280 DESCRIPTIVE BOTANY. 



jjgQ AVhen the uut is in an unripe state it is cut into slices and wrapped 



in the leaves of the piper betel, with a little lime, and in this condition it is 

 chewed. It affects the nervous system, somewhat in the same manner as tea, 

 coffee, and cocoa ; it is stimulant and astringent, and is said to check perspi- 

 ration and alleviate fatigue. When used moderately it is supposed to preserve 

 the teeth, and to fasten tliem when loose in the gums ; but used to exce.ss it 

 destrovs the teeth, causing them to crumble and Avaste away and eventually 

 it causes the death of its victim. It is of very general use among the inhabi- 

 tants of southeastern Asia, extending to all classes, and it is offered to guests 

 on state and other ceremonial occasions. It is carried in a box, frequently of 

 gold or silver, or ornamented with precious stones, corresponding to the snuff- 

 box used for tobacco snuff. 



A liniment made of the juice from the leaves, mixed with oil, is considered 

 a specific in lumbago ; the nut is also a reputed remedy for tape-worm. 



PH(ENIX, L. (Feather Palm.) Flowers dicecious, very small, in 

 large clusters, emerging from a spathe or fleshy shield ; number of 

 flowers in a spadix sometimes reaching 12,000. Staminate flowers 

 oblong or ovoid ; calyx cup-shaped, 3-toothed ; petals 3, oblique, oblong, 

 or ovoid, slightly attached at base ; stamens 6, sometimes 3-9, inserted 

 on the base of the corolla ; filaments awl-shaped ; anthers linear, oblong, 

 erect, and attached to the filaments along their backs. Pistillate 

 flowers with a rotund calyx; stigma sessile. Fruit oblong, terete, 

 1-seeded. Pericarp fleshy ; seed hard, somewhat cylindrical, plane on 

 one side and convex on the other, with a groove extending the whole 

 length of the plane side, from half an inch to an inch in length, having 

 sweet, nutritious pulp. Leaves all terminal, pinnate. 



P. dactylifera, L. (Date Palm ) Stem 30 to 60 feet high, 12 to 18 inches 

 in diameter, scarred with the marks of fallen leaves, which are pinnate, glau- 

 cous, 8 to 10 feet long; leaflets lanceolate, acuminate, pinnae close together. 

 Flowers in branching spadices, the main flower stem long, the heavy mass 

 of flowers causing it to bend downward, each cluster of the female tree bearing 

 from 150 to 200 dates ; each flower produces three, two of which are usually 

 abortive. The fruit has a vinous, gummy, sugary taste. 



There are twelve species of the phoenix, but the only one of importance as 

 a food plant is the P. dactylifera. The varieties of this species are very great ; 

 it is propagated by seed and sports freely, producing varieties which differ 

 from each other in the size and quality of the fruit. 



Geography. —The geographical distribution of the date is throughout the 

 hot and arid region between 15° and 30° north latitude, from the Atlantic 

 coast along the fringes of the great deserts to the river Indus, and on the 

 oases of the Sahara. It can grow in a higher latitude, but refuses to ripen its 

 fruit except in a very high temperature. The tree itself will live just iu the 

 edge of the region of no frost, but will not fruit, nor even flower. Somewhere 

 in the above-named region it had its origin, but no naturalist has been able 

 to name the spot. According to Loudon, the date derives its generic name. 

 Phoenix, from the fact that the best dates were brought from Phoenicia. But 

 if fine dates came from Phoenicia, they must have been carried there from 

 further south, for the temperature of the most soutliern part of Phoenicia is 

 too low to ripen the date. They may have been taken from Arabia or from 



