BACTEIS. Ill 



and should be grown in every collection. Although this 

 and many other Palms ultimately attain an immense height, 

 yet in a young state they are exceedingly handsome. 

 Leaves erect, ultimately spreading, pinnate, and Jfiirnished 

 •with from three to four dozen dark green pinnee, some 

 •eighteen inches in length ; petioles rounded below, and 

 dark brown, flat upon the upper side, and green ; whole 

 plant unarmed. Native of Central America. 



A. funifera. — A handsome species, which yields a fibre 

 ■called " Piassaba," used by the Brazilians for ro^es, and 

 by us in England for street brooms. The seeds ofs this 

 plant are called " Coquilla Nuts," and are used for various 

 purposes, such as handles for doors, umbrellas, &e. The 

 vivid deep green of the leaves renders this a very orna- 

 mental plant. Native of Brazil. 



A, nuoifera. — Stem slender ; leaves pinnate, from three 

 to six feet in length ; pinn» twelve to eighteen inches 

 long, and about one inch in breadth, the terminal lobe 

 broad and bifid, rich dark green. It forms a beautiful 

 ornament in either stove, greenhouse, or sub-tropical gar- 

 'den during summer. Native of New Grenada. 



Bacteis. 

 Slender-growing prickly Palms, which are found iu 

 g-ecent forests in South America. They are very nume- 

 rous both iu species and specimens, and enter largely 

 into the plants that form the undergrowth in those 

 forests. The species of Bactris have slender stems, usually 

 varying from two to six or ten feet high, though some 

 few species attain a height of fifteen feet ; they are all 

 clothed with somewhat formidable spines. The flower 

 .spike is enclosed in a double sheath or spathe, and these 

 also are densely set with sharp black spines ; the flowers 



