26 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 98 



A large individual, about 25 m. tall, in the forest near Sepacuite, 

 was cut in 1902 but remained upright, held by vines that bound it to 

 an adjacent large tree, and was still alive in 1904, with the leaf-crown 

 still fresh. That the moisture stored in the trunk had been sufficient to 

 support the crown is difficult to believe, and raises the question of the 

 leaf-crown absorbing water or of a few fibers near the center of the 

 trunk remaining uncut and continuing to function for a time. It is 

 known that trunks of other palms continue to exude sap at the upper 

 end for several months after being felled, as in the "molasses palm" 

 of Chile, Jabaca chilcnsis (Molina), and the humid forest conditions 

 doubtless would lengthen the period of continuing to furnish moisture. 





