56 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 'J'J 



At the end of January. ^\x. Standley proceeded to Costa Rica, 

 remaining there until the middle of April, when he returned to Wash- 

 ington. Costa Rica is botanically the richest part of North America. 

 In the highlands, where the climate is temperate rather than tropical 

 and where there is a heavy rainfall, the vegetation is extraordinarily 

 luxuriant, and the variety of plants bewildering. Although large 

 collections already have been made in Costa Rica, it will require many 

 years of intensive exploration to gain an adequate knowledge of the 

 plant life. 



Mr. Standley 's collection consists of 8,000 numbers of plants, many 

 of which will doubtless prove to be new. Special attention was given 

 to the orchids, of which about 1,500 numbers were obtained. These 

 are now being studied by Mr. Oakes Ames, through whose interest 

 the work in Costa Rica was undertaken. Of orchids Costa Rica 

 possesses probably a larger number of species than any other portion 

 of the American tropics of equal extent. Over i.ooo species have 

 been reported from this small Republic, and it is certain that many 

 more await discovery. While most Costa Rican orchids, like those 

 of other countries, have inconspicuous flowers, some, such as the 

 Cattleyas. are of unsurpassed beauty. 



Visits were made to the Volcano of Poas, celebrated for its great 

 crater, which contains a lake that erupts frequently ; to the Volcano 

 of Turrialba, whose forests are noted for their wealth of ferns ; and 

 to many other rich localities in the central highlands. 



A short visit to the comparatively arid Pacific coast proved that the 

 flora of this part of Costa Rica is relatively meager and uninteresting. 

 Several visits were made to the wet lowland forests of the Atlantic 

 watershed, where the vegetation is even more luxuriant than in the 

 mountains and the species are almost equally numerous. Little is 

 known of the plants of the Atlantic lowlands of Central America, 

 although it is probable that no other region will better reward 

 exploration. 



BOTANICAL WORK IX SOUTHEASTERN NEW MEXICO 



During part of August. 1924, ]\Ir. Standley was detailed for 

 field-work as a member of the Carlsbad Cavern Expedition of the 

 National Geographic Society. This expedition, under the direction 

 of Dr. Willis T. Lee, was engaged this year in a detailed survey of 

 the Carlsbad Cavern, recently set aside as a national monument, and 

 of its surroundings. The cavern is noteworthy because of its large 

 size and lavish decorations, and is one of the most notable of the 



