140 BOTANY OF CONGO. 



exactly the habit of Rivina octandra, and all of which agree 

 with that plant, as well as with several others belonging to 

 the order, in the very minute pellucid dots of their 

 leaves. 



Petiveria and Seguieria may therefore form a sub-division 

 of Phytolacese And another section of this order exists in 

 New Holland, of which the two genera differ from each 

 other ill number of stamina as remarkably as Petiveria and 

 Seguieria, 



Of the Monocotyledonous orders, the first on Avhich I 

 have any remarks to offer, is that of 



PALMiE. The collection, however, contains no satis- 

 factory specimens of any plant of this family except of 

 McBis ffuineensis, the Maia of the natives, or Oil Palm, 

 which appears to be common along the wliole of this line 

 of coast. In Professor Smith's journal it is stated that a 

 single plant of the ]\Iaba Palra^ was cut down, from which 

 Mr. Lockhart informs me that both the male and female 

 spadices preserved in the collection were obtained. This 

 fact seems to decide that Elasis is monoecious, which, in- 

 456] deed, Jacquin, by whom the genus was estabhshed, 

 concluded it to be, though from less satisfactory evidence." 

 It was first described as dioecious by Ggertner, whose ac- 

 count has been adopted, probably Avithout examination; by 

 Schreber, Willdenow, and Persoon. 



In Sir Joseph Banks's collection, however, from which 

 Ggertner received the fruits he has described and figured, 

 and where he may be supposed to have likewise obtained 

 all the original information he had on the subject, there is 

 no proof of the male and female spadices of Elseis guineensis 

 belonging to different individuals. 



Gsertner has fallen into a still more important mistake 

 respecting the structure of the fruit of Elaeis, the foramina 

 of whose putamen, which are analogous to those of the 



1 Maba is, perJiaps, rather applied to the fruit than to the tree: Emla 

 being, according to MeroUa, the name of the single nut, and Cachio that of the 

 entire cluster : for the Palm itself, he has no name. Vide Piccardo lielaz. 

 p. 122. 



^ Hist. SHrp. Amer. p. 281. 



