350 NATURAL HISTORY. 



The Komu Palm (GEnocarpus bacaba) is a tall and 

 slender tree, measuring about fifty feet in height ; leaves 

 small and pinnatified ; fruit, pulpy drupes, amounting to 

 several hundreds, and about the same size as shot, and 

 resembling sloeberries, are borne on broom-like panicles, 

 from two to four feet in length. The stone is very hard, 

 but the pulp surrounding it is brown and tastes like cho- 

 colate. This fruit soaked in warm water until it is soft- 

 ened and grated makes a very refreshing beverage, and 

 tastes much like chocolate ; the panicels serve for mak- 

 ing brooms, and the wood for canes and umbrella stocks. 

 Found abundantly in South America, b . 



The Avara (Elais guinensis) is slender and very 

 thorny, measures forty feet in height ; leaves two to 

 three feet long, pinnatified, and falcate. Flowers panicu- 

 late, producing a drupaceous fruit, four to six hundred, 

 plum-shaped and yellow. The hard black kernel of the 

 nut contains the oily principle from which the article, 

 called in Africa Palm Oil, is made. The avara has been 

 transplanted into South America ; the fruit serves there 

 only as food for swine. 



The Maripa Palm, with its sweet pulp and handsome 

 brown seeds bears much likeness to the avara ; rings and 

 other ornaments of the same kind are made from the 

 seeds of the maripa, which are very handsome, but break 

 easily. I 2. 



The Cocoa Palm (Cocos nucifera) has no thorns ; 

 leaves sword-shaped, is one of the most useful trees upon 

 the earth, very large, and grows in the sandy and most 

 unfruitful regions of the torrid zone. Even when too 

 young to bear fruit, the tender leaves afford palatable 

 food, and are used as cabbage. Flowers yellowish, stand 

 in paniculate clusters, followed by fruit, the well known 



