127 



death and fall of a large tree, affording a temporary clearing in 

 the forest. This view is favored by their great abundance under 

 certain trees, and their smaller numbers over the adjacent ground. 

 Most of them are twiners, but the death of the first plants upon 

 which they twined leaves the lower part of the stem unsupported, 

 sometimes for probably a hundred feet up into the air. Even 

 allowing for the possible death and disappearance of former 

 supports, it is still difficult to imagine how they are able to loop 

 from one tree to another as they do, without any present support 

 for a distance as great as fifty feet. It is very probable that the 

 liana is itself connected with the death of the suppor.ting plant, 

 because instances are common where small supporting trees are 

 badly constricted by the tight coils about them. It is also com- 

 mon to find two or even three twinerscoiled about each other, and 

 ascending in a tight spiral many feet into the foliage above. 

 Of all the numerous species and genera on the mountain, only 

 one genus was ever recognized with certainty. That was Bauhi- 

 nia, known by the 8-shaped section of the stem. 



Equaling the lianas in general interest are the baletes, or 

 strangling figs, of which fourteen species are known on the moun* 

 tain. In general, however, it is not only impossible for the bo- 

 tanist to recognize the species, but even to distinguish one species 

 from another. On the mature trees the foliage is so high that 

 it can not be seen, and the flowers and fruit are also necessary 

 for the identification of the species. A few species are cauli- 

 florous, and may be seen in bloom at close range. One such 

 species had the lower part of its trunk almost completely hidden 

 beneath a tangle of inflorescences, each a yard long and bearing 

 some hundreds of small obovoid figs. 



But whether the species can be recognized or not, it is possible 

 to observe with a good deal of accuracy the stages in the growth 

 and development of a balete. The seeds germinate on the surface 

 of some horizontal branch, or in a crevice in the bark of a tree, 

 sometimes at a considerable height. Here the young plant 

 begins its life as an epiphyte. Such plants may be seen com- 

 monly in the forest, with a thick cluster of stems extending out 

 and up obliquely from the side of a tree. Just how high their 



