Tolima, Colombia: a palm tree. Coloured etching by C. Empson, 1836.

"Tolyma. At the foot of a terrific pass, in the Andes, there is an isolated palm of remarkable elegance: it is upwards of forty feet high, and perfectly straight; its slender shaft, of equal thickness from the root to the footstalk of its leaves, may be grasped with the hand. The fruit of the palm is attached to delicate capillary filaments, and is much esteemed for its oil, which the natives extract by steeping the fruit in tepid water. A blow with a sword makes but little impression on the polished and flinty bark. Analysis has proved that these trees secrete silex to a surprising extent; and tabashee, or vegetable opal, is produced by a chemical process. The wild cane, growing by the side of this beautiful palm, exhibits the same peculiarity, and contains in its fibrous structure so much flint, as to make it difficult to cut it. The rocky mountains of the neighbourhood present many indications of their having been occupied by powerful tribes of Indians, long since swept from the face of the creation." (Empson. loc. cit.)