268 



CASSELL'S POPULAR GAEDENINO. 



nearly 'black. Indian Ar- 

 chipelago. 



O. macranthus — a magnifi- 

 cent species, mowing some 

 two nnndred feet long; 

 stems thick and strong ; 

 it is known by the name 

 of "Greem" by the na- 

 tives. Leaves from ten to 

 fifteen feet long ; leaflets 

 one to two feet in length, 

 and deep green. Sikkim. 



•C. melanochsetes— is a very 

 beautiful slender plant j 

 the spines on the petioles 

 are much swollen at the 

 base, and pale green with 

 brown points ; leaflets 

 long and pendent. Indian 

 Archipelago. 



'C. montanus— this is the 

 mostvaluableof the "Rat- 

 tans" in Northern India, 

 where it is known by the 

 name of "Hue," and is be- 

 coming scarce on account 

 of the great demand for 

 its stems. It is found in 

 the dense forests of Sikkim 

 at 4,000 to 6,000 feet eleva- 

 tion. 



'C.palembanicus — very hand- 

 some as a young plant, 

 with large pinnate leaves. 

 Indian Archipelago. 



C. pltunosus— a very hand- 

 some species; the pinoate 

 leaves are very plume -like 



(hence its name) ; white 

 spines, with black points. 

 Indian Archipelago. 



C. Eotang— as a young plant 

 this species is very beauti- 

 ful, and is admirably 

 adapted for table decora- 

 tion. The stems climb, 

 and attain several hundred 

 feet in length ; leaflets 

 nearly a foot long, and 

 less than au inch broad. 

 Indian Archipelago. 



C. Royleanus — tMs is a 

 beautiful species for de- 

 corative purposes ; the 

 whole leaf and petiole are 

 dark green, clothed with 

 spines. North - western 

 Himalayas. 



C. schizopathus — This 

 species is called "Eong" 

 by the natives of Sikkim ; 

 it seldom exceeds ten feet 

 in height. Leaves about 

 twelve feet high, and the 

 pendent leaflets are from 

 one to two feet long. 

 Sikkim. 



C. viminalis — A small-grow- 

 ing handsome species, with 

 a very slender stem, bear- 

 ing pinnate leaves ; leaflets 

 narrow, some six or e^ht 

 inches in length ; petioles 

 armed with very long flat 

 white spines. Indian Ar- 

 chipelago. 



Caryota. — This genus is easily distinguished 

 ■from all other Palms by its twice-divided leaves 

 {bipinnate) ; the leaflets also have a broad end which 

 appears to have been roughly bitten off (prasmorse), 

 with a wedge-shaped or cuneate base. Some of these 

 plants attain a height of some fifty or sixty feet, 

 but even the tallest grow slowly, whilst some of 

 the smaller-growing kinds are extremely beautiful. 

 ■Caryotas produce a terminal flower-spike; the 

 flowers are borne on long catkin-like spikes, some 

 ■ten feet or more long, these spikes being in great 

 Punches. After the terminal spike appears, a large 

 bunch of flowers is produced from the axils of 

 •each leaf in succession, until the lowermost is 

 reached, by which time the plant is dead. The male 

 and female organs are produced in separate flowers, 

 ■although both sexes of flowers are borne upon the 

 same spike ; the fruits are of a purplish colour, and 

 usually one or two-seeded. 



Caryotas are most useful, their hardy constitution 

 ■enabling them to withstand a very low temperature. 



•C. Cumingii— this is one of 

 the most beautiful and 

 most dwarf species in the 

 family; its stem seldom 

 exceeds ten feet in height, 

 the leaves from five to 

 six feet long, and three 

 feet wide, twice divided; 

 leaflets coriaceous, wedge- 

 shaped at the base, prse- 

 morse at the apex, and 

 deep green on both sur- 

 faces. Phihppine Isles. 



C. furfuracea — a larger- 

 growing plant than the 

 preceding, attaining a 

 height of about forty feet, 

 leaves about nine feet 

 long ; the petioles are 

 clothed with a mealy to- 

 mentum, of arusty-brown. 

 Java and Sumatra. 



C. propinqua— a very band- 

 some species, about three 

 feet high, leaves bipin- 

 nate, six to ten feet long ; 



the wedge - shaped prse- 

 morse leaflets are finely 

 toothed on the margins, 

 and deep green on both 

 surfaces. Java. 



C. Eumphiana— a very dis- 

 tinct species, with a stout, 

 smooth stem ; the leaflets 

 are very broad, and more 

 flat than those of the 

 other kinds, in which they 

 are more or less oblique. 

 Indian Archipelago. 



C. sobolifera— stem about 

 twelve feet in height; 

 leaflets pale green. It 

 produces young , plants 

 from the base rather 

 freely. Malacca. 



C. urens is found growing 

 at Bungbee, near Darjee- 

 ling, at a height of 4,400 

 feet above the sea, where 

 the temperature in Jan- 

 uary is often as low as 

 40^^. It is the largest spe- 



cies in the genus, attain- 

 iDg a height of from fifty 

 to sixty feet. Called 

 "Simong Eoong" by the 

 natives in Sikkim, who ex- 

 tract a somewhat coarse 

 sago starch from the 

 trunk. From the flower- 

 spike a large quantity of 

 Palm wine or toddy is ob- 

 tained, which, when boiled 

 down, yields "jaggery," 

 and also sugar candy. The 

 fibre from the leaves, 

 called '* kitool," is largely 

 used for making ropes, 

 baskets, brushes, brooms, 

 and various other articles. 

 Leaves, when mature, 

 about twelve feet long, 

 lea^ets six. to nine inches 

 long ; deep green on both 

 sides. Generally distri- 

 buted throughout India 

 and the Indian Islands. 



Ceroxylon. — A small family closely allied to 

 Iriartea^ deriving their name from keros, " wax," in 

 allusion to the produce from their stems, which has 

 led to their being called " Wax-Palms." The species 

 are tall and handsome, suitable for any decorative 

 purpose. Unlike the majority of Palms, which are 

 found luxuriating in the heat of the tropics, this 

 plant forms dense forests in the high mountains 

 which separate the river Magdalena from the Cauca 

 in New Grenada, and it extends nearly up to the 

 snow-hne. 



C. andieoh.— A majestic species, the stem of which 

 attains a height of nearly a hundred feet, but it 

 must take many years to reach this size ; it is cylin- 

 drical, and measures about a foot in diameter at the 

 base. Leaves pinnate, erect, and arching, borne on 

 the summit of the stems like a splendid crown of 

 gigantic plumes, some twelve feet long; it usually 

 hears from thirty to fifty pairs of leaflets. In the 

 young state its leaves are very long and simple. 

 Resinous and inflammable wax is obtained by 

 scraping the stems, and is used as an ingredient in 

 candle-making, but very little comes to this country. 

 New Grenada. 



ChamsBdorea.— These are elegant plants, with 

 slender stems, which seldom exceed fifteen or twenty 

 feet in height; many of them much smaller; ail 

 are admirably adapted for decoration at one year 

 old. For such purposes they have no equals, and 

 they are very largely used throughout Germany and 

 Russia. The genus is distinguished by its slender, 

 closely-ringed stems;' the leaves are pinnate, with a 

 broad bifid terminal leaflet; the male and female 

 organs are borne on long branching spikes, each on 

 separate plants, and the fruit contains a single hard 

 seed. The stems are largely imported for walking- 

 canes, and may he readily known by the close 



