SEIFRIZ: THE TALIPOT PALM AT PERADENIYA, CEYLON 345 
In June, 1922, eight more of the remaining thirteen talipot 
palms in the avenue at Peradeniya commenced to flower. (PLATE 
8). The palms were at this time 41 years of age. The seven 
palms which flowered in 1918 (Fic. 1) were 37 years old. The 
second lot of eight Coryphas were in full flower in December, 
1922. (PLATE 9.) They began to set fruit visibly in March, 
1923. The fruit ripened toward the end of 1923. At the time 
of writing (June, 1924) the palms are still standing, but without 
leaves or fruit, all dead, awaiting cutting and removal. 
The gregarious flowering of Corypha umbraculifera in the 
Gardens at Peradeniya in 1922 was not accompan’ed by any 
widespread flowering of this or any other monocarpic species of 
plant on the island. 
A comparison of precipitation data preceding the flowering 
of the Coryphas at Peradeniya in 1918 and in 1922 should reveal 
the occurrence of a drought occurring at precisely the same 
length of time before each of the two flowering periods, if drought 
is the cause of the anthesis. (Should this prove to be true we 
should still be confronted with the problem of why the first 
drought ‘aroused only seven of the palms to sexual activity, 
and failed to stimulate the remaining thirteen of the same age.) 
The precipitation data for several years preceding each of the 
two flowering periods is presented in the following table.* 
e total annual rainfall is given for each year named. Since 
this total is of less significance than the amount of rain which 
falls during the dry season, there is also given the total rainfall 
for the months January-April. It is this dry season which is 
most likely to have a telling effect on the plants. During the 
remainder of the year there is usually a surplus of precipitation. 
Precipitation at Peradeniya 
Jan.—Apr. Yearly Total 
Averaget 17.67 inches 87.36 inches 
T915 26.32 
1916 18.14 81.42 
1917 23.01 102.96 
* The data given in this table are from Peradeniya where the palms were 
growing. In a previous publication, the data were from Kandy, a nearby 
station, where the rainfall does not differ greatly from that at Peradeniya. 
Tt Averages are based on the data of 18 years, from 1905 to 1922. 
