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xvin CANELOS TO BANGS 169
NOTE ON THE VEGETATION OF THE MONTANA
OF CANELOS
The circumstances under which I travelled prevented
me paying any attention to the phaenogamous
plants, nor did I throughout the journey see any
large tree in flower, save two or three times a
species of Laurel. After the first two days from
Canelos, I was much struck by the abundance and
variety of the ferns and mosses : I every day
ferns new to me. The scarcity of tree-ferns
saw
was
notable, since around Tarapoto, at the same alti-
tude, I had seen such abundance and variety
of them.
Between Alapoto and Rio Verde I first came
on a tree-fern growing gregariously ; it was a
species of Cyathea, with a stout trunk, and I cannot
distinguish it from a Tarapoto species.
Among the stemless species
was a handsome
Marattia, and I was much struck by twining species
of several genera. In an excursion since made
(October) as far as Mount Abitagua, I have, however,
been able to gather several of these ferns.
Among
the mosses what I most remarked was
the great abundance of Hookerise, which was indeed
equally notable on the Upper Bombonasa.
The most abundant palm, as far as Mount
Abitagua, was Iriartca vcutricosa, and up to this
point extends the YVettinia, but west of the
Abitagua it entirely disappears.
In descending the western side of that mountain
I first saw the noble Wax palm, Iriartca andic ita,
which is said to exist in some abundance on the
ridges running down south from Llanganati. Between
the Topo and Rio Verde there is a good