126 CXLVU. PALMiE. (vVRIGHT). [CoCOS. 



14. COCOS, Linn. ; Benth. et. Hook f. Gen. PL iii. Oif). 



Male flowers asymmetrical. Sepals small, acute, erect, valvate. 

 Petals obliquely oblong, acute, valvate. Stamens 6, included ; fila- 

 ments subulate ; anthers linear, acute or obtuse, fixed at the bifid base,. 

 erect. Rudiment of ovary minute or absent. Female flowers much 

 larger than the male, ovoid, perianth increasing after flowering. 

 Sepals ovate or ovate-lanceolate, thickly coriaceous, erect, imbricate. 

 Petals enclosed by the sepals, dilated and con volute-imbricate at the 

 base, more or less elongated and valvate at the apex. Disk annular or 

 obscure. Ovary ovoid or depressed globose, 3-celled, 2 often obsolete, 

 attenuate into a short style ; stigmas subulate, erect, at length re- 

 curved ; ovule subbasal, ascending. Fruit ovoid or ellipsoid, terete or 

 obscurely trigonous, rostrate, rounded or intruded at the apex, 1-seeded ; 

 style terminal ; pericarp thick, fibrous ; endocaip woody, fibrous, with 

 3 pores towards the base or at the middle. Seed the same shape 

 as the cell ; testa fuscous ; raphe with reticulate branches ; albumen 

 homogeneous, hollow or solid, with radially disposed fibres ; embryo 

 opposite a pore of the e^ndocarp. — Slender or tall palms. Stem un- 

 armed, often clothed with the bases of old leaves. Leaves in a 

 terminal crown, pinnate ; leaflets equidistant or fascicled, 1- to many- 

 nerved, entire or toothed at the apex. Spadices interfoliaceous, erect, 

 at length cernuous ; branches erect or cernuous ; lower spathe split at 

 the apex ; upper fusiform or clavate, woody, sulcate on the back ; 

 bracts various. Flowers white or yellow, the lower female with a male 

 on either side, the upper male. 



Species about 40, one throughout the tropics, the others in Tropical and Sub- 

 tropical ?outh America. 



1. C. nucifera, Linn. Sp. PI. 1188. Stem 40-80 ft. high, IJ ft. 

 or more in diam., terete, annulate. Leaves 12-16 ft. long, slightly 

 arcuate, central ones erect ; petiole slightly sheathing, gibbous on the 

 back at the base, concavo-convex ; rhachis sulcate at the sides, at first 

 with brownish tomentum, at length glabrous ; leaflets almost equi- 

 distant, narrowly lanceolate, acute , midrib thick, yellowish. Spathes 

 fusiform, acute, deeply sulcate, with caducous brownish tomentum ; 

 peduncle of spadix 1 ft. long, 1 in. in diam., slightly compressed ; branches 

 many, lJ-2 ft. long, subtriquetrous ; bracts widely triangular, mucro- 

 nate ; bracteoles minute, triangular. Male flowers : Calyx 1 lin. or 

 less long ; lobes ovate, acute, whitish. Petals narrowly lanceolate, 

 subacute, 1 J-2 lin. wide at the centre, longitudinally striate. Stamens 

 slightly shorter than the petals ; filaments very short, subulate ; 

 anthers linear, obtuse, white. Rudiment of ovary minute, trigonous. 

 Female flower : Sepals suboibicular, acuminate, concave. Petals en- 

 closed in the calyx, orbicular, acuminate. Ovary depressed globose, 

 3-celled ; stigmas subulate, connate at the base. Fruit large, 10 or 

 more maturing on the same spadix, ovoid or subglobose trigonous ; 

 epicarp thin, glabrous, fuscous, at length pale yellow ; mesocarp very 



