226 



THE PALMETTO. 



The Flowers, open in June, are perfect, sessile, on a 

 long branching spadix with bracts or a double spathe at each 

 joint. They have a double perianth, of 3 sepals and 3 petals, 



6 stamens, and a 

 triple pistil which 

 in fruit becomes 

 a single 1-seeded, 

 round drupe, like a 

 date. 



The Name. 

 Scibal Palmetto is 

 the only Palm in 

 the United States 

 which attains the 

 dimensions of a 

 tree. Two other 

 species of this ge- 

 nus, the Dwarf and 

 the Saw Palmetto, 

 form dense thick- 

 ets in the wilds of 

 the South. They 

 are mere shrubs, 

 with caudex pros- 

 trate or creeping. 

 The Blue Palmetto, 

 with caudex 2 or 3 

 feet long, erect or 

 prostrate, has polygamous [some $ , some ? , and some 

 (perfect) ] yellowish flowers, and is assigned to another 

 genus Chamc&rops Hystrix. We have no other Palms. 



The Cocoanut is a fruit of similar construction, and its 

 seed is, perhaps, the largest of all seeds. Let it be analyzed 



1, Inflorescence of Chamaerops humilis, in its spathe ; 

 2, a branch of the same with the fruit ripening ; 3, a 

 sterile 6 flower ; 4, a fertile ? flower ; 5, a ripe fruit ; 

 6, a section of another variety, showing the seed ; 7, 

 section of seed showing the embryo. (From Lindley.) 



