temperature ; their suitability for use as decorative 
plants is due to the fact that they bear rough usage better 
than most palms. They are both raised from seed 
imported from Lord Howe Island. 
Description.—Tree, reaching a height of 35 ft. ; stem slender, marked with 
annular scars, thickened at the base. Leaves clustered at the top of the stem, 
brown-paleate along the midrib beneath, 7-8 ft. long; petiole 34 ft. long, 
smooth, convex beneath, widely channelled above; leaf-sheath shortly deltoid, 
nearly 3 in. wide; pinnules about 70, converging upwards, linear-lanceolate, 
acute, 23 ft. long, 3 in. wide. Spikes produced in the axils of the lowermost 
leaves, simple; spathe at first cylindric, subacute, about as long as the spadix, 
when flattened out 13-2 in. wide, 2-keeled on the back near the tip; spadix 
drooping, monoecious, 8 ft. long, } in. thick, scurfy; flowers congested, 
numerous, arranged in groups of threes in special pits, the two lateral of each 
group male, the central female. Male flowers reaching maturity long before the 
female; their sepals wide cordate, } in. long, } in. wide, much imbricate, con- 
duplicate, thick, densely and shortly ciliate, bluntly keeled; petals oblong, 
acute, nearly 3 in. long, } in. wide, valvate, cartilaginous; stamens 50-70, 
closely clustered, with oblong, acute anthers, } in. long, and very short 
filaments; rudimentary ovary 0. Female flower: sepals nearly orbicular, 
concave, } in. long, over } in, wide, coriaceous, their margin densely ciliate 
with reddish hairs ; petals ciliate with brown hairs, their upper portion valvate, 
thick, 3 in. long, } in. wide, green, their lower portion imbricate, thinner, with 
lateral brown or reddish wings ;}; in. wide; staminodes 0; ovary ovoid, sym- 
metrical, purple-tipped, 3 in. long, j5 in. across, 1-locular; ovule solitary, 
erect; stigmas 3, broad, auricled. Drupe rather fleshy, 1} in. long, dirty 
yellow ; mesocarp fibrous ; endocarp pale tawny, dull, impressed by the branches 
of the rhaphe. Seed % in. long; endosperm uniform, solid, horny ; embryo 
basilar, conical-elliptic, }; in. long. 
Tas. 8760.—Fig. A, a spike, showing only male flowers, as seen early in 
March, 1917; B, the same spike, showing only female flowers, as seen seven 
weeks later; 1, portion of a leaflet, showing the paleae on the midrib beneath ; 
2, portion of an inflorescence with three floral cavities, in two of which the 
pairs of male flowers are shown; from the third the male flowers have been 
removed and the very young female flower is seen; 3, a male flower, in vertical 
section; 4, stamen; 5, a female flower; 6, the same, in section, showing the 
ovary; 7, ovary, in vertical section; 8, sketch of the entire plant :—all enlarged 
except 8, which is much reduced. 
