546 The Andes and the Amazons. 



in length, are composed of twenty-eight pairs of pinnae six- 

 teen inches long, and nearly an inch wide. 



The " Piipiinha," or Peach Palm, formerly called Gui- 

 lielmia speciosa, Mart., is now considered to be the Bac- 

 TKis Gasipaes of Humboldt. It is one of the most beau- 

 tiful and useful of Palms, growing, generally in clusters, 

 from sixty to ninety feet high, and thickly armed with 

 prickles. Its numerous, curling, drooping leaves, seven 

 feet long, have from sixty to seventy pairs of pinnae point- 

 ing in all directions. Under the deep-green vault hangs 

 the huge cluster of fruit, yellow and red when ripe, about 

 seventy-five in number, and making a load for a strong 

 man. It is nowhere found wild, although an undoubted 

 native. It is seen in the cultivated spots along the whole 

 River, even to the warm highland valleys of the Andes. 

 The Peruvians give it the Quichua name of " Pisho-guayo " 

 (Bird-fruit) and " Chonta-riiru " (Palm-egg). 



Desmoncds. — These are slender, climbing Palms with 

 spinous stem and leaves. The pinnae are opposite, and the 

 upper pairs are transformed into tough, recurved spines — 

 a nuisance to travelers. The most common kind, the 

 D. macracanthos, Mart., or " Jacitara," is observed on the 

 Lower Amazons and Rio JSTegro. The D.jprunifer, Poep,, 

 in Eastern Peru, beai'S sweet, edible drupes. 



Astrocaryum vulgare, Mart., called " Tueiim" in Brazil 

 and " Cliambira" in Peru, and A. tuGumd, Mart., are com- 

 mon forest Palms (growing only on the main-land), with a 

 stout trunk from fifty to sixty feet high. Their closely-set 

 leaves stand erect, broom -like, at the head of the stem; 

 and every part, even the edges of the leaves, bristles with 

 spines. The leaves are piimate, and white underneath. 

 From the cuticle of the Tuciim fronds are made mats, 

 twine, hammocks, and nets. The fruit of the Tucuma is 

 esteemed by the Indians. In Iquitos may be seen a 



