Gradually ascending to the higher altitude, those who can tear their eyes away from the beautiful view of the Bay of Funchal and the curiously shaped hills above the villages of Santo Antonio and Santo Amaro will notice that by the roadside, in the moisture exuding from between the rocks, the innumerable ferns and the common foxglove, which at a lower altitude were so abundant, will gradually vanish. The myrtles, formerly so fine, are now unfortunately becoming almost scarce, owing to their injudicious destruction for ornamenting churches and adorning religious processions, after a height of 3,000 feet are no longer to be seen, and the country gradually becomes barren of vegetation. Rocks of basalt and red tufa appear, and the long sweeps of turf are only broken by large bushes of a heath, called, I believe, Erica scoparia, which, from being constantly eaten off by the mountain sheep and goats, gets a curiously distorted and stunted growth, though they eventually attain to a large size, and have such venerable-looking stems that they are suggestive of the dwarfed trees of the Japanese. Then comes the region of the Vaccinium Maderense, or padifolium, which varies in appearance according to the season. In winter it has crimson foliage, then it bears waxy bell-shaped blossoms, and in autumn is covered with almost black berries. From the situation in which it grows, exposed to the full blast of the north wind which sweeps over that stretch of country, it also has a bent and distorted appearance; and the dampness of the air—as, more often than not, at this altitude a white mist envelops the land—causes its stems to be covered with the Usnea lichen, which waves from one tree to another like masses of long green hair.
A turn in the road, at an altitude of some 4,800 feet, just beyond the rest-house at the bleak spot known as the Poizo, reveals a grand chain of mountains, with deep ravines running down to the sea. The traveller’s path will wind, in zigzag fashion, down the steep mountain-side, and gradually the Vaccinium will be left behind and the beautiful ravine of Ribeiro Frio is entered—thickly wooded with many varieties of the laurel tribe, which in their turn have their stems clothed with lichen.
To collectors of wild-flowers and ferns these mountain expeditions are a never-ending joy, as, according to the different seasons of the year, innumerable treasures are to be found. A ramble along the many levadas, or water-courses, will well repay the collector, as at all seasons, ferns, mosses, lichens, lycopodiums, and hosts of other moisture-loving plants, are to be found; while in June and July, when the wild-flowers are in all their glory, many rare and interesting plants will appear. The levada which runs through the Metade Valley was formerly the home of the Orchis foliosa, the orchis known everywhere as peculiar to Madeira, and its bright purple spikes brightened the dense masses of green. Of late years the plant has become scarce, probably ruthlessly uprooted by passers-by, or in order to be offered for sale in the town of Funchal. In describing this beautiful ravine, over which towers Pico Ruivo and the Torres, both some 6,000 feet in height, Miss Taylor, who was a great authority on native ferns, says: “Many rare and beautiful ferns will be found, growing both close to the running water and on the mountain-sides above the levada. Trichomanes radicans and Hymenophyllum Tunbridgense grow in great abundance; also Acrostichum squamosum, Pteris arguta, Asplenium umbrosum, Woodwardia radicans, and numberless others. Lichens of every sort and mosses—Lycopodium suberectum and Selaginella Kraussiana—seem to fill up every available space and crevice, and engage the hands and delight the mind of the collector.”
The more arid path to Ariero will not provide such treasures for the collector, who must content himself with the views of surpassing loveliness down to the deep, wooded ravines, which as the shadows begin to lengthen after midday, grow more mysterious-looking, getting grander and more beautiful as their deep blue turns to purple; and gradually the haze, which is certain to come before nightfall, fills the valleys and blots out the sea beyond. The rare orchis Goodyera macrophylla is said to be found in this district, with its beautiful pure white spikes, and here and there thickets of a low-growing indigenous, mountain ash, which in September bears fragrant white flowers, to be followed by brilliant scarlet berries in early winter.
From just beyond the rest-house at the Poizo a long turf ride of some four or five miles leads to the Lamaceiros, and is a welcome relief after clattering over the eternal cobble-stones. A long round, over country where seas of golden gorse, when it is in bloom, delight the eye and nose and make a beautiful foreground to the enchanting views, leads eventually past wooded glens, either over the Portella down to the village of Santa Cruz, or through the village of Camacha back to Funchal. A levada near the reservoir at the Pico d’Assoma is again rich in ferns, and Miss Taylor says: “The lover of ferns will perfectly revel in the wealth of lovely Hymenophyllums which clothe the stems of old laurels: here and there a mass of rock, perfectly cushioned with Hymenophyllum Tunbridgense; here and there a carpet of Hymenophyllum Wilsoni and Davallia Canariensis and Polypodium vulgare growing in masses on the trees. Nephrodium Oreopteris here grows in great abundance, the one place besides Pico Canario where it is to be found in Madeira. Nephrodium Fraenesecii and Nephrodium dilatatum here grow very large and perfect. The levada is fringed with Asplenium monanthemum, Cystopteris fragilis, and countless treasures. In July the Orchis foliosa blooms in great spikes of bright mauve. In this neighbourhood Acrostichum squamosum and Trichomanes radicans grow well.”
Probably nearly every levada in the island would repay exploring, but some are very inaccessible and require a steady head. One of the most beautiful is certainly that of the Fajao dos Vinhaticos, which could disappoint no one, and can be seen by staying at the village of Santa Anna, or, better still, at the engineer’s house on the levada itself.
On the north side of the island the vegetation is mostly the same. The rough and precipitous path which winds through the Boa Ventura Valley up to the Torrinhas Pass is clothed mostly with trees belonging to the laurel tribe. From the Pass itself some of the grandest views in the island are to be seen. The grandeur of the rocks and the splendid vegetation, the profusion of ferns and wild-flowers, hare’s-foot ferns hanging in long fringes from the stems of the evergreen trees, the variety of lichens, some of a deep orange colour, make the long ascent an endless source of delight to lovers of Nature, and, provided the weather is fine and the valleys free of mist, I know no more beautiful expedition.
If the traveller is returning to Funchal, he will gradually descend from this high altitude (close on 6,000 feet), down past the Church of Nossa Senhora do Livramento (Our Lady of Deliverance), through the valley of the Grand Curral, up the steep zigzag road opposite, and back to Funchal through the village of Santo Antonio. The region of the laurels and ferns, dripping with moisture, is left behind when the traveller turns his back at the top of the pass on the beautiful Boa Ventura Valley, and he will gradually return to the region of the heaths, pine woods, broom, and gorse.
When the village of Santo Antonio is reached, a marked change in the vegetation will be noticed. There are many Spanish chestnut-trees, whose fruit, being very popular with the natives, is sold in bushels in the town in autumn and early winter; and, the district being a very warm one, on the banks and in the hedgerows by the wayside the prickly-pear, agaves, and cactus will begin to appear, while large clumps of pelargoniums, sweet-scented geraniums, and lantanas have strayed from gardens and sown themselves in every direction. In April the beautiful Ornithogalum Arabicum, bearing its white starry blossoms with jet-black centres, may be seen growing wild, and I have been told that the pure white Lilium candidum is to be found in a wild state, though I have never come across it myself.
Between Santo Antonio and Santo Amaro the earliest strawberries which are brought into the market in Funchal are grown, making their appearance in favourable seasons late in February, though at that season they have little flavour, and generally only find favour in the eyes of the tourists, who are attracted by their inviting appearance as they are offered for sale in little fancy baskets. If some enterprising person would make some experiments with growing the plants on rather steep banks or slopes, as I have seen done elsewhere in temperate climates, in order that the plants may get the full benefit of the sun, I feel almost certain that far better early strawberries could be obtained: the sun would draw out that watery flavour from which they suffer. But it is always hard to induce a cultivator of any nationality to try new methods, and in vain one preaches, and is only met with pitying looks of incredulity and the remark that the crop, whatever it happen to be, has always been grown in the same way, however bad a way it may be, by the present owner, his father and his grandfather before him, and what was good enough for them is good enough for him.