24 



BULLETIN 223, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



form ranks which diverge 30° or 40° to 55° or 60°, while the introrse 



and retrorse pinnae He within 10° of the planes or diverge a little 



dorsally. 



At Tempe, in a heavy adobe soil with an excess of subterranean 



moisture, this variety has been prolific in offshoots and sets them well 



up on the trunk, one 

 tree as early as 1909 

 having six offshoots 

 at a height of 4 to 4 J 

 feet. 



The fruit stalks are 

 orange yellow, about 

 2J or 3 feet long, If 

 to 2 inches broad, the 

 fruit head compact 

 and heavy, and the 

 strands, or shamrokh, 

 of medium length and 

 rather coarse. 



DESCRIPTION OP THE 

 MENAKHER VARIETY. 



The trees of the 

 Menakher variety are 

 of beautiful and strik- 

 ing appearance. The 

 growth is vigorous, 

 though not as rank as 

 some other varieties, 

 and the height growth 

 of the trunk has been 

 rather slow. 



The f oliage is a dark 

 rich green, with abun- 

 dant glaucous bloom. 

 The leaves are 9 to 12 

 feet long,, curving out- 

 ward rather stiffly 

 below, but with an in- 

 creasing flexibility to- 



Fig. 14 —Cross sections of the rachis of a Menakher date leaf, showing , varc ] -^Uq aoeX which 

 outlines at different distances from base to apex. 1 i 



gives a long and beau- 

 tiful sweep. The leaf bases are 7 to 9 inches broad, heavy, narrowing 

 gradually to a stout, strongly rounded rib, which tapers slowly to a 

 moderately slender apex (fig. 14). 



