224 ARECACEAE 



slightly flattened on the ventral side. Endosperm solid. The plants flower chiefly in the 

 spring and early summer. 



Shrub with creeping or horizontal stems : perianth 4-6 mm. long : drupe ovoid-oblong. 1. S. serrulata. 

 Tree with a tall upright trunk : perianth about 1 mm. long : drupe globose. 2. S. arborescens. 



1. Sereiioa serrulata (Michx. ) Hook. A shrub, with horizontal or creeping stems 

 1-2.5 m. long. Leaves erect or ascending ; blades suborbicular, 3-7 dm. broad, rather 

 stiff, light green, the segments cleft ; petioles usually longer than the blades, armed with 

 sharp spiny teeth : spadix erect or spreading, much shorter than the leaves, paniculately 

 branched ; branches tomentose : flowers fragrant, usually numerous : perianth ivory-white, 

 sessile : calyx cup-shaped, about 1 mm. high, shallowly lobed : petals about 3 mm. long, 

 oblong : drupe ovoid-oblong, 15-18 mm. long, black : seeds subglobose. 



In sandy soil, North Carolina and Arkansas to Florida and Texas. SAW PALMETTO. 



2. Serenoa arborescens Sarg. A tree, with one or several erect ascending or de- 

 cumbent trunks 8-12 m. tall and 6-10 cm. thick. Leaves spreading in all directions ; 

 blades half-orbicular, 5-6 dm. broad, yellowish green above, blue-green beneath, truncate 

 at the base, the segments linear-lanceolote ; ligule thin, short-pointed, with a red-brown 

 deciduous margin ; petioles slender, rather shorter than the blades, armed with stout 'flat- 

 tened orange teeth : spadix drooping, 1 m. long or a little longer, its rachis flattened, panicu- 

 lately branched ; branches hoary -tomentose : flowers solitary or 2-3 in a cluster, sessile : 

 perianth little over 1 mm. long : sepals chestnut-brown, oblong, sometimes lacerate : petals 

 yellowish green, nearly distinct, oblong-ovate, acute : filaments almost triangular : drupes 

 globose, usually 8-9 mm. in diameter, black, lustrous : seeds solitary, somewhat flattened 

 at the base. 



About margins of swamps, along the Chockoloskee River, southern peninsular Florida. 



5. RHAPIDOFHYLLUM H. Wendl. & Drude. 



Low armed shrubs or trees, with erect or creeping stems. Leaves ample : blades 

 suborbicular, deeply and unequally cleft, silvery beneath, the segments entire or 2-cleft at 

 the apex, without marginal filaments : rachis wanting : ligule very short, rounded : peti- 

 oles 3-angled, woolly beneath, the edges denticulate. Spadix short, erect, flattened, the 

 short branches densely flowered. Flowers perfect or polygamo-dioecious. Perianth 

 yellow, not accrescent. Sepals broad gibbous at the base. Petals 3, broad, imbricated. 

 Stamens 6. Carpels usually 3, distinct : stigmas nearly sessile, recurved. Drupes solitary, 

 rarely 3-lobed, with a fibrous pericarp. Seed spheroidal, erect. Endospern horny, some- 

 what channeled. Embryo dorsal. 



1. Rhapidophyllum Hystrix (Eraser) H. Wendl. A shrub with a proliferous 

 erect or creeping stem 6-9 dm. long. Leaves about 1 m. long, somewhat glaucous ; blades 

 suborbicular, 5-7 dm. in diameter, the segments numerous, 2-4-toothed, scurfy beneath ; 

 petioles triangular, rough-edged : sheaths of fibers interwoven in the stout spines : spadices 

 15-30 cm. long, short-peduncled : spathes often 4, woolly : perianth with ovate petals : 

 drupe ovoid or oval-ovoid, 18-25 mm. long, red. 



In shaded pine lands, South Carolina to Florida. Spring or early summer. BLUE PALMETTO. 

 NEEDLE PALM. 



6. ROYSTONEA O. F. Cook. 



Tall unarmed trees, with erect, cylindric or spindle-shaped stems. Leaves with pin- 

 nate blades, the segments narrow, 2-cleft at the apex : rachis chaffy below : petioles 

 dilated at the base : spadix pendulous, with slender drooping branches, shorter than the 

 leaves. Flowers rather monoecious. Perianth white, sessile, the staminate often longer 

 than the pistillate : sepals imbricated, unequal : petals valvate : stamens 6, 9 or 12, ex- 

 serted : ovary rudimentary. Pistillate flowers with broader and more strongly imbricated 

 sepals, broader petals, 6 scale-like staminodia and a 3-celled ovary. Drupe ovoid or ob- 

 ovoid, curved, with a fleshy-fibrous pericarp and a thin endocarp. Seed solitary, with a 

 thin crustaceous testa. Endosperm horny, even. Embryo basal. 



1. Roystonea rfcgia (H.B.K. ) O. F. Cook. A stately tree 20-30 m. tall, with 'a 

 trunk often 5-6 dm. in diameter, tapering from the middle to both ends and arising from 

 an enlarged base. Leaves 3-4 m. long : blades pinnate, the segments numerous, approxi- 

 mate, 7-9 dm. long at the base of the blades, shorter above, acuminate, arising obliquely 

 from the upper side of the rachis ; petioles terete above, concave at the base : spadix 5-6 



