568 
VEGETATION OF BRAZIL. 
called the seed-vessel or fruit. No flower 
can produce perfect fruit unless some portion 
of pollen fall on the stigma ; few double 
flowers, therefore, that is to say, flowers in 
which the stamens and pistils have been 
changed by excessive cultivation into petals, 
produce seeds. In the case of dahlias, China- 
asters, &c., there would seem to be an exception 
to this law ; but it is only an apparent one ; 
for what is called a single dahlia, or a single 
China-aster, is not in reality one flower, but an 
assemblage of small flowers or florets, of which 
the yellow central ones are furnished with 
stamens and pistils, and the spreading, petal- 
like ones are furnished with pistils only. 
Consequently, when the central florets are 
changed into spreading florets, they still con- 
tinue to have pistils, and are capable of pro- 
ducing seeds, provided that pollen, either 
from the same flower, or from another flower 
of the same kind, falls on them. But in the 
case of a double stock or wallflower, both 
stamens and pistils are wanting ; these flowers, 
therefore, are always barren." — Pp. 144 — 154. 
VEGETATION OF BRAZIL.* 
Mr. Gardner, in his entertaining book of 
Travels in Brazil, thus describes the nature 
of the vegetation in the neighbourhood of 
Pernambuco. 
" About twenty miles to the westward of 
Pernambuco, there is a small German Colony 
called Catuca .... Being desirous of spend- 
ing a day or two at this place, I started 
early one morning in the beginning of 
November, accompanied by Mr. White, a 
young gentleman whom I had previously 
met on the Organ Mountains, Our route 
for about two hours was through a flat 
country, principally planted with Mandiocca, 
although a great part of it was still uncleared, 
only the large trees having been cut down : 
a few of those remaining rose high above 
their fellows of the wood, and agreeably di- 
versified the landscape. After passing through 
this cultivated country, and ascending a slight 
eminence, we entered the virgin forest. Pre- 
viously the road had been of a sandy nature, 
but now we found it to consist of hard red 
clay. Many of the trees were very lofty, 
although they do not commonly attain the 
stature of those in the Province of Rio, nor 
have their trunks the same circumference. 
* Travels in the Interior of Brazil, principally 
Mirough the Northern Provinces, and the Gold and 
Diamond Districts, daring the years 1836 — 1841, by 
George Gardner, F.L.S., Superintendent of the Royal 
Botanic Garden of Ceylon London : Reeves. [Se- 
cond Notice.] 
Among the shrubs that grew below them, 1 
observed a few Wlelastomaceae., Myrtacece, and 
Rubiacece. Here everything betokened a drit^r 
atmosphere, and a more arid soil than at Rio, 
There were no Ferns, Begonias, Pipers, or 
Orchidaceous plants. On the stems and 
branches of the larger trees a few Brome- 
liacece and Aroideo) were alone to be seen. 
After riding for about an hour through this 
forest, we reached the cleared valley contain- 
ing the cottages of the colonists, several of 
which we passed before reaching the one in 
which we remained. These cottages are gene- 
rally of small size, although much superior in 
cleanliness and neatness of arrangement to 
those belonging; to the same class of Brazilians. 
My friend being desirous of having a few 
days shooting in the woods with one of the 
Germans, I determined to accompany them, 
in the hope of making some additions to my 
Botanical stores. We set off" early, entering 
the wood about a mile from the cottage. Here, 
as in similar situations near the town, I ob- 
served a great deficiency of herbaceous vege- 
tation, and in a walk of about two hours only 
collected a few Ferns. In passing through 
this wood, we saw an enormously large tree, 
a species of Lecythis; the ground beneath it 
was covered with its curious pot-like capsules 
nearly as large as a man's head, their resem- 
blance to a pot being much increased by the 
large lid which falls off" from the top of each 
when the seeds within are ripe. Most of 
those we saw were empty, the nuts having 
been taken out by the monkeys, who are very 
fond of them. Leaving this wood, we sud- 
denly came upon another cleared valley, con- 
taining the ruins of several cottages ; this, we 
were told, had been the first site of the settle- 
ment ; but as the colonists were forbidden to 
cut any more wood in that direction, they 
moved their quarters to the place before 
mentioned. Near these dismantled dwellings 
we found abundance of pine-apples, and le- 
freshed ourselves with some which were ri[)e, 
sheltering ourselves from the sun under the 
shade of an out-house which had formerly 
served as a place for the preparation of 
Farinha from the Mandiocca root. Near this 
place I found two beautiful trees, one of 
them a species of Vochysia, covered with 
long spikes of bright yellow flowers, and the 
other the splendid Moronohea coccinea, liter- 
ally covered with its globular crimson blos- 
soms. In returning I collected specimens of 
a yellow-flowered Palicourea, called Mata 
Rato, not, however, the same plant which is 
'knowa at Rio by the name of Erva do Rato. 
It proves, notwithstanding, that poisonous 
qualities are attributed to different plants of 
t!ie same genus in different parts of the 
countfj." — P. 91, 
