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a most interesting orchid region and we made two excursions 
into the neighboring mountains with Dr. and Mrs. Greenwood in 
search of rare species with whose haunts they are very familiar. 
The most conspicuous one was a species of Cattleya, which grew 
in great purple clusters in tall trees, usually in inaccessible places. 
From Portovelo we went west across the western Andes to 
Santa Rosa. near the coast where we took a little steamer up to 
Guayaquil and then went back by rail to our base at Huigra. 
We remained about two weeks longer in Huigra and its vicinity, 
then packed our collections and outfit into twenty-eight boxes, 
trunks, and packages and bade farewell to Ecuador. 
We left Guayaquil on November 8, spent one day at anchor 
off Manta, Ecuador, and, going by way of Panama, Haiti, and 
New York arrived in Washington December 4, having been 
away nearly five months. 
It is impossible to give in a few lines a very clear idea of the 
varied flora of Ecuador, extending as it does from the tropical 
coast of the Pacific Ocean to the everlasting snows of Chim- 
borazo. My collection of some two thousand numbers repre- 
sents only a small part of this large and varied flora. Perhaps 
a brief account of some of the families and most striking genera 
would be of interest and value. 
The Cactaceae of Ecuador have heretofore been little known, 
only some ten or twelve species having been reported. I col- 
lected forty-four numbers representing some thirty species, ten 
of which, at least, are new to science. It is rather remarkable 
to find so many large and even arborescent species undescribed. 
The grasses are very many and extremely diverse, for in the 
high Andes are found the delicate little species of Poa and in 
the valleys of the foothills are found giant bamboos, nearly a 
foot in diameter. These giant bamboos form a very important 
article of commerce and are used everywhere on the coast and 
in the foothills in the construction of the native houses and even 
the churches and better type of residences. In the mountains 
there are two bamboos with solid stems which are used in building 
fences and in forming the framework of mud houses. I have 
been unable to identify either of these. 
