314 CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NATIONAL HERBARIUM, 
Other partially domesticated palms are found among the species of 
Attalea, known in some countries as corozo, in others as manaca, 
The Attalea palms are among the most magnificent members of the 
group and would undoubtedly be in demand for ornamental plant- 
ing if they once became known. They bear a crown of immense 
leaves, often attaining lengths of from 30 to 40 feet, and these do 
not droop as in other long-leaved palms, but spread very gracefully 
by the bending of the long midribs. The leaves are extensively 
used in some localities for thatching the houses of the natives and 
for making the natives substitutes for umbrellas and raincoats. 
The fruits of the Attalea are born in enormous clusters, weighing 
200 pounds and upward (pl. 58). In some species there is a pulpy 
outer husk with much the same texture and taste as in Acrocomia. In 
other species, such as Attalea cohune of eastern Guatemala and British 
Honduras, the nut has a thin dry husk and a very thick bony shell. 
The kernels are very hard, but can be eaten in times of scarcity, or 
made to vield oil by the application of heat. Considerable quantities 
of the kernels are gathered in Mexico and the oil extracted for the 
making of soap and for other domestic purposes. Vast quantities 
of these nuts might be gathered in other parts of the American 
tropics if any profitable use were found for them. 
As the Attalea palms have no spines to protect them from the 
erazing animals or from man, they are at a disadvantage in compari- 
son with Acrocomia and have not attained so wide a distribution. 
On the other hand, they are much better able to compete with other 
forest growth, so that they are often found in vast numbers in regions 
that have been abandoned by the Indians in the last century or two, 
and now distinguish such reforested areas from the forests of older 
growth where the long-lived hard-wood trees have taken full posses- 
sion to the exclusion of the Attalea palms.* 
ORIGIN OF THE NAMES COCO AND COCOS. 
The lack of native American names for the coconut has been 
accepted as proof that the palm could not have existed in America 
before the arrival of the Spaniards. This argument is considerably 
weakened by the probability already noted that the name “coco” 
itself is of American origin. It is certain, at least, that the Spaniards 
did not need to bring the word ‘‘coco”’ to America, since it was a 
favorite plant name in several Central American languages. It is 
applied in particular to plants that have bulbs or bulbous roots. For 
a Vegetation Affected by Agriculture in Central America, U. 8, Department of 
Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry, Bull. No. 145. 
