CHARACTERS OF THE LEAVES OF THE DATE PALM. 



17 



parison will be made of some of the Deglet Noor seedlings with the 

 average for that variety, or what may be called a standardized tree. 



Two sets of readings were taken from the Deglet Noor fruiting 

 seedling raised by Mr. James Reed, at Thermal, Cal. In both of 

 these the data are well within the range of variation of the eight true 

 Deglet Noor records, 

 and the average of the 

 two is curiously near 

 to the average of the 

 Deglet Noor. The 

 pinnae are more closely 

 crowded than in any of 

 the Deglet Noor rec- 

 ords, and the percent- 

 age of introrse pinnae is 

 above the average, but 

 within the range. 



The proportion of 

 paired, triple, and 

 quadruple groups of 

 pinnae is remarkably 

 near the average. The 

 fruit of this presum- 

 ably half-blood Deglet 

 Noor seedling has not 

 been distinguishable 

 from that of the stand- 

 ard imported Deglet 

 Noor varieties. No 

 other Deglet Noor 

 seedling has been found 

 so closely duplicating 

 the Deglet Noor i n 

 fruit. 



Of others that have 

 fruited, showing de- 

 cided Deglet Noor 

 characters in color, flavor, or texture of the fruit, none has been 

 found with the same close approximation to Deglet Noor f oliage. In a 

 slender-fruited seedling, for example, raised by the California Date Co., 

 at Heber, Cal., the fruit has the Deglet Noor flavor and texture in 

 a high degree. The form of this fruit is long and slender, entirely 

 distinct from the Deglet Noor. Referring to Table I, showing the 

 point characters, this variety, as compared with the Deglet Noor, 



Fig. 10. — Diagrams showing the characteristic divergence of the pinnse 

 of a Deglet Noor date leaf, at 8 to 9 feet from the base of the leaf, 

 recorded on form B. The upper diagram shows the divergence from 

 the blade plane; the lower, the divergence from the apex: A , An- 

 trorse pinnse; J, introrse; R, retrorse. 



