282 A YEAR OF COSTA RICAN NATURAL HISTORY 



as the gate in the woods, where we left the horses. Here 

 we ate our lunch, stopping to catch a Megaloprepus that 

 obligingly alighted near us. Then we rambled about, fol- 

 lowing little paths where we saw tapir tracks, enjoying the 

 many new plants but seeing very few dragonflies. One 

 striking plant was Uragoga tomentosa, a Rubiaceous species 

 peculiar to Costa Rica. This was a bush with opposite, 

 reddish leaves, the heads of small white tubular flowers 

 subtended by large fleshy bracts of a flaming red. In fruit 

 it was still more conspicuous, for the bracts persisted and 

 the berries were three-quarters of an inch long and bright 

 purple in color. Another was an epiphytic vine {Columnea 

 sp.), which sent out stiff short branches from each side of its 

 main stem, the latter closely following the host trunk. The 

 leaves of this plant were three to four inches long; from 

 above they looked bright green with a small white patch 

 not more than one-quarter inch across, from below they 

 showed symmetrically-placed blotches of clear crimson. 

 The tubular flowers were borne on slender peduncles two to 

 three inches long, depending from the stifi" little branches. 

 The flower itself was a beautiful red, with a five-parted 

 calyx of delicate, tender green set with soft whitish prickles, 

 and in the forest of dark greens the tree bearing this vine 

 was an exquisite sight. 



All this time the clouds were growing more threatening and 

 by one o'clock rain began; as it increased steadily and rap- 

 idly we hurried to the horses and started back. The road 

 was even worse than it had been on the way out and P. was 

 soon wet through; my poncho protected me quite well 

 from the water descending as rain — but not from the water 

 ascending as splashes, for in addition to the general wetness 

 of the road we forded four rivers, two of which were deep 

 enough to come over my boot tops unless I held my feet up out 

 of the stirrups. Our horses were excellent, however, sure- 



