£62 Mr. Lambert's Account of 



This curious structure of the fruit confirms the close affinity 

 before suspected by Jussieu to exist between Phelipcca and the 

 JEginctia of Linnaeus* and Roxburgh-f-, the capsule of which is 

 described by the latter as having a number of convoluted lamina: 

 throughout, betzceen zc'hich are lodged innumerable most tninute seeds, 

 and may possibly be nearly of the same construction as in 

 Philipcea, although the entire sheathing calyx and regular co- 

 rolla in JEginetia are abundantly sufficient to distinguish the 

 two genera. 



In addition to the foregoing account of Pallas's Herbarium, I 

 now beg leave to mention that I have since discovered in it fine 

 specimens in fructification from that celebrated Pahn growing in 

 the garden at Berlin, which Linnaeus calls Phoenix dacti/lifera, 

 the Date Palm, in his Dissertation on the Sexes of Plants. See 

 Dr. Smith's translation of that work, page 51. Our President 

 also mentions it in his Introduction to Botany, page 321, saying 

 in a note, "What species of Palm was the subject of this experi- 

 ment does not clearly appear. In the original communication to 

 Dr. Watson printed in the Preface to Lee's Introduction to 

 Botany, it is called Palma major foliis flabellif or mibus. Ait. Hort. 

 Kew. vol. 3, 473. Yet Linnaeus, in his dissertation on the subject, 

 expressly calls it Phanix dactylifera, the Date Palm, and says he 

 had in his garden many vigorous plants raised from a portion of 

 the seeds above mentioned. The great success of the experiment, 

 and the ' fan-shaped ' leaves, make me rather take it for the 

 Rhapis, a plant not well known to Linnseus." Now it appears 



* Sp. Pl.ed. 1. p. 632. 



i Plants of the Coast of Coromandel, i. p. 63^ tab. 91. 



from 



