NOTES OF A BOTANIST 
of white sand over granite. There are no Selaginellse on the 
ground and few twiners in the trees, hence the forest is easily 
traversable. The mass of the vegetation is a Csesalpinieous tree 
(gathered also in the caatinga at Uanauaca) which does not 
exceed 50-60 feet in height. There are also scattered loftier, 
thicker trees. In interspaces are smaller trees with few, weak 
branches (including two Melastomea, other two which from their 
habit may be Olacacea, and a few others). The most frequent is 
an Amyridea. All are remarkable for slender stems not exceed- 
ing 10-15 feet, and scanty, long, irregular, weak branches. The few 
twiners are mostly herbaceous. 
An Acanthea whose succulent stems crawl by means of rootlets 
and occasionally twine is frequent on the smaller trees, rarely 
reaching up them farther than 3-4 feet. But frequent above all 
is an Orontiacea, whose slender green woody stems are branched 
and closely clasp the supporting tree by means^ of ring-like roots ; 
it sometimes ascends the highest trees, but prefers the Amyridea, 
which it not infrequently kills, while from the summit of the dead 
tree it sends out a pendulous crown of distantly leafy branches. 
It is one of the sipos called Timb6-titica so useful for cordage, 
but there is a better kind than this, with larger leaves and very 
tough stems. The stems of this are rather brittle. 
Beyond the caatinga lies the caa-uagu. Here much of the 
undergrowth consists of a slender Myrsinea, 10-18 feet high, with 
pendulous panicles of small pale pink flowers, followed by black 
shining drupes the size of a wild cherry. The same is abundant 
all the way up the serra. There is also a Rutacea (apparently a 
species of Galipea) tolerably frequent, remarkable for its simple 
stem 6 to 30 feet high with a corona of large digitate leaves and 
racemes of cream-coloured flowers at its summit. It is one of the 
plants used under the name of Timbo for killing fish. A large 
twiner of the same genus as the Flor do Espirito Sando from the 
Barra is also frequent. 
In caatingas near the base of the serras the trees are still lower 
and they are mostly clad with Mosses and Jungermannia to their 
slenderest twigs, the same tribes forming often a conical sheath at 
their bases. Amongst the Mosses are perched Ferns (several 
species of Acrostichums), Bromeliaceas and Orchids, the last 
chiefly small-flowered species. Mosses also grow on the ground 
in some places and on fallen trunks. 
In caatingas at Uanauaca, which were very moist and appar- 
ently with water standing on them in w^inter (though not inundated 
from the river), the rootlets of the trees project from the soil in a 
dense netted mass, called by the Indians Samambaya (the same 
name they give to Ferns). 
On Wednesday, March 10, I sent Gama and 
