238 THE BOTANY OF CHRISTMAS ISLAND. 



Spathes 4 or 5 lanceolate acuminate coriaceous pale 

 brown ribbed and keeled towards the tip 6-8 inches long 

 1^ inch across, spadices numerous about 2 feet long with 

 numerous spikes 18-24 inches long male flowers, calyx- 

 lobes 3 rounded imbricate. Petals % inch long spathu- 

 late woody yellow. 



Stamens shorter about 40, filaments connate at the 

 base, free about half their length, slender filiform, 

 anthers linear oblong. 



Fruit oblong elliptic -J inch long pink, 3 seeded. 

 Common all over the island but chiefly on the upper 

 terraces. When the tree has fruited all the leaves fall off 

 and the dead or dying stem with the inflorescences 

 persisting has a most curious appearance. The spadices 

 are in threes 2 males and 1 female. They are only 

 produced about half way down from the top not down 

 to the base as in the other species of the genus. The 

 flower has a musky scent. 



Endemic, and not closely resembling any other species. 

 The fruit is much more like that of a Didymosperma 

 being small elliptic and pink with 3 seeds elongate 

 flattened acute at both ends, pale brown. It is very 

 difficult to get ripe seed of this plant, as soon as the 

 fruit is ripe hundreds of the large robber crabs swarm 

 round the tree and devour the seeds, crushing them 

 in their jaws. They do not eat the pulp of the fruit. 

 Hardly one seed is left and only those survive which 

 have fallen into cracks, or got somehow covered up 

 and concealed from the crabs. The young shoot of the 

 palm is excellent either raw or cooked, and formerly 

 I procured some excellent flour made from the stem. 



Pandane^e. 



Pandanus nativitatis, n. sp. 



A bushy pandan with branched stems, about 8-14 feet 

 tall. Reaves six feet or more long 2 inches wide linear 



Jour. Straits Branch 



