328 The Palms of British East India, 



10-11 inches long, 8 lines broad ; the intermediate ones the narrowest, 

 unequally 3-4 lobed ; the others 3-lobed, the central lobe deeply 

 bipartite ; the central pinnae 4-5 lobed, (the inner lobes deeply 

 bipartite, the lateral ones entire.) Between the lobes threads are 

 often to be found. 



Spadices 12-18 inches long, nodding, covered below with greyish, 

 above with ferruginous pubescence, rather stouter towards the apex. 

 Spathes tubular with oblique mouths, covered with grey silvery 

 adpressed hairs or rather pale&e ; limbs more or less lanceolar, bi- 

 lobed, lobes ending in acuminate scarious points ; the second spathe 

 nearly 6 inches long. Spikes generally simple, rarely dichotomous, 

 adnate to the peduncle very high up, subulate, densely covered with 

 tawny pubescence ; the lowest 5 inches long. 



Flowers numerous, sessile, spreading in every direction, articula- 

 ted on short stalks, lowermost in pairs, upper ones solitary. Calyx 

 obconical, trifid to the middle, tawny pubescent, segments obtuse. 

 Corolla ^ longer than the calyx, similarly pubescent externally, 

 furrowed internally, tripartite to the middle, segments half lanceo- 

 late acute. Annulus of the stamens 6-toothed. Filaments (free) short, 

 setaceous from a broad base. Anthers oblong. Ovarium smooth, 

 sculptured at the apex, obovate-oblong, about the length of the tube 

 of the corolla, of three carpella, cohering by their apices : ovula soli- 

 tary, erect, anatropous. Style about equalling the stamina, filiform, 

 three-sulcate. Stigma obsoletely cup-shaped, obscurely 3-denti- 

 culate. 



Fruit about the size of a large pea, roundish-oblong, surrounded 

 at the base by the flattened- out limb of the perianth, and as it were 

 stalked by the tube of the same, dry. Seed pisiform, tinged with 

 reddish ; teguments very thin, adhering firmly to the albumen ; from 

 the hilum enters a deep process, so that it is horse-shoe shaped on 

 a longitudinal section. Albumen horny, equal. Embryo subcentral. 



Obs. — The stems of this plant afford the well known 

 walking sticks known by the name of " Penang Lawyers." 

 These are prepared by scraping with glass, and polishing. 

 Mr. Lewes informs me, "Each stem is well-scraped, by which 





