40 
DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF NEW PLANTS. 
or Governor, Don Jose Maria Zarate, who, with much kindness, 
immediately ordered the Cacique to send Indians with a yoke of 
oxen for the purpose of drawing a canoe from the river Yacuma 
to the lake. Being apprized that the canoe was in readiness, I 
returned in the afternoon with several Indians to assist in carry¬ 
ing home the expected prize of leaves and flowers. The canoe 
being very small, only three persons could embark ; myself in the 
middle, and an Indian in the bows and stern. In this tottering 
little bark we rowed amongst magnificent leaves and flowers, crush¬ 
ing unavoidably some, and selecting only such as pleased me. The 
leaves being so enormous I could find room in the canoe for hut 
two, one before me and the other behind ; owing to their being 
very fragile, even in a green state, care was necessary to transport 
them, and thus we had to make several trips before I could ob¬ 
tain the number required. Having loaded myself with leaves, 
flowers, and ripe seed-vessels, I next mused how they were to be 
conveyed in safety, and determined at length upon suspending 
them on long poles with small cord, tied to the stalks of the 
leaves and flowers. Two Indians, each taking on his shoulder 
an end of the pole, carried them into the town, the poor creatures 
wondering all the while what could induce me to be at so much 
trouble to get at flowers, and for what purpose I destined them 
now they were in my possession.’ 5 
This splendid plant has undoubtedly a very extensive geogra¬ 
phical range; the town of Santa Anna is situated between the 
13th and 14th parallels of south latitude, which I consider about 
its most southern limit, because I sought it in vain further south 
in the department of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. May we not justly 
suppose that it is also found as far north as the equator ? thus 
occupying about 28° of northern and southern latitude. Dr. 
Weddel, the botanist of the French expedition across the Ameri¬ 
can continent, informed me that he had found it about the same 
latitude in Brazil. It occupies without doubt many of those 
immense lakes lying between the rivers Mamore, Beni, and the 
Amazons, that central part of the continent yet but little known. 
“The leaves are round, varying considerably in size, the 
largest about four feet in diameter (Schomburgh says from five 
to six feet) ; they float on the surface of the water, the colour is 
a very light green, in age inclining to yellow, some of them 
