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



Illustration. — Plate VIII. The photograph, supplied by Mr. 

 Phipson, shows a well developed specimen of 'Phoenix dactylifera, 

 and at the foot of the stem two young specimens which took their 

 origin from the present plant. The habit of the whole tree differs 

 considerably from that of the Wild Date Palm ; the crown is less 

 dense, the leaves are spreading and form an acute angle with the 

 stem. The lower part of the stem is not covered with the bases 

 of the petioles. 



PHCENIX RECLINATA, Jacq. Fragm. Bot. (1809) 27, t. 24; Willd. 

 Sp. PI. IV. 731 ; Spreng. Syst. Veg. II. 138 ; Klotzsch in Kunth, Enum. 

 PI. III. 256. Mart. Hist. Nat. Palm. III. 272, 321, t. 164, 124, f. 1. 

 Becc. Males. III. 349. — P. spinosa, Thonning in Videnskabernes 

 Selskabs Afhandl, IV. (1829), p. 211 ; Hornemann, De ind. plant. 

 Guineens. 11 ; Klotzsch in Kunth Enum. PL III. 257 ; Mart, in 

 Gel. Anzeig. der Bayr. Akad. der Wiss. 1839 VIII. 892, IX. 

 988 ; Hist. Nat. Palm. III. 275, 320 ; Kirk in Journ. Linn. Soc. 

 IX. 234; Tchihatchef in Griseb. : La Veget. du Globe II. 193; 

 Drude in Engl. und. Pr. : Die Nat. Pflanz. I. 29, fig. 23 ; F. v. 

 Mueller, Select Extra-trop. PL 263. — P. leonensis, Loddiges in 

 Cat. Horti. — P. farinifera (non Eoxb.) Zolling PL Jav. exsicc. 

 No. 3098; Cat. PL qua? in hort. Bot. Bogor. col. (1866) p. 72.— 

 Fulchironia senegalensis, Leseb. in Desf. Cat. Hort. Paris., ed. III. 

 p. 29. 



Description. — Stem soboliferous, 25 feet high, sometimes even 

 30-40 feet. Leaves long, armed with solitary or paired spines on 

 the sides and lower surface. Segments narrow ensiform, very 

 numerous, in fascicles of two' or three. In young leaves the 

 segments are covered with a white tomentiim on the under surface 

 of the midrib. A similar tomentum covers the whole central bud. 

 Spathes of spadices fusiform, furfuraceous or glabrous, compressed, 

 thinly coriaceous, with two sharp keels. Male spadix ovate in 

 outline, consisting of a great number of thin, flexible branches. 

 Male flowers trigonous, lanceolate, distinctly acuminate, about 4 

 lines long ; calyx 3-dentate ; petals lanceolate, acuminate or acute 

 and often filiate at the apex, but never cucullate. Stamens 

 shorter than the corolla. Female spadix composed of 25-35 rigid 



