48 Transactions. 



distinguishable from the tertiary ones, which are rather sharp, so as to 

 render the two surfaces (in the dry specimens) distinctly striate ; transverse 

 veinlets obsolete ; the margins acute. The single leaflet (from an adult plant) 

 seen bv me was 75cm. long, and 4cm. broad at about its middle. The 

 spaclix is large and much branched ; its flowering branchlets are thickish, 

 angular, and deeply and closely scrobiculate along 6 vertical series ; the 

 scrobiculi are shaped like a swallow's nest, and have their lower margins 

 truncate, but with a small acute point at their middle. The flowers have 

 their bases immersed in the scrobiculi, are arranged in glomerules of 3 (the 

 central a female, and the side ones male, as usual) almost to the end of the 

 flowering branchlets. At the time of the anthesis of the male flowers the 

 female flowers are rather well e volute, but .not yet ready for impollination. 

 The male flowers are asymmetrical. 7 mm. long, lanceolate-acuminate, and 

 somewhat falcate at apex ; the calyx is formed by 3 free sepals, thinly 

 membranous, lanceolate-acuminate, very briefly imbricate at the base ; 

 the corolla is divided down to the base into 3 concave ovate-lanceolate 

 acuminate segments, one-third, or even less, longer than the sepals; are 

 cartilaginous, strongly striately veined outside ; the stamens are 6, have the 

 filaments linear with the apex subulate and inflected ; the anthers are erect 

 when in the bud and versatile later, are attached about their middle, linear- 

 sagittate, their apices and their auricles are obtuse, have the cells disjointed 

 in their lower third part, and dehisce laterally. The rudimentary ovary 

 is conspicuous, subclavate, almost as long as the stamens (in the unopened 

 flower). The female flowers, at the time of the flowering of the male flowers, 

 are broadly conical, acute, 4 mm. broad (probably slightly larger later) ; 

 sepals thinly cartilaginous, very broadly imbricate, suborbicular, briefly 

 apiculate ; the corolla slightly longer than the calyx ; petals similar to the 

 sepals, broadly imbricate, having only the short apices valvate ; sepals 

 and petals minutely ciliolate ; ovary oblong, conical above, terminated 

 by 3 trigonous, acute, at first connivent, then spreading and recurved, 

 stigmas ; ovule relatively large, attached laterally in the highest part of 

 the cell. Staminodes 3, dentiform. 



Fruit globular : in the dry condition it is 11-13 mm. in diameter, and 

 has a terminal discoid-mammillaeform apiculus, showing in its centre the 

 minute remnants of the stigmas; the pericarp is in its totality 1 mm. in 

 thickness ; its epicarp is very thin, and very finely lineolate by verv minute 

 fibres (sclerostomes) ; the mesocarp is apparently very slightly fleshy in the 

 fresh state, and contains 4-5 rows of flattened rigid fibres ; the endocarp is 

 verv thin, pellicular-cartilaginous. tightly enveloping the seed. 



Seed globose, 10-5-11 mm. in diameter, the outer coat is light-coloured 

 and almost polished, and faintly marked by the nearly simple vascular 

 branching of the raphe ; several of the branches descend spirally and 

 posticously from the summit, and only very few descend the sides. The 

 hilum is conspicuous, broad and suborbicular on the vertex of the seed, it 

 narrows gradually downward to its base, in close proximity to the embryo. 

 Albumen very hard, homogeneous. Embryo exactly basal. Fruiting 

 perianth very slightly concave, or almost explanate. 



Rhopalostylis Cheesemanii appears to be more closely allied to R. sapida, 

 the seed of which has. like that of R. Cheesemanii. a light-coloured and 

 polished surface, than to R. Baueri. of which the seed has a brown and dull 

 surface. R. Cheesemanii is, however, a much taller plant than R. sapida, 

 and in that respect approximates more closely to R. Baueri. But this new 

 species differs from both R. sapida and R. Baueri in the globular form of its 

 fruit. 



