837 



Cfje Etcksuvv flf 23atan». 



[palm 



P. aculeatus, commonly called Christ's 

 Thorn, is a native of Southern Europe and 

 Western Asia, and is a shrub, as also is 

 P. virgatus a native of Nepal ; while P. Au- 

 bletii, a Chinese species, is a moderate-sized 

 tree. They have alternate simple three- 

 nerved leaves, with stipules which ulti- 

 mately become converted into prickles ; 

 and their flowers have a spreading five-cleft 

 calyx, five petals, as many stamens, and a 

 three-celled ovary half immersed in the 

 flat disk, and bearing three oblong stigmas. 

 The genus, however, is best distinguished 

 by its dry hemispherical fruit, which is 

 three-celled at the base and expanded at 

 the top into a hroad thin rim : the entire 

 fruit resembling a head with a broad-brim- 

 med hat on, giving rise to the French name, 

 Porte-chapeau, given to P. aculeatus. 



Seme difference of opinion exists with 

 regard to the identification of the plant 

 which afforded the thorns used for plaiting 

 the crown placed upon Christ's head before 

 His crucifixion. Two common eastern 

 plants usually bear the name of Christ's 

 Thorn: one the Zizyphus Spina-Christi, 

 and the other the present plant. This is 

 a native of the countries bordering on the 

 3Iediterranean and of "Western Asia to as 

 far east as the Punjab. It has flexible 

 branches, capable of being easily plaited ; 

 and each leaf has two stout sharp spines 

 at its base, one of which is straight and 

 erect, and the other curved and bent down- 

 wards so as to form a hook. It is commonly 

 used for hedges, and its seeds are consider- 

 ed medicinal by Turkish doctors, and are 

 also used as a dye. [A. S.] 



PALM. The popular name for the plants 

 belonging to the Palmace^s: ; also popular- 

 ly applied to Salix Caprea when in flower. 

 — , ASSAI. Euterpe ednlis. — , BETEL-NUT. 

 Areca Catechu. — , BOURBON. Latdnia. 

 — , BROOM. Attalea fanifera ; also Thrinax 

 argentea. — , BUSSU. Manicaria saecifera. 

 — , CABBAGE. Oreodoxa or Areca oleracea. 

 — , CAR AX A. Mauritia Carana. — , CAR- 

 NAUBA. Coperuicia cerifera. —.CATE- 

 CHU. Areca Catechu. — , COCOA-NUT. 

 Cocos nuci/era. — , COHUNE. Attalea Co- 

 hvne. — , COQUITO. Jv.bcea spectabilis. — , 

 DATE. Phcenix dactyh/era. — , DELEB. 

 Bor assies (l)cethiopum. — , DOOM, or DOUM. 

 Hyphame thebaica. — DRAGON'S-BLOOD. 

 C" u> nui s Draco. — , FAN. Corypha. — , — , 

 EUROPEAN. Chamcerops humilis. — , -, 

 INDIAN. Chamcerops excelsa. — , — .JA- 

 MAICA. Sabal Blackbumiana. — , GE- 

 BANG. Corypha Gebanga. — , GOMUTI, 

 or GOMUTO. Saguerus -sacchari/er. — , 

 HEMP. Chamcerops excelsa. — , IVORY". 

 Phytelephas macrocarpa. — , ITA. Mauritia 

 flexHosa. — , IU. Astrocaryum acaule. — , 

 .1ARA. Leopoldinia pulchra. — , JUPATI. 

 Raphia tcedigera. — , MACAW. Acrocomia 

 sclerocarpa. — .MIRITI. Mauritia flexuosa. 

 — , MURUMURU. Astrocaryum Murumuru. 

 — ,NIBUNG, orNIBONG. Oucosperma fila- 

 mentosa. — , OIL. Ekeis guineensis. — , 

 PALMETTO. Sabal or Chamcerops Palmetto. 

 — , PALMYRA. Borassus flabelliformis. — , 

 PASHIUBA, or PAXIUBA. Iriartea exor- 



rlnza. — .PATAWA. CEnocarpus Batava. 

 — , PEACH. Guilielma speciosa. — , PIAS- 

 SABA. Attalea funifera ; also Leopoldinia 

 Piassaba — ,PINANG. Areca Catechu. — , 

 RATTAN. Calamus Rotang, rudentum, and 

 other species. — , SAGO. Sagus Rumphii 

 and 8. lecvis. — , TALIERA. Corypha Ta- 

 liera. — , TALIPOT. Corypha umbraculi- 

 fera. — , THATCH. Sabal Blackbumiana. 

 — , TUCCMA. Astrocaryum Tucuma. — , 

 WAX. Ceroxylon or Iriartea andicola. — , 

 — , of Brazil. Copernicia cerifera. — , 

 WINE. Cocos butyracea. -, ZANORA. 

 Iriartea exorrhiza. 



PALM (adj. PALMARIS). Three inches, 

 or the breadth of the four fingers of the 

 hand. 



PALMACE.E. (Palmce, Palms.) A na- 

 tural order of petaloid monocotyledonous 

 plants belonging to Lindley's palmal alli- 

 ance of hypogynousEndogens. The flowers 

 are bisexual unisexual or polygamous, on 

 a terminal often-branched spadix, enclosed 

 in a one or many-valved spathe. Perianth 

 six-parted, the three inner segments often 

 larger, and sometimes deeply connate ; sta- 

 mens inserted into the base of the perianth; 

 ovary free, usually composed of three car- 

 pels, more or less completely united. Fruit 

 drupaceous or nut-like, or baccate, often 

 with a fibrous covering ; seed with cartila- 

 ginous or horny albumen ; embryo small. 

 They are arborescent plants, with simple 

 rarely branched trunks, marked with the 

 scars of the leaves, which are terminal, 

 pinnate or fan-shaped, with plicate verna- 

 tion and parallel simple veins, and often 

 with spiny petioles. Natives of tropical 

 regions chiely, they impart to them much 

 oE their botanical physiognomy. Most of 

 them have unbranched stems, attaining 

 sometimes a height of 190 feet, and send- 

 ing out clusters of large leaves, from the 

 axil of which bunches of flowers proceed. 

 Although the flowers are small, still the 

 inflorescence, taken collectively, has often 

 a most imposing aspect. Linnaus called 

 them the Princes of the Vegetable King- 

 dom. Martius estimates the species at 

 nearly 600, of which about one-sixth have 

 fan-shaped leaves. They have been divided 

 by him into various tribes, depending 

 chiefly on the nature of the ovary ovules 

 and fruit ; and sections are formed accord- 

 ing as the leaves are pinnate or flabelli- 

 form, and the stems are spiny or not. 



The properties of the plants of this order 

 are very various. In the countries in which 

 they grow they are used for supplying food 

 and for forming habitations. The fruit of 

 some. is eatable. Many supply oil, wax, 

 starchy matter, and sugar, which latter is 

 fermented so as to form an intoxicating 

 beverage. Their fibres are employed for 

 ropes, and the reticulum surrounding their 

 leaves is sometimes manufactured into 

 brushes. 



The Palm of the Bible seems to be Phce- 

 nix dactylifera, the drupaceous fruit of 

 which suppliesfood to many of the inhabit- 

 ants of Arabia and Africa. Cocos nuci/era, 

 the cocoa-nut palm, is one of the most 



