CHAPTER XII.

GIANT TREES AND CHARACTERISTIC FORMS OF TROPICAL VEGETATION.

General Remarks--The Baobab--Used as a Vegetable Cistern-- Arborescent Euphorbias--The Dracæna of Orotava--The Sycamore-- The Banyan--The sacred Bo-Tree of Anarajapoora--The Teak Tree-- The Saul--The Sandal Tree--The Satinwood Tree--The Ceiba-- The Mahogany Tree--The Mora--Bamboos--The Guadua--Beauty and multifarious Uses of these colossal Grasses--Firing the Jungle--The Aloes--The Agave americana--The Bromelias--The Cactuses--The Mimosas--Bush-ropes--Climbing Trees--Emblems of Ingratitude--Marriage of the Fig Tree and the Palm--Epiphytes-- Water Plants--Singularly-shaped Trees--The Barrigudo--The Bottle Tree--Trees with Buttresses and fantastical Roots-- The Mangroves--Their Importance in Furthering the Growth of Land-Animal Life among the Mangroves--‘Jumping Johnny’-- Insalubrity of the Mangrove Swamps--The Lum--Trees with formidable Spines 120