160 



Notes of a Visit to Bogota, 



" Palo de aji," or pepperwood, in allusion to its sharp pungent 

 bark, which tastes like a Capsicum, Berberis glauca, Gentiana 

 corymbosa, and Swertia plantaginea. 



Crossing the plain of Bogota to the south west and passing the 

 Paramo de San Fortunate, where I found Oestrum buxifolium, 

 Siphocampylus asper, Baccharis microphylla, Lupinus bogotensis 

 and the shrubby L. interrupt™, I descended to the more tem- 

 perate regions towards Fusagasuga and Pandi ; here among Ara- 

 cece and Piperacece, I found Fuchsia verrucosa, a dwarf shrub with 

 small scarlet flowers, F. hirtella, whose slender half-climbing stems 

 elevate themselves to the height of 25 feet, seeking support from 

 other shrubs, Siphocampylus hispidus, Centropogon oblongus, 

 Calycophyllum cocci neum, a shrub with large scarlet bracts, Cin- 

 chona nitida, a middle sized tree with a panicle of white sweet 

 scented flowers resembling a Lilac, Ficus prinoides, or India 

 rubber-tree, Vernonia rubricaulis, Stevia compacta, several species 

 of Ferns and some Orchidacece, amongst which were the tall- 

 growing Cyrtopodium punctatum, and the large crimson flowering 

 Cattleya maxima. 



On my journey to Zypaguira (celebrated for its inexhaustible 

 salt-mine), and from thence to Pacho, I observed Symplocos Alsto- 

 nia, Alnus fcrruginea, Tagetes zypaguirensis, Castilleja Jissifolia, 

 Viburnum triphyllum, and molle, several Melastomacea, and 

 Orchidacece, among which were an Oncidium with a twining 

 flower stem, and Odontoglossimi crispum, having a spike two 

 and a half feet in length, and producing from 20 to 27 large 

 white flowers, with a pinkish hue on the outside of the sepals, 

 and orange spots on the lip. 



Having here received instructions to return to Europe with 

 my collections, I left Bogota about the middle of April for Hoxda, 

 where 1 was to embark in the Magdalena. A few days' delay 

 at Guaduas, occasioned by the difficulty of procuring fresh mules, 

 afforded rae an opportunity of examining the flora ; here I P ro " 



