1^8 



nopht/Ua witli ■whicli it has little in common, while both the Kew spe- 

 cimens enumerated above are placed under 1). Moritziana. D. Morit- 

 siana is from C olumbia and has the pinnae of the sterile leaf quite 

 different in shape, tapering toward the cuneate base and much more 

 gradually toward the apex; intercostal spaces 16-17 to 1 cm. 



Danaea Jenmani, Underw. Bull. Torrey Club, 29 : 677. 1902. 



Rootstock (as far as known) horizontal, rather stout; stipes brown 

 scurfy, those of sterile )eaf 10-11 cm, long, usually with one node; pin- 

 nae 7-9 pai) s, opposite, 2-3cm. apart, obtuse at base with a short pedicel, 

 4.5-6cm. long by 1.8cm. wide, abruptly short-pointed, the margin 

 more or less serrulate at the apex ; rachis scurfy, more or less alate ; 

 veins mostly forked, the intercostal spaces about 12 to 1 cm above the 

 furcations ; basil and terminal pairs of pinnae shorter than the others; 

 sporophylls with about 11 pairs of pinnae, 5-8mm. apart, 3 cm. longy 

 5mm. wide, mostly blunt and short-stalked. 



This is the species called D. alata by Jenman, and although he caller 

 it " frequent" in Jamaica it appears to be very rare in collections. We 

 have found it to be frequent near Mabess River. 



CUBAN USES OF THE ROYAL PALM. 



By William Palmer. 



The royal palm {Oreodoxa regia) is a widely distributed tree 

 throughout Cuba, and it is truly the tropical feature of the landscape. 

 In the former more highly cultivated areas they largely occupy the^ 

 hedgerows, thus being arranged in double rows along the roadways, 

 end in single rows along the dividing lines. 1 his arrangement is 

 largely accidental, cultivation compelling the absence of the young^ 

 plants from the fields, and the hedgerows offering a secluded habitat until 

 they are ttrong enough to need no shelter. In other places the fre- 

 quent fires have destroyed the trees on the higher areas, so that one 

 sees them oftenest along the banks ot the wa' ercourses. The tree is a 

 noble one, tnd occurs everywhere except among the pines of the 

 mountains. To the simple Cubans living remote from modern civili- 

 zation, it furnishes many of his necei-sities, most of which perhaps are 

 contained in tue following list. 



Posts. — Trees are felled and alb wed to lie for a considerable time 

 before they are cut ixto lengths and split. 



Fences. — These are made of strips of the wood tied upright to cross- 

 pieces and close together^ so that chickens cannot get through. 



Column*. — 'Ihey are used as the main supports of a house, ihe upper 

 portion of the trunk being used. 



Boards. — When the interior of a felled tree is rotted, it can readily 

 be split and the pieces trimmed to the required length and width, 

 which is necessarily narrow. 



Coffee mortars. — Most palms are somewhat swollen at about one- 

 third of their length from the ground: this is cut out for at out the 

 height of a table, the wider eno is hollowed out, tnd with a pestle of 

 similar or different wood, forms a mortar and pestle which is used to 

 crush the roasted coffee beans. When not in use, the hollow may 

 h^ Id the family supply of beans and it is always handy to support the 

 iamily wash-tub a shallow broad article made often ol the same wood.- 



