ON PALMS, CYCADS, AND BAMBOOS. 



829 



Desmoncus. — A very ornamental genus of stove plants, dis- 

 tinguished by the flowers appearing in the axils of the leaves, 

 which are prickly and pinnate, with long slender stems. All the 

 species are very handsome, and useful for dinner-table decora- 

 tion, &c. They thrive when treated like Calamus. D. granafensis 

 is an interesting species with terete petioles and spineless leaves, 

 with the exception of the top, where a pair of lanceolate divergent 

 pinnae are seated; the whole plant is of a lovely green colour; it 

 may be placed in the greenhouse during the summer. D. mexi- 

 canus is a climbing species, and may be utilised for pillar decoration; 

 in its early state it is a most charming plant, possessing a slender 

 stem, with pinnate leaves varying from 2oin. to 24in. long; the 

 dark green pinnse often reach 6in. in length ; the petioles and 

 the rachis are armed with long black spines. 



DiCTYOSPERMA. — A gcnus closely allied to Areca^ and composed 

 of stove plants. The flowers, which are unisexual, are often found 

 in groups of three (one female between two males) ; the leaves 

 are pinnate, and the leaflets have their sides reflexed before 

 unfolduig ; the species require exactly the same treatment as 

 Areca., and are propagated by seeds. D. album (Areca albu7ii) is 

 an ornamental species, extremely useful in its early stages for 

 table decoration ; it possesses a slender stem ; the leaves are 

 pinnate, and vary from 4ft. to 8ft. in length ; the petioles are 

 covered with a fine white tomentum ; the pinnae, which are of a 

 rich green on both sides, reach 2ft., and the whole plant is quite 

 unarmed, furfuraceiim and rubrum are both varieties of this 

 species, and their names easily explain their distinction. D. aureum 

 [Areca aureum) is a handsome species of rather erect habit, 

 producing graceful pinnate leaves with long, pendent, dark green 

 pinnae, and quite distinct on account of the yellow colour 

 acquired by the petioles when grown in a cooler place. 



DiPLOTHEMiUM. — A small genus of noble Palms w^hich can, 

 if grown in an intermediate house, be utilised for sub-tropical 

 gardening. They are nearly stemless, or sometimes develop a 

 small ringed stem. The leaves are pinnate, with linear segments 

 of a. silvery colour underneath. The plants grow admirably in a 

 strong compost — two parts of loam and one part of peat and sand 

 — and are propagated by seeds. D. caudescens {Ceroxylon 7iiveum) 

 may be described as one of the prettiest of the whole order ; 

 it seems to be quite stemless in cultivation, but is decorative 

 from its early state. The leaves are pinnate, and vary from 

 2ft. to 6ft. in length ; the pinn^ are clustered, and sometimes 

 attain a length of 2ft.; their surface is of a shiny green, and 

 they have a silvery appearance. D. maritimum is closely allied 

 to the preceding, but remains smaller ; its pinnate leaves have 

 more of an ovate outline; the pinnae are also of a deep green 

 on the upper surface and rather grey underneath. 



