the ripe seed sent, as 

 instructed, to Jamaica. The young plants were 

 not ready for transmission till the end of November, 

 when Spruce returned up the river to Aguacatal, 



