144 



SOUTH AMERICA 



ance of the araucaria near the source of the San 

 Francisco. The umbrella-shaped araucaria brasiliensis, 

 which appears at high altitudes in the coastal ranges, 

 gradually extends inland south-westward, to become 

 a feature of the plateau and form light forests much 

 interrupted by campos. These forests display either 



Fig. 47. Araucaria imbricata (Chile pine). 



a sward of short grass, or a thick undergrowth of 

 evergreen shrubs, chief among which comes the yerba 

 mate' or Paraguayan tea. The araucaria descends to 

 lower altitudes as the latitude increases. 



In the southern states of Brazil, the country west of 

 the coast-range slopes inland by a succession of broad 



