550 Cook : A Synopsis of the 



the trees has wide use in popular literature it seems desirable to 

 add the following notes on the genus Oreodoxa as originally estab- 

 lished by Willdenow in the Memoires de l'Academie Royale, Berlin, 

 1804, a publication which seems to have been consulted very 

 seldom, even by writers on palms. 



Spathe universal, univalvate ; spadix ramose, perianth mono- 

 phyllous, tripartite below, the divisions ovate, acute, concave ; 

 petals, ovate, acuminate, concave. Filaments six, of the length of 

 the corolla ; anthers oblong, acute. Style tripartite, shorter than 

 the filaments, stigma acute. Ovule, drupe, and seed globose ; 

 drupe succulent, but slightly fibrous ; seed single, cartilaginous, 

 nearly smooth, marked with a longitudinal sulcus. In the discus- 

 sion subsequent to the statement of the above characters, Oreodoxa 

 is said to be distinct from Bactris in the tripartite style and in the 

 absence of the "ordinary three impressions" ; it is distinguished 

 from Areca, then supposed to include Eiiterpc and species now gen- 

 erally placed in Oreodoxa, in the single spathe, the triple style and 

 the hermaphrodite flowers. 



The first species is Oreodoxa acuminata, referred by recent 

 authors to Euterpebut probably constituting a distinct genus. The 

 trunk is erect, cylindrical, very smooth, and attains a height of 

 from 15 to 18 metres ; the " root" throws out suckers at the base 

 of the trunk. The fronds are pinnate, with opposite or alternate, 

 very long, ensiform, acuminate pinnae, replicate at base. The 

 strongly convolute young leaves form a green apex for the trunk, 

 five feet high. Spathes cinereous, folded in at the base of the 

 leaf-sheaths at the top of the trunk, univalvate, deciduous ; spadix 

 erect, much branched, having the appearance of a broom. 



The heart of the bundle of leaf-bases, about two feet long and 

 three inches thick is eaten as a salad, with oil and vinegar. It is 

 also stated that the deciduous boat-shaped spathes serve as reser- 

 voirs of rain-water which is long retained in the cool shade cast 

 by the trees. Birds and beasts, and human natives as well, are 

 said to be dependent at times upon the liquid thus stored, since in 

 the regions where the palm grows there are at times no other means 

 of procuring water. The forests of the high mountain chain of 

 Buena Vista in the province of Caracas are the native home of the 

 species. It thus appears that in addition to the structural differ- 



