THE PALM FAMILY. 



327 



Ptychosperma. — This family contains several 

 handsome, unarmed, pinnate -leaved species, which 

 are of great value for general decorative purposes, 

 and will withstand a somewhat low temperature 

 with impunity, provided of course that reasonahle 

 care he taken in their culture. Many more species 

 of this genus may he fairly expected from New 

 Guinea as the region 



1. Hookerii— a magnificent 

 species ; stem slender, un- 

 aniied, retaining the bases 

 of the old petioles for some 

 time ; these are enveloped 

 in a mass of soft curling 

 fibres ; leaves immense, 

 forty to fifty feet long, 

 beautifully arched; leaf- 

 lets narrow, closely set and 

 deep green. It has the 



thoroughly 



gets more 

 explored. 



P. Alexandree, now Archon- 

 tophoenix Alexandres — 

 stem stout, erect, ringed 

 with the scars of the 

 fallen leaves, and form- 

 ing a large mass of roots 

 round the base ; leaves 

 long, arching, and pin- 

 nate ; leaflets pendent, 

 when young reddish-pink, 

 changing with age to deep 

 green. Korth Australia. 



P. Cunninghamii — more fa- 

 railiar^under the name of 

 Seaforthia elegans, but 

 properly Archoutophoe- 

 nix G. ; ^stem is stout and 

 smooth; leaves long and 

 plume-like; leaflets long, 

 pendent, and brightgreen ; 

 petioles clothed with scaly 

 topientum when young. 

 Northern Australia. 



P. rupicola — a beautiful 

 dwarf - growing plant ; 

 stem rather stoat, smooth, 

 ringed with the scars of 

 fallen petioles ; leaves 

 three to six feet long, 

 a bright crimson when 

 young, which gradually 

 gives way to deep green. 

 Ceylon. Now called Loxo- 

 coccTis rupicola. 



Baphia. — These 

 plants are extremely 

 handsome, having large 

 spreading, pinnate, 

 plume-like leaves, They 

 resemble the members of 

 the genus Sagus, hut, un- 

 like them, their flower- 

 spikes are not terminal. 

 "Kiese flower-spikes, how - 

 ever, are something re- 

 markable. They are 

 much branched, pendu- 

 dulous, and upwards of 



twelve feet in length, bearing an enormous quantity 

 of fruits; the whole spike, when laden with ripe 

 seeds, frequently weighing two hundred pounds. The 

 fruits in form and size resemble a large eg^, covered 

 with hard and shining imbricating scales, varying in 

 colour from pale brown to deep chestnut. The 

 species are superb as garden ornaments, though 

 rarje, as they require a tank of water to grow them 

 veil. 



appearance of a gigan- 

 tic plume. The natives 

 call this plant "XJkot," 

 and obtain from it large 

 quantities of a pleasant 

 wine. Cameroons and 

 Old Calabar, West Afiica. 



E. longiflora — stem some- 

 what stout, unarm,ed, but 

 rough and "bristly with 

 the persistent bases of 

 the old petioles ; it pro- 

 duces very long flower- 

 spikes,and gigantic plume- 

 like pinnate leaves; the 

 leEiflets fla,t, and a rich 

 green. Island of Corisco, 

 West Africa. 



E, Kuffia---this species ha^ 

 the same peculiarity (be- 

 fore mentioned) as the 

 ' ' Lodoicea " of growing 

 in a large bowl or socket. 

 It has stout smooth stems, . 

 the giant plume-like leaves 

 often fifty feet long, with 

 leaflets closely set, flat, 

 and more than a foot in 

 length. Mauritius and 



Archontophctinix Cunwingbamiana, 



R. tcBdigefa— the "Jupati 

 Palm," as it is called, 

 by the Indians . of the 

 Amazons — is a bold spe- 

 cies, with ringed stems, 

 bearing gigantic plume- 

 like leaves, thirty to fifty 

 feet long. Spruce says, 

 "This is the only scaly- 

 fruited Palm of America 

 with piiinate leave?, all 

 the other scaly-f ruitc d 

 kinds having fan-shaped 

 leaves,whilsC all the scaly- 

 fruited Palms of Asia and 

 Africa are pinnate." Banks 

 of the Amazon and its* 

 tributaries. 



Rhapis. — Small' 

 growing Fan Pabns, 

 nearly related to C/m- 

 mcerops. Their small size 

 and elegant appearance- 

 render them very useful 

 for decorative purposes. 

 The walking-sticks called 

 " Grround Kattans" ar& 

 the produce of this genus. 



E. flabelliformis — stem, 

 slender, the petioles very 

 thin, enclosed, at the base: 

 in a network of black 

 fibres ; leaves flabellate. 

 The plants attain their 

 true cliaracter when only 



a few inches high, and their leaves remain on almost to 



the base of the stem when even six or seven feet high. 



China and Japan. ' , , 



1^ . flabelliformis variegata— this is A somewhat slow-growmg 



form ; the flabellate leaves are alternately streaked with 



yellow, green, and white. Japan. 

 R. humilis— in general habit this does not differ from tbe 



preceding; the leaves, however, are much handsomer, 



more fan-shaped, and the segments pendulous ; intense 



deep green. 



Salaal. — A bold-growing family of Palms with 

 gigantic fan-leaves, and in some instances very stout 



