90 FLOWERS AND GARDENS OF MADEIRA 



grows in great abundance, the one place besides 



Pico Canario where it is to be found in Madeira. 



Nephrodium Fraenesecii and Nephrodium dilatatum 



here grow very large and perfect. The levada is 



fringed with Asplenium monanthemum, Cystopteris 



fragilis, and countless treasures. In July the Orchis 



foliosa blooms in great spikes of bright mauve. 



In this neighbourhood Acrostichum squamosum and 



Trichomanes radicans grow well." 



Probably nearly every levada in the island would 

 repay exploring, but some are very inaccessible and 

 require a steady head. One of the most beautiful 

 is certainly that of the Fajao dos Vinhaticos, which 

 could disappoint no one, and can be seen by staying 

 at the village of Santa Anna, or, better still, at the 

 engineer's house on the levada itself. 



On the north side of the island the vegetation is 

 mostly the same. The rough and precipitous path 

 which winds through the Boa Ventura Valley up 

 to the Torrinhas Pass is clothed mostly with trees 

 belonging to the laurel tribe. From the Pass itself 

 some of the grandest views in the island are to 

 be seen. The grandeur of the rocks and the 

 splendid vegetation, the profusion of ferns and 

 wild -flowers, hare's-foot ferns hanging in long 

 fringes from the stems of the evergreen trees, the 



