RELATIONSHIPS OF THE FALSE DATE PALM OF THE 
FLORIDA KEYS, WITH A SYNOPTICAL KEY TO THE 
FAMILIES OF AMERICAN PALMS. 
By O. F. Cook. 
THE GENUS PSEUDOPHOENIX AND THE FAMILY PSEUDO- 
PHOENICACEAE, 
PSEUDOPHOENIX AN ISOLATED TYPE. 
Though the false date palm (Pseudophoenix sargenti Wendl.) 
was discovered over twenty years ago, little attention has been given 
to the problem of its relationships. The fact that the natural dis- 
tribution is limited, as far as known, to two or three islands ofthe 
Florida Keys does not make it less interesting from the standpoint 
of classification. Isolated types often have a special bearing upon 
questions of phylogeny and classification. Reasons are usually 
found for believing that such types are the remnants of ancient 
groups that have elsewhere become extinct. Several genera not 
known from other parts of the world are represented in the unique 
palm flora of Florida and Cuba. That the other peculiar genera are 
fan palms only makes Pseudophoenix the more interesting because 
it represents an intermediate stage of development between the fan 
palms and some of the pinnate-leaved families. 
ANALOGIES WITH FAN PALMS AND TRUE DATE PALMS. 
The generic name applied by Wendland may be taken to indicate 
that Pseudophoenix was looked upon at first as an American analogue 
of the true date palms of the Old World, which seem to be related, 
not very remotely, to Chamaerops and other Old World fan palms. 
The analogy with Phoenix is made somewhat closer by the form of 
the leaves of Pseudophoenix, with their rather narrow, closely folded 
pinne arranged in irregular groups and standing at different angles 
to the rachis. Yet the pinne are altogether different from those of 
Phoenix, for they are reduplicate or folded back, with the channel 
on the under side, as in all of the pinnate palms except Phoenix. 
Pseudophoenix is also like Phoenix in sharing some of the charac- 
ters of fan palms, such as the large, branching inflorescence, the stipi- 
tate flowers, and the fleshy fruits with equal development of two or 
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