Range. — Native of tropical Asia but widely 

 planted throughout the tropics. West Indies from 

 Cuba to Trinidad, and from Mexico to South 

 America. Also grown in southern Florida. 



Other common names. — bambua, caiia India 

 (Puerto Rico) ; bambii (Spanish) ; cana brava, 



cafiambu, pito (Cuba); cafiaza (Panama); com- 

 mon bamboo, feathery bamboo, bamboo (United 

 States, English) ; bambou (French) ; bamboe 

 (Dutch). 



Another generic name formerly employed is 

 Bamhos. 



PALM FAMILY (PALMAE) 



Key to the 7 species illustrated (Nos. 4-10) 

 A. Leaves pinnate. 



B. Spines on trunk and leaf axes. 



C. Leaf segments long-pointed ; trunk stout — 4. Acrocomia media. 



CO. Leaf segments ending in a broad jagged edge as if torn ; trunk .slender — 5. Aiphanes acanthophylla. 

 BB. Spines absent. 



D. Leaf sheaths splitting open. 



E. Leaves many, 12-20 feet long ; fruit the familiar, large, edible coconut — 6. Cocos nucifera*. 

 EE. Leaves several, .5-7 feet long ; fruits about i/^ inch in diameter. 



P. Leaf segments spreading flat along axis and not overlapping — 7. Euterpe gloiosa. 

 FF. Leaf segments erect and spreading in 2 row.s on each side of axis — 8. Gaussia attenuata. 

 DD. Leaf sheaths forming long column at apex of trunk — 9. Roystonea horinquena. 

 AA. Leaves fan-shaped — 10. Sabal caiisiarum. 



4. Corozo, prickly palm, Puerto Rico acrocomia 



Corozo, a robust palm and 1 of the 2 Puerto 

 Rican spiny species, is characterized by: (1) the 

 stout straiglit trunk 8-12 inches in diameter at 

 base but slightly enlarged and bulging above, bear- 

 ing rings of long slender black spines; (2) long 

 pinnate leaves 10-13 feet long with spiny axis and 

 numerous tilted narrow long-pointed leaflets or 

 segments as much as 2 feet long and only i/4-% 

 inch wide; (3) flower clusters 3-5 feet long, with 

 spiny stalk and branches bearing small pale yel- 

 low stalkless flowers, many crowded male flowei's 

 %e inch long, and in lower part of branches a few 

 female flowers % inch long; and (4) yellow 

 rounded dr\' fruits about 1% inches in diameter, 

 containing 1 large edible seed. 



Easily distinguished from the other native 

 robust species, palma real {Roystonea hor'mquena 

 O. F. Cook), by the spiny trmik, the much 

 rounder, denser, and more compact crown com- 

 posed of many more leaves, the absence of the 

 long columnar green leaf sheaths, and the absence 

 of the unopened vertical leaf in the top. 



A medium-sized robust palm becoming 40 feet 

 tall. The stout unbranched trunk is cylindrical 

 or slightly enlarged above the base to as much as 

 20 inches in diameter, tapering above and below. 

 The gray trunk has a smooth surface with faint 

 horizontal rings of leaf scars about 2-3 inches 

 apart but is very spiny, especially in the upper 

 part, often shedding some spines below. These 

 black spines are 2-3 inches long, sometimes as 

 much as 4-6 inches. At the apex the evergreen 

 crown is composed of as many as 40 alternate 

 leaves, erect, spreading, and drooping. 



The leaf segments are not crowded and arise 

 from the axis tilted or at an angle, rather than flat, 

 and curve downward. They are leathery, parallel- 

 veined, and shiny above and dull blue green be- 

 neath. Dead leaves hang down and fall oflp 

 smoothly. 



The large drooping flower clusters (panicles) 



Acrocomia media O. F. Cook 



are subtended by 2 hairy, spiny sheaths (spathes), 

 the outer 4-5 feet long, long-pointed, curved, and 

 shading the axis of flowers, and the inner up to 2 

 feet long. Male and female flowers are produced 

 on the same branch (monoecious). Branches 4—8 

 inches long bear crowded male flowers, which have 

 3 small ovate sepals, a 3-lobed corolla, 6 stamens 

 at top of corolla tube, and rudimentary pistil. 

 Female flowers are scattered, 2-5 on lower part of 

 a branch, rounded, with 3 small scalelike sepals, 

 3 overlapping petals, and pistil with 3-celled 

 ovary and 3 styles. 



The rounded fruit, which changes in color from 

 green to yellow at maturity, has a minute point 

 at apex, a firmly fibrous husk, and a bony inner 

 layer with 3 pores near middle. The single seed 

 1 inch long has whitish oily contents and is edible. 

 Probably flowering and fruiting nearly through 

 the year. 



The very hard wood from the outer part of the 

 trunk has attractive black markings and has been 

 used for flooring or cut into walking sticks. The 

 hard-shelled seeds are edible, with flavor suggest- 

 ing coconuts, and yield an oil. They are some- 

 times carved into rings. The seed oil of a related 

 species is extracted commercially. Tliough this 

 palm has been suggested as an ornamental, the 

 many spines are objectionable. 



Found in fields and woodlands in the coastal 

 forest regions and in the moist limestone region. 

 Also in St. Thomas. Introduced in St. Croix. 



Public forests. — Cambalache, Carite, Luquillo, 

 Maricao, Rio Abajo, Susiia. 



Range. — Restricted to Puerto Rico and St. 

 Thomas. Introduced in St. Croix. 



Other common names. — palma de corozo 

 (Puerto Rico) ; Puerto Rico acrocomia (English). 



Formerly included in Acrocomia aculeata 

 (Jacq.) Lodd., a related species of the Lesser 

 Antilles from Dominica and Martinque to 

 Grenada. 



34 



