CHAEACTERS OF THE LEAVES OE THE DATE PALM. 25 



J 



The spine area is from 20 to 25 per cent or more^ rarely 33 to 36 per 

 cent of the blade length. The closely set spines are short or of medium 

 length, strong, but acute, closely appressed, passing to narrow spike 

 pinnae 20 to 24 inches long. The regular pinnae at 5 to 6 feet from the 

 leaf base are 17 to 24 inches long, IJ to If inches broad, decreasing 

 in length rather gradually to about 9 to 12 inches long at the apex. 

 (PI V.) ^ 



The pinnae blades are 0.017 of an inch (0.4318 mm.) to 0.022 of an 

 inch (0.5588 mm.) thick, firm in texture but not harsh, broadest near 

 the base, tapering evenly to a rather acuminate acute apex. In the 

 upper portion of the leaf the proximal fold of the pinna) blade is decid- 

 edly broader than the distal, decurrent along the rachis, but the prom- 

 inence of the ventral arch of the rachis leaves the channel formed by 

 opposite wing margins rather open until near the top of the blade. 



The pulvini are moderately heavy, frequently slenderly caudate, 

 and there are many coalescent groups in the lower portion of the blade. 

 The paired groups of pinnae are considerably outnumbered by the 

 ' triple and quadruple groups. The introrse pinnae usually comprise 

 from 40 to 48 per cent of the entire number on the blade, but some- 

 times yield to a high number of the retrorse class. 



The slight axial divergence of all classes of pinnae and the rather 

 even and moderate divergence from the blade plane give to this 

 variety a smooth, even leaf, which, with its dark, rich color, is very 



attractive. 



The antrorse spines have but 10^ to 15° of axial divergence, the 

 lower antrorse pinnae 15^ to 20°, spreading to 30° toward the tip of 



the leaf. 



The antrorse pinnae diverge axially about 45° through the middle 

 of the blade and 30° at the apex. Both these classes form angles with 

 the blade plane of 20° to 30° or 36° in the outer 2 feet. 



The axial angles of the retrorse pinnae are a little greater than in the 

 first-named classes, the lower pinnae 20° to 28° or 30°, the rest of the 

 blade 30°. These spines diverge about 15° dorsally, the pinnae 5° 

 dorsaUy, or all the upper portion at zero. In a few instances the 

 retrorse spines and lower pinnae have a dorsal divergence of 30° to 33°. 



The fruit stalks are heavy, 3 to 4 feet long, the fruiting head 12 to 

 15 inches long, with numerous strong strands 12 to 18 inches in 

 length, making a heavy, compact bunch of fruit. 



But two genuine trees of the Menakher variety were finally pre- 

 served of the importation made by Mr. T, H. Kearney in 1905. One 

 of these is at the Cooperative Date Garden at Tempe, Ariz. The 

 other is at Mecca, Cal. The Tempe tree has made the slower growth, 

 though it is a health}^ and vigorous-looking tree. In November, 1912, 

 its terminal bud was only 3 feet from the ground, while that of the 

 Mecca tree was 7 feet high, with a trimk diameter of 2 feet. Whether 



