PALMjE. 621 



Uumpliius gives a long account of this palm under the name 

 of Cocas Maldivlcus. The kernel is used in India in con- 

 junction with lignum colubrlnum as a tonic, and a paste made 

 of it in conjunction with the powdered horns of the Sambhar 

 deer and the seeds of Strijchms Naz-vomica is applied to 



enlarged glands. 



Description.— Thomas Moore, in the Treasury of Botany 



says : 



palm, which is found 



two 



small islands, Praslin and Cmicuse, belonging to the Seychelles 

 group, requires a great length of time to arrive at maturity. 

 The shortest period before it puts forth its flower-buds is thirty 

 years, and a hundred years elapse before it attains its full 

 growth. From the age of 1 5 to 25 years it is in its greatest 

 beauty, the leaves at this period being much longer than they 

 are subsequently. The stem grows quite upright, straight as 

 an iron pillar, and in the male trees frequently attains a 

 hundred feet in height, the females being shorter. At the 

 age of thirty, it first puts forth its blossoms, the males forming 

 enormous catkins about three feet in length and three inches 

 in diameter, while the females arc set upon a strong zigzag 

 stalk,' from which hang four or five, or sometimes as many as 

 eleven nuts, averaging about 40 lbs. weight each. From the 

 time of flowering to the maturation of the fruit, a period 

 of nearly ten years elapses, the full size, however, being attained 

 in about four years, at which time it is soft and full ol a 

 semi-transparent jelly-Hke substance. The apparently pecu- 

 liar formation of the root portion of this tree attracted much 

 attention a few years since, but upon comparison with other 

 palms it seems to be explained us an extraordinary development 

 of a common system. The base of the stem is rounded and 

 fits into a natural bowl or socket, which is pi^^jed with 

 hundreds of small oval holes about the size of a thimble, witk 

 Mow tubes corresponding on the outside, through which 

 the roots penetrate the ground on aU sides, never, however, 

 l^^comiug attached to the bowl, their partial elasticity affording 

 ^n almost imperceptible but very necessary 'play' to the parent 

 stem when struggling against the force of violent gales. Ihis 



—66 



