220 TlMEHRi. 
Next clay our onward course in daylight showed us 
the Issororo as a narrow stream between tree-walls not 
over-arching and yet very much higher than is usual in 
rivers so narrow, showed us — as indeed we had painfully 
experienced the previous night — that it wound much ; and 
now it began to be too often interrupted by trees which 
had fallen, with picturesque but unpleasant effect, across 
its whole width. Sometimes these trees had to be cut 
through to allow the passage of our canoe, which, though 
not large, was yet larger than those generally used by 
the Indians of this river ; sometimes it was possible to 
lift the boat, perhaps partially released of its load, 
right over the obstacle ; once we had to drag it over 
land. 
It was while the canoe was out of the water on this 
last occasion that I found for the first time wild in 
Guiana a plant which --I had seen before in gardens, and 
which has often been said to occur in Guiana, though as 
far as I know no distinct locality has pefore been cer- 
tainly recorded. This was a Brownea, perhaps the 
finest, with the exception of the Victoria regia and of 
a Gustavia of which I hope to say more on a future 
occasion, of all the many splendid flowers of Guiana. 
The tree, at least the examples of it which I saw, is 
insignificant and untidy in its wild state, but culti- 
vated it has considerable beauty ; but whether the 
plant be wild or cultivated, the large down-hanging 
cluster of thickset gleaming crimson blossoms is very 
striking. Some of my boat hands who belong to the 
Morooca river, said that it was common enough there, 
and they gave it the name of atarno which is certainly 
