THE FLORA OF THE STEPPES. 267 



ous beautiful varieties of plants. Among them the Graminece family 

 predominates, arid, without attaining the proportions and the quality 

 of the herbs which we shall meet with in the interior, form breadths 

 of meadow very charming in their rare fresh greenness. 



From the summit of the Cordilleras, in the neighbourhood of 

 Bogota, at an altitude of about 3200 feet, the eye surveys almost the 

 entire extent of those vast level plains which stretch from the base of 

 the mountain-chain to remote Brazil, Guiana, and Venezuela. 



The Steppes comprised between Bogota and the river Meta are 

 formed, in general, of Graminese with crawling stems, and with nearly 

 always very tall culms, especially in the cooler localities. Herbage 

 is so abundant that the traveller who penetrates into these immense 

 pastures experiences almost insurmountable difficulties. He himself 

 and his horse are nearly hidden by the tall grasses, which frequently 

 attain a stature of five to seven feet. And such is their vigour, that 

 after having been burnt to the ground by one of the terrible confla- 

 grations so frequent in these countries, they spring up again with 

 wondrous swiftness ; if the plants had not flowered prior to the pas- 

 sage of the destructive flames, they do so afterwards, and even when 

 their leaves have been wholly destroyed. The lofty table-lands of 

 Bogota and Tukerres, in New Grenada, present a succession of rich 

 pasturages, perfumed by some species of Labiatse, and notably by 

 the Micromeria Browniana, which thrives among the Graminese, 

 their fodder is highly esteemed. 



The barren and sandy plains of Peru, fertilized by the numerous 

 water-courses which furrow them, are covered with thick bloom and 

 verdure in the rainy season. With the Gramineas and Juncacese 

 the grasses and rushes common in these Steppes mingle different 

 members of the Liliacese family, and especially several kinds of Lily. 

 The higher region of the eastern face of the Peruvian Cordillera, 

 situated between 10,000 and 13,000 feet of elevation, forms an 

 immense undulating plateau watered by the upper course of the 

 Maranon. Everywhere, over a considerable area, the plains are 

 clothed with a meagre vegetation, or alternate with wide morasses, 



