358 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XX. 



ing hard fibro-vascular bundles. Leaves 2-6 feet long; leaflets 

 nearly opposite, fasciculate, 10-20 by ^--f inch, stiff, the base 

 thickened and decurrent ; marginal nerve very strong ; petioles one 

 foot or more long, with spines 2-6 inches long. Spathes axil- 

 laiy, solitary, one-valved, about 6 inches long, with their bases 

 rather below the surface of the ground, generally splitting into 

 two portions down the middle on each side. Spadix 6-10 inches 

 long, compressed, rather longer than the spathe, composed of 

 many simple short erect flexuose branches ; these are smooth and 

 of a pale yellow. Male flowers £-i inch long, alternate, solitary, 

 sessile, pale yellow. Calyx cupular, 3-toothed; petals 3, obliquely 

 lanceolate, acute, slightly united at the base ; stamens 6, filaments 

 very short, inserted into the base of the corolla ; anthers linear, 

 nearly as long as the petals ; pistillode 0. Female flowers 

 alternate, solitary, sessile, in bractiform notches on the sides 

 of the branches of the spadix ; calyx cup-shaped, truncate, with 

 3 obscure teeth on the margin ; petals 3, sub-rotund, thick, 

 fleshy, concave, smooth. Carpels 3, each 1-celled and 1-ovuled, 

 ovule attached to the middle of the cell on the inside. Styles 3, 

 small, short, recurved ; stigma small. Fruiting peduncle short, 

 usually concealed among the leaves ; fruit -|-| inch long, oblong- 

 ellipsoid, flesh} 7 , smooth, mucronate, bright red to blue black ; 

 seed j-| inch long, oblong, with a longitudinal groove on one 

 side, embryo in the middle of the back, or convex side of the 

 seed. 



Habitat. — Northern India : from Kumaon eastwards to the 

 Khasia Hills, elevated plains on the north side of the Ganges on a 

 clayey soil ; Burma : in plains between the valley ofHook-hoong 

 and Mogam ; Chota Nagpur ; Ghats of the Sirsi taluka in Northern 

 Kanara. 



Flowers. — In the cold season ; fruit ripens in April and May. 



Uses. — According to Stewart, rope is made in certain localities 

 from the beaten leaves. In the Central Provinces the leaves are 

 used to thatch houses. 



The fruit is eatable. In Chota Nagpur, a sort of sago is pre- 

 pared from the pith ; the stem is apparently not tapped for its juice. 



Cultivation. — A very ornamental palm, valuable for decorative 

 purposes. 



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