MuEUMUEtj Palms. 547 



Chambira eiglity-fi\e feet high growing through the cen- 

 tre of a large exogenous tree ; and strong and strange is 

 the contrast between the two forms of vegetation when the 

 Palm, coming through the top, spreads out its flat crown 

 among the net-veined leaves of its rival. A.jaua7'i, Mart., 

 is one of the commonest riparial Palms on the Middle 

 and Upper Amazons ; and its clustered, rather slender but 

 very prickl}' stems, thirty to forty feet high, contribute to 

 give a forbidding and monotonous aspect to low, inunda- 

 ted, sandy shores, where it often abounds to the exclusion 

 of every other Palm. It bears an excessively hard nut. 

 A. muruTUuru, Mart., abounds particularly along the banks 

 of the Maraiion, and in the moist, sandy flats of the forest. 

 It rarely exceeds fifteen feet in height ; but it carries a 

 graceful head of long, pinnate leaves, white on the under- 

 side, and formidable spines. The fruit is edible, a juicy 

 part covering a very hard seed. A. muribdca, Mart., has a 

 slender, spiny stem not over twelve feet high, with spiny, 

 pinnate leaves five feet long. The lancet -like prickles, 

 two inches long, suggested the native name, Munbaca 

 (Wake up !). It bears a sweet, orange-colored fruit. It 

 grows in old clearings on the Lower Amazons. A.acaide, 

 Mart., is a stemless Palm found fti sandy places on the Rio 

 Negro, bearing spiny leaves ten feet in length, with sixtj^- 

 seven pairs of pinnae. 



Maxemiliana regia, Mart., " Inaja" in Tupi, and " Cata- 

 rinna " in Qnichua, is a fine, feathery Palm, quite common 

 in the primitive forests along the whole river, but most 

 conspicuous up the Rio Negro, where it is called " Coeuri- 

 to." Its large spathe is used as a ready-made basket. The 

 stem is of moderate height, and the leaves in circles of 

 fives spread slightly, forming an open vase. The di-npe is 

 yellowish-gray. 



Attalea Humholdtiana, Spruce, the " Yagua " of the 



