OF FORKED AND BRANCHED PALMS. 2S5 



It may be well to point out that only those palms are treated 

 as branched that have divisions of the main stem, started at some 

 time or the other from or near the apex. The large number of 

 soboliferous palms that send out axillary buds near the base, 

 such as species of Phoenix, Caryota, Diplothemium, Chamadorea, 

 Chrysalidocarpus, Chamcerops, are necessarily excluded. In some 

 of these the axillary buds are developed underground {rami 

 liypogcei), forming rhizomes giving rise to clusters of stems 

 crowded together, as in species of Rhapis, Calamus, Bactris, 

 Geonoma. Again, owing to the development or two or more 

 ovules in Cocos and others (or the occurrence of polyembryonv, 

 which is sometimes reported to take place in palms), more than 

 one stem may be produced from one fruit. Such stems appear 

 to start from a single point close to the ground. They are, 

 however, perfectly distinct individuals, although they are some- 

 times loosely described as possessing several stems arising from 

 one root. They are in no sense branched. 



An interesting group of palms, belonging to several widely 

 distinct genera, described as monocarpic has a terminal inflores- 

 cence appearing once only. After the plant has flowered and 

 ripened its fruit, it dies*. Some soboliferous palms, such as 

 Metroxylon, are also monocarpic. Other monocarpic genera are : 

 Corypha, Raphia, Caryota, Ancistrophylluvi, Plectocomia, Eugeis- 

 sonia, and possibly Arenga. I am unable to record a single 

 instance where a branched stem appears amongst monocarpic 

 palms. The probable reason for this is owing to the fact that 

 the life and vigour of these plants are so fully localized in the 

 terminal bud, that when this is destroyed there is not sufficient 

 energy left to push forth new buds. It would be useful to keep 

 such palms under observation with the view of solving this 



problem. 



The genera in which branched palms have so far been observed 



are as follows : 





* Asa Gray (Struct. Bot. p. 33) suggests monotooous (bearing progeny 

 once) and polytccous (beaiing many times) instead of De Candulles terms 

 monocarpic and polycarpic. 



