142 BURMA, ITS PEOPLE AND PRODCCTIOXS. 



like oduT palms. Kurz remarks : " Besides its well-knoTvn value for toddy, sufrar, 

 and fibre, tliis palm is especially adapted for the support of orchids, ferns, and other 

 epiphytical plants, for which purpose it is highly recommendable to horticulturists in 

 tropical climates." 



§ § Phoenicea. Spnthes 1-2, hoat-shnped, persistnif. Ocanj apocarpous, considint/ 

 of 3 'distinct carpels. Pinna ojtui Jascicltd. Erect palms. 



PnCENIX, LiillKCllS. 



Dicfcious trees. SpatJies 1 or 2, boat-shaped. Corolla in males valvate, in 

 females inbricate. Drupes sappy, single. Alhuincn homogeneous. Lower pinna spiny, 

 reduced. 



I X Spallies f/lahrotis ; fouers supported hy a small suhulate bract. 



P. ACAULis, Itoxb. ' Eng' forests of Pegu and Martabau. 



Thin-loung (Kurz). 



Stemless. Petioles rather long and slender. Rpiny-armed. 



\%\ SpatJies covered uith a brown scwrf. Floicers icithoiit a bract. 



* P. SYLVESTMS, Roxb. Cultivated about C'hittagong. 



Sim]de stemmed, robust. Petioles very short and dilated, spiny-armed. Pritpes 

 about an inch long. 



P. r.iLui osA, Roxb. Tidal forests of Burma and the Andamans. 



Tlien-bfjung. 



Soboliferous, slender. Petioles long and slender, spiny-armed. Drupes about 

 •i an inch long. 



A considerable qiuintity of date sugar is made from the juice collected from the 

 tree when about to flower. Most trees found near villages bear the scars caused 

 by this process, and many trees are rendered deformed and unsightly thereby. 



Mason gives also P. daciyhfera, which he names Swon pa-lwdn, but this species 

 is not included by Kurz. 



§§§ Arecinea. Spathes 1-2, boat-shaped, caducous. Putamen not pcrfcrated. 

 Albumen solid, homogeneous or ruminate. Pinna neither fascicled nor coarse-toothtd. 

 Erect palms. 



PiXANGA, Blume. 



Flowers moncecious, immersed in the cavities of the rachis. Stamens indefinite. 

 Stigma 1. Albumen ruminate. Pinna iriegularly united into segments, rarely all 

 united into a bifid blade. 



Flowers distichous. 



P. cosTATA, Bl. Tree forests of South Andaman. 



Soboliferous, tufted. Spadix branched. Sheaths slightly scuify. 



Flowers tristichous. 

 P. (Arkca) GRACILIS, Eoxb. Tree forests all over Burma, especially 



Tan-kwam-thi (Kurz). ^^ "^"'^'^y ^P"*^- 



Simple-stemmed. Spadix slender, ramified or simple. Sheaths scuify. 



Flowers 5-G-stichous. 



P. (Areca) nEXASTiCHA, Kz. Marshy spots in Southern Pegu, as near 



Kyan-zu and Kya-eng. 



Simple-stemmed. Spadix simple, fleshy, as thick as the finger. Sheaths scurfy. 



Areca, Linnaus. 



Very like the last, but stamens 6 to 3. Stigmas 3. Female fowers lateral, between 

 the ramifications, rarely axillary. 



