836 The Philippine Journal of Science 1919 
MINDANAO, Zamboanga District, Garcia 658, Copeland 1681, Merrill 8367. 
Moro name ambong. 
CARYOTA Linnaeus 
The genus Caryota is represented in the Philippines by few 
species, which however seem rather variable, and which, so far 
as I can determine from dry, very often incomplete, herbarium 
specimens, present, at times, forms with ambiguous or uncertain 
characters and are therefore difficult to identify. 
The doubt is not altogether to be excluded that occasionally 
some of the ambiguous forms may be of hybrid origin. Two 
principal species are frequently met with throughout the Philip- 
pines, one of which, a large and fine palm, is to be considered, 
I think, not specifically distinct from the very widely spread 
and very variable Caryota Rumphiana; the other, considerably 
smaller, is an endemic species, C. Cumingii, which at times pre- 
sents forms not easily distinguishable, at least in the herbarium, 
from C. mitis Lour., a plant common in Cochinchina and in the 
Malayan region. Specimens of Caryota mitis, agreeing in every 
respect with the Cochinchina plant, have been collected in Pa- 
lawan; C. Cumingii, however, is always solitary, not suboliferous. 
Caryota Merrillii and C. majestica are species of which I 
have only an incomplete knowledge; both are apparently re- 
lated to C. Cumingii or perhaps are varieties of that, and prop- 
erly to be understood they require the examination of more 
complete material than I have had at my disposal or, better 
still, an examination of the living plants in their native country. 
Caryota Rumphiana var. oxyodonta Becc., collected only once 
and established on a single incomplete specimen, is another 
form of which more complete material is desired. 
Conspectus of the species. 
a’. Large trees. Stem tall, solitary. Fruit 1- or 2-seeded. Fruiting peri- 
anth 10 to 11 mm in diameter. Male flowers large, 15 to 17 mm long, . 
with numerous stamens. 
b*. Leaflets of the full-grown plant long and narrow, having the upper 
margin at times very obsoletely, yet at times rather sharply, and 
very unequally toothed, and the lower margin much produced into 
a taillike point. Male flowers with 40 to 60 stamens. Stem up to 
30 to 40 cm in diameter............ 1. C. Rumphiana var. philippinensis. 
b*. Leaflets having the upper margin deeply and acutely toothed, the 
teeth long, narrow, acuminate, and very close together. Male flowers 
with 27 to 30 stamens. A smaller plant than var. philippinensis. 
C. Rumphiana var. oxyodonta. 
a’. Of medium size. Fruit always 1-seeded. Male flowers (where known) 
small and with few stamens. 
b*. Stem solitary. Male flowers with 6 to 9 stamens only. 
