PALMS AND CYCADS. 



611 



are suitable for houses of ordinary size. Some of the best 

 are G. acaulis, G. baculifera, G. Carderi, G. gracilis, G. 

 Pohliana, G. Princeps, G. Schottiana, and G. Seemanni. 



Howea. — The two Kentias, Fosteriana snadBelmorcana, 

 natives of Lord Howe's Island, are known botanically as 

 Howeas. They are by far the most popular of all Palms, 

 owing to their elegance from babyhood onwards, and their 

 sturdiness, which enables them to undergo more rough 

 treatment than any others, not even excepting the 

 favourite " Latania ". When full-grown they are 40 or 

 f>0 feet high, with rich-green pinnate leaves 8 to 10 feet 

 long. Millions of the seeds are imported annually, and 

 sold to nurserymen and market growers. They will thrive 

 in a house where the winter temperature does not fall 

 below 50°; they are, however, at their best under tropical 

 conditions. 



Hyophorbe. — Two species are grown in gardens as 

 Arecas. They have thick, ringed stems and sturdy, pin- 

 nate leaves 8 feet long. Small plants have trigonous leaf- 

 sheaths and gracefully arched leaves of a rich -green colour, 

 with yellowish nerves. They require stove treatment. 

 H. amaricaulis, H. Verschaffeltii. 



Kentia (see under Hoicea).- — The only plants to be 

 dealt with here are K. elegantissima and K. Sanderiana, 

 both elegant, slender, pinnate-leaved tropical Palms from 



Fig. 738.— Kentia Sanderiana. 



New Guinea. The latter (fig. 738) when young is remark- 

 ably elegant on account of the long, tapering, narrow 

 pinnse closely crowded together. It is one of the prettiest 

 of Palms in a small state. 



Latania (see under Livistona). — Three handsome tropi- 

 cal Palms from Mauritius constitute this genus ; they 

 have tall, unarmed stems, large, somewhat leathery, pal- 

 mate leaves, devoid of spines. When young they are 

 attractive on account of their rich glossy-green leaves, 

 margined and lined with red or yellow. They are useful 

 only for the ornamentation of tropical houses. L. Com- 

 mersoni (rubra), L. Loddigesii (glaucophylla), L. Verschaf- 

 feltii (aurea). 



Licuala. — Several of the thirty species known are 

 grown in gardens, the most noteworthy being L. grandis, 

 the "Pound-leaved Palm", which has a slender stem and 

 broad, rounded, plaited, glossy-green leaves. L. Jean- 

 nencyi is a new introduction with fan-shaped leaves, the 

 blade being divided into numerous segments which are 

 notched at the apex. Other species in gardens are L. 

 tlegans and L. horrida, both of which are dwarf and of 



tufted habit. All the species are eastern and distinctly 

 tropical. 



Linospadix. — Two handsome Palms of recent dis- 

 covery are L. Micholitzii and L. Petrickioma (fig. 73-9) 

 from New Guinea. They appear to be dwarf in habit, 

 with bold, pinnate leaves elegantly arched and of a rich 

 deep-green ; the rachis is clothed with a net-work of 

 brown fibre. The young leaves are of a rich brown-purple 

 colour. Both grow well under tropical treatment. 



Livistona. — To this genus belong the Latanias and 

 Coryphas of gardens. There are fourteen species, all 

 natives of the Old World tropics, where they form large 

 trees, with erect, ringed trunks and large crowns of pal- 

 mate leaves, the stalks margined with spines. L. chinensis 

 (Latania borbonica) is the common Pan-Palm so largely 

 used in decorations of all kinds. It is one of the best- 

 natured plants, thriving in a greenhouse or stove and 

 bearing exposure wonderfully well. Seedlings should be 

 grown on quickly in heat, as the plants do not develop 

 into character until three or four years old. The same 

 may be said of L. australis (Corypha), which has smaller, 

 more rigid leaves and is perhaps slightly hardier. Other 

 good garden Palms are L. data, L. Hoogendorpni, L. Jen 

 kinsiana, and L. rotundifolia. 



Martinezia. — A South American genus, one species of 

 which, M. caryotafolia, is worth a place among garden 

 Palms on account of the distinctness, elegance, and bright- 

 green character of its leaves. Fully developed it has a 

 slender trunk 20 to 30 feet high, clothed with rings of 

 blackish spines and bearing a crown of pinnate leaves 

 5 feet long, the pinnae exceptionally broad, lobed, and 

 truncate, as in Caryota. It requires stove treatment. 



Penanga. — Slender Palms, some of them dwarf and 

 tufted. They are natives of tropical regions, and require 

 stove treatment. Several are grown for their mottled 

 leaves, but they are not suited for any except choice col- 

 lections. P. decora (leaves reddish), P. disticha, P. patxda, 

 P. Sanderiana (leaves green, mottled red), P. Yeitchii 

 (leaves mottled). 



Phoenix. — Comprises about a dozen species of Old 

 World Palms, varying in height from a few feet to large 

 trees. They are all ornamental in a young state, and as 

 they stand rough treatment well, several are grown in 

 large quantities for furnishing purposes. In the south of 

 France they are grown in trenches outside and kept very 

 moist, treatment which causes them to grow quickly into 

 well-furnished bushes; they are then lifted and planted in 

 small tubs, to be used in northern towns. They are very 

 handsome when of large size. Some of them will thrive 

 in a cold conservatory. P. canariensis (G), P. dactylifcra, 

 the Date-Palm (G), P. Jiumilis (G), P. reclinata \G), P. 

 Roebelini, P. rupicola, P. spinosa, P. sylvcstris. 



Pritchardia.— Large trees from the Pacific Islands, 

 remarkable for their pale-green palmate leaves, which on 

 fully-developed specimens are of enormous size. Young 

 plants are attractive in their bold character, but they are 

 easily injured owing to their being somewhat succulent. 

 They require tropical treatment. There are some noble 

 specimens in the great Palm stove at Kew. P. aurea, 

 P. macrocarpa, P. pacijica, P. Thurstoni. (P. grandis of 

 gardens is a Licuala.) 



Ptychoraphis. — Three species of this elegant Malayan 

 genus have recently found favour in English gardens be- 

 cause of their graceful habit and pinnate leaves, in which 

 respect they rival Cocos WeddeUiana and Gconoma gracilis. 

 They require tropical conditions, but they grow quickly 

 from seeds into elegant little plants which may be used 

 for the decoration of dinner-tables, &c, as they bear such 



