THE PALMS OF BRITISH INDIA AND CEYLON. 67 



roiTghish ; seeds globose, very hard, smooth and polished. (Fig. 13). 



4 5 6 



Fl&. 13. — Corypha umhraculifara. 



1. Corolla just before opening. 4. Dorsal view of stamen. 



2. Open corolla seen from above. 5. Longitudinal section through pistil. 



3. Petal with stamen. 6. Vertical section of seed. 



1—5 enlarged. (After Martius). 



Habitat. — Ceylon : in the moist low region below 2,000 feet, 

 rather common ; Malabar Coast .; Kanara : moist forests of the 

 Kumpta and Honavar talukas of Northern Kanara, covering 

 ■extensive areas near the Gairsoppa and Yena rivers, also on the 

 Yellapur Ghats ; sometimes planted in gardens near the coast ; 

 South Andaman Islands ; Little Coco ; Great Coco ; cultivated in 

 tropical India and Burma. 



Hooker makes the following remark in Trim. Fl. Ceyl. IV. 

 328 : " This must be a native palm [of Ceylon], but I have never 

 seen it in original jungle. Of the vast number of seedlings which 

 come up near the parent tree, very few arrive at maturity, the 

 young leaves being continually cut. Beddome remarks that he 

 has never seen it wild in S. India." 



Flowers. — November to Januarj^ 



Germination. — The development of the young palm has been 

 observed by Gatin.^ The seed is globose with uniform albumen. 



'- Gatin, C. L., Recherches Anatomiques et Chimiques snr la Germination des 

 Palmiers. Paris, 1906, p. 248. 



