81 



PLATE XXX. 



Bactris elatior, n. sp. 



Marayarana, Lingoa Geral, 



This is a tall and elegant species. The stem is from 

 fifteen to twenty feet high and about one inch in dia- 

 meter, with a few scattered groups of small spines. 

 The leaves are regularly pinnate, with broad leaflets 

 narrowed at the base and ending in a lengthened point, 

 the terminal pair being rather broader. The petioles 

 and their sheathing bases are covered with broad, flat, 

 whitish spines. 



The spadices grow from among the lower leaves on 

 long stalks and are simply branched and drooping. 

 The spathes are elongate fusiform and spiny, and are 

 persistent. The fruit is small and globular. 



This very graceful palm grows in the moist part of 

 the virgin forest of the Upper Rio Negro, where I 

 found it on the banks of small forest streams ; and it 

 seems quite distinct from any of the very numerous 

 species described by Martius. 



