342 



86. PALMiS. 



IPkcenix. 



Very common in moist ground throngliout the dry districts of the presi' 

 denoy, usually along the banks and in the beds of streams and water- 

 courses, certainly indigenous. Fl. Jany.-Feb. Fr. ripe June. A tree, 

 stem 30 — 40 ft., rough with the scars of the fallen petioles. Mats are made 

 from the leaves. The trunk yields abundance of sugary sap which bleeds 

 from wounds made in the upper parts of the stem. The sap is boiled 

 down into sugar. The wood is lighter than that of Burassus, Used for 

 building purposes, water conduits, &c. Fruit edible. 



P. acaulis, Buch. ex. Roxb. Fl. Ind. III. 783 ; Fl. Br. I. 6. 426 ; Dalz. & 

 Gibs. Bomb. Fl. 278 ; Brandis For. Fl. 555. Sunichil, K. ; Shewra^ shilind^ 

 M. The Dwarf Date Palm. 



Northern and Central India, from Kumaon eastwards to the Elhasia 

 hills. Common on the ghats, Dalz. This is a bulbiform stemmed palm 

 which I cannot distinguiBh from the next species, common on the Sirsi 

 taluka ghats of North Kanara. Fl. C. S. Fr. ripe May-June. Fruit 

 edible. 



P. humilis, Royle. III. 394, 397, 399 ; Fl. Br. I. 6. 426 ; yslt. jpeduncu- 

 lata, Becc. Fl. Br. I. 6. 427. Same native names as P. acaulis. 



Hilly districts of India from Kumaon eastwards to Burma and south- 

 wards to Malabar. Common on the ghats of North Kanara. Fl. C. S. Fr. 

 ripe May- June. Leaflets made into mats, commonly used for covering 

 bales of red pepper in the Dharwar district. Fruit edible. 



7. COCOS, Linn. 



Tall palms with annulate stems. Leaves pinnate, petioles ample- 

 xicaul with a fibrous base. Spathe simple, woody. Spadix panicu- 

 late. Flowers monoicous, sessile^ bracteate. male flowers numerous- 

 on the upper brauches. Male fl. Calyx of 8 sepals. Petals 3, 

 valvate in bud. Stamens 6 ; anthers erect. Female fl. Sepals 3, 

 imbricate, with 2 bracts at the base. Petals 3^ smaller than the sepals. 

 Ovary 3-celled, surrounded with 6 staminodes. Fruit large, ovoid, 

 trigonous 1-seeded, mesoearp woody-fibrous^ endoearp bony with 3 

 basal pores. Albumen fleshy, oily, with a central cavity j embryo 

 opposite 1 pore. 



C. nucifera, Linn.; Roxb. Fl. Ind. III. 614; Brandis For. Fl. 556 ; 

 Dalz. & Gibs. Bomb. Fl. 279. Cocoanat Palm. Narel, Yern. ; Tengina, K. 



Cultivated in the hot damp regions of India, Burma and Ceylon, 

 indigenous in the Cocos Island and N. Andamans, along tropical coasts 

 everywhere. Planted throughout the presidency, and cultivated ex- 

 tensively along the sea-coast. Fl. throughout the year, Fr. ripe 9 — 10 

 months after flowering. Trunk annulate. Wood close-grained, hard, 

 heavy. Vascular bundles black, closely packed in the outer part of the 

 stem, enclosing vessels and cells. Weighs 70 lbs. to the cub. ft., known 

 as Porcupine Wood. Used for building purposes, walking sticks, &c. 



