154 



Notes of a Visit to Quito, 



near the ruined town of Caxabamba and Tunguragua without find- 

 ing many plants worthy of notice, I repaired to Quito, about the 

 middle of March 1842. 



The eastern declivity of Pichincha, at the foot of which the town 

 of Quito is built, at an elevation of 9,400 feet, retains its verdure 

 throughout the year; here Brugmansia sanguined, a shrubby 

 Euphorbia, Duranta triacantha, Prunus salicifolia, Clematis 

 sericea, are employed in forming fences, whilst on uncultivated 

 spots and by the sides of ravines we find Thibaudia acuminata, 

 Salvia rubescens, Lamourouxia virgata, Gesnera ulmifolia, Lu- 

 pinus pubescens, Oenothera sinuata, Sedum quitense, several species 

 of Fern, Calceolaria, Solanum, Cestrum, Melastoma, Composite, 

 and a few Grasses. The region of arborescent shrubs, which 

 extends to an elevation of 12,000 feet, is chiefly composed of 

 Buddlea pichinchensis, interrupta, and bullata, Barnadesia spinosa, 

 Monnina nemorosa, Andromachia igniaria, the bark of which is 

 used for tinder, several species of Hypericum, and Baccharis, Eupa- 

 torium glutinosum, called Matico, whose dried leaves reduced to 

 powder are useful in stopping bleeding and healing wounds, 

 Gaultheria pichinchensis, insipida, and purpurascens, Vaccinium 

 Mortinia, Cremolobus peruvianus, the rich Fuchsia ampliata, with 

 Rubus glabratus, pichinchensis, and glaucus, the latter bearing a 

 large black fruit resembling a mulberry in flavour. Here was 

 also a kind of Bamboo, which formed impenetrable thickets. 



The region we next enter is that of the Paramo, or Pajonal, pre- 

 senting to the eye an unvaried expanse of long grass, constituting 

 the pasture of the Andes ; here we find Ranunculus peruvianus, 

 Valeriana hirtella, Andromachia acaulis, Swertia umbellata, 

 Werneria nubigena, a dwarf shrubby Vaccinium, Gentiana sedi- 

 folia, the smallest in the Andes, the corolla of which closes imme- 

 diately when taken up, Petroselinum depictum, and near the sandy 

 crater, in addition to most of the plants observed on Chimborazo, 

 Sida pichinchensis, Draba alyssoides, and in clefts of rocks the 

 rare Saxifraga andicola. 



