102 The Palms of British East India. 



Descr. — A stemless Palm growing in thick tufts, which are sur- 

 rounded by the debris of the old leaves. Leaves numerous, the 

 outer ones spreading, fifteen- twenty feet in length. Petiole through- 

 out the lower 7-10 feet, roundish, armed with brown, ascending, 

 flat spines, between the pinnae unarmed, triangular. Lamina in 

 outline oblong-linear : pinna two or two and a half feet long, narrow, 

 scarcely an inch wide, subulate acuminate, margins when dry much 

 involute, the central vein prominent above, and furnished with dis- 

 tant setae ; the old ones generally irregularly split at the point. 



Inflorescence terminal, paniculate. Panicles four- six feet long, in the 

 lower part furnished with a few small leaves, the sheaths of which 

 are much armed, gradually passing into the spathes, which are simi- 

 larly armed and very acuminate, indeed often flagelliferous. 



Branches of the panicle flexuose, much imbricated with coriaceous, 

 amplexicaul, brown bractes or spathes, slightly armed along the dor- 

 sal carina, or (as the uppermost) unarmed. The lower branches two- 

 three flowered, the upper one-flowered. 



Flowers dioicous, terminal, subsessile, very large, surrounded at 

 the base by similar but smaller highly imbricate bractes. 



Male Calyx sub- cylindrical, altogether concealed by the bractes, 

 membranaceo-chartaceous, trifid, teeth narrow, acute, with broad 

 sinuses, venation the same as that of the innermost bracteae. Corolla 

 3-petalled, exceedingly long, (about one and a half inch in length) ; 

 petals oblong-linear, somewhat constricted opposite the throat of 

 the calyx, indurated, striated, obliquely ascending, point oblique end- 

 ing in a very sharp thorny acumen. Stamina indefinite ; filaments 

 short ; anthers long, linear, adnate, of a lilac colour. No rudi- 

 ment of a female observed. 



Female flowers rather longer than the male, otherwise similar. 

 The petals opposite the mouth or opening of the calyx bear a 

 tuft or pennicillus of abortive stamens, which runs down the petal 

 in the shape of a keel. 



Ovarium oblong, covered densely with scales, of about the same 

 length as the calyx, sub-trigonal at the apex, 3-celled. Ovula 

 solitary, oblong, erect, anatropous. Styles three, oblong, flattish, 

 sub-connivent, stigmatose on their inner faces. Fruit densely 

 scaly, generally rough from the recurved points of the scales, dark 



