38o 



THE UPPER AMAZONS 



in appearance, small round pears ; but the rind is rather 

 hard, and contains a gummy milk, and the pulpy part is 

 almost as delicious as that of the Jabuti-puhe. The 

 Cuma tree is of moderate height, and grows rather plenti- 

 fully in the more elevated and drier situations. A third 

 kind is the Pama, which is a stone-fruit, similar in colour 

 and appearance to the cherry, but of oblong shape. The 

 tree is one of the loftiest in the forest, and has never, I 

 believe, been selected for cultivation. To get at the fruit 

 the natives are obliged to climb to the height of about a 

 hundred feet, and cut off the heavily laden branches. I 

 have already mentioned the Umari and the Wishi : both 

 these are now cultivated. The fatty, bitter pulp which 

 surrounds the large stony seeds of these fruits is eaten 

 mixed with farinha, and is very nourishing. Another 

 cultivated fruit is the Puruma (Puruma cecropiaefolia, 

 Martins), a round juicy berry, growing in large bunches 

 and resembling grapes in taste. The tree is deceptively 

 like a Cecropia in the shape of its foliage. Another 

 smaller kind, called Puruma-i grows wild in the forest close 

 to Ega, and has not yet been planted. The most singular 

 of all these fruits is the Uiki, which is of oblong shape, 

 and grows apparently crosswise on the end of its stalk. 

 When ripe the thick green rind opens by a natural cleft 

 across the middle, and discloses an oval seed the size of a 

 damascene plum, but of a vivid crimson colour. This 

 bright hue belongs to a thin coating of pulp which, when 

 the seeds are mixed in a plate of stewed bananas, gives to 

 the mess a pleasant rosy tint, and a rich creamy taste and 

 consistence. Mingau (porridge) of bananas flavoured 

 and coloured with Uiki is a favourite dish at Ega. The 

 fruit, like most of the others here mentioned, ripens in 

 January. Many smaller fruits such as Wajuru (probably 

 a species of Achras), the size of a gooseberry, which grows 

 singly and contains a sweet gelatinous pulp enclosing two 

 large, shining black seeds ; Cashipari-arapaa, an oblong 

 scarlet berry ; two kinds of Bacuri, the Bacuri-siuma 

 and the B. curua, sour fruits of a bright lemon colour 

 when ripe, and a great number of others, are of less im- 

 portance as articles of food. 



The celebrated ' Peach palm Pupunha of the Tupi 

 nations (Guilielma speciosa), is a common tree at Ega. 

 The name, I suppose, is an allusion to the colour of the 

 fruit, and not to its flavour, for it is dry and mealy, and 



