THE NEOTROPICAL REGIONS 



295 



other native trees. Of the commonly planted palms, the finest is 

 Oreodoxa oleracea, the "Palmiste" of the French, " cabbage-palm ' : 

 of the English, a much handsomer species than the royal palm 

 (0. regia) with which it is sometimes confused. 0. oleracea, with 

 its perfectly cylindrical trunk, sometimes more than 100 feet 

 high and its magnificent crown of rich plumes, is perhaps the fin- 

 est of all palms. 



Fig. 81. — Lowland vegetation, Trinidad. At left, "groo-groo" palm (Acrocomia 



sclerocarpa) . 



Silk-cotton trees, sand-box, Spanish cedar (Cedrela odor aid) } 

 and mahogany, are commonly planted, and enormous specimens 

 of the wide-spreading " monkey-pod ,; (Pithecolobium saman) 

 adorn some of the parks. The curious cannon-ball tree (Couropita 

 Guianensis), related to the Brazil nut, is sometimes seen, the large 

 red flowers, borne upon short branches growing directly from the 

 main trunk, and followed by big globular fruits to which it owes 

 its popular name. 



In the low wet forest near Port of Spain, then 1 was a luxuriant 

 growth much like that in Guiana. A fine arum (Spathiphyllum 

 cannae folium) was very abundant along the streams. the Lai 

 white spathe recalling the common calla, while other handsome 

 members of the same family, e. g., Montrichardia, Philodendron, 

 Anthurium, were abundant. Epiphytic orchids were frequent, 



