NO. 7 A NEW PALM FROM COCOS ISLAND COOK / 



f&rsicriana, familiar as a decorative plant, exists in the wild state only 

 on Lord Howe Island, between Australia and New Zealand. The 

 Canary date palm, Phoenix canariensis, hardier and more imposing 

 than the commercial date palm, is restricted in nature to the single 

 island Palma, northwest of Tenerife. The Bermuda palmetto, Sabal 

 blackburniana, is a distinct species, all the other palmettoes being 

 found on the American continent or in the West Indies. Navassa 

 Island and Saona Island in the Caribbean Sea, have endemic species of 

 Pseudophoenix. 



One of the most beautiful fan-palms, Erythca cdiilis, with emerald- 

 green foliage, a favorite ornamental along the coast of California, was 

 introduced from Guadalupe Island, off Lower California, where the 

 wild stock is nearly extinct. Other magnificient fan-palms are found 

 in single islands of the Hawaiian archipelago, and elsewhere among 

 the Pacific Islands. A remarkable new genus, Pelagodoxa, was dis- 

 covered a few years ago in one of the Marquesas Islands. Also in 

 southern latitudes, beyond the tropical belt, insular palms occur ; 

 Juania australis on Juan Fernandez, off the coast of Chile, and Eora 

 ultima, a little-known palm on Chatham Island, southeast of New 

 Zealand. Other species of Eora are found on Norfolk Island and 

 Kermadec Island, and one on the main island of New Zealand. 



The genera that now are confined to the small islands may be con- 

 sidered as remnants of richer floras existing formerly on the conti- 

 nents. Human agency, no doubt, has exterminated many palms in the 

 regions that were populated in prehistoric times. But even before the 

 human period other types of woody vegetation may have displaced 

 many palms, with the development of continuous forests of branching 

 small-leaved trees, which formed dense canopies of shade under which 

 more primitive sun-palms were unable to grow. 



Tolerance of shade has been acquired in different families of palms 

 in several forest regions of the tropics, each region having its special 

 flora of forest palms. The more primitive open-country palms are 

 more widely distributed. Partial tolerance of shade, at least in the 

 younger stages of development, is a positive requirement with all the 

 forest palms, the extent of such tolerance often determining their 

 ability to thrive in cultivation. The early stages of the forest palms 

 may be more definitely specialized for shade conditions, as shown by 

 longer petioles or more delicate foliage, than the later stages, which 

 rise above the forest "roof" and so gain access to the full sunlight. 

 To meet such requirements in the early stages of growth, locations 

 with partial protection from sun and wind should be chosen for the 



