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NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS 



shrub and stone. At Pongo de Quime, 

 Bolivia, such a region is in full flower in 

 July, hummingbirds darting from bush 

 to bush and the air is full of springtime 

 scents. Possibly such a district, barring 

 the campos, is the most strikingly flori- 

 ferous part of the great valley. 



From 9000 to 5000 ft. (Bolivian Yun- 

 gas) the country becomes rapidly and 

 progressively more tropical, though 

 both tropical and temperate types are 

 present in strange mixtures, such as 

 Alder (Alnus) trees loaded with epi- 

 phytic bromeliads. Palms are still 

 practically unrepresented, except by 

 small thorny undergrowth types. The 

 stumpy-thumb-twigged Cecropias are 

 only occasionally in evidence, while 

 begonias, both giant and dwarf are very 

 conspicuous. This is the elevation 

 where that best of all possible fruits, 

 the Annonaceous cherimoya (Cheri- 

 molia], is found wild and matures in 

 perfection under cultivation. Here also 

 all manner of relatives of the potato and 

 tomato swarm, one of the most delicious 

 of which is the "tomati de lima," (Cy- 

 phomandra betacea) which in some 

 regions (near Suri, Bolivian Yungas) 

 is grown about the native villages in 

 groves. The mountain tops at this 

 level (in the Andes) are often clothed in 

 Tibouchinas, bushy 6-foot fuchsias 

 loaded with scarlet flowers and shrubby 

 growths plentifully supplied with yel- 

 low-spotted perching orchids. The 

 steep mountain slopes (e.g., between 

 Suri and Canamina, Bolivia) grow coca 

 (Erythroxylon) both cultivated and 

 wild, while the bottoms of the narrow 

 valleys furnish proper climatic conditions 

 for oranges, bananas and coffee. Ama- 

 ryllids of the large-flowered sort often 

 color the pathway. In certain regions 

 (particularly fine on mountain ridges 

 near Canamina, and near Covendo, 

 Bolivia) typical rain forest conditions 

 prevail, with dark gloomy forest growth 

 (laurels and slender palms), dripping 

 tree ferns (Cyathea, AlsQphila) with 

 mosses and lichens in profusion on stems, 

 leaves, trunks and as ground covering. 

 Small prairies and moors abound with 



ground orchids, grasses, composites, 

 ferns, thorny Rubus sp., while small 

 streams furnish favorable conditions 

 for Vernonias and other stream-side 

 plants. Wild bean (Phaseolus) vines 

 together with other leguminous types 

 types make tangled masses of vegetation 

 along the trails. Rocky cliffs, several 

 hundred feet high, often furnish mar- 

 velous illustrations of the beauty of 

 the bromeliads, while forests of small 

 trees, all but leafless at times during 

 the dry season, present the spectacle of 

 thousands of perching gray-leaved rel- 

 atives of the pineapple in bloom a 

 wonderfully effective study in cerise 

 and Corot gray (Espia, near Canamina, 

 Bolivia). The puma (Felis concolor) 

 and the Andean bear occur in this 

 general region, but monkeys are rare. 

 The llama as a pack animal disappears 

 below this elevation. Cinchona, Chus- 

 quea, Calceolaria, Podocarpus, Vibur- 

 num, Ceroxylon, Bocconia, Monnina 

 are characteristic genera, while the 

 Melastomaceae and Solanaceae are very 

 profusely represented. The Bolivian 

 Yungas is a characteristic illustration 

 of this level. Travel by train to Euca- 

 lyptus, thence by auto to Pongo de 

 Quime, thence by mule to Canamina. 

 Below 5000 ft. though still moun- 

 tainous, generally speaking the real 

 tropics begin, where sugar cane, ba- 

 nanas and monkeys flourish. Dry 

 mountain slopes between the river 

 bottoms and the small prairie plateaus 

 support a luxuriant xerophytic covering 

 among which agaves and huge tree cacti 

 (Cereus, Opuntia), are prominent. The 

 tropical plants so commonly associated 

 with the Amazon basin, however, do 

 not appear until an elevation of less 

 than 1000 ft. has been reached. Below 

 this level, Para rubber (Hevea sp.), 

 Brazil nuts (Bertholettia), Lecythis sp., 

 wild pineapples (Bromelia), Papaya 

 sp., palms of many kinds (Attalea, 

 Guilielma, Mauritia, Iriartea, Astro- 

 caryum), the cow tree (Mimusops), 

 Vanilla, Cedrela (cigar-box cedar), rose- 

 wood, tulip wood, purple-heart (Pelto- 

 ), cassavas (Manihot sp.), cacao 



