PALMED 391 



The flowers are unisexual on separate plants (dice- 

 cious). The staminate inflorescence is a thick spadix 

 covered with thick closely fitting scales or bracts 

 from between which protrude the flowers. If a slice 

 4 or i inch thick be cut across from this spike, 

 the flowers will be seen to protrude from little hollows 

 between the bracts. In each hollow is a small inflo- 

 rescence of flowers, arranged in zig-zag line, right 

 and left, the oldest at the top or outside end, the 

 youngest at the bottom and inside end, while beyond 

 the oldest flowers are a number of scales. The lower, 

 younger flowers are curved, and the whole is unmis- 

 takably a small scorpioid cyme, the main axis of which 

 is very short and runs radially in the spadix. Each 

 flower as it is ready to open, protrudes from between 

 the bracts on the spadix. It has three concave, cuneate 

 sepals, a tubular corolla with three obovate lobes, six 

 stamens and in the centre three bristles which take 

 the place of the undeveloped ovary. When a flower 

 has withered the axis of the cyme lengthens, pushing 

 it upwards and bringing into its place the next flower, 

 which opens and is in turn pushed aside for the next. 

 In this way there is a constant succession of flowers 

 appearing on the surface of the spike. 



The ovary flowers are much larger, occurring singly 

 on the axis of their spadix. Perianth fleshy, sepals 

 and petals three each, staminodes six or nine, ovary 

 three celled, with three stigmas. Fruit a drupe of 

 one or more cells. 



