240 cook: glaucothea, a new genus of palms 



smooth above; ligule with large, spongy cushions of tomentum; mid- 

 rib rudimentary, scarcely decurved, only a few of the median segments 

 narrowed; leaf-surfaces vivid green, not concealed by a covering of 

 wax. 



Inflorescences robust, spreading, shorter than the leaves, the main 

 axis enclosed in short, robust, shaggy, scale-covered spathes; primary 

 branches 9 to 11, each subtended by a spathe, and with 1 or 2 additional 

 spathes at the base; flowering branchlets simple, rather long and 

 robust, the flowers in clusters of 3 to 6. 



Flowers larger, more conspicuous and more widely opened than in 

 Glaucothea; sepals fleshy at base, the upper half thin and scarious, 

 with a reddish costa; petals triangular, with a rather thin, tapering 

 and sharp-pointed apex, spreading wide apart at the time of flower- 

 ing; staminal cup with deep sharp incisions between the broadly slop- 

 ing bases of the filaments, each alternate filament subtended by a 

 strong vertical carina on the inner face of the staminal tube. 



Fruits large, the seed surrounded by a thick, firm pericarp, fleshy 

 and edible when mature. 



comparison of inflorescences 



Perhaps the most striking differences between the two genera are 

 those that determine the forms of the inflorescences. With respect 

 to these characters Erythea might be compared with Inodes, while 

 Glaucothea is more like Washingtonia, both with respect to the greater 

 length of the inflorescences as a whole and the more elongate form 

 of the individual spathes. In Erythea the flowers are borne on rather 

 stiff, spreading branches and appear in large billowy masses inside the 

 crown of leaves, while in Glaucothea they are carried out beyond 

 the leaves and suspended on long drooping, tassel-like panicles. The 

 inflorescence of Erythea is relatively unspecialized, with the numerous 

 primary branches each subtended by a spathe, while the inflorescence 

 of Glaucothea is specialized in two \^ays. Instead of having a short 

 base with only one or two empty spathes below the branches, as in 

 Erythea, there is a long, slender, stalk-like base with 4 or 5 tubular 

 spathes. Following these are 4 or- 5 other ensiform or spathulate 

 spathes, subtending a like number of large primary branches. The 

 remaining primary branches, to the number of 15 or more, are left 

 without spathes; but they are much smaller than the others and all 

 together form a large drooping panicle, like one of the larger branches 

 that are provided with spathes. The total number of spathes is about 



