AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HORTICULTURE. 



li 



Falm.se continued. 



from three to very many. The ovary is typically com- 

 posed of three carpels, rarely of more; but, usually, 

 only one grow* to ripeness, and only the remains of the 

 others are left in the rfpe fruits. These vary greatly. 

 In certain groups, they resemble berries ; in others, they 

 are more like drupes, with a, hard inner layer, or endo- 

 carp. as in the well-known Cocoa-nut and the Coquilla- 

 nut so often used for carved ornaments. The outer coat 

 of the fruit is usually thin, leathery or dry. and smooth, 

 or only bears prickles; but, in Calameos, it is covered 

 with scales, arranged in spirals. The middle layer of 

 the fruit (mesocarp) is usually traversed by woody 



FIG. 12. CARTOTA SOBOLIFKRA. 



bundles, which, in some, arc extremely abundant, and, 

 in others, rather few and ill- developed. In the Cocoa- 

 nut, this layer is very thick and fibrous, and, from it, 

 " coir," or fibre, for ropes, matting, Ac., is prepared. In 

 many Palms, the mesocarp contains oil in considerable 

 quantity. The fruits of the " Oil Palm " (Elaeit 

 guineensis) yield so much that they form a valuable 

 export from West Africa, for use in candle-making, &c. 

 There is usually only one ripe seed in each fruit, those 

 in the abortive ovaries remaining undeveloped; but, 

 occasionally, two or more may ripen. The seeds are 

 large, but the embryo is usually small, and is sunk in 



Palme continued. 



J a pit in the large perisperm, or albumen. This latter 

 ( is white, or may be streaked with brown. In some it 

 j is fleshy (Cocoa-nut), in others horny (Date); and in 

 1 the " Ivory Palms " (Phytelephas) it is so compact and 

 i hard as to be very largely used as a substitute for real 

 | ivory, in the manufacture of billiard balls and many 

 ' other articles. 



A noteworthy peculiarity of many Palms is that they 

 have the stems, leaves, and even the spathes and fruits, 

 covered with sharp prickles, usually of a dark colour, 

 which form a most efficient defence against enemies. 

 In some kinds (e.g., Astroearyum Jauari, Ac.), the 

 prickles on the trunk may reach a length of nearly 1ft, 

 and a breadth, at the base, of nearly iin. In certain 

 climbing Palms (species of Calamus and Desmoneus, for 

 instance), the prickles are hooked, or so placed as to 

 assist the plants in climbing ; but aid in this is still more 

 efficiently given in Desmoncus and a few Chamazdoreaf 

 by certain leaflets, near the end of the leaf, being 

 altered to form strong, recurved hooks. Palmecs are not 

 very closely related to any other order: Juncaceae seem, 

 on the whole, most nearly allied to them. There are 

 from 1100 to 1200 recorded species, though a consider- 

 able number of these are not well known. They are 

 almost confined to the tropics, extending beyond these 

 limits in exceedingly reduced numbers. Chamceropg 

 hum-Hi* is the only species native in Europe, where it 

 reaches 44deg. N. Lat. The limits of latitude elsewhere 

 are about 34deg. N. in Asia, 36deg. N. in America, 

 34deg. S. in Africa, 37deg. S. in S. America, in Chili, 

 and 44deg. S. in New Zealand. 



The leading genera of Palms are noticed in this 

 work, in so far as they are of interest to gardeners; 

 they are too numerous to be repeated here ; but 

 several of the more important genera are referred to 

 in this article. Among the richest in species are: 

 Astrocaryum, Attaiea, Bactris, Calamus, Caryota, 

 Chamaedorea, Cocoa, Desmoncus, Geonomo, Hyphcena, 

 Korthalsia, Licuala, Livistona, Phoenix. In addition to 

 these, there are many genera that, despite the small 

 number of species included in them, are of importance, 

 either as greenhouse plants, or because of their useful 

 products. The genera are almost confined to either the 

 Old World or the New : Eaphia, among Calamea, and 

 Elaeis and Coco*, among Cocaines, alone breaking this 

 rule, out of 132 genera recognised in Bentham and 

 Hooker's ." Genera Plantarum." In each case, only one 

 species is common to the two hemispheres. These species 

 are Coco* nucifera (Cocoa-nut), Elaeit guineensis (Oil 

 Palm), and Raphia vinifera. 



The uses of Palm-trees, and of their products, to 

 natives of tropical lands, are far beyond what it is pos- 

 sible for residents in temperate regions to conceive. 

 The stems of some supply the timber used in building 

 houses, or the laths for forming partitions; while the 

 tough stems, or rind of the stems, of others supply 

 strong cordage for binding together the beams, for chair- 

 making, and for many other household purposes. The 

 stems of others split, and each half hollowed, make 

 aqueducts; and of others the South American Indians 

 make their blow-pipes for shooting out poisoned arrows. 

 The leaves are largely used for thatch, or for walls of 

 houses ; for making fans,, umbrellas, household utensils, 

 and even tents. From the young leaves of various species 

 fibres are largely prepared, which are used for making 

 hammocks and other durable articles. The leaf-blades 

 of a few are used as paper in the East; and the fibres 

 of several species are employed in paper-making. The 

 coarse, woody bundles that surround the stems of two 

 American Palms are used largely for making besoms, 

 under the name " Piassaba fibre." Two American Palms 

 produce vegetable wax in such abundance as to be worth 

 collecting for sale and export. In Ceroxylon andicola, the 



