118 



The Journal of Heredity 



AN AMERICAN ALL^ OF THE DATE PALM 



If the date palm, which is now confined to the old World, really originated in America, as has 

 recently been suggested, it ought still to have some relatives on this continent. This 

 Mexican palmetto (Inodes) appears to be one of them. It will be noted that many of the 

 segments of the leaves are inserted on a strong, decurved midrib. With a larger midrib 

 or if the midrib were, so to speak, drawn out, the leaf would be elongated and would closely 

 resemble that of the date palm. Photograph by G. N. Collins at San Pablo, Campeche, 

 Mexico. (Fig. 8.) 



analopes with the date palms. It is 

 Hke Phoenix in being more nearly 

 related to the fan-palms than to other 

 pinnate-leaved palms, and may l^e 

 considered as another inde])endent oflf- 

 shoot from the fan-palms. With respect 

 to the fruits there are distinct points of 

 agreement with other American families 

 ()i jjinnate-leaved palms, more particu- 

 larly with the coconut palms, ivor\' 

 jnilms (Phytelephas), bag palms (Mani- 

 cariaccae), and wax palms (Ceroxy- 

 laceae), but the leaves, inflorescences 

 and flowers of Pseudophocnix arc much 

 closer to those of the fan-jmlms. The 

 similarity to Phoenix lies in the fact 

 that the pinnae arc strongly plicate and 

 are inserted very close together in 

 irregular grou])s or clusters. Neverthi-- 

 less, the resemblance is only sui)erflcial, 

 for the folds or channels of the i^innae 

 are below, as in the other ])innate- 

 palms, instead of above as in Phoenix. 



Thus althottgh Pseudoj)hocnix does 

 not appear to have an}' direct alliance 

 with Phoenix, it has a somew'hal 

 analogous relation to the American fan- 

 palms, agreeing closely with them in 

 some respects and diverging widely in 

 others. The structure of the flowers is 

 much like that of the fan-palms, each 

 flower standing separately, on a distinct 

 l)edicel. The sexual specialization of 

 the flowers is also \'ery slight, scarcely 

 more than in the fan-i)alms. 



To admit the possibility of American 

 origin for Phoenix would add one more 

 family to the American i)alm flora, and 

 would still further increase the already 

 striking pre] )onderanee of family tyjjes in 

 America. Though many botanists have 

 classified the ])alms in a single family, 

 the genera are tunnerous and fall into 

 several very distinct grou]3S that should 

 be considered as families. Most of 

 these groups are confined to America. 



