96 PALM TREES 



Genus Acrocomia, Martins. 



Female flowers in the inner, male flowers in the outer 

 part of the same spadix. Spathe complete, woody. 

 Male flowers with six stamens and a rudimentary pistil. 

 Female flowers with a short style and three stigmas, 

 and a ring of abortive stamens. 



The stems of these Palms are tall, strong, and more 

 or less prickly. The leaves are large, pinnate, much 

 drooping, and forming a dense spherical head of foliage. 

 The leaflets are linear, and with the petioles are very 

 prickly. The spadix is simply branched, and the fruit 

 is round or oval, of an olive-green colour, and has a 

 firm fleshy outer covering, which is often eaten. 



Eight species of this genus are known, inhabiting 

 various parts of South America, but more particularly 

 Brazil. One or perhaps two species are found at Para, 

 but none on the Upper Amazon, where the alluvial soil 

 and dense forests are unsuited to their growth. 



