286 *1K. D. M0BB1S ON THE PKODUCTKXtf 



Natural Order Palmj:. 



Tribe. Genus. 



Arecece Areca. 



Bhopalostylis. 



Dictyosperma. 



Oreodoxa. 



Leopoldinia. 



Phoenicece , Phoenix. 



CorypTiece Nannorhops. 



Borassece Hyphsene. 



Borassus. 



Cocoinece Cocos. 



Tribe ABECE^E. 

 Aeeca Catechu, i. Betel-nut Palm. 



A very slender, tall palm, widely cultivated in the Eastern 

 tropics. The occurrence of forked or branched specimens ia evi- 

 dently very rare. Dr. Andy reports the existence of a specimen 

 with dichotomous division, existing prior to 1867, in the town ot 

 Trevandrum, Southern India # . An apparently similar specimen 

 is quoted from the ' Times of India ' (1888) by Mrs. W. E.Hart 

 as occurring at Cayenne f. This was 100 feet high, and divided 

 at a height of about 30 feet into two stems equal in height and 

 diameter. A third specimen, 10 years old and about 20 feet high, 

 was noticed by Mr. W. F. Sinclair at Shriwardhan, Tanjore, in 

 December 1889 J. "About three years previously it was attacked 

 by a disease called Band §, which had killed many trees in the 

 neighbourhood, when the top almost died away. This has now 

 been replaced by 15 to 18 distinct tops growing in a flat close 

 bundle in such a manner that one cannot count them accurately 

 without climbing the tree. The whole tree has the appearance 

 of a gigantic housemaid's broom." This account is of value as 

 showing the appearance of a palm during the early stages of 

 branching. Mr. Sinclair's observation as regards branching 



* Trans. Linn. Soc. xxri. p. 062. 

 t Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. iii. p. 252. 

 X Ibid. iv. p. 317. 



§ M Band" or "Bound." Probably a local disease induced by unfavourable 

 conditions of soil or climate. 



