422 MESSRS. MANN AND WENDLAND ON THE 
glaucescens, Bl., and Ptychosperma Rumphii, Bl., but the difference in the fruit of these 
two genera is so marked that it is unnecessary here to mention them in particular. Its 
nearest affinity is with the genera Dypsis, Noronh., Chamedorea, Willd., Hyospathe, 
Mart., and Synechanthus, Herm. Wendl., from all of which, however, Podococcus differs 
in the form of its leaflets, and in the flowers being inserted in depressions. 
ScLEROSPERMA, Mann & Wendl., has for its nearest affinities the genera Orania, Bl., 
and Manicaria, Gertn. To both of these Sclerosperma approaches in habit, although it 
is stemless, the preemorse leaflets resembling Orania in their grey-blue coating, and 
Manicaria &c. in the large lobes into which they are united: it differs from Manicaria 
in its very small spadix, but again approaches it in its spathe, which is persistent and 
lace-like upon the spadix; but differs again in its spathe opening at the apex, whilst 
Manicaria opens at the base or at the centre, the upper part being then pushed off. 
Although both Orania and Manicaria have large divided spadices, still Sclerosperma 
resembles them in the arrangement of its flowers, all three genera having female flowers 
with two male flowers only at the base of their spadices, whilst at the apex male flowers 
only are present. The outer perianth of the male flowers of Sclerosperma resembles that 
of Nipa, Th., and the inner that of Arenga, Labill. Selerosperma is most remarkable 
for its extrorse anthers, and the position of the petals of the female flowers, which are 
membranous and imbricate only at the base; in Orania they are not at all imbricate. 
Tt differs also from the last-named genera in its unilocular ovary, on the apex of which is 
a large one-sided stigma. Its fruit bears a great resemblance to that of Orania, except 
that the chalaza is a little below the vertex, and not near the base. In its extraordinarily 
hard albumen it differs from both Orania and Manicaria and approaches Phytelephas, 
so much so that it might be taken for a small seed of that genus if the embryo were 
situated as near the chalaza as it is in Phytelephas ; but this is not so, the embryo 
being almost opposite and a little below the vertex. 
The second subfamily, Lepidocaryinee or Calamee, is largely represented in Western 
Tropical Africa, ten new species having been found, besides the two previously known; 
thus two-thirds of the Palms of this country belong to this subfamily, leaving only one- 
third for the Arecinee, Cocoinee, and Borassinee. Whilst | the ovule of Arecinee and 
Cocoinece is extrorse, in Lepidocaryinee it is always introrse, which has already been 
pointed out by v. Martius in his * Hist. Nat. Palm.’ p. 196, * Micropyle szepius centrum 
fruetüs spectans ? " 
Most of the species of Lepidocaryinec found in Western Tropical Africa will constitute 
separate subdivisions. With the exception of one Calamus, all have a trilocular ovary, 48 
in the genus Raphia, P. de B,, so in the four new subgenera of Calamus which I here pro- 
pose (Laccosperma, Ancistrophyllum, Oncocalamus, Eremospatha), and in the American 
genera Mauritia, L., and Lepidocaryum, Mart., which fact is of great interest with regard 
to the geographical distribution of Palms. 
| Bante of these new subdivisions are also remarkable for the formation of their seeds, 
the ovules being attached above their lower end by a short funicle to the lower part of 
