2l8 FLOWERING LIANAS. 



out the tropics under the general name of " lianas" 

 but definite information as to their size, length, habits, 

 etc., are matters concerning which almost nothing is 

 known beyond the general fact that they are " creepers," 

 this name embracing a great variety of plants of differ- 

 ent sorts and sizes. 



Many kinds of these lianas are flowering plants, pro- 

 ducing a profusion of the most beautiful flowers ; the 

 scent of some of these is delicious, but in other cases 

 they have a rank, and exceedingly disagreeable smell; 

 but fortunately these repulsive varieties appear to be 

 comparatively few in number; many kinds we believe 

 to be odourless, or nearly so. The superb masses of 

 colour, for example, produced by the Bougainvillias, 

 so frequently seen in Egypt and other parts of the 

 East, or the Bignonias, which often entirely cover large 

 trees in the North West provinces of India with a mass 

 of splendid bloom, have very little scent; but the way 

 they grow over walls and trees, in gardens and shrub- 

 beries, affords us a good illustration of the manner in 

 which their more gigantic and coarse growing com- 

 panions, the forest lianas, bury the great trees of the 

 primeval forest beneath their exuberant masses of leaf 

 and flower. When standing on some eminence over- 

 looking the jungle, and beholding some wonderful 

 display of floral beauty, a difficulty therefore often arises 

 in determining whether the floral display is due to the 

 tree, or to creepers growing upon it, and we regret to say 

 that even after a careful examination made with a 

 good field glass one is often unable to determine the 

 question to one's own satisfaction at least that has 

 been our own experience. 



The German traveller Von Martins, whose long 



