THE PALMS OF BRITISH INDIA AND CJETLON. 



71 



arranged, bi-aiiricled, remarkably strong, upper side deeply chan- 

 nelled, the sharp margins armed with numerous, short, strong 

 dark-coloured, polished, compressed spines. Spathes as many as 

 there are primary and secondary ramifications in the spadix, all 

 smooth and obtuse. Spadix 20 feet or more high, supradecom- 

 pound ; primary branches alternate, round, spreading nearly hori- 

 zontally with their apices ascending ; secondary ramifications 

 alternate, bifarious, compressed, drooping, recurved, soon dividing 

 into numerous, variously curved, smaller, subcylindric branchlets, 

 covered with innumerable, small, white, odorous, subsessile flowers. 

 Calyx minute, obscurely 3-lobed ; petals 3, oblong, concave, fleshy, 

 smooth ; stamens 6, nearly of the length of the petals, at the base 

 broad, and somewhat united ; anthers ovate, dorsifixed. Ovary, 

 3-lobed, 3-celled, suddenly contracted into the style ; style shorter 

 than the stamens ; stigma simple. Drupes 1-3 1^ inch in diam- 

 eter, wrinkled, dark olive or greenish-yellow, pulp in small pro- 

 portion, and yellow when the fruit is ripe. Seed solitary, round, 

 attached to the base of the drupe, white, horny, with a small cavity 

 in the centre; embryo apical. (Fig. 15.) 



Fig. 15 

 Calyx. 



Open flower seen from above. 

 Longitudinal section of flower show- 

 ing 2 stamens and pistil. 

 Ventral view of stamen. 



8 



CorypJia talliera. 



5. Side view of stamen. 



6. Transverse section of ovary, , 



7. Longitudinal section of ovary. 



8. Longitudinal section of seed. 

 1 — 7 magnified. (After Martins). 



