PALM 



PALM 



2439 



the coconut palm, the fruits of which are imported by 

 hundreds of tons even- year, and in addition to provid- 

 ing a valuable food, either fresh or in a desiccated con- 

 dition, also produce that very valuable fiber from which 

 cordage, matting and a great variety of goods are 

 manufactured; also the Phoenix family, which pro- 

 duces the dates of commerce in apparently endless 

 supply, and the date sugar of Bengal, this being con- 

 tributed by Phcenix sykestris, while the stems of date 

 palms are often used in house-building in the East. 

 Another very valuable palm product is found in palm 

 oil. this being largely derived from the fruits of Elans 

 ffuineensis, the oil being expressed from the ripe fruits 

 in much the same manner that olive oil is manufac- 

 tured. The rattan of commerce is chiefly composed of 

 the flexible stems of various calami, the plentiful sup- 

 ply of this material being sufficiently attested by the 

 great variety of articles manufactured therefrom. 

 Various palms have been mentioned under the name of 

 ''wine palm," but it seems likely that some species of 

 Raphia are most used for liquors, some portions of these 

 palms giving a large amount of sap when tapped, and 

 as the juice is rich in sugar, the sap soon ferments and 



may become strongly 

 alcoholic. The best 

 sago is produced from 

 the pith of Metroxy- 

 lon or Sagus, the 

 trees being cut down 

 and split into seg- 

 ments for the removal 

 of the pith, the latter 

 being then prepared 

 in a rough granulated 

 form for export. Sago 

 is also procured from 

 Caryota and some 

 other genera, but the 

 product is not equal 

 to that of Metroxy- 

 lon. The so - called 

 whale - bone brooms 

 frequently used in 

 stables and for street- 

 cleaning are mostly 

 made from Piassaba 

 ( or Piagaba ) fiber, 

 this being gathered 

 from around the base 

 of plants of attaleas, 

 mostly A. funifera. 

 The attaleas also produce large seeds or nuts, those of A. 

 funifera being known as coquilla-nuts, and very largely 

 used for ornamental purposes, being very hard and capa- 

 ble of receiving a fine polish. Many small articles are 

 manufactured from vegetable ivory, this being secured 

 from the nuts of Phytelephas macrocarpa, a singular palm 

 from South America, bearing a large fruit in which are 

 contained from six to nine of the ivory-nuts, the plant 

 itself having a short and sometimes creeping stem from 

 which proceeds a noble head of pinnate fronds that are 

 frequently 15 to 20 feet in length. The seeds of Areca 

 Catechu, after preparation with lime and the leaves of 

 the pepper-plant, become the betel-nut of the East 

 Indies, so much used by the natives of that portion of 

 the world as a mild stimulant. The cabbage palm of 

 the West Indies is Oreodoxa deracea, the smooth and 

 straight stems of which are frequently 80 to 100 feet 

 high, and the removal of the "cabbage," so-called, 

 means the destruction of such a tree, for the portion 

 eaten is composed of the central bud in which the 

 young leaves are compactly gathered together. 



Botanical structure. 



As the trunk of the palm rises, the leaves underneath 

 the crown die and fall. Usually the old petioles, or 



155 



their bases, remain for some time, forming a shaggy 

 capital to the column; this is well marked in the large 

 or cabbage palmetto of the South. The palms are 

 mostly trees, and sometimes rise to the height of 

 nearly 200 feet, but some are climbing and others are 

 low shrubs. Some palms are only a foot or two tall at 



2729. Flowers and fruit of Goper- 

 nicia Curtissii. a, summit of flower- 

 ing branch; b, single flower; c, 

 flower in longitudinal section; d, 

 fruit; e, seed, from the raphal side; 

 /, seed, side view; g, seed in longi- 

 tudinal section through embryo. 



/ a 



2730. Flowers and fruit of Hemithrinaz compacts. a, part of 

 flowering branchlet; b, c, flowers in an thesis; d, e, anthers, from 

 dorsal side; /, anther from inner side; g, flower with anthers 

 removed; h, lengthwise section of ovary; f, fruit; fc, seed; /.length- 

 wise section of seed, showing embryo. 



maturity, as Malortiea. In some species the stems are 

 prickly. Usually they make very straight comely boles, 

 but a few species produce branches above. 



The inflorescence of palms usually arises underneath 

 or in the crown, from the axils of the leaves. The clus- 

 ters are really spadices, although often branched, and 

 are covered in the bud by a dry spathe composed of one 

 or several leaves or parts. The remains of these spathes 

 are well shown in Fig. 2538 (page 2298). In the upper 

 cluster on the left, the spathe is arching over the fruits. 

 The blossoms are relatively small, and usually dull 

 colored and not showy, but in some species the spadix 

 is scarlet or yellow and often very gracefully branched. 

 The spathes are sometimes immense woody coverings, 

 like troughs or bowls. 



The flowers of palms are not greatly differentiated or 

 specialized. The essential structure may be understood 

 by comparing the details in Figs. 2725 to 2731, which 

 are adapted from Beccari's account of palms indigenous 

 to Cuba in Pomona 

 College Journal of 

 Economic Botany, 

 February, 1913. Of 

 most palms, the 

 flowers are small or 

 minute, quite regu- 

 lar, and they may 

 be either hermaph- 

 rodite, monoecious, 

 or dioecious. Often 

 the whole flower is 

 nearly woody, even 

 the perianth-parts 

 being hard and 

 scarcely resembling 

 petals. In most 

 species there are 

 two series of peri- 

 anth - parts : three 

 distinct imbricated 

 sepals inclosing 

 three distinct or 

 partially united 



petals. Manymodi- 



~f . 2731. Flowers of Copermcia glabres- 



fications of this eem> _ B( s^^ of flo ^ ering branch; 



arrangement are b top ^ew of open flow er; c, flower, 



known, however, as s jd e view; d, flower in lengthwise 



in the case of cer- section. 



