AMAZONIAN VEGETATION 359 



great Amazonian forest -belt, wherein they now 

 barely exist on the bits of campos that at wide 

 intervals break the monotony of the woodland- 

 although they probably at some antecedent period 

 ranged continuously from north to south. 



In other cases, closely allied species occupy 

 distinct areas. One of the finest fruits of Equatorial 

 America, the Cocura (Pourouma of Aublet), is borne 

 in large grape-like bunches on trees of the Bread- 

 fruit tribe, having large, palmatifid, hoary leaves, 

 quite like those of their near allies the Cecropias. 

 Now the Cocura of the mid-region of the Rio 

 Negro, of the Japura, and of the Upper Amazon 

 or Solimoes is one species (Pourouma cecropi<zfolia< 

 Mart.), while that of the mouth of the Rio Negro 

 and adjacent parts of the Amazon is a very distinct 

 and smaller-fruited species (P. retusa, Spruce), and 

 that of the Uaupes is a third species (P. apiculata, 

 Spruce), all three being so plainly diverse that the 

 Indians distinguish them by adjective names, 

 although that diversity or divergence, as in a great 

 many parallel instances, is but a measure of the time 

 that has elapsed since their derivation from a single 

 stirp. 



But the most general cause of resemblance lies 

 in this fact, that there are many orders and families 

 of plants whereof many of the species are confined 

 to limited areas, and yet, throughout the Amazon 

 valley, each order, or family, will be everywhere 

 represented by about the same number of indi- 

 viduals and species, having to each other nearly 

 the same correlation, as regards aspect and sensible 

 properties, provided always that the conditions of 

 growth (as above defined) be the same ; so that 



