File:Contributions from the Botanical Laboratory, vol. 11 (1934) (20662085836).jpg

Title: Contributions from the Botanical Laboratory, vol. 11
Identifier: contributionsfro11univ (find matches)
Year: 1934 (1930s)
Authors: University of Pennsylvania. Botanical Laboratory; University of Pennsylvania. Morris Arboretum
Subjects: Botany; Botany
Publisher: Philadelphia : (s. n. )
Contributing Library: Penn State University
Digitizing Sponsor: Lyrasis Members and Sloan Foundation

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10 S 20 MILES / 73 10 20 KILOMETERS Heights in meters Fig, I—Map of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta showing the author's route. 1931 Griffith Taylor made an ascent of the western slopes: he described his observa- tions under the title of Settlement Zones of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia."^ In 1932 the writer made a geobotanical excursion into the massif from the north: he here gives an account of the zonal distributions on the northern slopes. The western route has also been used by Mason^ and Cabot,' the northern trail by Carriker,"* Wollaston,^ and. in part, by De Brettes.^ The best time of year for a visit to the Sierra Nevada is determined by one's interest. For alpine climbing and distant views the dry and clear season, from January to March, is the better. For biological study the early part of the rainy season, when plant and animal life are at their best, is preferable. On the northern slope, east of Santa Marta, there is a lull in the rainy season during late June and July, the "verano de San Juan," of which it is well to take advantage. *I wish to express my gratitude for the courteous hospitality and material assistance of their Excellencies, Don Miguel A. Zuniga. Acting Governor of the Province of Magdalena, and Don Manuel Julian de Mier, Mayor of Santa Marta. I am also indebted to Mr. Ellsworth Killip, of the United States National Museum, for the identification of many of the plants collected. » Geogr, Rev., Vol. 21, 1931. PP. 539-558. 'J. A. Mason: Archaeology of Santa Marta, Colombia: The Tairona Culture, Field Museum of Nat. Hist. Publ. 304 (Anthropol. Ser., Vol. 20, No. i), Chicago, 1931. ' T. D. Cabot: Mountains of the Caribbean, Appalachia, Vol. 18, 1930-1931. pp. 17-22, * W. E. C. Todd and M. A. Carriker, Jr.: The Birds of the Santa Marta Region of Colombia: A Study in Altitudinal Distribution, Annals Carnegie Museum, Vol. 14, 1922, pp. 3-611. ' A. F. R. Wollaston: The Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta, Colombia, Geogr. Journ., Vol. 66, I925t pp. 97-111. • Joseph de Brettes: Chez les Indiens du Nord de la Colombie, Le Tour du Monde, Vol. 4 (N.S.), 1898, pp. 61-96 and 433-480. 478 fX. * ^St^ VI- 4) ^ >4 ^ k ^T -^ ^l^ SIERRA NEVADA DE SANTA MARTA 479
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Fig. 2—A street in Dibulla, with coconut palms. The narrative of our ascent of the mountains begins at Dibulla (Fig. 2), a hot, malaria-infested negro settlement 60 miles east of Santa Marta. The trail follows the shore for some five miles westward, passing one of the few coconut plantations of the region, the coastal vegetation otherwise consisting almost wholly of the low tree Coccoloha (sea grape). The trail then turns inland across the plain where all of the discomforts of travel in the tropics seem to be combined—insects, heat, dust, marshes, and the absence of drinking water. It is, however, by no means without interest for the naturalist, for here, in the xerophytic coastal zone, is the home of the palmiche palm (Euterpe), the giant cactus (Cephalocereus), the sprawling calabash tree (Crescentia), which is so typical of Caribbean shores, and the bottle tree (Ster- culia rupestris), with its bulging trunk. Taylor refers to this last-mentioned tree as very characteristic of the somewhat higher xerophytic zone on the west slope. The Lowland Forest Ten to twelve miles from the shore bring one to the edge of the lowland forest. Here, in clearings near the site of the ancient village of Bonga, the natives have their garden patches—plantain, corn, and yuca; banana, papaya, and pineapple. The

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