Pha-ni.r] CX. PALM.E 645 



1. P. sylvestris, Roxb. ; Griffith Palms t. 228. Tin- wild Date Palm. 

 Vera, h'litijn ri. Khaji, Salma, Thakil, Hiod. 



An erect tree, attaining 40 ft., trunk densely covered with the bases of 

 leaf-stalks, and near the ground often with a dense mass of rootlets, no root- 

 suckers. L. greyish-green, 7-12 ft., spines up to 4 in. long, leaflets G-18 by 

 f-1 in. Common petiole at base J— 1 in. broad, the fascicles of leaflets up to 

 3 in. apart. Male inflorescence white, scented, compact, on a short peduncle. 

 Fruiting peduncle 2-2|- ft. long, 1-1 h in. wide, terminating in large bunches 

 of spikes, spathe thick, almost wood}-. Fr. 1-1-J- in., from yellow to reddish- 

 brown when ripe. Seed 5 in. long. 



Indigenous and gregarious in ninny parts of India, not in Burma. On the low 

 ground along the Etamganga river in Rohilkhand, in the subhimalayan tract, and 

 along river banks ami on stretches of low ground in the Dec-can and Mysore. Planted 

 largely. Fl. H. S., Fr. Sept. Oct. Mats and baskets made of the 1. The sugary juice 

 is extracted in the cold season by removing in one place the lower sheaths, 

 and by cutting a notch into the trunk, a thin slice being taken off daily from the 

 surface i.f the cut. 



2. P. dactylifera, Linn. The Dale Palm. Vern. KhajUr, Kli aji. Hind (Fr. Khurma) : Sun- 

 lia/iin. Burm. Cultivated and self-sown in Sim] and the southern Punjab, also Trans- 

 Indus. Attempts to grow it have been made in other parts of India. Believed to be 

 indigenous in the Euphrates and Tigris Doab, and in the oases of the great African 

 Sahara. A tall tree, attaining 100-120 ft., the foot often surrounded by a dense mass 

 of root -suckers. L. grey, longer than those of 1, leaflets making a very acute angle 

 witli the common petiole. Fr. 1-3 in. long, pulp sweet. Many varieties are 

 cultivated. 



3. P. humilis, Royle : Kan jilal F. Fl. 360.— Syn. P. pedunculate, Griff. 

 Palms 139; P. OuseL <i<ni<t. Griff. Vern. Khajur, Hind.; Thakal, Kumaon ; 

 Konda Ita, Tel. 



Stem .',-12 ft. long, diam. up to 9 in., densely covered with the stumps of 

 leaf-stalks, more or less spirally arranged. Root-suckers develop frequently, 

 when the primary stem has been burnt or injured. L. 4—8 ft., leaflets pliable, 

 pi l'ii in. long, ),-\ in. wide, fascicled, more or less quadrifarious, the upper- 

 most sometimes confluent, base not thickened and not decurrent on the 

 common petiole, which is 1 in. broad at the base, spines up to 3 in. long. 

 Fruiting peduncle 2-4 ft. long, h in. broad, fr. ) in. long, orange, then black, 

 edible. 



Subhimalayan tract, Siwaliks and outer valleys from theJumna eastwards. Assam 

 and Khasi Hills (stems short). Upper Burma. Centra] Provinces. (Stems short in 

 the Jabal)n'ii' district, long on the I'm hvnarhisi, Singbhum, North Kunara, Nilgiris, 

 Shevaroys, and other hills in the Peninsula (stems long slender on tie- Bababud&n 

 hills . fJrasshills of Travancore. up to f> ft. high. Fl. ('. S. Dehra Dun. Nilgiris H. S. 

 — China. Closely allied, and probably nol specifically distinct, are the two 

 following, with tall and robust stems:— I. P. robusta, Hoofc f. Parasnaih I.ihhi ft. 

 St. 'in to 20 ft., diam. 12 15 in., tessellated with short persistent rhomboids! l>nf- 



bases. 5. A species found bj G. Marshall W Irow on the western (ihats, near 



Nandgaon, gregarious on the flat top ,,f trap hills (Shaela, Mar.), and described by 

 him in ■' Notes of a Journey from Poona to Nagotns ; Records of the Hot. Survey of 

 India." i. 94, stem 25 80 ft. high, diam. L5 in., marked with very closely and spirally- 

 arranged leaf-bases. Leaflets Broader than /'. humilia. Spathe Fringed with brown 

 wool on the keel, A Phoenix with tall stems is reported by Gamble on the western 

 siii,- of Mahendragiri, Northern Circars. (Indian Timbers, Ed. ii. 781.) 



6. P. farinlfera, Roxb. Cor. PI. t. 71. Vein. Sauna ita, Chill* ita. Tel. Coromandel 

 coast, -"Nth us fur a- Madras. Trunk short, not over I ft., diam. 6-8 in., gregarious, 

 forming dense masses, very difficult to pass through, I., shining dark green, :i ■< ft. 



long, leaflets quadrifarious, the upper so ii s opposite, 9 in. long, stiff and very 



pungent, with a hard yellow cushion at the has.-. Inflorescence 1 2 ft., fr. J j in. 

 |..ng. black when ripe, edible. In this us in other species of Phoenix the soft t issue in 

 tin, centre of the stem is full of starch. 



7. P. acaulis, Buoh. Earn. Vern, Thakal, Khajur, Khajeria, Hind.: 

 Chindi, Gond ; Chinnita, Konda ita, Tel. ; Thinbaung, Burm. 



Stem thick ovoid, like a bulk densely covered with the persistent buses of 

 petioles, the ends of which arc often bristly witli the protruding hard libro- 



