PALMYRA OF ECONOMIC PLANTS. 309 



Fruit, an ovoid oblong drupe of a dark colour, the size of an 

 olive. It is a remarkable palm, forming a Palmetto scrub 

 for hundreds of miles on the sea-coasts of Georgia, South Caro- 

 lina, and Florida. Its density and sharp-edged leaves render it 

 impossible for human beings to pass through it. The inhabit- 

 ants make use of the leaves for thatching, and they are also 

 collected for paper-making, and scrubbing-brushes are formed 

 of the tough fibrous roots. The fruit, although sweet, cannot be 

 called palatable ; it contains a fixed and volatile oil, which is 

 obtained from the expressed juice ; when boiled in water the 

 volatile oil is set free, filling the atmosphere for a great distance, 

 and causing dizziness and headache. Many medicinal proper- 

 ties are assigned to it. This palm is by some botanists placed 

 in the genus Sahal. 



Palmite, a name in South Africa for Prioniiim Pcdmita, a 

 remarkable plant of the Eush family (Juncacese) ; it is an 

 aquatic ; its leaves are serrate, 2 to 3 feet long, and about 1 

 inch broad at their base, successively produced in fascicles, their 

 sheathing bases forming a firm stem, 3 to 4 inches in diameter, 

 always submerged, its length, depending upon age, sometimes 8 

 to 10 feet long, generally found in a slanting direction according 

 to the depth of the water ; the leaves standing upright, and the 

 surface of the water being covered with them, may be compared 

 to a field of pine-apple plants crowded together. The flowers 

 are small, produced in panicles, and differ but little in character 

 from those of the common Eush. The stems, when cut into 

 lengths and tied round, form brushes, and when broken up they 

 may be used as a substitute for horse-hair. About twenty years 

 ago an attempt was made to bring this plant into use for paper- 

 making, but it did not answer. 



Palmyra Palm {Borassus flahelliforinis), a large fan -leaved 

 palm, native of India and Ceylon. It has a cylindrical stem, 

 attaining a height of 50 or 100 feet, bearing a crown of large 

 fan-shaped leaves. It produces its fruit in bunches, each fruit 

 being about 3 inches in diameter, with a pulpy covering, which is 

 made into a kind of jelly. It is a toddy-yielding palm, and 



