458 The Palms of British East India. 



1-1 1 foot long, leathery, striate ; petioles (below the pinnae) 1 \-\ \ foot long, 

 channelled, otherwise triangular ; pinnce alternate, linear, 1^-2 feet long, 

 8-10 lines broad, very much acuminate, above 2-keeled, underneath with 

 1-keel and a vein on either side, and whitish glaucescent : upper pinnae 

 cuneate, deeply bipartite, segments bilobed, lobes generally bifid ; ter- 

 minal portion deeply bipartite, obliquely praemorse, segments with seve- 

 ral lobes, themselves obtusely bifid. 



Spathe oblong, 10 inches long, 2* broad, leathery-papery, with a 

 broad obtuse cuspis, opening along the upper face. Spadix about 6 

 inches long; undivided part of the peduncle 1$ inch, compressed, with 

 one oblong-linear bracte a little above the middle : branches 3-5, crowded 

 with flowers, compressed, flexuose. 



Male-flowers large, pressed, together, quite concealing the female, flat. 

 Sepals three, membranaceous, lanceolate, acuminate. Petals much larger, 

 unequal, one as large as both others, cordate, the others § cordate, all 

 acute or acuminate, and of a hard texture. Stamina inserted on a con- 

 vex torus, about 40 ; filaments very short ; anthers linear, about twice 

 as short as the petals. 



Female flowers less advanced, occasionally two together, occupying 

 the bends of the flat faces of the spikes, distichous : under each a 

 broad, membranous, much acuminated bracte. Perianth urceolate. Sepals 

 cordate, shortly cuspidate. Petals smaller and shorter with minutely 

 fimbriated margins. No rudiments of stamina. Ovarium roundish. Style 

 very thort. Stigma large, discoid, concave. 



Spadix of the fruit of a bright sanguineous colour ; branches 4-5, 

 about a span long, compressed, flexuose. Fruit distichous ; occupying 

 the flat faces of the branches, ovate, at first sanguineous, afterwards 

 blackish-purple, mammillate at the apex, surrounded at the base by 

 the perianth ; outer substance fleshy cellular, middle fibrous, inner 

 hardened crustaceous. Seed one, erect ; tegument very thin, mem- 

 brano-cellular, veiny, brown, shining, generally adhering to the fruit. 

 Albumen horny, deeply ruminate. Enbryo conical, basilar, obliquely 

 situated. 



This species is at once distinguishable by the colour of 

 the spadices and fruit : its nearest affinities are with A. dis- 

 ticha and Dicksoni. It varies in the degree of compression 

 of the spikes, and also somewhat in size. 



77. (8) A. Dicksoni, arbuscula, frondibus pinnatis, pinnis 

 Hnearibus 1-2-pedalibus apice prsemorsis dentatis, spadicis 



