BY J. H. MAIDEN. 139' 



the tree for fully 50 feet and brought me the inflorescence in 

 perfect condition. Because of its delicate nature I took a sketch 

 of the spatha on the spot, and also made the notes which follow. 

 I produce the spatha to-night, and regret my efforts to preserve 

 the inflorescence were not attended with success. My attendant 

 conveyed it tenderly down the mountain and very few flowers 

 became detached. It was raining and the air near the coast was 

 laden with saline matter in addition, so that ordinary methods of 

 plant-drying were out of the question. I was destitute of 

 appliances and decided to plunge it into boiling water, and hung 

 it from a rafter to drain, but the continued damp weather never 

 permitted it to dry, and in spite of all I could do I was unable 

 to land it in Sydney in good condition. On my next visit to the 

 island I will make special preparations with the view of properly 

 preserving it. 



The spatha was hitherto unknown. I was fortunate to obtain 

 one specimen. Situated as I was I was quite unable to preserve 

 such an organism as palm-inflorescence, which is adifiicult matter 

 under favoui'able circumstances, but I made a few notes on the 

 inflorescence within a few minutes after its collection. 



Male flowers in pairs. Two (or one pair) to each notch. The 

 flowers have a sickly smell, as indeed have those of most palms. 

 The inner perianth of the male flowers consists of 3 almost 

 equilateral segments, oiae of the segments being distended so as 

 to form a solid angle. The colour of the perianth shades from 

 pale orange-red to pale yellow or yellowish-green at the tip. The 

 stamens ten in all the flowers I examined. 



Some of the flowers are hermaphrodite, according to my notes, 

 there being a central club-shaped pistil, contracted somewhat in 

 the centre of the style, the stigma not ti'ifid as is usually the case 

 with palms. This is probably an unfertilized ovary. 



The shape of the spatha is shown in the drawing. (Plate iv., 

 figs. 1-2.) Length 13 inches, greatest width 6 inches. 



The spatha is rather thin, showing longitudinal markings. It 

 is thickened along the edges and at the top and base. It is 



