802 CXXXTIII. PALM^. 



Deccan : gregarious on the top of trap hills near Bhorkas (Poena districts), 

 Woodrow ; Nandgaon (W. Ghats), Woodrow.—THSTKiB. Behar (on Parasnath). 



In the place near Bhorkas, where it is locally abundant, it is used largely for the 

 manufacture of date-matting ( Woodrow). 



3. Phoenix acaulis, Roa-b. Hort. Beng. (1814) p. 73 ; BucJi.-Ham. 

 ex Roxb. Fl. Tad. v. 3 (1832) p. 783 *, A dwarf palm, often almost 

 stemless; stem bulbiform, G-10 in. in diam., clothed with the sheaths 

 and the bases of the petioles, the ends of which are often bristly with 

 the protruding; hard fibro-vascular bundles. Leaves 2-G ft. long; leaflets 

 10-20 by ^-| in., stiff, fasciculate, the base thickened and decurrent ; 

 petioles 1 ft. or more loug, with spines 2-6 in. long. Spadix 6-10 in. 

 long, compressed, rather longer than the spathe ; branches veiy stout, 

 yellow. Spathes about 6 in. long with their bases rather below the 

 surface of the ground. Male flowers ^-^ in. long, alternate, solitary, 

 pale-vellow. Stamens 6 ; filaments very sliort. Pistillode 0. Female 

 TLOWEES : Spadix and spathe as in the male. Cal^^x cup-shaped, 

 truncate, with three obscure teeth on the margin. Petals 3, subrotund, 

 thick and fleshy, concave, smooth. Fruiting peduncle short, usually 

 concealed among the leaves. Fruit |-| in. long, oblong-ellipsoid, black 

 when ripe, edible. Seed |-g in. long, deeply grooved. Fl. B. I. v. 6, 

 p. 426 ; Dalz. & Gibs. p. 278 ; Griff. Palm. Brit. E. Ind. (1850) p. 137 ; 

 Talb. Trees, Bomb. ed. 2, p. 342 ; Woodr. in Journ. Bomb. Nat. v. 12 

 (1899) p. 525; Praiu, Beng. PI. p. 1096; Brandis, Ind. Trees (1906) 

 p. 645; Watt, Diet. Econ. Prod. v. 6, part 1, p. 199. — Flowers : Dec- 

 Jan. Veen. Shevra ; Shilind. 



The Dwarf Bate-Palm. Kanaka : Ghats of the Sirsi taluka (N. Kanara), Talbot. — 

 DiSTRiB. Northern and Central India, Birma, W. Peninsula. 



4. Phoenix humilis, Royle, Illustr. (1839) p. 394. Yar. pedun- 

 culata, Becc. Males, v. 3 (1886-1890) p. 379. Moncecious, sobo- 

 liferous ; stem g-lO ft. high, by 9 in. in diam., densely covered with the 

 bases of the fallen petioles more or less spirally arranged ; root suckers 

 developing when the primary stem has been burnt or injured. Leaves 

 4-8 ft. long; leaflets pliable, 10-20 by g-| in., fasciculate, more or less 

 quadrifarious, the uppermost sometimes confluent, base not thickened and 

 not decurrent into the common petiole ; petioles 1 in. broad at the base, 

 with spines reaching 3 in. long. Spathe about 8 in. long, with fringed 

 margin. Spadix scarcely exceeding the spathe. Calyx cup-shaped, 

 3-toothed. Fruiting spadix 3-4 ft. long, the compressed peduncle much 

 elongate. Fruit ^ in. long, at first orange then black, edible. Fl. B. I. 

 V. 6, p. 427; Woodr. in Journ. Bomb. Nat. v. 12 (1899) p. 526 ; Talb. 

 Trees, Bomb. ed. 2, p. 342: Brandis, Ind. Trees (1906) p. 645 (in part). 

 Phoenix pedunciduta (sp.). Griff. Palm. Brit. E. Ind. (1850) p. 139. — 

 Flowers : Dec.-Feb. Doubtfully distinct from P. acaulis. 



Common on the Ghats of N. Kanara, Talbot. — Distrib. Hilly districts of India ; 

 China, Oochinchina. 



The leaflets are made into mats commonly used for covering bales of red pepper in 

 the Dharwar district {Talbot). 



* Roxburgh attributes this to himself in Hort. Beng. (1814), but to Buchanan in 

 Flor. Ind. (1832). 



