BEGINNING OF THE RAINY SEASON. 91 



are a mass of white, yellow, violet, or dark-blue flowers, 

 beautiful leguminosae (Inga and Mimosa], with pink cistus- 

 like blossoms trees with fresh young leaves and flower-buds 

 just bursting in the early spring, sweet daphne and wild 

 orange, good timber for ornamental purposes (as I found 

 by cutting it down), the " sucupira " rather resembling rose- 

 wood, " camara," a pinkish white wood, and " salgueira," a 

 deep red colour.* There are also tall slim trees, with 

 leaves some eighteen inches long by six wide, of a deep 

 chocolate colour on the under side, and two extra ribs along 

 the edge of the leaf (Melastomacece) ; bignonias in flower, 

 orchids, and other parasites ; tree-ferns besides many other 

 ferns, and creepers innumerable. One creeper was very 

 pretty, having pale green leaves and countless clusters of 

 exquisite light pink flowers, in size and shape similar to 

 an azalea (Jacaranda tomentosa). Some of the llianas are 

 fine stemmed, like a thread of green cotton ; others like 

 hanging masses of twisted rope, tough, yet pliant. You 

 have the ceaseless hum of a hundred bloodthirsty diptera 

 and of cicadas, with notes from the shrillest pitch to the 

 deepest bass. A few sober-coloured brown, grey, or white 

 butterflies (Euptychia, Taygetis, Lencidia, Eurema, etc.) and 

 small moths skip and flit between the trees and under- 

 growth, while occasionally a brilliant Morpho floats lazily 



* I copy from a (MS.) "Catalogue of the Woods of Brazil, arranged 

 alphabetically after their vernacular names," etc., John Miers, F.R.S., which 

 is in the Botanical Library at the British Museum, South Kensington. 

 " Sucupira. 



Sicuper assii (grand S.) 22 m. hauteur, 8 centim. diam. 



violet grisatre faible & travailler. 

 Sicupera mirim (petit S.) 22 m. hauteur, 10 centim. diam. 



plus dur que le precedent." 



(From list of woods sent to France by the Comte Gesta.) 

 Camara, Acrodiclidium Gardneri. 



Salgueiro, from Rio Sao Francisco, a strong hard wood, useful in the con- 

 struction of large boats (Burton, vol. ii. p. 381). 



