OF THE AMAZON. Ill 



PLATE XLIIL 



Astrocaryum aculeatum ? Meyer. 



Maraya, Lingoa Geral. 



This small species has the stem from fifteen to twenty 

 feet high and about two inches in diameter, with 

 obscure rings of spines at irregular intervals. The 

 leaves are terminal, rather large and regularly pinnate. 

 The leaflets are narrow, rigid and scarcely drooping, 

 with the terminal pair broader. The midrib and 

 leaflets are smooth, but the bases and sheaths of the 

 petioles are very prickly. 



The spadices grow from below the leaves and are 

 very small and simply branched. The spathes are 

 small, ovate, swollen, erect, persistent and very prickly. 

 The trees were not found in fruit. 



This tree agrees pretty well with Dr. Martins' de- 

 scription of A. aculeatum. It grows in the virgin 

 forest of the Upper Rio Negro. 



