JOHNSTON: FL6RA OF MARGARITA ISLAND. 279 
tiny Cijpselea humifusa. Euphorbia iJiymifoUa, Ihjsanthes riparia, 
mid small specimens of Mollugo vcrticillaia. 
Inland from these wastes are the plains covered with the melon 
cactus, the flat-stemmed Opuntia, the symmetrical tree-like Pereskia, 
and the candelabra-shaped, tall Cereus ehurneus. All these are thorny 
and more or less fleshy plants. In addition are the arborescent 
acacias, and Capparis ci/nopJiaUophora; the shrubby Croton flavens, 
Crotoii Mllleri, Jatropha gossijpijolia, and Jatropha urens, and the 
small shrub Stylosanthes. 
The desolation of the plains is emphasized on the hills by the addi- 
tion of great stretches of Agave and Aloe which make the regions 
almost inaccessible. The high parts of the hills have dense growths 
of bushes, as Cordia cijJindristachya, C. glohosa, Securidaca, Capparis 
verrucosa, and Heteropteris laurifolia. Then scattered over the hills 
are the small trees of Capparis ci/nophallophora, C. linearis, Bursera, 
and Steriphoma. Along the hilltops are a few larger trees of Mori- 
sonia and Clusia'. These trees have leathery and very large leaves 
in all cases except Bursera and Capparis linearis. The undergrowth 
among the trees on the hills consists of the green-stemmed Pedi- 
lanthus, the bushy Brunfelsia, and the bromeliaceous plants Aechmea 
and Thecophyllum. Here are a few epiphytes as Oncidium, the cac- 
tus Rhipsalis, a few Polypodiums, some of the Bromeliaceae, and 
Anthurium scandens. 
The vegetation of the valleys, with the exception of Asuncion and 
El Valle, is similar in general to that of the hills and the plains. 
These two valleys have groves of coconut, mango, sapodilla, and orange 
trees, and in consequence aft'ord a good place for the growth of annual 
plants. The river beds and arroyas are the most interesting places in 
the valleys. The only large river bed on the island is that extending 
from the mountain through El Valle to the sea at Porlamar. It is bor- 
dered with such trees as Crataeva Tapia, Guajacum arhoreum, Loncho- 
carpus, Pithecolobium, and Bombax, all with tall gray trunks. ^ There 
are many bushes, some half-climbers, Chiococca, Cestrum, Malpighia 
purpurea, Solanum, Acacia, and ]Marsdenia. The arroyas or gullies 
high up in the valleys have the small tree Tecoma, the shrub Cordia 
glohosa, and the vine Bignonia. 
The mountain furnishes varied situations and conditions for the 
growth of plants. In general it is forested from 300 m. nearly to the 
summit ; in the valleys the woods grow at a lower altitude also. The 
