GENERAL INTRODUCTION 19 



the ground until it falls across a tree. Then it fixes its roots 

 into the crevices of the bark, and pulls itself up. It often 

 ends in smothering its living ladder with immense masses 

 of sword-like foliage, whose weight must he tremendous. 

 Similarly, several of the rata vines ascend by ivy-like rootlets. 

 The large rata-tree, however, strangles its support, putting out 

 transverse finger-like roots that cannot fail to impress the 

 ordinary observer with the apparent purposefulness of their 

 grasp. The lawyer, on the other hand, cat-like, fixes its 

 recurved claws into the bark of a tree, and thus drags itself 

 up. The Clematis and Passiflora climb by tendrils. The 

 fiupplejack, Miihloihechias, Gonvolvuli, Parsonsias, Ipomea, 

 and Sciiecio sciadophUus twine. None of these are strong 

 enough to support tlieinselves, though some of them — 

 particularly the lawyers and M iihlenheckias — may occasionally 

 be found in the open, where they form moimded heaps, often 

 many feet in diameter, and several feet in height. 



Wanderers through the bush are often puzzled by observing 

 cable-like stems that fall pendent from the roof of tlie forest to 

 its floor, without support. It seems impossible that these 

 climbers, with tlieir flexible stems, could have got into such 

 a position without some external help. Often it will be found 

 that these rope-like lianes belong to a species of Bub us, (the 

 bush-lawyer) . They have originally been endowed with hooks 

 by which they have clnnbed up a tree. Their weight and 

 upward growth have finally disengaged them from the trunk 

 by which they have ascended, and in the course of j'ears 

 they may be removed by various processes to a considerable 

 distance from it. If tire liane is not a Buhus, then its position 

 can only be explained by supposing that the tree up which 

 it climbed has died, probably in an unavailmg effort to pushup 

 to the light. iVTany young trees throughout the forest must 

 perish in this way. 



The structure of tlie stem iir lianes is of considerable 

 interest, but for a description of this some text book of botany 

 must be consulted. 



