Tas. 7268. 
CARLUDOVICA microcerHaLa. 
Native of Costa Rica. 
Nat. Ord. Crctantursz.—Tribe CaRLupovicen. 
Genus CarLupovica, Ruiz & Pav. ; (Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Pl. vol. iii. p- 953) 
CaRLUDovica microcephala ; humilis, caule brevi valido erecto, foliis parvis 
gracile petiolatis unicostatis infra medium furcatis, laciniis lanceolatis 
acuminatis sub-8-nerviis, vagina brevi coriacea, spadice gracili peduncu- 
lato parvo oblongo, spathis ad basin spadicis binis late ovatis apice 
attenuatis, caducis, H. masc. perianthii lobulis 1-seriatis oblongis, filamen- 
tis mamillzformibus brevissimis apiculatis, fl. fem. perianthii lobis bre- 
vissimis latis, staminodiis simplicibus filiformibus. 
C. microcephala, Hort, Berol. 
Except that it was sent to the Royal Gardens of Kew 
from that of Berlin in 1880, I have no information as to 
this curious dwarf species of Carludovica, beyond what has 
been kindly communicated by Dr. Wendland, to whom I 
sent the drawing together with that of Chamedorea 
stolonifera (Plate 7265). That excellent botanist informs 
me that it is a native of Costa Rica, where it has been 
found by both Warsewicz and himself; and, that like 
C. atrovirens, H. Wendl., it belongs to a section of the genus 
with two spathes below the spadix. I do not find the 
name CO. microcephala in the Index of all known flowering 
plants now being printed at Kew, nor does the plant agree 
with the description of any published species. In the 
stem it resembles the young plant of various scandent 
species, but as it has now been twelve years at Kew, 
throwing out no lateral roots (indicative of a climbing 
habit), and flowering repeatedly, it is presumable that it 
belongs to the short-stemmed group of the genus. Its 
near ally would appear to be C. ensiformis, figured at 
t. 6418 of this work, which has a very short stem, bifid 
leaves, and a similar small oblong spadix; but in that 
plant the leaves are distichous, with very stout petioles, 
are more deeply divided, and the segments are ensiform 
NovEeMBER lst, 1892. 
