484 A NATURALIST IN THE PACIFIC chap. 



Dealing first with the mangrove districts of the south side of 

 the Gulf of Guayaquil and of the Guayas or Guayaquil estuary, we 

 may observe that probably in few localities of the globe have the 

 forces of nature worked more in unison to produce the conditions 

 favouring the growth of the mangrove. The reason why this 

 particular locality has been thus favoured will be discussed later 

 on in this chapter. I may here observe that Baron von Eggers 

 was so struck with the exceptional features of the mangrove- 

 growth in this region that he was inclined to look for the 

 American centre of the genus Rhizophora, the prevailing mangrove, 

 in the estuary of the Guayas River. 



I will not enter into a detailed description of the mangrove- 

 formation of this coast, which has indeed been given by the 

 German botanist ; but I will merely refer to the leading features 

 such as they presented themselves to me. In the first place, 

 reference will be made to the sea-border of the province of Eloro, 

 where I spent nine or ten days, making Puerto Bolivar, the port 

 of Machala, my headquarters — a locality about thirty miles east 

 of Tumbez. Except in the Guayas estuary I have never seen such 

 a magnificent growth of mangrove. 



By following the line of light railway that runs about six 

 kilometres inland from Puerto Bolivar to Machala, the capital of 

 the province, we obtain a good section of the mangrove-belt, which 

 may be thus described. The mangrove-swamp proper extends 

 about three kilometres inland. Whilst the small variety ot 

 Rhizophora mangle (mangle chico) immediately fronts the sea, 

 Laguncularia grows on the islets close to the seaward margin of 

 the swamp. When we enter one of the numerous broad creeks 

 that intersect the border of the mangrove-belt we soon find 

 ourselves in the true mangrove forest, where prevail tall trees 

 of Rhizophora mangle (mangle grande) that rise to a height of 

 70 or 80 feet or more. Gloomy as the depths of the swamp are, 

 they acquire quite a funereal aspect, the branches of the trees 

 being draped with pendent Tillandsias. These long, hair-like, 

 tangled growths hang vertically from the branches of the trees and 

 may be 20 or 30 feet in length. In the rear of the zone of tall 

 mangroves we come upon a more open district of the swamp. 

 The forest proper gives place to a tract occupied by small trees of 

 Rhizophora, Laguncularia, and Avicennia, with here and there 

 whole acres occupied only by the shrubby Salicornia peruviana 

 which attains the height of a man. 



Here terminates the mangrove-swamp proper, and about three 



