THE PALMS OF SIKKIM. 7 



call it "Katong;" they make no use of any portion of the plant ; 

 and they dread touching even its leaves, from the reputed irri- 

 tating properties of the plant. I know, from personal expe- 

 rience, that the berries irritate the skin, as I suffered from slight 

 urticaria on the hands and face after examining the seeds. Plants 

 of this species have been cultivated in the Botanical Gardens, 

 Calcutta, for the last fifteen years, under the name Garyota mitis : 

 but I have not been able to trace their history. They were 



probably introduced from the Himalayan rnnges to the east of 

 Sikkim. Griffith apparently found this Palm in the Mishmi 

 hills. At page 46 of the * Journal of Travels,' he refers to a 

 Palm thus : — " Wallichoidea, trunco 3-10-pedali.'' 





Cartota, Linn. 



Mart 



tab. 107, 108, p. 162, tab. V. fig, 1, et Y. figg. 1, 2; Griffith, Palms 

 of British East India, p. 169. 

 Hab. In dense forests from the level of the plains to 4000 feet above 

 the sea. 



This Palm is not common anywhere in Sikkim, although trees 

 of it may be met with in most of the valleys. It can resist a 

 considerable degree of cold; two large trees of it are growing 

 naturally in the Cinchona plantations at Rungbee, near Darjee- 

 ling, at a height of 4400 feet above the sea, where the temperature 

 of the air in January is often as low as 40° Fahr. The Lepchas 

 call this Palm " Simong koong ;" they procure a coarse sago- 

 like starch from the trunk. 



Tribua II. LEPIDOCARTXEiE, 



Calamits, Linn. 



Sect. I. COLEOSPATHES. 



r 



a. Erectce. 



w 



L C. scHizosPATHUS, Griff. Calcutta Journ, of Nat, Hist, v. p. 32-, 

 Palms of British East India, p. 41, tab. 187. Caudice arborescente, 

 nodis approximatis, vaginis basi auriculatis ; aculeis vaginae verticil- 



■ ■ 



latis, compressis, deflexis, setis acutis rigidis interspersis ; auriculis 

 laxiSy margine ruptis, extus densissirae setoso-spinosis ; petiole mar- 

 ginibus et dorso spinis solitariis tevnis vel quaternis interdum ver- 

 ticillatis armatis; pinnis sequidistantibus^ liueari-Iauceolatis, supra 



