CLIMBERS 143 



ing mass of leafage. Some of these climbers have prominent 

 and beautiful flowers, which mark their presence very distinctly ; 

 one of these, first sent home by a lady, proved to be a new 

 species. This liana is about as thick as a one-inch rope, and its 

 spikes of creamy-yellow flowers are set from one to two feet 

 apart on the main stem. These spikes are from ten to sixteen 

 inches in length, each containing from forty to sixty large 

 flowers growing closely together, so that they are very con- 

 spicuous in the forest, forming immense festoons of flowers, 

 mounting to the tops of lofty trees, crossing from one tree to 

 another, and shining almost golden in colour in the brilliant 

 sunshine. These lianas are very plentiful and may be recog- 

 nised at a considerable distance, so that they form in November 

 one of the noticeable features of the upper line of forest. In the 

 cold season, during which many of these observations were 

 made, of course this liana is indistinguishable from the tangled 

 mass of vegetation. 



Although during the winter months flowers, as already 

 mentioned, are scarce in the upper forest, there is very much 

 to interest one in the cryptogamic vegetation which is so 

 abundant everywhere around us. The mosses are seen in great 

 profusion, and of many species. Frequently they occur in 

 dense masses, carpeting the ground and the bases of the trees 

 with a thick cushion-like covering. And of what beautiful and 

 varied colours are these humble plants ! light green and all 

 shades of darker green, star-like mosses of pale pink, browns 

 and greys, some bright crimson in colour, and some with waxy- 

 looking fructification stalks ; and of all kinds of growth ; hair- 

 like filaments, delicate branching forms, some thick like grass, 

 others like seaweeds, others silvery-white on one side and 

 chocolate-brown on the other ; but words fail to give any 

 adequate idea of their variety and beauty. During a short 

 ramble a score of well-marked species may soon be gathered. 



And the lichens are hardly less numerous or beautiful than 

 the mosses : indeed it is sometimes difficult to tell to which 

 order of plants some of these organisms belong. In many drier 

 places the ground is covered with masses of a pale grey species, 

 delicately branched. And almost everywhere the bushes and 

 trees are festooned with the hanging filaments of another pale 

 greyish-white lichen (Usnea sp.), which give them quite a 



