154 Materials for a Flora of the Malayan Peninsula. 



Stems very ?tout usually solitary. 



Petals in malo oblong ... ••• ... 1. A. saccharifera. 



Stems more slender not solitary. m 



Petals short oblong ovate ••• ... ••• 2. A. Westcrhouti. 



1. A. SACCHAEIFERA, Labill. Mem. Inst. Fr. VIII. 209. Stems 

 usually solitary, occasionally 2-3, about 20 to 30 feet tall and 12 inches 

 or more through. Leaves 20 feet long, petiole very stout sheaths 

 short broken up into strong black fibres, leaflets about 60 pairs alter- 

 nate linear, base unequally auricled, apex notched and toothed dark 

 green above glaucous beneath, 25 inches long 1-1| inch wide. Spathes 

 5 lanceolate oblong sheathing the peduncle. Inflorescence axillary 

 alternately male and female, spikes numerous 3 to 4 feet long, rachis 

 stout i inch through green woody. Male flowers in pairs spirally 

 arranged. Sepals sub-orbicular truncate imbricate i inch long green. 

 Petals 1 inch long oblong thickly coriaceous blunt, violet. Stamens 

 very numerous about 80, filaments short white g inch long. Anthers 

 slender i inch long orange, sagittate apiculate. Female flowers, sepals 

 orbicular, petals tringular ovate a inch long acute green, ovary sub- 

 tringular rounded top flattened, three ridged, styles short tringular, 

 ovules 3. Fruit oblong or suhglobose yellow, obscurely three angled, 

 top depressed 2 inches long pulpy 3 seeded. Seed 1 inch long black 

 back rounded, albumen equable. Mart. Hist. Nat. Palm 191, t. 108, 

 and 161, fig. 4. Miq. Fl. Ind. Bat. III. 35. Kurz. Fl. For. II. 534, 

 Griff. Calc. Journ. Nat. Hist. V. 472, Palms Brit. Ind. 164. t. 135 A. 

 Hook. fil. Fl. Brit. Ind. VI. 431. A. Griffithii, Seem. (Kerchov. Palm 

 432). Saguerus Rumphii Koxb. Fl. Ind. III. 626. S. saccharifer Wurmb. 

 Verb. Bat. Genootschap I. 350. Bl. Rumphia II. 128, t.123-4. Go- 

 midits saccharifer Spreng. Syst. II. 622. Borassits Gomutus Lour. Fl. 

 Cochin-ch. II. 759. 



Common over the whole peninsula in villages and wild on dry 

 hills. Native name " Kabong," " Enau." I met with this palm ap- 

 parently in a truly wild state in Bukit Jugra, Province Wellesley. 

 The stems wore not so densely covered with black fibre as in the com- 

 mon village form and wore more slender. The Malays called this plant 

 " Enau," and seomed to consider it different. The fibre from the leaf 

 sheaths is used for making black rope under the native name of " Tali 

 Hijau ; " it is very strong and durable and stands submersion in water 

 for a long time. There is a portion of a cable of this rope in the 

 Sandakan museum in Borneo which was found attached to a very 

 old anchor in one of the rivers and is supposed to have been used in 

 one of Dampier's voyages. The fibreis still very strong and but little 

 altered, after so long a lapso of years. This fibro has been imported 

 into England for various purposes under the name of Vegetable Horse 

 Hair. The trunk of tho tree split and scoopodout is used for conduits. 

 The rachis of the leaf is sometimes made into quaint walking sticks. 



