i?. Schomburgk^ Dr. Phil. 41" 
scanty vegetation, except the Mauritia palm, being limited to 
a few species Although it seemed impossible to ns to proceed 
on our journey, over the precipices before us, we were told by 
our guides that this steep ridge must be crossed. After a 
long search we succeeded at last in finding an accessible path 
up to the ridge, which we followed in a north-westerly 
direction. Tracts, covered with rocks and boulders in great 
confusion, had attracted our attention for some days ; but 
such a wild chaos as we found here we had not met with 
before. For every particularly- formed rock the Indians had 
a special name, and would relate a separate legend. Most 
remarkable was one of these formatic^ns. On a granite rock, 
rising about sixteen feet perpendicular, and rounded at the 
top, was lying another block of an oval shape, which was 
again crowned by one somewhat smaller, of a round form. 
Had there been a possibility that human hands could have 
erected such a structure we could not have denied it. The 
whole of it rose a little more than twenty-five feet above 
the proper ridge of the mountain. In whatever direction the 
eye would look it would meet the most peculiar, grotesque 
rocks, ridges, and riffs. 
On the banks of some rivulets which we crossed in the 
afternoon, appeared again a shrubby vegetation. The pleasure 
was heightened when these shrubs were seen covered with 
flowers, which I had not met with before ; they belonged to the 
orders of Proteaceae and Ternstroemiaceae, and were the first 
representatives of the very interesting genera Rhopala and 
Ternstroemia. The whole air w^as perfumed with the 
vanilla-like fragrance of the Rhopala complicata, Humb. and 
BonpL This interesting genus appears at an elevation of 
1,200 to 1,500 feet above the level of the sea, although I 
found ihe Rhopala nitkla. Rudge, in the neigborhood of Pirara. 
The Ternstroemia proved to be a new species, T. ruhicunda, 
Elotzsch. Small trees of a Himiriaceay and shrubs of the 
peculiar odoriferous Antonia pilosa. Hook, changed with the 
above named plants, and formed an interesting border ^ along 
the banks of the rivulet. An oasis, through which it was 
flowing, invited us to fix our camp near it. I detected 
some new forms of plants, to which belonged the Hyptis 
membranacea, Benth.. with its tender light blue lip shaped 
flowers, and green calyx, which, according as the>ays of the 
sun fell on it, changed from green to white, and to pink. The 
leaves of this magnificient tree, which reaches a height of 
