12G DR. R. SPRUCE ON* \_Leopoldinia. 



Sjyadices inter frondes oriundi^ ambitu late triangulares, ter divisi, dense 

 ferrugineo-tomentosi, masculo cum fcemineo seepius in eodem caule 

 alternante; r^??72 tenues, pilis femigineis stellatim 3-5-fidis tomen- 

 tosi ; alveoli sat confei-ti, baud profundij snepius 1-2-flori, nempe flori- 

 bus (S 2, florc 5 iutermedio obsolete velO, vel e contrario (in spadice 

 fertili) floribus cf obsoletis, flore 5 solo perfecte evoluto. Bracteolce 

 florum intra alveolos persistentes, exterior cordato-triangularis, 2 

 interiores oblato-rotundatse, omnes baud raro amorph?e, dorso sub- 

 tomentosGG. ' Spathce 2 fusiformes membranacese rufescentes cito 

 caducjB. 



Flores S ' sepala corolla triplo breviora, oblato-cordata rotundata, dorso 

 medio gibba, late imbricata, Fetalu late ovata, basi subcordata, val- 

 vata, coriacea, extus glandulis sparsis punctata, Sta^nina 6 coroUse 

 ^c^ilon^B. J jUamenta ovato-subulata, basi ipsa coalita, carnosa; an- 

 tlierm breves suborbiculares dorsiiixse (versatiles). Pistillum sterile 

 trigonum subintegrum. Flores 5 examinare non potui. 



Obs, — In L, pulclira, Mart., cum h, 7)iaJore ssepe in loco natali conso- 

 ciata, caules htimiliores et subsolitarii sunt, vagrnis reticulatis validts 

 operti ; foliola pauciora suhTiorizmitalia nee pendtda ; alveoli magis 

 dissiti J bracteolce ter latiores quatn longcHy semiannulares ; &c, 



Tliis species, well figured by Mr. Wallace in his 5tli plate, ex- 

 cept that tbe clustered stems are not represented, abounds on the 

 Eio Negro, and on the black-water tributaries of the Casiquiari 

 and the Orinoco. It does not extend down to the very mouth of 

 the Bio Negro, and I first noticed it at about halfway up to the 

 confluence of the Eio Branco. Below that point, the Jara (Leo- 

 poldinia piiJchra) is the only species of the genus; but it accom- 

 panies its loftier congener throughout its whole range, and I have 

 observed it also on the Tapajoz and Trombetas, black-water tri- 

 butaries of the Amazon, where L. major is not known to exist. 



Z. major is easily distinguished by its tall clustered stems : I 

 have counted as many as 24 from a single rhizome, which was in- 

 vested by a dense intricate mass of white radicles. Young stem- 

 less plants often form a continuous fringe to inundated islands, 

 and at a distance resemble large aquatic grasses. The leaves are 

 pendulous, as inthe Assal palm {Euterpe edulis) ; while the netted 

 leaf-sheaths are much frailer and decay more rapidly than in the 

 humbler species (i. pulchrd), which has them firm and woody, 

 clasping the stem like so many gauntlets, and persisting almost 

 down to its very base. 



I have what I suppose to be i, pulclira from three localities : 

 1. Santarem, at the mouth of the Tapajoz ; 2. Eio Caipuru (an 

 affluent of the Trombetas); 3. Eio Negro, left bank, stony beach 



