MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 929 



The result of other observations seemed to confirm the fact, that when seen 

 in association with shale, sandstone and quartzites, the laterite shows a discor- 

 dance at the point of junction of the two rocks, while in those areas where it 

 has been observed overlying trap and even hornblende-schists, there is an ap • 

 parent passage from one rock into the other. 



H. J. DAVIES. 



Yenangyanng, U. B„ 10th June 1908. 



No. XXXIII.— THE INDIAN DOUM {HYPHAENE) PALM. 



In a paper entitled " Le palme ' Dum' od Hyphaene e piii specialmente quelle 

 dell' Affrica italiana" (L 1 Agncoltura Coloniale, ii, Florence, 1908, pp. 137 — 183) 

 Prof. Beccari has reviewed the genus Hyphaene in chief part, and described 

 the Indian plant as a new species under the name of Hyphaene indica. His 

 specimens were obtained by Professor G. A. G-ammie from the classic locality 

 of Diu in Kathiawar, where the palm has long been known to grow : but it 

 formerly always passed in books as identical with the Egyptian H. thrhaica. 



" H. thebaica" says Prof. Beccari, is a name much abused, which must 

 henceforward be used only for the true dum palm of Egypt. He next proceeds 

 to summerate and describe eleven other Hyphaenes of Egypt and the country 

 between the Nile and the Red Sea. These are as follows : H. coriacea, 

 Gaertn., and H. crinita, Gaertn., are ill-known species, probably Egyptian, but 

 of unsatisfactorily recorded origin. H. dankaliensis, Becc, is the dum palm 

 of the African shore of the Red Sea, extending southwards to Obock. 

 H. nodularia, Becc, is the tree of Barca, the fruit of which is largely sold in 

 Eritrea for button making. Beccari gives an excellent photogravure of it. 

 H. benadirensis, Becc, comes from a place called Billic at some small distance 

 from the Juba river in Eritrea. H. mangoides, Becc, apparently belongs to the 

 Somali Coast opposite Aden. H. pyrifera, Becc, H. oblonga, Becc, and H. aphce- 

 rulifera, Becc, come from the same region as H.benadirenis. H . pleuropoda , 

 Becc, occurs on the Somali Coast at Makasi. H.parvula, Becc, comes from the 

 boundary where Italian Somaliland and British East Africa touch. These are the 

 twelve species from Egypt and the Red Sea-Coasts — the discussion of which 

 makes the bulk of the paper : as a supplement to it we find inscribed the 

 thirteenth, H. indica. 



All the species differ from each other, notably in the shape of the fruit. 



Professor Beccari is in possession of imperfect material of the Hyphaena 

 which grows at Jaffna in the north of Ceylon. It differs notably he says from 

 that of Diu, but because he had no fruits he is forced to leave it at present 

 undetermined. 



Professor Beccari, in a letter to the writer, asks if specimens of Hyphaene 

 cannot be found along the Persian and Arabian Coasts, and if so, if some kind 

 friend would obtain for him leaves, flowers and particularly fruits. If some 

 reader could do this the results would certainly be of interest. 



