Phanix] OX. PALMiE 645 



1. P. sylvestris, Roxb. ; Griffith Palms t. 228. The wild Date Palm, 

 Vern. KhajUri, Khajiy Salmcij TJiaJdl, Hind. 



An erect tree, attaining 40 ft., trunk densely covered with the bases of 

 leaf-stalks, and near the ground often with a dense mass of rootlets, no root- 

 suckers. L. greyish-green, 7-12 ft., spines up to 4 in. long, leaflets 6-18 by 

 |-1 in. Common petiole at base |-1 in. broad, the fascicles of leaflets up to 

 3 in. apart. Male inflorescence white, scented, compact, on a short peduncle. 

 Fruiting peduncle 2-2 1- ft. long, 1-11 in. wide, terminating in large bunches 

 of spikes, spathe thick, almost woody. Pr. 1-1-|- in., from yellow to reddish- 

 brown when ripe. Seed | in. long. 



Indigenons and gregarious in many parts of India, not in Burma. On the low 

 ground along the Eamganga river in Eohilkhand, in the subliimalayan tract, and 

 along river "banks and on stretches of low ground in the Deccan and Mysore. Planted 

 largely. Fl. H. S., Fr. Sept. Oct. Mats and baskets made of the 1. The sugary juice 

 is extracted in the cold season by removing in one place the lower sheaths^ 

 and by cutting a notch into the trunk, a thin slice being taken off daily from the 

 surface of the cut. 



2. P. dactylifera, Linn. The Date Palm. Vern. Khajfir^ Khqji, Hind (Pr. Khurma) ; Sun- 

 hahi7i, Burm. Cultivated and self-sown in Sind and the southern Punjab, also Trans- 

 Indus. Attempts to grow it have been made m other parts of India. Believed to be 

 indigenous in the Euphrates and Tigris Boab, and in the oases of the great African 

 Sahara. A tall tree, attaining 100-120 ft., the foot often surrounded by a dense mass 

 of root-suckers. L. grey, longer than those of 1, leaflets making a very acute angle 

 wifch the common iDetiole. Fr. 1-3 in. long, pulp sweet. Many varieties are 

 cultivated. 



3. P. humilis, Eoyle ; Kanjilal F. Fl. 360.—Syn. P. pedmiculata, Griff. 

 Palms 139 ; P. Ouseleyana^ Grriff. Vern. Khajur, Hind. ; Thakal, Kumaon ; 

 Konda Ita^ Tel. 



Stem |-12 ft. long, diam. up to 9 in., densely covered with the stumps of 

 leaf-stalks, more or less spirally arranged. Eoot-suckers develop frequently, 

 when the primary stem has been burnt or injured. L. 4«~8 ft., leaflets pliable, 

 10-20 in. long, J-| in. wide, fascicled, more or less quadrifarious, the upper- 

 most sometimes confluent, base not thickened and not decurrent on the 

 common petiole, which is 1 in. broad at the base, spines up to 3 in. long. 

 Fruiting peduncle 2-4 ft. long, \ in. broad, fr. h in. long, orange, then black, 

 edible. 



Subhimalayan tract, Siwaliks and outer valleys from the Jumna eastwards. Assam 

 and Khasi Hills (stems short). Upper Burma. Central Provinces. (Stems short in 

 the Jabalpur district, long on the Pachmarhis), -Singbhum, North Kanara, Nilgiris, 

 Shevaroys, and other hills in the Peninsula (stems long slender on the Bababudan 

 hills). G-rasshills of Travancore, up to 6 ft. high. Fl. 0. S. Dehra Dun. Nilgiris H. S. 

 — China. Closely allied, and probably not specifically distinct, are the two 

 following, with tall and robust stems :— 4. P. robusta, Hook, f . Parasnath 4,000 ft. 

 Stem 15-20 ft., diam. 12-15 in., tessellated with short persistent rhomboidal leaf- 

 bases. 5. A species found by G. Marshall Woodrow on the western Ghats, near 

 Nandgaon, gregarious on the flat top of trap hills (Shaela, Mar.), and described by 

 him in " Notes of a Journey from Poona to Nagotna ; Eecords of the Bot. Survey of 

 India," i. 94. Stem 25-30 ft. high, diam. 15 in., marked with very closely and spirally- 

 arranged leaf -bases. Leaflets broader than P. humilis. Spathe fringed with brown 

 wool on the keel. A Phcenix with tall stems is reported by Gamble on the western 

 side of Mahendragiri, Northern Circars. (Indian Timbers, Ed. ii. 731.) 



6. P. farinifera, Eoxb. Cor. PL t. 74. Yern. Sanna ita^ Chittu ita, Tel. Coromandel 

 coast, south as far as Madras. Trunk short, not over 4 ft., diam. 6-^ in., gregarious, 

 forming dense masses, very difficult to pass through. L. shining dark green, 3--5 ft. 

 long, leaflets quadrifarious, the upper sometimes opposite, 9 in. long, stiff and very 

 pungent, with a hard yellow cushion at the base. Inflorescence 1-2 ft., fr. l-f in. 

 long, black when ripe, edible. In this as in other species of Phcenix the soft tissue in 

 the centre of the stem is full of starch. 



7. P. acaulis, Buch. Ham. Vern. Thakal^ Khajur^ Khajeria^ Hind. ; 

 Chindi, Gond ; CMnnita^ Konda ita, Tel. ; Thinhaung^ Burm. 



Stem thick ovoid, like a bulb, densely covered with the persistent bases of 

 petioles, the ends of which are often bristly with the protruding hard fibro- 



