648 CX. PALM^ [Arenga 



5. ARENGA, Labill. ; Fl. Brit. lad. vi. 421. 



Tall, stout palms, upper portion of trunk densely clothed with the black 

 fibrous remains of the leaf-sheaths. Leaflets long, linear, usually prfemorse, 

 with a midrib and numerous longitudinal nerves, and one or two auricles at 

 base. Spadix large, much branched, peduncle clothed with numerous 

 imbricating spathes, branches pendulous, slender, fl. sometimes in groups, one 

 2 between 2 <J . Male : sepals 3, orbicular, petals oblong ; stamens oo, 

 filaments short, anthers apiculate. Female : subglobose, petals triangular, 

 ovary 3-celled. Seeds 2-3, compressed or plano-convex, endosperm uniform, 

 embryo dorsal. Species 10, tropical Asia and Australia. 



1. A. saccharifera, Labill. ; Griff. Palms t. 235 A. Malay Sago Palm. Veru. 

 TaungOn, Burm. Assam. Martaban and Tenasserim, occasionally on the Pegu 

 Yoma. Commonly cultivated in India. — Malay Penins. and Arc-hip. Trunk 20-40 ft. 

 high. L. 20-28 ft. long, forming a dense crown, leaflets very numerous, white beneath, 

 2-3 ft.' long, denticulate, towards the tip prsemorse and slightly lobed. Spadices 

 several, axillary, 6-10 ft. long, those of the uppermost axils flowering first, and having 

 often mature fr. when the lowest come into fl. & and ? fl. together on most branches, 

 one sex generally preponderating, i oblong-clubshaped, up to 1 in. long, petals three 

 times the length of sepals, smell unpleasant. ? : one in. diam., petals coriaceous. 

 Fr. 2-2J in. long, turbinate, supported by the somewhat accrescent calyx and petals, 

 and crowned by the persistent stigmas, pericarp coriaceous, endocarp gelatinous, 

 adhering to the seeds, acrid, and abounding in raphides. After all spadices have 

 matured their seed, the tree dies. The black fibre of the petioles makes excellent 

 cordage, the sap which runs from the cut fl. stalk yields sugar, and the heart of the stem 

 yields large quantities of sago. The trunks of trees which have died after seeding 

 are almost hollow, and are used as water-pipes. 2. A. Wiglitii, Griff. Palms t. 235 E. 

 Vern. Dhudasal, Kan. ; Mam panel, Tarn. North Kanara, evergreen forest of the 

 Ghats, very common near the falls of Gairsoppah. Nilgiris. Travancore 500-3,000 ft. 

 Locally gregarious, with numerous root-suckers, trunk stout, 3-30 ft. high, covered 

 with the bases of the leaf-sheaths, 1. 18-28 ft. long, leaflets alternate, linear, auricles 

 large unequal, the lower 1-2 in. long. Spadix 4, common peduncle 2 ft. long, quite 

 concealed by the sheathing lacerate spathes. The cut fl. stalks yield toddy. 



6. COCOS, Linn. ; Fl. Brit. Ind. vi. 482. 

 Species 30. American. 



C. nucifera, Linn. Roxb. Cor. PL t. 73. Tlie Cocoa-nut tree. Sans. 

 Narikera. Vern. Narel, Nariyal, Hind. ; Narikel, Beng. ; Tenkaya, Kobbari, 

 Tel. ; Tengina, Kan. ; Tennai, Tenkai, Tarn. ; On, Burm. Trunk annu- 

 late, often curved, rarely branching, base thickened with a mass of rootlets. 

 L. 6-12 ft. long, leaflets equidistant, linear lanceolate. 2-3 ft. long, 

 petiole stout. Spadix stout, androgynous, divided into numerous drooping 

 spikes bearing at their base ? with a few £ fl., the upper portion being 

 densely covered with $ fl. Male fl. : sepals small, valvate, petals J in. long, 

 stamens 6. Female fl. : ovoid, supported by several broad bracteoles, 

 perianth accrescent, sepals 1 in. diam., round, concave, petals similar to 

 sepals, but smaller. Fr. 3-cornered, 10-15 in. long, pericarp thick, fibrous, 

 endocarp bony with 3 basal pores, indicating the 3 cells of the ovary. Cavity 

 of endosperm before maturity large, filled with the cocoa-nut milk. The cut 

 fl. stalks yield toddy. 



Cultivated throughout the tropics, chiefly in the vicinity of the sea, but also 

 inland. Original home uncertain. Abundant on the Coco and other uninhabited 

 islands in the Bay of Bengal (on the Andamans locally), but possibly not originally 

 wild. Prain in Journ. As. Soc. Beng. 60, 332. In India fl. in the dry season, 

 the nuts require 9-10 months to ripen. 



Nipa fruticans, Wurmb; Griff. Ic. PI. As. Ear. t. 244-247. Vern. Gulga, Gabaa, 

 Beng. ; Dani, Burm. Estuaries of rivers and tidal swamps, Sundriban, Andamans, 

 Chittagong and the Burma coast. Ceylon. Malay Penins. and Archip., Australia. 

 From a stout branching rhizome, creeping, either underground or along the surface, 

 and rooting on the underside, spring tufts of huge pinnate 1., 15-30 ft. long, 

 leaflets numerous, coriaceous, 2-4 ft. long, many longitudinal n. on both sides of 



