i 
PHENIX. | PALMA. 287 
Cultivated and wild in many parts of India and in Burma. I¢ is un- 
doubtedly indigenous in the Indus basin (Aitchison) and probably 
so in the Bombay Presidency, where it is commonly found growing 
gregariously on moist soil in the drier districts. It is abundant in 
Bundelkhand, especially near Jhansi and Lalitpur, and in the Sub- 
Himalayan tracts of Pilibhit and of Northern Oudh. The tree is 
much tapped both in Bengal and Madras, and the liquid obtained 
thereby is either drunk fresh or after fermentation, or it is boiled 
down into sugar. The constant tapping of these trees very much 
spoils their graceful appearance, and also injures the quality of the 
fruit. The tree flowers in December and January, and the fruit 
ripens April-June. The wood is used in the building of native 
huts, or for water-pipes, and from the leaves matting, ropes and 
baskets are made. See also page 64 in Vol. iii of this work under 
Loranthus longiflorus. 
2. P. acaulis, Roxb. Hort. Beng.; 73; Buch.-Ham. ex Roxb, 
Fl. Ind. iii, 783 ; Brand. For. Fl. 555; Ind. Trees 645; F. B. I, 
vi, 426; Watt B.D. vol. VI, Pt. 1-A., 199 ; Comm. Prod. Ind. ; 
Gamble Man. 736 ; Prain Beng. Pl. 1096; Cooke Fl. Bomb. ii, 
802; Kanji Lal For. Fl. (ed. 2) 411.—Vern. Khajur, Khajuri 
(Hind).—Dwarf-Date Palm. 
Stem very short, more or less bulb-like, 6-10 in. in diam., clothed with 
the sheaths and bases of the petioles. Leaves 2-6 ft. long; leaflets 
10-20 by 4-3 in., stiff, fascicled ; the base thickened and decurrent ; 
petioles 1 ft. or more long, with spines 2-6 in. long. Spadiz 6-10 in. 
long, compressed, rather longer than the spathe; branches very 
stout, yellow. Spathes about 6 in. long, with their bases rather 
below the surface of the ground. Mate flowers }-} in. long, alter- 
nate, solitary, pale-yellow. Frm. flowers: Spadix and spathe as in 
the male. Calyx cup-shaped, truncate, with 3 obscure teeth on 
the margin. Petals thick, fleshy. Fruiting peduncle short, usually 
concealed among the leaves. Fruit }-% in. long, oblong-ellipsoid, 
black when ripe, edible. Seed 4-4 in. long, deeply grooved. 
Common in the Dehra Dun and Saharanpur forests, and generally 
in open grassy spaces, extending eastwards along the Sub-Himalayan 
tracts of Pilibhit and N. Oudh up to 2,500 ft. and accompanying 
Sal and the long-leaved pine. (Pinus longifolia). It flowers during 
Dec. and Jan., and the fruit ripens during April and May. Du1srrrp. 
Outer Himalayan ranges from Garhwal and Kumaon eastwards to 
the Khasia Hills and Upper Burma. It is found also in Behar and 
in the hilly parts of C. India, and in the district of N. Kanara in the 
