646 
LEAFLETS OF PariipPpINe BOTANY (Vor. II, Art. 36 
green, 1.5 foot long; paniculate fruit-spadix recurved, 10 inches 
in length; nuts velvety, deep red when mature, mostly in 3 
rows; wood fibres whitish, the outside hard, the central portion 
pithy.” 
Heterospathe elmeri Becc. sp. nov. 
Slender, 15 metres high, Leaves about 1 m. long in the 
pinniferous part; petiole about 60 cm. long; leaflets numerous, 
equidistant, thick papyraceous or subcoriaceous, dull green on 
both surfaces, but paler beneath; ensiform, the medials about 60 
cm. long, 27 mm, broad, very gradually acuminate to a long 
narrow, almost straight, or only very slightly falcate point, and 
.very rapidly contracted, and backwardly plicate at the base; 
unicostate; the costa almost equally prominent on both surfaces, 
and having 3 distinct secondary nerves on each side of it; ter- 
tiary nerves numerous, very slender, visible only on the under 
surfaces; transverse vein obsolete; both margins conspicuously 
thickened by a marginal nerve. Spadices axillary or interfrondal, 
1 m. long, or rather less, forming a somewhat loose twice 
branehed panicle, the peduncular part being about 45 cm. long, 
35 mm. wide, and 12 mm. thick; ultimate or flower-bearing 
branchlets are rather thick, 8 mm. in diam. Flowers very closely 
and spirally set, scarcely leaving any portion of the axial parts 
of the branchlets exposed. Fruit small, slightly asymmetrical, 
elongate-ovoid, narrowing considerably into a slightly oblique, 
obtuse, rather thick apex, 12 mm. long, 6 mm. in diam., ob- 
scurely and very closely striolate externally (when dry) by the 
closely packed, elongated sclerosomes of the thin almost dry 
mesocarp; endocarp very thinly membranous. Seed attached 
laterally for its whole length, oblong, terete, 10 mm. long, 
5 mm. in diam, obtuse at both ends; the ramifications of the 
raphe form a net all round it; albumen deeply, radiately 
ruminate; embryo exactly basal. Fruiting perianth cupular, 
5 mm. high, 4 mm. broad; sepals orbicular, entire; both 
sepals and petals subshining, finely obsoletely striate; petals 
twice as long as the sepals, very broad, semicircular, entire, 
very shortly and obtusely apiculate. Fruits horizontally in- 
serted, subtended by a short broad, rounded (not apiculate) 
basal bractea; the lateral bracts forming a distinct and com- 
Jeu plete though shallow cup. 
