318 s The Palms of British East India, 



month of February from the apex of the tree, and centre of the lea- 

 ves, forming an immense, diffuse, ovate panicle, of about twenty or 

 more feet in height, so that the height of the whole tree, from the 

 ground to the top of the spadix is now about fifty feet. Primary 

 branches alternate, round, spreading nearly horizontally with their 

 apices ascending. Secondary ramifications alternate, bifarious, com- 

 pressed, drooping, recurved, soon dividing into numerous, variously 

 curved, smaller, subcylindric, branchlets covered with innumera- 

 ble, small white, odorous, subsessile flowers. Calyx ; perianth 

 inferior, minute, obscurely 3- toothed. Petals three, oblong, con- 

 cave, fleshy, smooth, expanding, many times larger than the perianth. 

 No nectary. Filaments six, nearly of the length of the petals, at 

 the base broad, and in some measure united. Anthers ovate. Germ 

 3-lobed, 3-celled with the embryo of a distinct seed in each, at- 

 tached to the bottom of its cell. Style shorter than the stamina. 

 Stigma simple. Berries from one to three conjoined, though one 

 is the most common, and then the rudiments of the other two are 

 present, they are singly quite round, about the size of a crab-apple, 

 when ripe, wrinkled, and of a dark olive, or greenish yellow co- 

 lour. The pulp is but in small proportion, and yellow when the 

 fruit is ripe. Seed solitary, round, attached to the base of the 

 berry, of a white colour, and horny substance, with a small vacuum 

 in the centre. Embryo lodged in the apex, which circumstance alone, 

 is sufficient to distinguish it from Gartner's Corypha umbraculifera. 

 The leaves of this tree are employed by the natives to write on 

 with their pointed steel bodkins, and also to tie the rafters of their 

 houses, for they are said to be strong and durable. I do not find that 

 the wood is applied to any useful purpose." (Roxb. o. c. I. c.J 



This species is so closely allied to C. umbraculifera, as to 

 be difficult to distinguish when out of flower. The Garden 

 specimens are distinguishable by the lamina of the leaf of 

 this species being conduplicate from the middle upwards, and 

 by the posticous segments overlapping, so that the whole 

 becomes peltate. 



The leaves are very like those of Borassus flabelliformis, 

 but much larger. The petioles are bi-auriculate and with- 



