104 



THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



Phoenix continued. 



are taken np, the soil shaken from the roots, packed in 

 bundles, and forwarded to Paris, where each one is firmly 

 placed in as small a pot as possible; they are then 



FIG. 120. PHCSNIX RUPICOLA. 



plunged in a mild hotbed in a warm house, which is kept 

 shaded and syringed until new roots have formed, when 

 shading is gradually removed, and the plants hardened 



less).* I. pinnate, 1ft. to 3ft. or more long, spread- 

 : green, narrow, swollen at the base, the lower 

 broad, flat spines. Stem very low, or entirely 



Phoenix continued. 



P. acaulis (stemless).* 

 ing ; pinnae dark 



ones reduced to broad, flat spines. Stem very low, or entirely 

 wanting, h. about 12ft. Central India, 1816. An ornamental, 

 low palm, with a short, thick stem, like a bulb. It is valuable 

 for decorative purposes. 



P. dactylifera (date-bearing). Common Date Palm. /?., male 

 panicles white, compact, 6in. to 9in. long, on a short peduncle, the 

 flowers sweet-scented ; female spikes 1ft. to 2ft. long. Jr. gene- 

 rally reddish or yellowish-brown when ripe, oblong, lin. to Sin. 

 long ; pulp fleshy, sweet. 1. grey, longer than those of P. syl- 

 vettris; pinnae Sin. to 16in. long, regularly distichous, often ap- 

 proximate in twos or threes on the same side of petiole, which is 

 grey, laterally compressed, almost flat. Trunk covered with the 

 persistent bases of petioles, the foot often surrounded by a dense 

 mass of root suckers, h. 100ft. to 120ft. (in this country, rarely 

 over 30ft.). India, Levant, 1597. A handsome, erect-growing palm, 

 the fruit of which is well known in this country as an article of 

 luxury. In its native regions, nearly every part of this plant is 

 applied to some useful purpose. See Fig. 118. 



pinnae ovate- 

 ucrone, the 

 dies, 1800. 



P. farinifera (mealy). I. pinnate, 3ft. to 4ft. long ; pit 

 acuminate, about 6in. long, terminating in a sharp mu 

 lower ones reduced to spines, h. about 7ft East In 



spines. 

 An elegant, compact-growing 



i (Sierra Leone). A synonym of P. spinosa. 



P. Ouseleyana (Ouseley's). /., male spadices about 1ft., females 

 2ft to 2ift. long. I. 2Jft to 3ft. long ; pinnules entirely con- 

 duplicate, about 1ft. long, from the conduplication, about |in. 

 broad, subulate-acuminate ; lowermost ones degenerated into 

 short spines. Bulbous stems ovate, about 1ft. long and 6in. in 

 diameter. India. 



P. paludosa (marsh-loving). /., males yellow, spadix about 1ft. 

 long ; females greenish, spadix lift. long. I. gracefully spreading, 

 8ft. to 10ft long; pinnules bifarious, solitary, spreading, then 

 curved downwards, not rigid, 2ft. long, eight lines wide, exceed- 

 ingly acuminate, the lowest longest and narrowest; petioles 



FIG. 121. PHCEMX SYLVESTRIS. 



off. By these means, much better specimens are more 

 rapidly and cheaply obtained than would be possible 

 under a system of pot-culture from the seedling stage 

 onwards. 



covered with brownish, glaucescent scurf. Trunk 12ft. to 15ft 

 high, 3Jin. in diameter, annulate at base, otherwise covered with 

 brown, armed petioles. India. 



P. reclinata (leaning).* I. pinnate; pinnae linear, somewhat 

 triangular and spreading. Stem becoming stout with age. 



