644 CX. PALSLE [Phoenix 



Spikelets in the axils of tubu- 

 lar or infundibuliform 

 spathels. 

 Upper leaves reduced to a. 



flagellum without leaflets . Plectocomiopsis (p. 650). 

 All 1. with leaflets, rachis 

 mostly without flagellum . 10. Calamus. 



C. Leaves pinnate or decompound, leaflets rhom- 

 boid or cuneate, praemorse. 



(a) L. decompound 11. Caryota. 



(6) L. simply pinnate. 



(1) Fl. bisexual, fr. covered with scales Kokthalsia (p. 654). 



(2) Fl. unisexual, fr. naked. 



$ calyx tubular or of 3 concave 



sepals, stamens 6 or more . . 12. "Wallichia. 

 6 calyx cup-shaped, stamens 10-30 13. Didymosperma. 



IT. Leaves flabelliform. 



A. Spadix axillary, among the leaves. 



(a) Petiole unarmed . . . . Nannorhops (p. 655). 



(b) Petiole spinous. 



a. Fl. bisexual, carpels 3, distinct. 



Leaf-segments connate to the middle 14. Livistona. 



Leaf-segments free . . . .15. Licuala. 

 /3. Fl. polygamo-moncecious, drupes 1-3 16. Trachycarpus. 

 7. Fl. dioecious, drupe large, with 1-3 



fibrous pyrenes . . . .17. Borassus. 



B. Spadix terminal, tree monocarpic . . .18. Corypha. 



1. PHCENIX, Linn.; PL Brit. Ind. v. 424. 



Tall trees or low shrubs, the entire stem or the upper portion only closely 

 covered by the more or less rhomboid bases of the petioles, stems occasionally 

 branched. The first 1. of seedlings, and sometimes the first 1. of root-suckers 

 are lanceolate, entire. Leaves pinnate, leaflets entire, linear, folded longitu- 

 dinally and attached obliquely with their folded base to the woody common 

 petiole, the lowest pinnse usually transformed into spines. No midrib, a 

 slender nerve on either side of the fold, nerves longitudinal, parallel, stout 

 and slender, the slender n. often obscure. Transverse veinlets present, but as 

 a rule only visible under the microscope in thin sections, cut parallel with 

 the surface of leaf. In the majority of species the leaflets in the lower 

 portion of the petiole stand in fascicles of 4 or 6, two or three on each side of 

 the petiole, while the upper leaflets are usuall}' alternate or opposite , Common 

 petiole semiterete or flat, often widening at the base into a sheath, which 

 frequently expands into a mass of tough reticulate fibres. Fl. dioecious, 

 sessile on the bends of long glabrous undulating spikelets, usually supported 

 by one or two minute subulate or triangular bracts, the $ fl. often approxi- 

 mate in pairs. The spikelets are inserted in horizontal or oblique lines on both 

 sides of a flat woody peduncle. Calyx cup-shaped, 3-toothed and often 

 3-keeled, petals 3, in $ oblong, valvate, and much longer than calyx, in 

 5 rounded, much imbricate and usually less than twice the length of calyx. 

 Anthers as a rule 6, almost sessile, carpels 3, distinct. Peduncle often length- 

 ening after flowering, fr. a single oblong 1-seeded bercy, seeds with a deep 

 longitudinal groove dilated inwards. Endosperm horny, embryo small, usually 

 dorsal. Species 11, Africa and Asia. Thinbaung applies to all species 

 indigenous in Burma. 



A. Leaflets in the lower portion of the leaf markedly fascicled and often 

 quadrifarious. 



