SABAL. 299 



are becoming a favourite class of plants. SahaU sometimes 

 make a few suckers, wLioh should be taken off when about 

 a foot in length, when, if they have no roots, they must be 

 carefully nursed until they are rooted; but the ordinary 

 and best mode of increasing them is by seeds. 



8- Adansoni. — An extremely slow-growing species, one 

 which we have never seen with an erect stem ; it, however, 

 forms a very ornamental plant in the greenhouse, and is 

 also very useful for grouping in the sub-tropical garden. 

 Petioles two to three feet in length, supporting deeply cleft 

 flabelliform leaves, which are dark green above, silvery 

 grey beneath. The leaves of this plant are used for plait- 

 ing into hats. Native of the Southern United States. 



8. Blackburniana. — This species, when mature, produces 

 leaves of immense size ; they are flabellate, pl9,ited, and 

 divided at the margins into narrow pendent segments of 

 a blue green colour, saving the centre of the leaf close to 

 the ligule, or point of attachment to the petiole, and there 

 occurs a large triangular blotch or mark of yellowish 

 white, extending upwards. The petioles are sheathing, 

 perfectly smooth, and enclosed in a mass of rough fibrous 

 matter at the base. It is admirably suited for a window 

 plant when small, and for the sub-tropical garden in sum- 

 mer. Native of the West Indies. 



8. vmbraculifera. — The plant we have in our gardens 

 under this name, so far as we have been able to discover, 

 differs from 8. Blacklurniana only in colour ; in the last- 

 named species the leaves are very glaucous, whilst in 8. 

 wnibraculifera they are dark green. It is of robust con- 

 stitution, and may be used wherever a plant of this cha- 

 racter is required for decoration. Native of the West 

 Indies. 



