ON THE SAND-REEF AND MOUNTAIN. 237 



the great boulders which litter the surface, are 

 gnarled and obviously weather-worn. As if crouch- 

 ing on the ground to avoid the tempest, they form 

 perches and shelter for such a jungle as can only 

 be possible under similar circumstances. With 

 almost no dry season to provide against, develop- 

 ment has gone to extremes in certain directions, 

 but perhaps not so far as might have been the case 

 if the temperature were higher. Sobralia liliastrum 

 grows here in great thickets, accompanied by tree 

 ferns, palms, the tropical representative of the 

 well-known English brakes (Pteris aquilina) and a 

 Rubus nearly allied to the familiar blackberry. 

 Here also the continual dampness is very favour- 

 able to the growth of hepaticae and mosses, which 

 cover almost every branch, and hang down drip- 

 ping with moisture. In some places there are 

 bogs, in which grow pitcher plants (Heliamphora 

 nutans), slipper orchids, Xyris and Abolboda, and 

 in others the Bromelias, nearly always full of 

 water, afford a congenial home for Utricularia 

 Humboldtii, which spreads its runners from one to 

 another until they cover them like a network. 



The struggle for existence is as beautifully 

 exemplified here as elsewhere. As in the forest 

 proper, there are no annuals, and no times for rest. 

 It follows, therefore, that the fight is continuous, 



