xu PROCEEDINGS OF THE 
especially to thoroughly damp situations surrounded by 
natural wood. 
Mr. Symincton GRIEVE exhibited two specimens identi- 
fied by Mr. H. F. Tagg, F.LS., as follows -— 
1. The endocarp of Cocos amara, Mart., a species not 
uncommon in the West Indies. 
2. The endosperm of a germinated coco-nut, probably of 
Cocos nucifera, 1, the embryonal haustorium being quite 
conspicuous within it. The hard endocarp was not present, 
and upon this endosperm a fungus Schizophyllum was 
growing. Both exhibits were from the island of Dominica, 
B.W.L With regard to the first, Mr. Grieve said this 
variety of Cocos is known to the natives of Dominica by 
the name of the Horse Coco-nut Palm. 
“The trees I saw were not nearly so high as those of the 
common Coco-nut Palm (Cocos mucifera), and seemed to be 
natives of the island. I came across single trees and once 
or twice two or three trees together, but never any large 
grove or plantation. These trees seemed to grow best in 
moist situations and sometimes near the sides of rivulets and 
streams. I found them from sea-level up to about 1000 feet. 
“The fruit, as you see, is small when compared to the 
fruit of Cocos nucifera. It is also of little or no value as 
food, and fallen fruits are found in all stages of decay 
beneath the trees.” 
The second specimen was remarkable for the presence on 
it of a fungus Schizophyllum commume, Fries, var. 
multifidum, Batsch. 
Professor Bayley Balfour had kindly examined it and 
reported :-— 
“The growth of the fungus Schizophyllwm is particularly 
interesting. It has evidently got hold of a coco-nut which 
had germinated, and then for some reason or other the shell 
must have been cracked or rotted off, and the endosperm (or 
so much of it, at any rate, as had not been absorbed by the 
embryo) being exposed, furnished a suitable nidus for the 
growth of the fungus. The embryo has reached a con- 
siderable size, and its sucker nearly fills the whole cavity 
of the endosperm. Altogether it is a very interesting 
specimen, and I am very glad to have seen it.” 
