lEIAETlLLA. 227 



and alfchough .they are enclosed by several spathes, it is 

 only the inner one whioli completely covers them. The 

 fruits are somewhat oval, and, one-seeded. Iriarteas are 

 elegant pinnate Palms, but extremely diflBcult to cultivate ; 

 they should be potted in nearly all loam and sand, and 

 plunged in a tank of water, without which it is impos- 

 sible to keep them alive. Seeds are the chief means of 

 multiplication. 



I. gigantea. — An elegant plant, but at the same time 

 one of the most difficult Palms to cultivate. Stem slender ; 

 petioles sheathing ; leaves pinnate; and from two to six 

 or more feet in length ; pinnse six to eighteen inches in 

 length, wedge-shaped at base, expanding to a broad erose 

 apex ; apical pinnse much larger than the others ; colour a 

 rich dark green on both sides. Whole plant destitute of 

 spines. Native of Tropical America. 



I. rdbustus. — A very handsome plant, quite destitute of 

 spines. Petioles round, sheathing at the base ; leaves 

 pinnate ; pinnae about two inches broad, sessile, erose at 

 the apex, and fall dark on both sides ; the apical pinnae 

 much larger, being from six to twelve inches in length, 

 and from six to eight inches in breadth. It is a very 

 elegant and distinct plant, known iu some collections by 

 ■the name of Catoblastus robustus. Native of New Grenada. 



Ieiaetella. 



As the name implies, these plants may be regarded as 

 small Iriarteas ; indeed, some trifling differences in the 

 flowers furnish their only distinction, and it is question- 

 able if. it is really a good genus. The stems are more 

 slender, and do not attain to the dimensions of the last- 

 named plants, but soil and treatment should be exactly 

 similar. 

 q2- 



