68 BRITISH HONDURAS. 



form of the " bootan " (Sabal excelsa), is common in the broken- 

 ridge country. Its large, fan-shaped leaves, especially in the 

 young state, before it has formed a stem, are abundantly used 

 for thatching purposes. The " give-and-take " (Acanthothrinax) 

 is chiefly a cohune-ridge palm ; it is so abundantly covered with 

 long compound spines, about 3 to 4 inches long, that it is a 

 very formidable object. 



The cabbage-palm (Oreodoxa oleracea) is abundant in the 

 lowlands, and also appears on banks of rivers in the interior, 

 where its tall clean stem, surmounted by a canopy of feathery 

 fronds, is a familiar landmark. Oreodoxa regia appears to be 

 confined to Belize, where, probably, it is an introduced plant. 



In the cohune-ridge proper, the silver-thatch (Tlirinax 

 argentea), big-thatch (Sabal mexicana), and the monkey-tail 

 (Euterpe edulis) grow in cool, moist situations under the shade 

 of tall timber-trees, where their finer habit is in marked 

 contrast to that of the ampler and more expansive cohune. As 

 already hinted, the supa, or gru-gru (Acrocomia sclerocarpa), 

 disdains the confined air and moist soil of the forest, preferring 

 the more exposed and drier, though poorer, situations of the 

 broken-ridge, where its somewhat swollen and prickly grey 

 stem towers above everything. Second only to the formidable 

 spines of the bambu are the recurved or hooked spines of 

 Desmoncus, a climbing palm, which, forming an impenetrable 

 mass hanging from the branches of the highest trees, often bars 

 the progress of the traveller. 



Of the small palms belonging to the genera Chamwdorea and 

 Geonoma there are numerous species, forming a large percentage 

 of the undergrowth in the cohune-ridge. One, called by the 

 negroes " no-give-massa," from its fine twig-like stem, has 

 evidently been used in former days for purposes of discipline 

 not recognised at present. Chamcedorea Ernesti-Augusti, with its 



