99 
1 
SaBAL EtoniA Swingle, n. sp. 
Plant 8-14 dm. tall. Rootstock more or less contorted, elon- 
gated, bearing numerous roots on the lower surface along its entire 
length ; leaves nearly orbicular in outline, 4-6 dm. long, about 
two-thirds the length of the petioles, strongly folded at the base 
along the middle, divided almost to the bottom, the divisions 
linear, acuminate, the sinuses long-filiferous; petioles I-1.5 cm. 
broad, smooth, triangular, the back rounded, the edges sharp; 
spadix a little shorter than the leaves, branching above, erect or 
ascending in flower, prostrate in fruit; flowers yellowish white; 
divisions of the perianth elliptic, obtuse, 5-nerved, 3-3.5 mm. long, 
I. 5-1.75 mm. broad, concave; stamens a little longer than the 
perianth, the filaments broad-subulate, slightly exceeding 3 mm. 
in length; anthers narrowly ovate, about 1.5 mm. long; fruit 
I.3—1.5 cm. in diameter. 
Very common in and confined strictly to the “scrub.” Col- 
lected in 1894 in the vicinity of Eustis, Lake Co., and distributed 
under No. 999. 
Mr. W. T. Swingle, of the Sub-Tropical Laboratory at Eustis, 
first called attention to this new palm at the meeting of the Botani- 
cal Club, A. A. A. S., in Madison Wis., in August, 1893,* but no 
description of it has hitherto been published, so far as I am able to 
ascertain. 
It is related to S. Palmetto, but it is abundantly distinct from 
that species, particularly in its manner of growth. The rootstocks 
of the two species are totally unlike. In the seedling state they 
are probably very similar, judging from examinations made on 
comparatively young plants of both forms. As they grow older, 
however, the differences in manner of growth become very 
marked. In S. Etonia the rootstock is elongated and more or less 
contorted, in some instances doubling and redoubling on itself, 
forming a perfect S. It is firmly anchored in the soil by innumer- 3 
able roots, borne along its under surface, the growing end running 
along the surface of the soil, but never rising above it. As stated 
above, the rootstock is always elongated, from 2~3 feet in length, 
the rear part apparently dying and rotting away as the bud ad- 
vances. 
In S. Palmetto the behavior of the rootstock is very different, 
and only in very young plants can its early stages be found. It : 
goes directly down, then bends sharply and rises to the surface, 
*Bull. Torr. Bot Club, 20:364. 1893. Bot. Gaz. 18:348. 1893. 
