PALMS. 583 



palm and parasite, with birds of glowing plumage, with insects 

 of all bright and wonderful tints, and with fishes which, 

 though hid in the water beneath it, are not less brilliant and 

 varied than the world of hfe above." 



PALMS. 



Almost countless are the varieties of trees in the Amazonian 

 forests, and wonderful the diversity in their combination. 

 Rarely is the soil found occupied for any extent by the same 

 kind of tree. A vast proportion are yet unknown to science. 

 The palms surpass in number and variety all their sylvan 

 brethren. They differ wonderfully in form and size : some, 

 sturdy giants towering up towards the sky with wide-spread- 

 ing branches ; others, delicate little pigmies with slender stems 

 and small broom-like crowns ; while others assume the form 

 of creepers, and wind in many folds round the supporting 

 trunks of other trees. 



*' Among them are four essentially different forms : — the 

 tall ones, with a slender and erect stem, terminating with a 

 crown of long feathery leaves, or with broad fan-shaped leaves," 

 remarks Professor Agassiz ; '' the bushy ones, the leaves of 

 which rise, as it were, in tufts from the ground, the stem re- 

 maining hidden under the foliage ; the brush-like ones, with a 

 small stem, and a few rather large leaves ; and the winding, 

 creeping, slender species. Their flowers and fronds are as 

 varied as their stalks. Some of these fruits may be compared 

 to large woody nuts with a fleshy mass inside, otliers have a 

 scaly covering, others resemble peaches or apricots, while 

 others, still, are like plums or grapes. Most of them are eat- 

 able, and rather pleasant to the taste." 



Among the most beautiful is the mauritia, or miriti, with 



