456 APPENDIX. No. V. 



was established, concluded it to be, though from less satisfactory evidence.* 

 It was first described as dioecious by Gaertner, whose account has been adopted, 

 probably without examination, by Schreber, Willdenow, and Persoon. 



In Sir Josepli Banks's collection, however, from which Gaertner received the 

 fruits he has described and figured, and where he may be supposed to have 

 hkewise obtained all the original information he had on the subject, there is no 

 proof of the male and female spadices of Elasis guineenses belonging to different 

 individuals. 



Gaertner has fallen into a still more important mistake respecting tiie 

 structure of the fruit of Elaeis, the foramina of whose putamen, which are 

 analogous to those of the Cocoa nut, being, according to his description, at the 

 base, as in that genus, whereas they are actually at the apex. It is probable 

 that Alfonzta ole'ifera of Humboldt, Bonpland, and Kunth, belongs to Elaeis, 

 and possibly it may not even differ from the African species. 



It is a remarkable fact respecting the geographical distribution of PalmjE, 

 that Eloeis gu'ineensis, which is universally, and I believe justly, considered as 

 having been imported into the West India colonies from the west coast of 

 Africa, and Cocos indica, which there is no reason to doubt is indigenous to the 

 shores of equinoctial Asia and its islands, should be the only two species of an 

 extensive and very natural section of the order, that are not confined to America. 



To this section, whose principal character consists in the originally trilocular 

 putamen having its cells when fertile perforated opposite to the seat of the 

 embryo, and when abortive indicated by foramina caeca, as in the cocoa nut, 

 the name Cocoina» may be given ; though it has been applied by M. Kunthf 

 to a more extensive and less natural group, which includes all palms having 

 trilocular ovaria, and the siu'face of whose fruit is not covered with imbricate 

 scales. I may also remai'k that from the fruits of Cocoince only, as I have 

 here proposed to limit the section, the oil afforded by plants of this family, is 

 obtained. 



Professor Smith in his journal frequently mentions a species of Hyphccne, by 

 which he evidently intended the Palm first seen abundantly at the mouth of the 

 river, and afterwards occasionally in the greater part of its coui-se, especially 

 near the Banzas, where it is probably planted for the sake of the wine obtained 

 from it. 



According to the gardener's information, this is a Palm of moderate height 

 * Ilisl. Stirp. Amer. p. 281. t Nova Gen. et ^p. Orb. JVov. 1, p. 24J. 



