Page:The naturalist on the River Amazons 1863 v2.djvu/231

 more elevated and drier situations. A third kind is the Pamá, which is a stone-fruit, similar in colour and appearance to the cherry, but of oblong shape. The tree is one of the loftiest in the forest, and has never, I believe, been selected for cultivation. To get at the fruit the natives are obliged to climb to the height of about a hundred feet, and cut off the heavily laden branches. I have already mentioned the Umarí and the Wishí: both these are now cultivated. The fatty, bitter pulp which surrounds the large stony seeds of these fruits is eaten mixed with farinha, and is very nourishing. Another cultivated fruit is the Purumá (Puruma cecropiæfolia, Martius), a round juicy berry, growing in large bunches and resembling grapes in taste. The tree is deceptively like a Cecropia in the shape of its foliage. Another smaller kind, called Purumá-i, grows wild in the forest close to Ega, and has not yet been planted. The most singular of all these fruits is the Uikí, which is of oblong shape, and grows apparently crosswise on the end of its stalk. When ripe the thick green rind opens by a natural cleft across the middle, and discloses an oval seed the size of a damascene plum, but of a vivid crimson colour. This bright hue belongs to a thin coating of pulp which, when the seeds are mixed in a plate of stewed bananas, gives to the mess a pleasant rosy tint, and a rich creamy taste and consistence. Mingau (porridge) of bananas