192 PHILIPPINE PALMS 
or pericarp. This is commercially known as coir. It is va- 
riously employed for making bags, mattings, door mats, and 
for stuffing cushions, especially carriage cushions. In many 
parts of the Indo-Malayan region and Polynesia, coir is an im- 
portant source of cordage for local use. One of its chief local 
uses is for caulking boats. Coir is also locally used for making 
a thatch-like raincoat much used by both Filipino and Chinese 
teamsters. There is no record that it enters into the external 
commerce of the Archipelago. 
The leaves are utilized in various ways in the Philippines. 
The leaflets are sometimes used to thatch houses, for making 
hats, coarse baskets, mats, etc., but are much less durable for 
these purposes than the leaflets of some other palms. The mid- 
ribs of the leafiets are commonly used for making coarse brooms 
and certain types of baskets and trays. Splints prepared from 
the outer part of the leafstalk are used in making baskets. 
Genus COELOCOCCUS Wendland 
COELOCOCCUS AMICARUM Wendl. POLYNESIAN IVORY-NUT PALM. 
The ivory-nut palm is a native of the Caroline Islands, and 
was introduced into Guam and the Philippines by the Spaniards. 
The flowering shoots grow from the axils of the leaves. The 
globose fruits, up to 10 centimeters in diameter, are covered 
with closely overlapping, hard, shiny, brownish scales. The 
large seeds are very hard, ivory-like in texture and appearance, 
and are commercially utilized for making buttons. This spe- 
cies apparently occurs as a widely scattered, cultivated palm in 
Panay and Zamboanga, in the latter province known as tim- 
bungan. 
Genus CORYPHA Linnaeus 
CORYPHA ELATA Roxb. (Plates XXIV—XXVIII). Buri. 
Local names: Bagdtai, taktak (Ibanag, Nueva Vizcaya) ; buli, buri (Ta- 
galog, Bisaya, Bikol) ; ébus or ibus (Pampanga, Tarlac) ; piet (Nueva Ecija, 
Pangasinan) ; serar (Bagobo); silad (Bisaya); siiag (lloko, Pangasinan, 
Tarlac). 
This is the largest and most stately palm to be found in the 
Philippines. Its straight trunk attains a diameter of 1 meter 
and a height of 20 meters. The species has very large, fan- 
shaped leaves which are rounded in outline and up to 3 meters 
in length. The outer part is split into about one hundred nar- 
row segments. The very stout petioles are from 2 to 3 meters 
long and their margins are armed with very hard, rather large, 
black teeth. The plant grows 25 to 30 or more years, during 
which time large quantities of starch collect in the trunk. 
