Personal Narrative Of Travels To The Equinoctial Regions Of America During The Years 1799-1804 - Volume 1 - By Alexander Von Humboldt And Aime Bonpland.
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M. Bonpland Found On The Plaga Chica The
Allionia Incarnata, In The Same Place Where The Unfortunate
Loefling Had Discovered
This new genus of Nyctagineae.) The soil of
the plain is in part destitute of vegetation, in part covered with
Tufts of Sesuvium portulacastrum, Gomphrena flava, G. myrtifolia,
Talinum cuspidatum, T. cumanense, and Portulaca lanuginosa. Among
these herbaceous plants we find at intervals the Avicennia
tomentosa, the Scoparia dulcis, a frutescent mimosa with very
irritable leaves,* and particularly cassias, the number of which is
so great in South America, that we collected, in our travels, more
than thirty new species. (* The Spaniards designate by the name of
dormideras (sleeping plants), the small number of mimosas with
irritable leaves. We have increased this number by three species
previously unknown to botanists, namely, the Mimosa humilis of
Cumana, the M. pellita of the savannahs of Calabozo, and the M.
dormiens of the banks of the Apure.)
On leaving the Indian suburb, and ascending the river southward, we
found a grove of cactus, a delightful spot, shaded by tamarinds,
brazilettos, bombax, and other plants, remarkable for their leaves
and flowers. The soil here is rich in pasturage, and dairy-houses
built with reeds, are separated from each other by clumps of trees.
The milk remains fresh, when kept, not in the calabashes* of very
thick ligneous fibres (* These calabashes are made from the fruit
of the Crescentia cujete.), but in porous earthen vessels from
Maniquarez. A prejudice prevalent in northern countries had long
led me to believe, that cows, under the torrid zone, did not yield
rich milk; but my abode at Cumana, and especially an excursion
through the vast plains of Calabozo, covered with grasses, and
herbaceous sensitive plants, convinced me that the ruminating
animals of Europe become perfectly habituated to the hottest
climates, provided they find water and good nourishment.
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