84 THE PLANT WORLD 



50-60 feet and bears large bunches of orange fruit about the shape and 

 size of a small hen's egg. The outer covering is thick and fibrous, 

 enclosing a much smaller nut, and it is for this nut that the palm is so 

 extensively cultivated and highly prized by the natives. It is chewed in 

 conjunction with the leaves of some species of the pepper- vine with an 

 admixture of various other ingredients. The constant chewing of this 

 mixture makes the teeth black and gives to the mouth and lips a brick- 

 red color. The nuts are valued for the amount of astringent matter 

 they contain — the more of this element present the more highly are they 

 esteemed. The spathes are frequently used to form drinking and 

 baking utensils. 



Just opposite the north entrance is the group of Phoenix, containing 

 a number of species and varieties, although most of the plants are as yet 

 small and too young to flower. The most important species is P. dac- 

 tylifera, the true date palm, of which there are many cultivated forms, 

 two or three being represented here in small specimens. This is a native 

 of Africa, although it has been extensively introduced into other tropical 

 countries and into southern Europe. The prepared fruit of this tree is 

 too well known and appreciated to need description here. It is dioecious, 

 that is, it bears the staminate and pistillate flowers on different plants, so 

 that the precaution is usually taken to artificially fertilize the female 

 flowers to insure a good crop of fruit. It attains a height sometimes of 

 80 feet, terminating in a crown of elegant gray-green leaves. It has 

 many other economic uses in addition to its fruit, which, of course, is its 

 most important product. The leaves are made into brooms and brushes, 

 and the thick fiber which binds the petioles together is manufactured into 

 all kinds of rope and twine. To the inhabitants of northern Africa and 

 the oases of Sahara this palm is of inestimable value, in fact it is the great 

 resource of that region. Their houses are made from its leaves and trunks ; 

 the wood is used for fuel ; the dates form a large part of the food, both 

 for man and beast ; and even the date stones are consumed by the cattle 

 after first being soaked in water to soften them. 



The genus Cocos occupies a place near the entrance to house No. 2, 

 the aroid house. With the exception of the cocoanut palm, C. nucifera, 

 they are natives of South America, largely of Brazil. There are two 

 plants of C. phmtosa, one on either side of the walk, about 25 feet tall ; 

 this is a native of Brazil. In extreme contrast with this is the delicate 

 little C. Weddelliana, another inhabitant of Brazil. Its graceful leaves of 

 a rich shining dark green with their narrow drooping segments give this 

 little plant a dainty and well-kept appearance which readily accounts for 

 its popularity as a decorative plant. Of C. nuci/era, the true cocoanut, 

 there are several specimens, ranging from 2 to 10 feet in height, the 

 smaller ones having been germinated at the Garden. This palm is one 



