cies rarely reaching a height of
200 ft. The average is probably less than one-half that height. This
is especially true of the flood plains where the annual inundations
prevent the formation of humus and retard forest growth. The largest
of the Amazon forest trees are the _massaranduba_ (_Mimusops elata_),
called the cow-tree because of its milky sap, the _samauma_
(_Eriodendron samauma_) or silk-cotton tree, the _pau d' arco_
(_Tecoma speciosa_), _pau d' alho_ (_Catraeva tapia_), _bacori_
(_Symphonea coccinea_), _sapucaia_ (_Lecythis ollaria_), and
_castanheira_ or brazil-nut tree (_Bertholletia excelsa_). The Amazon
region has a comparatively narrow frontage on the Atlantic. In
Maranhao, which belongs to the coast region, open spaces or _campos_
appear, though the state is well wooded and its forests have the
general characteristics of the lower Amazon. South-east of the
Parnahyba the coast region becomes dryer and more sandy and the
forests disappear. The coast and tide-water rivers are fringed with
mangrove, and the sandy plain reaching back to the margin of the
inland plateau is generally bare of vegetation, though the carnahuba
palm (_Copernicia cerifera_) and some species of low-growing trees are
to be found in many places. The higher levels of this plain are
covered with shrubs and small trees, principally mimosas. The slopes
of the plateau, which receive a better rainfall, are more heavily
forested, some districts being covered with deciduous trees, forming
_catingas_ in local parlance. This dry, thinly-wooded region extends
south to the states of Parahyba, where a more regular rainfall favours
forest growth nearer the coast. Between Parahyba and southern Bahia
forests and open plains are intermingled; thence southward the narrow
coastal plain and bordering mountain slopes are heavily forested. The
sea-coast, bays and tide-water rivers are still fringed with mangrove,
and on the sandy shores above Cape Frio grow large numbers of the
exotic cocoa-nut palm. Many species of indigenous palms abound, and in
places the forests are indescribably luxuriant. These are made up, as
Prince Max zu Neuwied found in southern Bahia in 1817, "of the genera
_Cocos_, _Melastoma_, _Bignonia_, _Rhexia_, _Mimosa_, _Inga_,
_Bombax_, _Ilex_, _Laurus_, _Myrthus_, _Eugenia_, _Jacaranda_,
_Jatropha_, _Visinia_, _Lecythis_, _Ficus_, and a thousand other, for
the most