1891.] D. Prain — The Vegetation of the Goco Group. 331 



PALMES. 



260. Cartota sobolipera Wall. 



In all the islands, very common in beach-forests. 

 Indo-China, Andamans, Malaya, 



261. Cortpha elata Roxb., Plor. Ind. 2, 176 ; Griff,, Ind. Palm. 112, 

 t. 220 D.—G. Gehanga Kurz, Jour, As, Soc. Beng. 43, pt. 2, 206, nee 

 Blume. — G. macropoda Kurz, 1, c. 206, t, 15, 



Great Coco, rare ; Little Coco, very common. 



This palm, which is very common in Little Coco and particularly so 

 near the lake at the south-west corner of the island has leaf stalks 

 up to 25 feet long and leaves up to 20 feet across and is clearly identical 

 with Kurz's G. macropoda. But Kurz's plant does not appear to be 

 specifically distinct from G. elata. Kurz has himself in his subsequent 

 writings noted that his first impression that this is a stemless palm 

 was erroneous, admitting that it has a stem at least 8 — 12 feet high. 

 Moreover in Little Coco at least one example had reached a height of 60 

 feet and was not yet in flower in 1890, while in 1889 and 1890 Dr. 

 King and myself obtained both flowering and fruiting specimens of 

 Kurz's Andamanese Gorypha near Port Blair ; these prove the species 

 to be Gorypha elata. Kurz is, I believe, in error in identifying Rox- 

 burgh's G. elata with Blume's G. Gehanga, the two trees —as grown in 

 Hort, Calcutta — are very different in appearance ; the leaves of G. 

 Gehanga are much paler in colour and Blume's figure of the in- 

 florescence of G. Gehanga (Rumphia 2, tt. 97, 98 and 105) shows an 

 open panicle that will not at all suit G. elata, which has a very dense in- 

 florescence like a gigantic head of parsley. In any case Roxburgh's 

 name (1832) has four years' priority and Kurz's i-eduction is, therefore, 

 on that ground alone, untenable. The writer is of opinion, and Dr. King 

 agrees, that the examples of G. elata in Hort. Calcutta may have been 

 originally introduced from the Andamans and that the species is only 

 there indigenous. At all events it has not hitherto been found wild in 

 any part of India or Burma. 

 262. LiVISTONA sp. 



Great Coco ; occasional on inland ridges. This palm, the 3 or 4 

 examples of which met with were stemless or had stems under two feet 

 high, seems to be nearly related to L. Jenkinsiana Griff., Palm, Brit. 

 Ind, 128, t. 226 A. B. and to L. speciosa Kurz, Jour, As, Soc. Beng,, 

 43, 2, 204, t. 13, 14, the differences between which species Mr. Kurz him- 

 self admits are not great. The Coco species may not of course be a dwarf 

 one, but if it is not it seems remarkable that no tall examples were met 

 with. The leaves are remarkably like those of L. speciosa and Mr, 

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