The Palms of British East India. 347 



attached by broad cartilaginous insertions above which they are 

 conduplicate, glaucescent, spinous pointed, the upper ones the lar- 

 gest, 7-8 inches long, \ inch broad, conduplicate near the base 

 above this almost flat (at least the old ones) : the lowermost are 

 degenerated into strongish channelled 3-gonal spines, the rest pre- 

 sent intermediate characters. 



Spadices of both sexes buried among the persistent bases of the 

 petioles, of the fruit only partly exserted, without spathes ; spikes 

 2-3 inches long, stout. Fruit suffulted by a green angular bracte, 

 sessile, alternate, of the size of a small olive, at first reddish, after- 

 wards black-purple : apex distinctly cuspidate, base surrounded by 

 an angular tridentate calyx, by the imbricated broad petals, and by 

 6 small abortive stamina. Endocarp ? (tegument ?) thin, like silver 

 paper. Seed one, erect, greyish, deeply furrowed on one side and 

 with about 7 stria? on the remaining part of the surface. Along the 

 same furrow the horny albumen is deeply grooved, the groove filled 

 with spongy substance. Embryo at or a little below the centre of 

 the dorsal face. 



66, (2) P. Ouseleyana, (n. sp.) trunco brevissimo bulbiformi, 

 foliis fasciculatis linearibus conduplicatissimis angustissimis, 

 spadicibus feemineis longe exsertis spathis multoties longi- 

 oribus. 



Hab. — Chota Nagpore, Col. Ouseley. Assam, Major 

 Jenkins. 



Descr.* — Bulbous stems ovate, imbricated conspicuously with 

 the hardened scale-like bases of the petioles, about a foot in length 

 and 6 inches in diameter. Rete of a few rigid fibres. Leaves 2\ -3 

 feet long. Pinnae entirely conduplicate, about a foot long, from 

 the conduplication 2-2J lines broad, subulate-acuminate ; lower- 

 most degenerated into short spines. Male spadices about a foot 

 long, the ends of the uppermost spikes rather longer than the 

 bivalved carinate spathe. Female spadices 2-2J feet long with a few 



* Specimens. A male and female specimen entire, but without flowers or per- 

 fect female spathes, communicated by Major Jenkins. 



