MuNICIPALinES WHERE ESPECIALLY COMMON. — 



1, 5, 10, 13, 17, 19, 22, 27, 35, 36, 45, 52, 53, 54, 55, 

 62, 64, 70, 73. 



Range. — Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Lesser 

 Antilles from Saba to Grenada, and Tobago. 



Other common names. — manacla, palma de 



manacla (Dominican Republic) ; palma boba, 

 palma justa (Cuba) ; palmiste a chapelet, macou- 

 touca (Haiti) ; palmiste-montagne (Guadeloupe, 

 Dominica) ; palmiste franc, chou-palmiste, palm- 

 iste lilaiic (Guadeloupe) ; mountain-palm (Lesser 

 Antilles). 



PALM FAMILY (PALMAE) 



8. Palma de lluvia 



A graceful tall palm of rugged summits of lime- 

 stone hills, distinguished by: (1) the slender, 

 slightly tapering, smooth brown trunk with many 

 prop roots at base; (2) 5-7 erect to spreading pin- 

 nate leaves 4-6 feet long, with green sheatli 8-12 

 inches long around trunk, and blade 2-21,2 feet 

 across the many narrow long-pointed leaflets, 

 which depart from the keeled axis at a small angle, 

 apparently in 2 rows on each side, erect and 

 sjjreading; (3) small stalkless orange and green 

 male and female flowers scattered along slender 

 branches of a curved axis about 3 feet long; and 

 (4) numerous bright red or orange-red fleshy 

 fruits almost % inch long, nearly round or sliglitly 

 l^ear-shaped. 



A slender palm to 40 feet in lieight, sometimes 

 taller, with tapering unbranched trunk often 

 slightly leaning, 6-8 inches in diameter at base and 

 only 3 inches in diameter at apex, evergreen. At 

 the base of the trunk u]") to a height of 2 feet are 

 light brown pro]) roots about li^ inches in diame- 

 ter, bearing numerous short s]iinelike jirojections. 

 The smooth brown trunk is ringed, with faint leaf 

 scars 3 inches or less apart. It is relatively soft, 

 composed of a very thin brown outer layer, a thin 

 fibrous whitisli layer which is slightly bitter, an 

 orange-brown woody ring aliout lA inch wide, and 

 soft whitish jiith with scattered woody strands. 



The rather few large coarse leaves are alternate, 

 their bases overlapping at intervals of 3 inches or 

 less in a narrow terminal cluster at stem apex. At 

 base of leaf are the green sheath opened on 1 side 

 and a curved stout grooved petiole IV2 feet or less 

 in length. The crowded, overlapping, narrow 

 leaflets or segments are about 12-20 inches long 

 and l-l^/i inches wide, becoming shorter toward 

 apex, leathei-y, parallel-veined, green, and slightly 



Gaussia attenuata (O. F. Cook) Beccari 



shiny on both sides, attached obliquely to the green 

 axis. After turning brown and sliedding the leaf- 

 lets, the axis with leaf base falls, making a smooth 

 scar. 



Many small flowers are borne stalkless and scat- 

 tered along slender drooping green branches about 

 6 inches long of the curved and drooping branclied 

 cluster (panicle) arising inside sheath of older 

 leaves. Female flowers about %6 inch across have 

 3 minute broad sepals, 3 fleshy orange spreading 

 petals more than Vm inch long, 6 minute whitish 

 sterile stamens (staminodes), and pistil composed 

 of green 3-angled 3-celled ovary more than \\^ 

 incli long and broad, witli 3 stigmas at apex. Male 

 flowers maturing earlier in the same flower clus- 

 ter (monoecious) are slightly larger, with 3 sepals, 

 3 petals less than 2 mm. long, 6 stamens nearly 2 

 nun. long, and rudimentary pistil. 



Fruits change color from green to yellow, 

 orange, and red at maturity. The single rounded 

 brown seed is Vm inch or less in length. Flowering 

 and fruiting jM-obably through the year, at least 

 in l)oth Jiuie and December. 



Perhaps of value as an ornamental. 



This species is common on the rocky summits 

 and clitl's of the moist limestone region and in the 

 hills between San German and Lajas. As these 

 palms are taller than other trees of the jagged hill- 

 tops, clusters of palm leaves often rise above the 

 forest canopy, conspicuous against the sky. From 

 a distance the leaves appear suspended in midair, 

 since the slender trunk is scarcely visible. 



Public forest. — Cambalache. 



Range. — Endemic to Puerto Rico. 



Other cojimon name. — Puerto Rico Hume- 

 palm (English). 



42 



