468 The Palms of British East India. 



Male-flowers disposed in rather loose spires, immersed in niches, which 

 are at first nearly closed, afterwards opening vertically. In each niche 

 wo, three, or even four flowers, occasionally a female in those towards 

 he base of the spikes, the upper ones opening first. An ovate-triangu- 

 lar bracte under the lowermost flower; a small bracteole bearded on the 

 upper margin on the outer side of the upper ones. Calyx about a line 

 long, sepals glumaceous, oblong, concave, rather obtuse. Petals nearly 

 twice the length of the calyx, purplish, ovate, acutish, valvate. Stamina 

 6, included ; filaments subulate ; anthers ovate, subcordate. Rudiment of 

 the Pistillum subtrigonal, nearly as long as the stamina. 



Female flowers. Perianth subglumaceous, imbricate, striato-veiny. 

 Filaments without anthers. Ovarium ovate, three-celled. Style almost 

 wanting. Stigmata three, triangular. 



Berry ovato-globose, rather compressed, 6-7 lines long, surrounded at 

 the base by the perianth, bearing the stigmata near the base. Seed 

 sub-globose, brown, with a rather deep complete furrow, and several 

 other shorter ones. Testa obscurely chesnut-coloured, with veins arising 

 from the groove near the embryo, and converging towards the base on 

 the opposite face. Albumen solid, horny. Embryo basilar, conical, nearly 

 a line long. 



Martius describes the petals of the male flowers as equal 

 in length to the sepals, and the perianthium of the female as 

 similar to that of the male. This last, which attributes a val- 

 vate corolla to the female flower, I do not find to be cor- 

 rect, and in the plate quoted, the petals of the male are 

 represented as I have described them. 



This Palm was re-introduced during my superintendence 

 of the Honorable Company's Botanic Garden, from Travan- 

 core, through Dr. Wight and Mr. Thomas, Collector of 

 Tinnevelly. It appears like most of the other numerous cases 

 to have been lost since Dr. Roxburgh left the Gardens. 



SLACKIA. 



Char. Gen. — Spathce 2, incompletae, vaginantes. 

 Flares monoici in eodem spadice, e foveis tandem emer- 

 gentes ; faeminei iuferiores, solitarii vel maaculo adjecto, 

 masculi superiores, binati. Stamina 6, filamentis basi 



