356 



MACAIBA. 



[append. 



did not succeed, for at the close of eight days I found 

 that both the leaves and the fibre had rotted. Other 

 species of palms grow in great numbers, forming groves 

 of many leagues, such as the Camdiiba, the palmeira, 

 properly so called, the uricuri, and the catole, &c. but 

 the tucum and another kind called Maiarh grow in the 

 shade of the woods, where they are much scattered, 

 each tree being at some distance from the other ; the 

 tiiciim has few leaves; it is a thin palm-tree of 5 to (* 

 inches in diameter and of 12 to 16 feet in length. 



Macaiba or Macauba, Cocos ventricosa: — Atrud. 

 Cent. Plant. Pern. The description is taken from my 

 centuria of the genera and species of new plants of 

 Pernambuco. 



Class, Monoecia. Order, Hexandria. 

 Gen. Char. Spathe simple; spadix ramose. 

 Male Flower; calyx, a trifid perianth. Corolla, 

 tripetalous; six stamina; germen barren. Female 

 .Flower ; calyx, trifid ; stigmata three ; fruit a drupe. 



Spec. Char. Stem aculeate, ventricose ; leaves pinnate ; 

 small leaves ensiform replicate. 



Nat, Char. Stem 30 feet long, ventricose, armed witli 

 sharp thorns circularly arranged. 



Flowers. Spathe monophyllus, lanceolate, concave, 

 large. Spadix divided into many spikes. The female 

 flowers below, the male flowers above; close to which 

 the bases are fixed in cups hollowed in the common 

 peduncle. Calyx, a perianth of three linear piece?, 

 very small, alternate with the petals of the corolla. 

 Corolla, tripetalous, oblong, concave, pointed, yel- 

 lowish. Stamina consist of six filiform filaments of 

 the length of the corolla and of incumbent anthers, 



