Plants Collected in Paraguay. 245 



market; and many mills for expressing the oil are seen in the 

 country. The pinnae are used as in many other palms in the 

 manufacture of hats, chair bottoms, and other domestic articles. 



Flowering in October and November ; fruiting in December and 

 January. 



COCOS aiistralis. Mart., Hist. Nat. Palm., iii, 289. 



Asuncion (233 a). 



Equally common with no. 233, and popularly known as the 

 Pindo, but entirely unarmed. It resembles the Coco in height 

 and general appearance, but has longer drooping fronds, and is 

 altogether a handsomer tree. Fruit smaller, oblong-ellipsoidal, 2-2^ 

 cm. long and about 1^ cm. in diameter, with a fibrous husk on the 

 outside and a hard, crustaceous nut within, the kernel tasting like 

 the meat of the cocoanut. The nuts yield oil equal to that of no. 

 233, but are rarely used for that purpose. It makes a beautiful 

 shade tree and is a great ornament in parks and gardens. The 

 fronds are largely used in the decoration of dwelling-houses and 

 churches on festive occasions. On Palm Sunday crowds may be 

 met on the streets bearing the green fronds in their hands. 



Flowers in January; fruit May-July. 



Plioenix dactylifera, L., Sp. PL, 1188. 



Near Trinidad (803). 



The Date Palm is occasionally seen in cultivated grounds around 

 Asuncion, but although it seems to grow vigorously, it never, so 

 far as I know, perfects its fruit. In flower October. 



Copernicia cerifera, Mart., Orbig., 41, 1. 1, f. 3. 



Pilcomayo River (1073). 



Commonly known in Paraguay as Palma negra, and in Brazil 

 as Caranda. This tree abounds in great numbers along the banks 

 of the Pilcomayo River and throughout the Gran Chaco. It has 

 a straight slender trunk 10-15 m. high, 12-13 cm. in diameter. 

 When young the stem is covered below with the bases of the 

 petioles, but these fall off at maturity leaving the trunk bare and 

 smooth. Wood black, dense, and hard, forming a valuable timber, 

 which is used all over Paraguay for roof timbers and fence posts. 

 Leaves erect, plaited, fan-shaped, the surface covered with a whitish 

 waxy substance, which is scraped off and made into the well-known 



