—— 
Jury 30, 1909] New or LirrrLE-KNowN PHILIPPINE PALMS 
their bases by mutual pressure; the remains of the stigmas 
from a small tubercle on the rounded summit; the mesocarp 
at length is disassociated in very slender and soft filaments. 
Seed globular with a slightly flattened base and a rounded 
top, otherwise similar to that of A. Catechu; the vascular 
branches of the raphe greatly anastomosing, and forming a 
net all round it. Fruiting perianth with split and much lacerated 
divisions. 
Probably indigenous in the Philippines. I first received 
a fruiting specimen of this very fine Areca collected by Mr. 
Elmer, in May, 1907, at Lucban, Tayabas Province, Luzon 
(No.. 9992); afterwards Mr. Merrill sent me another specimen 
of this same species, having a spadix in flower, collected by Cur- 
ran at Sampaloc, also in the province of Tayabas. Mr. Merrill in- 
forms methat the plant is rather common in the towns in the vi- 
cinity of Mount Banajao, and that it is quite different in habit from 
the ordinary <A. Catechu, being charaterized not only by its 
dense inflorescence, but also by its small size, as the bunches of 
fruit can easily be reached by one standing on the ground; 
Blanco says the same of his Areca Cathecu humilis. Native 
name ''Bunga Ipot." 
Areca Ipot, though very similar to A. Catechu in the fruit, 
belongs to a quite distinct division of the genus (Balanocarpus) 
which has the flowers and fruits densely clustered round an 
undivided central axis, one which has only representatives 
in the Moluccas (A. glandiformis) and in the Papuan region 
(A. macrocalyx and allied forms). It is, however, distinguished 
from all these by its much larger ovoid fruits. 
I have added to A. Ipot the synonym of Blanco, Areca 
Cathecu humilis, on the suggestion of Mr. Merrill, who considers 
the identification as quite certain. "There are however, some 
true varieties of A. Catechu with shorter stems than usual, 
which would well deserve the name of ''humilis" in respect of 
641 
the type; while to A. Jpot that adjective cannot be applied in 
an absolute sense, because some of the already known Arecas 
little finger. 
Blanco writes that his A. Cathecu humilis occurs on the 
Mountains Balanga in the Province of Laguna, and that it 
always remains a dwarf tree in whatever way it is cultivated. 
are less than 1 m. high, having stems not thicker than a man's - 
