THE COLDER TEMPERATE ZONE. 71 



Besides the bogs or wet moors covered with low Birch- 

 trees, like that mentioned above, another feature of the 

 country is formed by fertile plains, adorned with beautiful 

 turf, the base of the mountains being clothed with wood. 

 The two Beech-trees and the Winter's-bark " occupy exactly 

 the same positions which the Birch, Oak, and Mountain Ash 

 do in Scotland." 



One very interesting and remarkable feature of the ve- 

 getation in Tierra del Fuego, as well as in South Chili, is 

 formed by a parasitical plant, called the Myzod&ndron, of 

 the same family as our Misletoe (Loranthaceee) , which is 

 very abundant on various species of Beech. One species, 

 M. punctulatum, is spoken of by Dr. Hooker as a conspi- 

 cuous object, even from a considerable distance, from its 

 yellow hue, which " may be recognized when coasting along 

 the shores of Puegia, from its contrasting so strongly with 

 the otherwise lurid colour of the dusky forests. It grows 

 indifferently upon the evergreen, or deciduous-leaved, Beech." 



One chief peculiarity of this plant consists in the feathery 

 appendage attached to the seed, which performs a similar 

 function to the gluten with which the seed of the Misletoe 

 is provided, though in a different way; that, namely, of 

 attaching the seed to the tree on which it is to grow. 



