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PLATE XLIV. 



ASTROCARYTJM ACAULE, MartlUS. 



Iu, Lingoa Geral. 



This palm never has any stem, the leaves springing at 

 once from the ground. They are eight or ten feet long, 

 slender and pinnate. The leaflets are very narrow and 

 drooping, and are disposed in groups of three or four, 

 at intervals along the midrib, the separate leaflets 

 standing out in different directions. The whole plant 

 is exceedingly spiny, the midrib and petioles having 

 long, flat, black spines directed downwards, and the 

 leaflets are also spiny beneath. 



The spadix grows from among the leaves on a long- 

 stalk and is simply branched. The spathe is elongate 

 and fusiform, at first erect, but gradually bends over at 

 the end, forming a hood over the fruit, and is densely 

 clothed with spines. The fruit is oval with a produced 

 apex, of a pale yellow colour, and has a thin layer of 

 firm pulp which is sometimes eaten, but is not very 

 agreeable. 



The rind of the leaf-stalks of this palm is used by 

 the Indians for making baskets. It grows in the dry 

 Catinga forests of the Upper Rio Negro, often covering 



