154 THE PALMS OF AMEWCA. 



rings arc pale yellow, and smooth like the 

 stems of a rccd, and are covered with a coating 

 of wax, (whence the palm takes its name,) two 

 inches thick. According to the analysis of 

 Vaiiquelin, it is not pure wax, but is composed 

 of one-third wax and two-thirds resin. IMelied 

 with one-third of fat, it makes excellent 

 candles. 



But this remarkable exudation is not peculiar 

 to the ceroxylon, but possessed in common 

 with it by a Brazilian palm, belonging to the 

 same genus as the talipat, and talliera palms 

 of Asia. It is the Corypha cerifera of botanists, 

 and is found in wooded plains on the banks of 

 the Rio San Francisco, and in the interior of 

 Bahia and Pernambuco. It is called by the 

 natives Carnaiiba, and the wax which it yields 

 is occasionally met with in commerce under 

 the name of Carnauba, or Brazilian wax. It is 

 a very singular, and at the same time a very 

 beautiful species. It is most remarkable in 

 liow diversified a manner the same general 

 form is presented to us in the different species 

 of j)lants which form a natural family, nor ia 

 this least striking in the palms. The S})ecie3 

 before us is instantly recognised as a palm — 

 every feature declares its family — and yet it is 

 most distinct in its habits and appearance from 



