THE WEST AMEEICAN SCIENTIST. 79 



I found it to be a second species of Washingtonia and I have 

 named it W. robusta. 



It is distinguished from W. (Pritchardia or Brahea) filifera by 

 its more robust and compact habit, its sparse leaves of a br t 

 green, its petioles furnished with strong curved spines, recurved 

 backwards, by a deep blackish violet tint on the back of the sheaf, 

 more or less prolonged on the petiole and by the smaller and 

 rounder leaf blade. 



This species originated on the borders of the Sacramento river, 

 in California. It might well replace as a house plant the popular 

 Livistona sinensis (Latania Borbonica). It is a greenhouse 

 plant but on the Mediterranean it would grow as in its native 

 home. H. Wendland. 



The predictions of Mr. AVendland have been largely realized. 

 Already numerous specimens of W. robusta are growing in the 

 different houses of Europe, where it shows much vigor, is well 

 furnished with leaves in contrast with the thinly-clad stems of 

 W. filifera which they try in vain to make flourish. Some fine 

 specimens were to be observed in a large lot of palms exhibited 

 at Antwerp on the first of last August by the house of Van H. 



But it is in the south of France that one sees the prodigious 

 growth and rare elegance of W. robusta cultivated in open 

 ground. In my garden of Cannes-Eden at the close of the year 

 1883 the plants sent by Van Houtte were set in place, having at- 

 tained at that time 0m60 in height. In 14 months the dimensions 

 measured from the living plants (February 7, 1884) were as fol- 

 lows: total height, 2 metres; six leaves; trunk very robust, not 

 enlarged at base. Length of petiole, 0m90; diameter of blade, 

 lm20. Leaves patulous, drooping — not erect — patulous like W. 

 filifera. Petioles sheathed at base of a reddish fawn and yellow 

 tint, highly colored, abruptly contracting to a plano-convex, two- 

 edged (not triangular) stem pale green striated with yellow and 

 bordered its whole length by two broad lines, of a deep fawn 

 yellow similar to the strong basilary spines, which are at first as- 

 cending, then interspersed with others turned up and finally 

 toward the summit all recurved, accompanied by an intermediate 

 tomentose white wooly substance. 



Ligule erect, oblong-obtuse, bifid, lacerated, parchment-like, 

 dry. The leaf -blade half round, folded like a fan (as in Thrinax 

 chuco and not unevenly gyrose as in W. filifera), whole to the 

 middle, then divided into sharp gladiate rays edged with white 

 filiments which are bent downward and gathered in a crown at 

 the acute sinus, then ascending and contorted along the edges of 

 the lobes and finally raised up and gathered together at the top in 



