106 



THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 



[July, 



THE WILD FLOWERS 01 PARA, 



FOURTH PAPER. 



About midway between the Largo do 

 Palacio and the Largo of St. Jose is a reach 

 of low ground extending westward from the 

 newer quarter of Naraze to what is called 

 the old city. This ground, in very high tides 

 or sudden rises of the river, is liable to over- 

 flow. It is intersected by the Estrada de St. 

 Jose and by all the roads running southeast, 

 and to protect these roads in case of flood 

 deep ditches are dug on each side of them ; 

 these are palisaded with strong stakes of 

 some of the almost indestructible native 

 woods, to prevent the soil from caving in, and 

 rooting among these stakes, and on the sides 

 and tops of these ditches, we find many 

 beautiful flowers. Indeed, the whole of this 

 low region is prolific of flowers, especially 

 those which love a moist soil, for, though the 

 surface is often dried up in summer, the sub- 

 soil is always wet. 



Conspicuous among these plants are many 

 species of bright-leaved Caladiums, which 

 grow in great abundance and attain a size, 

 both in plant and foliage, which we never see 

 in our greenhouses. We have noticed C. 

 bicolor four feet in height, and C. Chant inii 

 almost as tall, and have measured leaves of 

 both which, from tip to tip, were twenty-four 

 inches in length and of a corresponding 

 breadth, and these were not exceptional 

 cases, for larger could doubtless be found. 

 The coloring, too, is very rich, and the effect 

 of masses of these plants can be better 

 imagined than described. The two species 

 mentioned are those most commonly seen, 

 but there are many others of less frequent 

 occurrence. There is scarcely a bit of moist 

 ground in the vicinity where Caladiurns are 

 not found in some species, but it is only 

 during a portion of the year that they are 

 seen in full beauty. During the rainy sea- 

 son, say from December to May, they are 

 very showy ; as the rains grow less frequent 

 the foliage of most species dies down, though, 

 as rain is seldom wanting for many succes- 

 sive days, they can be found every day in the 

 year. While in our greenhouses the foliage 

 is their only attraction, here in Para, their 

 native country, they show flowers very freely, 

 and the large white blossoms which often 

 rise well above the leaves add not a little to 

 the beauty of the plant. The native name 

 is " Taja," pronounced " Tarjah." They are 

 also very common in the gardens ; in our 

 own we have about forty species, many of 

 which we have never seen in the United 

 States ; and the borders of many of our 

 flower-beds are formed by the beautiful 

 dwarf species C. argyrites, which makes long 

 lines of lovely green and white foliage. A 

 species with hastate foliage and copper- 

 colored leaves, with red lines, is very showy, 

 and one which develops on the back of each 

 leaf a large half-folded leaf is very curious ; 

 this latter is called " Tamba Taj.i," and is a 

 rare species. 



Of true Callas we have seen none around 

 Para, but on the Upper Amazon there is a 

 very lovely species which has flowers with a 

 very long white spathe. An allied plant, re- 

 sembling in growth Calocasia odorata, is very 

 common on all moist ground. Along the 



Amazon it grows by the thousands of acres, 

 often lining the river for miles. The leaves 

 are large, dark green ; the flower very large, 

 white, and of an unpleasant odor. This plant 

 varies much in height, often standing only a 

 foot out of the water, and again growing ten 

 feet high, with immense stems. It is called 

 ' ' Aninga " by the natives. 



Another marsh plant, which often covers 

 large tracts, is a species of Pontederia ; it 

 much resembles the co mm on species of the 

 United States, but the leaf is broader and 

 not so long, and the flower does not stand so 

 high above the foliage, and is of a lighter 

 blue. One of the most beautiful water-plants 

 of the Amazon is Eichoria speciosa, formerly 

 called Pontederia crassipes. In Para we have 

 seen it only in the Botanic Garden, but it fills 

 every little bay on the Middle Amazon. The 

 foot-stalk of the leaf is curiously swollen at 

 the middle and full of a spongy tissue ; the 

 flower is in spikes, large, lavender blue, with 

 well-defined shaded centers ; there is, also, a 

 pure white variety, but it is very rare ; among 

 hundreds of thousands of plants we never 

 saw but two. The plant which of all that we 

 see on the Estrada de St. Jose" most attracts 

 attention is a Pancratium; it grows by 

 thousands by the side of the ditches which 

 we have mentioned, and is in perpetual 

 bloom. The foliage is long, Amaryllis-like ; 

 the flowers are something like those of P. ro- 

 tation, but are larger. The flower-stalk rises 

 from a foot to eighteen inches in height, and 

 the bud-sheath unfolds from five to fifteen 

 flowers, according to the strength of the bulb. 

 The color is pure white, often shading to 

 pink, and the perfume is delicious. Often 

 on our way to our office we gather bunches 

 of these flowers as large as we can carry, 

 and it is amusing to see the scornful looks of 

 the people we pass, who cannot understand 

 any one caring for so common a flower, for, 

 fond as the negroes and Indians are of wear- 

 ing flowers, especially white ones, in their 

 hair — and one rarely sees them without — we 

 never yet saw one of these flowers worn, 

 beautiful and fragrant as they are. 



Of Amaryllis, of which Brazil is the native 

 country, we have found none wild around 

 Para. They are common in the gardens, 

 and we have often seen them in abundance 

 on the Middle Amazon, and especially so in 

 Eastern Peru, where the climate is cooler. 

 Another common flower on the sides of these 

 ditches is a Heliconia, which has long, eanna- 

 like foliage, and spikes of red and yellow 

 flowers. This plant seems to be indifferent 

 as to soil, for it grows equally well in the 

 marshes, in the sandy soil of the plains, and 

 in the deep alluvial earth of the forests. In 

 height it varies from one to six feet, the 

 greater development being in the woods, 

 where it has to push up to reach the light. 

 It flowers more freely in dry, sandy soil, but 

 wherever seen its bright colors attract 

 attention. It has also the merit of lasting 

 many days in water, in contrast to the 

 majority of flowers here, which, when gath- 

 ered and brought into the house, soon 

 wither. 



Leaving the marshy district we come to 

 higher ground, and the vegetation changes, 

 the moisture-loving plants giving place to 

 those which like a drier soil. Conspicuous 

 among these is a species of Hibiscus. It is 

 a low-spreading shrub, hardly ever rising 

 above eighteen inches in height. The flower 

 is two inches in diameter, canary yellow, 



with black center, somewhat resembling the 

 African Hibiscus of our gardens, but far 

 more showy. 



From J anuary to December it is one of the 

 most showy plants of the roadsides, and, as 

 seedling plants begin to bloom when only a 

 few inches in height, it is well worthy of 

 cultivation. 



A class of plants which is very sparingly 

 represented around Para is Ferns. One 

 would suppose that in a climate where it 

 rains so frequently they would abound, but 

 we have met with few species. A few weeks 

 ago there was a very beautiful Climbing Fern 

 (Lygodium) which covered a fence on the 

 road to our house ; we never passed it with- 

 out stopping to admire its beauty and to 

 gather fronds for the house vases. But one 

 afternoon we found it all withering. The 

 owner of the land was clearing his fences, 

 and the Fern, with all the bright Morning- 

 Glories and other creepers, was cut down. A 

 few months, however, will see it again in 

 full beauty, for, persistent as the people here 

 are in denuding the fences, luxuriant Nature 

 is too strong for them, and plants grow as 

 fast as they can clear them away. 



The branches of the Mangoes and many 

 other large trees are often completely cov- 

 ered by a small Creeping Fern, with dark 

 green lanceolate leaf, which roots along its 

 whole growth. The effect is very pretty, 

 and the plant does not injure the tree. After 

 a season of drought, where fully exposed to 

 the sun, this Fern shrivels up and appears 

 dead; but with the first shower the fronds 

 open bright and green as ever. 



We have purposely left a description of 

 Orchids for the conclusion of our article. 

 These, in the city itself, are very few, but in 

 the surrounding swamps there are plenty of 

 Gongoras, Stanhopeas, Epidendrums, a spe- 

 cies of Cycnoches, and many small flowering 

 species of no cultural value. In the drier 

 woods we also find plenty of Catasetums and 

 a few Oneidiums. 



The most showy Orchid of common occur- 

 rence in the city is Bodriqueza secunda. 

 Authorities tell us that this plant is a native 

 of Mexico, and it may first have been brought 

 to England from that country, for it has the 

 widest distribution in the Amazon Valley of 

 any plant with which we are acquainted, 

 being found from Para away up to the foot- 

 hills of the Andes. It is especially plenty 

 in Para, usually growing upon the Mango 

 trees, and in the quarter of Nazare, the 

 Estrada of which is lined with these trees ; 

 it forms large tufts along the branches. 

 When these are covered with the bright 

 pink blossoms in January, the sight ia very 

 pretty, and when, later, the seed-capsules 

 open, showing the white inside, the effect is 

 that of a mass of curious white flowers. 



There is another very pretty little Orchid 

 which is by no means as common, Oncidium 

 iridifoliiim. It is a little gem of a plant, never 

 more than an inch in height, the leaves 

 arranged like a miniature open fan ; the 

 flowers are bright yellow and very large for 

 the plant. 



Thus have we on one road gathered our 

 bouquet of wild flowers ; that we have men- 

 tioned all is impossible, for were we to take 

 another road we should find many more, but 

 we have described enough to give the reader 

 an idea of the wealth of floral beauty to be 

 found wild in the city of Para. 



E. S. Band, Jr. 



