Untitled - The Alfred Russel Wallace Website

THE FORESTS OF ALAUSl 249
capsules are usually elongate-oblong, but vary to
roundish oblong. Trees of the Pata de gallinazo
were scarce, and I did not see any in flower or
fruit. Both sorts have the leaves broadly oval,
with or without a slight apiculus, and pubescent
beneath ; but in the Cuchicara the petiole and
midrib are red, which is not the case with those of
the Pata de gallinazo, nor do the leaves of the
latter turn so red with age. . . .
Of the trees growing along with the Cascarillas
in Llalla the Motilon was the most frequent and
the largest, attaining sometimes 60 feet in height.
This is the second species I have gathered under
this name ; the fruit is an edible drupe, but I
hesitate to refer the genus to Amygdalese until I
see the flower. With the Motilon grew, however,
a true Cerasus, with very large leaves it had
;
flowers and young fruit. Other trees in the same
forest were the Hualla, the Ignia, a Berberis, a
Khamnus, a Nonatelia, two Myrtacese, and especi-
ally an arborescent Loranthus, with dense spikes
of fragrant yellow flowers the leaves on some
ramuli alternate, on others opposite, and on others
three . . . together. The shrubs included a Barnadesia,
two Salvise, a sarmentose Fuchsia, and most
abundant and ornamental, an aphyllous Fuchsia,
epiphytal and climbing high up the trees, which it
adorned with its large vermilion flowers.
Patches of verdant pasture were scattered in the
forests, and in these I gathered a stoloniferous
Ranunculus new to me, a small Juncus, a curious
Rubiacea allied to Richardsonia, two lonidia, the
one with red the other with scarlet flowers, and
some other herbs. In the woods there was also a