THE PALMS OF BBITISH INDIA AND CEYLON. 339- 



The trunk rises from 30-40 feet high and is attached to tlie^ 

 soil b)^ innumerable black fibrous roots. The leaf stalls is naked for- 

 about three feet, the blade measuring about four. •' I'innules sul)- 

 opposite or alternate, falcate, verj^ acuminate, nineteen or twenty 

 inches long, about one and a half inch broad, above with two or- 

 three stout keels ; the terminal one deeply bilobed, variously partite,, 

 the lacinia? or divisions bidentate ; the less diA'ided broader part is. 

 obliquely truncate with irregular teeth.'' To this description. 

 Griffith has added the note : " The leave may be open to doubt,, 

 from their resemblance to those of Areca firacili^y [I'inmuia r/ra- 

 cilis, Blume). 



The spadix measures about one foot ; the compressed peduncle- 

 is divided, from near the base into stout flexuose branches. The 

 female flowers are on the lower parts of the branches, each with 

 a scale-shaped bract. " Sepals roxmd, oblong, obtuse ; petals larger,, 

 sub-cordate with a short obtuse cuspis. 



Fruit oblong-ovate, one inch long and 5 lines wide, attenuated to- 

 both ends, base surroundedby the perianth, apex rostrate mammillate,. 

 truncate, with a small mammilla in the centre ; fibres numerous,, 

 stout, Avhitish. Seed erect, ovate, half an inch long, marked with 

 many veins arising from the hilum, these are generally dichotomous,. 

 anastomosing reticulatel}^ on the dorsal face. Albumen cartilaginous, 

 horny, ruminate, opaque white. Embryo basilar." (Griffith.) 



Habitat. — Naga Hills, u.p to 800 feet, very scarce, usually on 

 high situations on river sides. 



Uses. — The Nagas and Abors use it as a substitute for the betel- 

 nut. 



AEECA TEIANDRA, Eoxb. Hort. Beng. 68 ; Fl. Ind. Ill, 617 ; Ham.. 

 in Mem. Wern. Soc. V, 310 ; Mart. Hist. Nat. Pahn III, 171, t. 149, fig. 1,. 

 •2, 3 ; Griff, in Calc. Journ., Nat. Hist. V, 154 ; Pahiis Brit. Ind. 148, t. 230,. 

 A ; Kurz. For. Fl. II, 537 ; Hook. f. Fl. Brit. Ind. VI, 406. 



Names.— Bungua, Eamgua, Euiii Supari (Beng.). 



Description. — The palm is shrubby and throws out offsets at the- 

 base. The green, distinctly annulate stem groAvs five to seven feet 

 high and has one inch and a half in diameter. The leaves are 

 bright green and comparatively large, being four to five feet long.. 

 The pinnules are alternate, linear ensiform, often falcate, obliquely 

 acuminate, thirteen to sixteen inches long, one and a half to two 

 inches broad, with one, two or three keels above ; the upper ones 

 are more or less split at the apex ; the terminal leaflets are broadly 

 cuneate, deeply bipartite, forked, the lobes themselves truncate and 

 having as many bidentate lobes as there are keels on their under- 

 sides. 



The green smooth spathe has a short blunt point, and is from 

 six inches to a foot long and from two to three inches broad. 



