202 



Loranthus sarmentosus as it has a similar habit, but it may possibly 

 be eventvially identified with the West Indian Loranthus avicularis, 

 Mart, of Grisebach's Flora, with which it has also characters in 

 common. 



200-— The "GRU GRU" 'PALM.—Acrocomialasiospatlia, Mart. 



At No. 165 p. 113 I offered some notes on the " Grii Gru" 

 Palm and its fibre — and used for it then ame of Acrocomia sclerocarpa, 

 Mart. From enquiries since made at the Herbarium Eoyal Gardens 

 Kew, it now appears that it should be referred to as Acrocomia lasios- 

 jjatlia, Mart, and not to the name previously used. As " all the West 

 Indian specimens in the Kew Herbarium belong to Acrocomia lasios- 

 patha, Mart." 



201.-MANICARA SACCIFERA, MABT-Timite. 



This Palm is a native of the lower or swampy lands of the Colony 

 Avhere it grows freely and produces large quantities of seed. These 

 seeds are often borne to the shores of other West Indian Islands a fact 

 which Grisebach records. Dr. D. Morris also in his article on " A 

 Jamaica drift fruit" writes : — In the West Indies the ripe fruits of a 

 palm unhiown in the greater Antilles are contimially brought up by 

 the Gulf stream from the South and loashed ashore at Jamaica and 

 other places. They are locally called (" in Jamaica") Sea apples 

 or sea coco-nuts. They are the fruits of the " Bussu Palm" (" Mani- 

 caria Saccifera") found in Trinidad and the adjacent Mainland of 

 South America. The white kernel is sometimes fresh enough to be 

 eaten after long immersion in salt loater. The fruit ivas gathered by 

 Shane as long ago as 1687 and he remarhed that it icas frequently 

 cast on the North-west islands of Scotland by currents and the sea." 



In the southern parts of Trinidad, at Irois and at Siparia to the 

 Soiith of the Oropuche Lagoon, and in some other districts the Mani- 

 caria grows plentifully but in the larger portions of the North Western 

 and central districts, the collector weixld search for it in vain, except 

 as he approaches the Eastern sea coast, or arrives at a swampy part of 

 a river's bank. In the Royal Botanic Gardens every endeavour has 

 been made to grow them as specimens for many years, and yet only 

 one solitary and somewhat poor specimen exists, and this in a most 

 shady and moist part of the garden. 



