85 



PLATE XXXII. 



Bactris macrocarpa, n. sp. 



Iu, Lingoa Geral. 



This species has the stem about an inch in diameter 

 and ten or twelve feet high, distinctly jointed, smooth 

 and reed -like, but with a few spines in small groups at 

 the joints. The leaves are terminal, of moderate size 

 and rather interruptedly pinnate. The leaflets often 

 grow in pairs and are broad, narrowed at the base and 

 have the midrib produced at the point, the terminal 

 pair being the largest. The petioles and sheaths are 

 thickly set with whitish flat prickles. 



The spadices are small, five- or six- branched, and 

 rather long-stalked. The spathe is small, smooth and 

 persistent. The fruit is oval, with a produced apex, 

 large in proportion to the tree, of a reddish or yellowish 

 olive colour, and not eatable, the outer covering being- 

 dry and woolly. 



The smooth reed-like stem of this species resembles 

 those of the Geonomas, and it is also remarkable for 

 the large size of its fruit. It grows on the dry sandy 



