65 



PLATE XXIV. 



Geonoma paniculigera, Martins. 



Ubim de Cotiw T iya, Lingoa Geral. 



This is a species from six to nine feet high and very 

 similar in appearance to the last. The leaves, however, 

 have only three or four pairs of leaflets of irregular 

 width, the terminal pair being always very large and 

 broad, and the others not being always placed opposite 

 each other on the midrib. 



The spadix is large, much branched and somewhat 

 drooping, and has a small, soft and inconspicuous basal 

 spathe. The fruit is small and round. 



This species grows in the same localities and in the 

 same soil as the last, but is much more abundant. It 

 appears to agree well with the G. paniculigera of Mar- 

 tius. 



There is a very closely allied species abundant in 

 certain parts of the flooded lands or "gapo" of the 

 Rio Negro, which is much used for thatching. The 

 leaves being cut, the leaf-stalks are doubled and hitched 

 on side by side to a strip of " pashhiba," and secured 

 with "sipos" (which are the air-roots of Arums and 

 other plants) . They are said to make one of the most 

 durable kinds of roof, and are much used for covering 

 the semicircular "toldas" of canoes. They are also 

 considered the best material for lining baskets of salt, 



