568 Cook : A Synopsis of the 



local consumption of nuts for this purpose is considerable it is 



largely confined to the towns of the coast region. Thus it may 



be said that in Puerto Rico the cocoa palm affords a luxury rather 



than a necessity, and that it is exceeded in economic importance 



by the royal palm. 



Cocops gen. nov. 



In a valley on the road between Lares and San Sebastian sev- 

 eral young palms were noticed with leaves similar to the cocoanut, 

 but smaller and finer. Finally one mature specimen was found, 

 with both trunk and leaves strongly suggesting the cocoanut, but 

 much smaller. The leaves are light green, the leaflets in one 

 plane, and the fibers separating from the narrow base of the leaf. 

 The fibers are few and flimsy, but like those of the cocoanut and 

 other South American species of Cocos. The palm stood within a 

 few feet of a small permanent brook, down which the seeds had 

 evidently been carried and there were several young palms along 

 the bank. The native living in an adjacent house could give us no 

 name except palmilla, and seemed to think that none was neces- 

 sary since the tree does not yield yagua or anything else of use. 

 Its early extermination is therefore not unlikely. 



In the absence of flowers and fruit * the relationships of the pres- 

 ent genus cannot be ascertained nor its validity satisfactorily estab- 

 lished. There seems, however, to be no reason for including the 

 species in any of the genera known from Puerto Rico or other parts 

 of the West Indies, and to associate it with Central and South 

 American types would be a still less warrantable procedure. 



It is also believed that under the present circumstances the ap- 

 plication of a name is justified by convenience of reference and that 

 this will also assist in securing the attention of botanical collec- 

 tors better than a mere allusion to "an unknown palm which may 



be new." 



Cocops rivalis sp. nov. 



In diameter the trunk appeared to be about midway between 

 the palma de sierra (Acristd) and the cocoanut, and had the short 

 internodes of the latter. The leaves, however, probably remain 



* That the fruits are small and are ripened at one season, as stated in the key, was 

 apparent from the size of the seedlings and from other circumstances which accorded 

 with the testimony of the man whose house stood within a few rods of the largest tree. 



