508 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL BLST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXIV. 



Spadices interfoliaceovis, short, thick, peduncle loosely clothed 

 with acute bracts ; branches dense, male terminating in a spine, 

 female more robust ; spathes 2, complete, at length breaking up 

 into fibres ; male bracts very densely imbricate, connate into cupules ; 

 male bracteoles scale-like ; female bracts large, lanceolate, spines- 

 cent, overtopping the flowers ; female bracteoles like the sepals. 

 Male flowers : Sepals linear or lanceolate, concave, imbricate. 

 Petals smaller and thinner than the sepals, valvate. Stamens 6 ; 

 filaments connate into a thick fleshy cylindrical t^ibe below, free 

 and reflexo-patent at the apex ; anthers linear-oblong, bilobed at 

 the base, exserted, basifixed. Rudiment of ovary minute. Female 

 flowers much larger than the male, ovoid, sepals ovate, imbricate 

 at the base. Petals a little longer than the sepals, erect, convolute 

 imbricate, entire or split at the apex. Disk annular. Ovary ovoid 

 or subcylindrical, 3-celled or by abortion 1-2-celled ; style thick, 

 pyramidal : stigmas large, linear, revolute ; ovule filling up the cell ; 

 micropyle subapical. 



Fruit ovoid or obovoid, 1-3-seeded, intruded at the base; um- 

 bilicate at the apex, stigmas terminal ; pericarp spongy and oily, 

 fibrous inside; endocarp thick, long, with 3 pores above the 

 middle. Seed adnate just below the centre of the cell : testa thin ; 

 raphe reticula,tety branched ; albumen cartilaginous, homogeneous, 

 hollow ; embryo opposite a pore of the endocarp. 



Species about 4. Tropical Africa and Eastern Tropical South 

 America. 



ELAEIS GUINEEN8IS, Jacq. Stirp. Amer. 280, t. 172, ed. pict. 136, t. 

 25f.— Mart. Hist. Nat. Palm. II, 62, t. 54 et 56 ; Miinch. gel. Anzeig. 1838, 

 639, 1839, 46.— R. Br. Vermischt. Schrift. I, 269.— Schum. & Thonn., 

 Beskr. Guin. PI. 4.39.— Tuckey, River Congo 455.— Hook. Niger Fl. 13, 526. 

 —Mann, and Wendl. in Trans. Linn. Soc. XXIV, 424, 439.— Kirk in 

 Journ. Linn. Soc. IX, 231.— Schweinf. Beitr. Fl. Aethiop. 291.— Guessfeldt 

 and Pechuel — -Loesche, Loango — Exped. I, 66, with fig., 208, 224 with fig.; 

 —J. Braun in Mitth. Deutsch. Schutzgeb. II (1889), 148.— Engl. Pfl. Ost. 

 Afr. B. 8, 0. 131.— Drude in Engl. Jahrb. XXI, 112.— Heuriques in Bolet. 

 Soc. Brot. V, 206, 218.— Durand & Schinz, Conspect. Fl. Afr. V. 462, and 

 Etudes Fl. Congo I (274). — E. Guineensis var. macrosperma, Welw. Apont. 

 584.— Rendle in Cat. Afr. PI. Welw. II. 84. 



Names : Of the tree : 



jEnglish : Oil palm, African oil palm, true oil palm. 



French : Aouara d'Afrique, aouara des Oaraibes, a. de Guinee, 

 arouara des Caraibes, avoira de Guinee, ela'is de Guinee, eleide, 

 eleide de Guinee, noix de palme, noix de palmier, palmier 

 crocro, palmier epineux, palmier a huile, palmiste epineux. 



German : Oelpalme, Afrikanische Oelpalme, Guineische Palme. 



Dutch : Afrikaansche awarra, Afrikaansche oliepalm, obepalm, 

 oliepalm van Guinea, oliepalm van West Afrika, oliepalm van 

 de kust van Guinea, palmietboom. 



