14 
one or more usually hard leathery organs, called spathes, which 
are disrupted by the expanding flowers and frequently fall away. 
The organ bearing the flowers is called the spadix, and may bea 
single stem or much-branched. This inflorescence and its spathes 
are (1) borne either along the trunk in the axils of old withered 
leaf-sheaths or where they have been, or up among the green 
leaves and in their axils; or are (2) terminal. In this latter case 
the palm either dies immediately on perfecting its fruit, or it con- 
tinues flowering downward along the trunk until it finally dies 
from exhaustion. Most of the palms belong to the first class, that 
is, the inflorescence is not terminal, so they keep on increasing in 
height, theoretically without limit. There are comparatively few 
of the second class, which in the Garden collection is well repre- 
sented by the large specimen of Caryota urens, recently presented 
by Mr. Twombly. , 
The flowers individually are quite small, but, occurring as they 
usually do in large masses, the inflorescence is often an object of 
much beauty. The flowers are perfect, that is with the staminate 
and pistillate organs in the same flower; monoecious, or with 
the two in differént inflorescences on the same plant, or in different 
parts of the same inflorescence ; or dioecious, with the two borne 
on different individuals. The sepals and petals are commonly three 
each, and the stamens usually double that number, or in some 
few cases as high as fifty. The fruit is dry, berry-like, or a drupe. 
The entire family, comprising about 1,100 species and 140 
genera, may, in a general sense, be called tropical, for only rela- 
tively few species pass beyond the tropics into subtropical or 
temperate regions. The greatest development has been reached 
in America, Asia and Australia having relatively but few, and the 
representation in Africa being even more meager. Notable ex- 
ceptions to the tropical range of the family are: Chamaerops 
humilis, the only native palm in Europe, as far as 44° N.; the 
palmetto, of our own southern states, to about 36° N.; in the 
southern hemisphere, Phoenix, in Africa to 34° S.; ec ha 
in New Zealand to 44° S.; and /udaea in Chili to 37° 
Economically the value of the palms can hardly be ectimated, 
for there is scarcely an essential of life in tropical regions which 
