48 NOTES OF A BOTANIST 
species of Adiantum and Lindsaea. At the bottom 
was a grove of palms, chiefly of two species, the 
before-mentioned Assai and the Paxiuba [Iriartea 
exorrhiza). The latter most singular palm has the 
trunk supported on, not a tripod, but a polypod, 
of exserted roots — the spokes of a half-spread um- 
brella may give a very good idea of them, suppos- 
ing a few additional spokes to be inserted between 
the circumference and the axis. Each root or 
spoke is a rigid cylinder, some two inches in dia- 
meter, so beset with hard prickles that it may and 
often does serve as a grater. The fronds are 
shorter than in most palms, and have a graceful 
curl downwards ; and the broad leaflets widen 
gradually to the extremity, where they are 
obliquely truncate and jagged. The yellow fruits 
hang in large tempting clusters, like dates, but 
are too bitter to be eatable — a rare exception 
among palms. Intermixed with the palms grew 
noble ferns, species of Lastraea, Litobrochia, Menis- 
cium, Davallia, Gymnopteris, Alsophila, etc. Of 
the four Alsophilse seen there, two were decidedly 
arborescent, having short trunks ; thus showing 
that near the Equator tree-ferns descend almost 
to the sea- level. On the trunks of the palms 
themselves grew many species of Asplenium 
and Acrostichum ; as also of Pleopeltis, Campy- 
loneuron, etc., whose scaly rhizomes crept up to 
a height of 1 2 or 1 5 feet, and put forth at intervals 
lanceolate fronds beset with convex masses of fruit 
(sori) looking like double rows of buttons ; while 
over both palms and ferns trailed the thread-like 
stems of various Hymenophylla and Trichomanes, 
their delicate pellucid fronds varying from a light 
