140 VEGETATION OF LORD HOWE ISLAND, 



situated immediately above the last season's fruits, and imme- 

 diately below the long sheathing base of the petiole. 



I removed from the tree some inflorescence which had lost its 

 spatha. It was 12 inches long and 10 broad. 



The sheathing base of the petiole has been already described 

 by Duff {Wils. Rep. p. 31). 



Mountain Palm. — Clinostigma Mooreanum, F.v.IL, is ex- 

 clusively confined to the tops of the highest mountains, where 

 it is subject to considerable cold. Its maximum height is 10 feet. 



Uses of Palms. — I have alluded to thatch and battens under 

 K. Forsteriana; palm-leaves are eaten by cattle, but only the tips 

 of the leaf-segments, stock never cropping them close to the 

 rhachis except in cases of extreme hunger. Palms are used for 

 wind-breaks, and are planted for that purpose. 



PANDANE.E. 



My predecessor, Mr. Charles Moore, who visited the island in 

 1869, says, Moore Pep. p. 2, "The Pandanus or Screw Pine, of 

 which there appear to be two species, marks the vegetation in a 

 peculiar manner wherever it appears. One species, known to the 

 settlers as the " Tent Tree," Pandanus Forsteri, Moore, grows 

 plentifully in some parts of the flats, but is more general on the 

 mountain sides, increasing in number as they ascend, and attain- 

 ing an elevation of at least 2,000 feet." Mr. Moore does not 

 describe the supposed second species. 



In accordance with Mr. Moore's instructions to Mr. Duff, who 

 accompanied the Hon. J. Bowie Wilson to the island in 1882, the 

 latter enquired into the Pandanus question, and Mr. Moore states 

 — "It will be seen .... that, as I surmised, there are 

 sufiicient characteristics .... to prove the existence of a 

 second species of Pandanus." 



Mr. Duff's report* is in these words: — "The mountain Pan- 

 danus is evidently another undescribed plant, differing from 



* Wils. Rep., p. 29. 



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