Darwin is describing a trip he made ashore:
" Leaving the coast for a time, we again entered the forest. The trees were very lofty, and remarkable, compared with those of Europe, from the whiteness of their trunks. I see by my notebook, “wonderful and beautiful, flowering parasites,” invariably struck me as the most novel object in these grind scenes."

Translation, please? Or is it just a typo for "grand"?

grand seems the most likely.

Bingley

OED had nothing suitable for grind. I'll go with grand, too.