354 THE FLORAL WOKLD AND GAKDliN GUIDE. 



of old mangrovea, with their aerial roots and luxurious vegetation 

 overgrowing them, so as to conceal and render more precarious the 

 treacherous footway over which we have to pick our way. The tree 

 was covered with convolvulus, and was exceedingly beautiful. Tliia 

 was within the tidal influence, and the stream would be brackish at 

 high water, or fresh when the volume of the river was sufficient to 

 overpower the tide. These Pandani did not appear to extend far 

 beyond where the river ceased to be brackish." 



The species represented on the left hand side of the plate is Pan- 

 danus candelabrum, one of the largest growing and most striking of 

 the genus. The branches spread out all round the trunk, and 

 depend in a graceful manner, and the ends which are furnislied with 

 a tuft of elegant green leafage turned upwards, giving the trees a 

 very distinct and beautiful appearance. 



Although not so beautiful as some others, P. odoratissimus is 

 one of the most important species from an economic point of view. 

 In an able paper on the " Screw Pines and their Allies," contributed 

 to the " Student " (page ]), for 1868, Mr. J. R. Jackson, Curator of 

 the Kew Museum, refers to this species as follows : — " It grows in 

 the Islands of the Pacific Ocean, China, and the East Indies, being 

 common along the banks of the canals and back-waters of Travan- 

 core, where it is planted for the purpose of binding the soil. The 

 long leoves are full of tough fibres, which are used for making 

 cordage of various thicknesses, as well as for making hunting-nets, 

 and the drag-ropes of fishing-nets. Matting of all descriptions is 

 likewise made from them. Some of the sleeping-mats, which are 

 dyed or stained various colours, are fine specimens of native plaiting. 

 The leaves are likewise used to make umbrellas, and they are said to 

 furnish an excellent material for paper-making. The fibre from the 

 leaves is commonly used in Tinnivelly, when mixed with flax, for 

 making ropes. The aeiial roots are applied to a variety of purposes 

 in India. Manufactories exist in some localities where hats, baskets, 

 mats, etc., are mnde from them. On account of their light, spongy 

 nature, they mak? excellent stoppers for bottles in lieu of cork, and 

 the more fibrous part, when beaten out and the pulp removed, is 

 used for brushes for whitewashing, painting, etc. The roots are 

 used medicinally by the native practitioners, and an oil prepared 

 from them has the repute of being a cure for rheumatism. The 

 flowers are odorilierous, as the specific name indicates. Besides the 

 numerous uses already mentioned, the inner or pulpy part of the 

 drupes is eaten as an article of food in times of scarcity. In some 

 parts of North Australia, indeed, the fleshy drupes of the Pandani 

 are commonly eaten, being held in the mouth and sucked until the 

 fleshy portion is consumed. In the Society Islands the women 

 make very beautiful mats of the leaves, which are first prepared by 

 burying them in the sand near the sea for about a mouth ; this 

 makes thoin soft, they are then carefully scraped with a shell which 

 removes all irregularities, leaving that portion of the leaf intended 

 for use fine and soft ; the more care exercised in this preparation the 

 finer and softer are the mats. After being thus prepared, the leaves 

 ere drawn across the edge of a shell previously notched or toothed 



