458 



DASYLIRION 



give a strong impression of the desert, which contrasts 

 forcibly with civilized surroundings. The individual 

 flowers are not highly colored, but the spikes are 

 several feet long. Three plants sold as Dasylirions be- 

 long to Nolina, a closely related genus, which is chiefly 

 distinguished by fruit characters. In Dasylirion the 

 ovary has .1 ovules, and the fruit is dry and indehiscent, 

 or splits through the partitions and between the cells. 

 In Nolina the ovary has 2 ovules, and the fruit is dry, 

 often 3-winged, and bursts in an irregular fashion. The 

 latest monograph is in Latin by J. U. Baker in Journ. 

 Linn. Soc. Vol. 18(1881). 



A. Stems 4-angled, square in section. 



quadrangulitum, S. Watson. Trunk 3 ft. high ; Ivs. 

 drooping, dark grH.-n, 2 ft, i.r more long, 2-3 lines broad 

 at the base, soon li.urow.i- :nnl (fuadrangular, the mar- 

 gin rough but not, |m,,(1i. a, .M.\. Discovered in 1878.— 

 This is the only s]i. n, - \^,i\, mtire, not toothed, leaf- 

 margins. With Fr:uirr,s.lii thr trunk is so short as to 

 be almost globular ; the Ivs. are 4-6 ft. long, slightly 

 arching, and not splitting into fibers. 



AA Stems not 4-angled. 

 B. Tips of Ivs. not splitting into fibers. 



glaucophtUum, Hook. (Z). glaiicum, Carr.). Recog- 

 nized by the above character and by the very glaucous, 

 bluish green Ivs., of which the inner ones are strict and 

 rigid, not gracefully drooping, the outer ones recurved, 

 2-3 ft. long, 8-9 lines wide above the base. Mex. B.M. 

 5041. R. H. 1872, p. 435. G.C. II. 13: 205.; 



BB. Tips of Ivs. splitting into fibers. 



C. Trunk long, 2-5 ft. 



D. Teeth on the leaf-margins yellowish. 



Tez&num, Scheele. Lvs. light green, 3-4 ft. long, 5-6 

 lines wide above the base ; margin serrulate, armed 

 with hooked teeth 1 line long and 3-6 lines apart; 

 flower-stalk 8-10 ft. high. Tex. and New Mex. 



DD. Teeth on the leaf-margins brown. 

 Whefeleri, S.Wats. Lvs. very similar to those of D. 

 Texanum, 7-9 lines wide. The lvs. are shorter than in 

 D. glaucophyllum, and they usually have a spiral twist, 

 which gives the plant a remarkable appearance. Ariz 

 and N. Mex. 



CO. Trunk short. 



D. Macemes short, densely fid. 



E. Length of lvs. S-4 ft. 



tipped with 6-8 spreading fibers. Mex. Int. into cult, 

 about 1835.— This name and D. serralifolium were given 

 by Zuccarini without description, and are greatly con- 

 fused in botanical literature and perhaps also in gardens. 

 EE. Length of lvs. 2S ft. 

 acrdtrichum, Zmc-. ( D. grdcile, Zucc). Trunk in gar- 

 <if?i^ iiTii if :iin h' -I , iiti,i:t\ 1-5 ft. high; lvs, 6-8 lines wide, 

 I .il' L) I I iiirous, splitting at the tip into 



■-'" .;n III I ,'i '■ hs. recurved. Mex. B.M. 5030. 



iin. Ii'deemes long, loosely fid. 

 Berratifdlium, Zucc. Lvs. exactly as in D. acrotrichum, 

 7-8 lines wide above the base. Mex.— Can be distin- 

 guished only in flower. \y_ jj_ 



DATE. A palm. Phoenix dactylifera, Linn., native 

 to N. Africa and Arabia, and extensively planted in 

 countries under Arabic control. It is also grown to some 

 extent in southern Asia and southern Europe and in 

 other tropical and subtropical countries. The pulpy 

 fruits constitute one of the most important articles of 

 food of the Arabs; and the leaves and other parts of the 

 plant afford materials fi<r dwellings and many domestic 

 uses. Nearly all it:n-ts uC tin- jiiantare utilized in some 

 way. The Date ikiIhi ]■. arhrs a height of 100 ft., mak- 

 ing a straight, sh:iL'L'y irunk, nn.l it continues to bear 

 for one or two cciituii.s. It is (li(reious. See Phoenix. 



The Date palm has been grown in parts of the United 

 States and adjacent Mexico for many years. In Florida, 

 California, and restricted areas of a few other states. 



DATE 



it has been grown for decorative purposes for more than 

 a century. At the missions founded by the Spaniards 

 at St. Augustine, and ..th.-r i.Iar,-^ in Florida, and that 

 long line of mission- . \t. iiMinL.- fn.ni far iato Mexico, 

 northward and westwar^i ThnniL'ti --uuthern New Mexico, 

 Arizona and California, it i- im.l.alilc that the Date was 

 planted wherever the climatic cuuditions were favor- 

 able. Within the borders of the United States the 

 greater number of these early plantings were in Florida 

 or along the coast of southern California, regions where 

 the sum total of summer heat is not sufficient to perfectly 

 develop the Date fruit. The Date, as a fruit producer, 

 being indigenous to a desert environment, does not take 

 kindly to humid regions, even where it is not sufficiently 

 cold to prohibit the growth of the trt-c For this reason 

 the t'lTal.TnuniliiTottli.' .'a]■|^ |il,inlli,-- in this country 



qnahlv. ,'ili l,oi,,^-li in ^iL'.nv n,^' i . ' ' -' . 'L-rrw luxu- 



riantlv an. I to iaia,'.- ,m/.,.. !„ in- oin porti.ins of 



LowiT t:t.litui-nia and Suuoia. v.h.i. Ui.ic i.s suflicient 

 water for irrigation, the early plautiugs have been con- 

 timicd down to the present time, and Dates of fair 

 quality have been grown for many years. Moreover, 

 each year the area devoted to Dates is increasing. Not 

 only have sufficient Daites been grown in Sonora to sup- 

 ply the local markets and the markets of the larger 

 cities, Heriuosillo, Guaymas and Altar, but during the 

 past year a surplus has been shipped from the state. 



The part of the United States suitable for growing 

 the Date tree, for the profitable production of fruit, is 

 confined to rather narrow limits; viz., the irrigable por- 

 tion of southern Arizona below an altitude of 2,500 feet 

 and the somewhat similar area of southern California- 

 east of the coast ranges of mountains, where the sum- 

 mer temperature is not lowered by proximity to the sea. 

 As a tree, however, it will m^ke excellent growth over 

 a much larircr area, inchnlintr the semi-arid regions of 

 central ami -.nu L. in i iM i ma i i\.-r the larger area. 

 it will ocini 1 , i . aiiior varieties ma- 

 ture fruit, liii I : larely be sufficient 



td bring it t" a linii .!.li. - oi |m i-f,-ction. In recent 

 years Dates !];»<■ matnrid in favorable localities in 

 California, in both the San Joaquin and Sacramento 

 valleys, but it is only east of the mountains in the irri- 

 gable regions of the Mojave desert that there is sulli- 

 cient summer he.at to m.tture an animal rrop. In the 

 strictly desert rei;ions of soutln lai ,\riin.na and sontli- 

 eastern California the planfinL,- ol -...ilinu' Dates is 

 rapidly increasing, and the tun. i- n.i lai- .Ijsiant wlien 

 in this region not a little atteuti.ju will lie t,'iveu to tho 

 production of this fruit. Among the older trees may be 

 mentioned those on a ranch owned by Hall Hanlon, 

 situated on the California side of the Colorado river a 

 few miles below Yuma. In 1875 Mr. Hanlon received a 

 box of Dates from La Paz, Lower California, which were 

 grown at that place, and planted the seed the same year. 

 From these seeds 12 pistillate and several staminato 

 trees were raised, the trees beginning to bloom at the 

 age of 5 years. All the pistillate trees lian- frniteil 



abundantly each year sii 7 v.ars ..f .-ii;., :iti.I n.iw xai-v 



in height from 2(> t..,',ii l..i. .aeOi tvr |ir...lu. m- x.aily 

 from 6 to 17 bunches of li uit, llie Imuh-Ii.'- \ai\iii:^ in 

 weight from 20 to 38 p..unds. 



In recent years many seedling ptdms have come into 

 bearing in southern Arizona, particularly in Salt river 

 valley. On the Bartlett, Adams & Go's, ranch at Cilen- 

 dale, several seedling Dates were in bearinj; in the 

 fall of 1898, at which time one tree. K y,.r^ !i..ni-...l. 

 bore an estimated crop of more than I i i 'n 



a ranch owned by E. L. Arthur, in i , i 



Tempe, a dozen or more palms were in i :irin_' m. nn.- 

 year, several of which bore one or more buneiies ot irmt 

 the fourth year after planting. In addition to those 

 cited above, many seedling palms bore during the fall 

 of ISilH at Phrpnix. Tempe. Olendole. Mesa, Arizola, 

 Floren.-e, Vnnia, Tneson, an. I other p,,ints in southern 



in tin -priiiL- ..r i,-'il ami l-nj, -i 71 r.M.t.M ^n-iiers, 68 of 

 which were stipposed to have been ttiken from female 

 trees of approved varieties, while the remaining six were 

 labeled male. These trees were distributed to various 



