NOTES ON BOTANY. 413 



warm steam, which enters the recesses of every box, and every 

 article in the tent is heavy with condensed vapour, it is exceed- 

 ingly difficult to protect one's specimens. The rainy season is 

 the time for collecting, but the great care and frequent changes of 

 drying-papers necessary require an amount of time which I could 

 not afford ; the result was that some one hundred and fifty species 

 alone reached England, many of which could not be identified. 



On the dry downs, or " campos abertos," at a level of about 

 three thousand feet, I found Byrsonima, Cambessedesia, and other 

 dwarf Melastomacese, gentians, cactuses, Eriocaulon, crotons, 

 Labiatse, Verbenacese, Iris, Polygala, Convolvulaceas, purple, blue, 

 pink, and white, Erythroxylon, Baccharis, Vernonia, and other 

 Compositae, Myrtaceae including the Gabiroba gooseberry (Psidium 

 cinereum, Mart), which is often as plentiful as the bilberry, or 

 whortleberry, in England Leguminosse, Solanaceae, etc. The 

 Solanaceae include, besides small species and shrubs, the large 

 tree Solatium lycocarpum. In some of the smaller species, the 

 leaves and stems are covered with long fine spines or thorns. 



In the " caatingas " I gathered Erythroxylon, Styrax, Lythariae, 

 acacias, Vochysiae, bignonias, Convolvulaceae, Malpighiaceae, 

 Melastomacese, etc. ; this latter family exists everywhere in Brazil, 

 except on the very dry northern hills. I also found, near Brumado, 

 a new ground-orchid (Habenaria), which is described further on ; 

 another orchid I gathered is probably new, but is in very bad 

 condition. 



In the " capoeiras " I met with bamboos, palms, ferns, tree- 

 ferns; Cassia, Crotalaria, Inga, and other Leguminosae; passion- 

 flowers, etc. Scarlet-flowered leguminous trees and creepers are 

 very numerous. The Inga, of various species, is very noticeable ; 

 it abounds in the belts of forest along the river banks, and forms 

 large bushes, with fine acacia-like leaves, the branches being 

 hidden beneath a dense mass of beautiful crimson or white feathery 

 flowers. There are also many species of lovely passion-flowers, 

 purple and white. The Compositae are likewise exceedingly 

 plentiful ; many of them are shrubs, or small trees ten or fifteen 

 feet high, which are much frequented by butterflies, especially the 

 Acraea and Heliconius. 



The forests defy description, but I may mention the Cecropia, 



