THE PALM FAMILY. 



323 



" gravatana," or blow-pipe, the weapon used when 

 hunting game, and through which they hlow their 

 small poisoned arrows with w r onderf ul precision. It 

 is common throughout the region of the Rio Negro. 



Kentia. — A family of smooth pinnate-leaved 

 Palms of great beauty, and perhaps the very best of 

 their class for decorative purposes. The plants were, 

 until recently, named Arecas ; sufficient differences 

 were, however, found to establish them into a 

 genus. In Areca, the growth from the seed is 

 erect ; in Kentia, it is, or should be, decumbent. In 

 Areca, the seeds, when cut, have rings and layers of 

 different colours, like a Nutmeg, whilst the seeds of 

 Kentia are solid and horny. 



Kentias have been called green-house Palms, and 

 they will succeed in such a structure in the summer 

 time, or even in the open air ; they, however, are 

 most beautiful when grown in the stove. 



The flowers are borne on long, branched spikes, 

 the male and female organs in separate flowers, and 

 each female flower is supported by two males. 



nate leaves, and reddish- 

 brown petioles ; leaflets 

 sessile ; the young en- 

 tirely of rich deep crim- 

 son, which, changes with 

 age to intense dark olive- 

 green. New Caledonia. 

 K. sapida — the Maori name 

 of this Palm is " Nikau," 

 and like many other abori- 

 gines in the Palm regions, 

 they use the young flower- 

 spikes as a culinary vege- 

 table. We are told " it is 

 the most southern plant 

 of its order, occurring as 

 far as lat. 38° 22' south; 

 whereas 38 Q is the limit of 

 Palms in Australia; 38 Q 

 in South America, and 

 30 Q in Africa." It is a 

 robust plant, with a stout 

 stem, which is twelve or 

 fifteen feet in height ; 

 leaves pinnate, four to 

 six feet i > i length ; leaflets 

 narrow, furnished with a 

 grey scaly tomentum on 

 the und*-r side. A rather 

 slow-i' rowing, but very 

 ornamental plant. New 

 Zealnnd. 

 K. Wendlandiana-a slender- 

 st^mmed species of quiet 

 growth ; its long arching 

 leaves are pinnate, the 

 leaflets sb'ghtlv toothed, 

 broad, and briuht shining 

 green. An extremely or- 

 namental plant, and of 

 hardy constitution. North 

 Australia. 



K. Australis— a-slender, ele- 

 gant, pinnate-leaved plant, 

 with narrow" leaflets neat ly 

 flat, and of a deep green 

 colour. Lord Howe's 

 Island. 



IT. Baueri — this is an old 

 inhabitant of our gardens, 

 and makes its stem very 

 slowly ; it is known also 

 by the names of Areca 

 Baueri and Seaforthia 

 robusta. It is a handsome 

 and useful plant for any 

 situation, either in or out- 

 doors in the summertime. 

 Norfolk Island. 



K. Belmoreana — this is 

 popularly known as the 

 "Curly Palm," and is a 

 plant of great beauty ; the 

 leaves are very much 

 arched, almost recurved, 

 the dark green crisped 

 leaflets giving it a very 

 distinctive character. 

 Lord Howe's Island. 



K. Fosteriana — a robust and 

 rapid - growing species ; 

 very similar in the young 

 state to the other spe- 

 cies. 



K. gracilis —very graceful ; 

 very similar to Geonoma 

 gracilis. 



K. Lindenii— A fine robust- 

 growing plant, ; al«o known 

 as Kentiopsis Lindenii, 

 and Cy phokentia Lindenii , 

 and Cyphokentia macro- 

 carpa. It is a bold plant, 

 with large, arching, pin- 



L. aurea, sometimes called 

 L. Verse haffeltii — stem 

 stout, fifteen to twenty 

 feet high when mature ; 

 petioles smooth, rich yel- 

 low with a glaucous tinge 

 at the base, two or three 

 feet in length, hearing 

 large fan-shaped leaves 

 three to four feet across, 

 and divided into narrow 

 pointed segments. Island 

 of Rodriguez. 



L. Commersonii— very simi- 



lar in habit to the pre- 

 ceding, but a little larger 

 in all its parts. Bound 

 Island, Mauritius. 

 L. rubra — in growth quite 

 the counterpart of the 

 preceding species ; the 

 petioles are rich deep 

 crimson, and the plaited 

 leaves are the same colour 

 when young, which, how- 

 ever, fades into a uniform 

 deep bronze. Mascarene 

 Islands. 



Licuala. — A small family of fan-leaved Palms 

 of great beauty, slender in the stem ; some, indeed, 

 scarcely making any. Licuala is a native name, and 

 the plants belonging to the genus delight in an 

 abundance of water. The stems of some species are 

 brought to this country for walking-sticks. 



plant, leaves nearly orbi- 

 cular, with a wedge- 

 shaped base; much 

 plaited, the edaes divided 

 into narrow bi-lobed seg- 

 ments ; the upper side is 

 rich shining green, pale 

 below. Pacific Islands. 

 L. horrida — a stout-growing 

 handsome plant ; the pe- 

 tioles armed with very 

 large and stout spines. 

 Java. 



L. peltata— this species also 

 yields the "Penang law- 

 yers " ; petioles armed 

 with large, sharp, black 

 spines ; the plaited fan- 

 shaped leaves are prse- 

 morse at the edges ; 

 deeply divided and intense 

 deep green. Pulo Penang. 



L. acutifida— this and all 

 the members of the family 

 are slow-growing. The 

 stems are from six to 

 eight feet high, about an 

 inch thick except at the 

 base, where they are much 

 swollen ; these are sur- 

 mounted with a beautiful 

 crown of fan - shaped 

 leaves. The stems of this 

 soecies yield the walking- 

 sticks known in this coun- 

 try as " Penang lawyers." 

 Pulo Penang 



L. elegans— stem slender, 

 petioles between two and 

 three feet high, bearing 

 stout black spines on the 

 edges. Sumatra. 



L. grandis — sometimes 

 known as Pritchardia. 

 This is a magnificent 



Latania. — This appears to be a native name ; it 

 is a small family of handsome fan-leaved, highly- 

 ornamental Palms, distinguished from the genus 

 Zivistona by having a three-seeded fruit ; the male 

 and female flowers are produced on separate trees. 



Livistona. — This genus is not named in honour 

 of David Livingstone, but after Patrick Murray, 

 of Livingston, N.B. It comprises numerous species 

 of highly- ornamental fan-leaved Palms. The flowers 

 are perfect, and produced on branching spikes from 

 amongst the leaves. Fruits one-seeded. 



L. altissima— stern stout and 



tall ; petioles some six 



feet long, armed on the 



edges with large recurved 



sharp black spines, the 



base enclosed in a rough 



network of brown fibres. 



Isle of Sunda. 

 L. Australis— this plant is 



often, but erroneously, 



called Corypha Australis. 



It attains a height of a 



hundred feet, carrying an 



immense symmetrical 



head of lirge fan-shaped 



leaves. Stem stout, bear- 

 ing the scars of the fallen 



leaves ; the base of the 



petioles, which are several 



feet long, is enclosed in a 



mass of fibrous network. 



Leaves nearly circular, 



three to four feet in dia- 

 meter. In a young state 



this is perhaps the most 



useful Fan Palm for 



general decorative pur- 

 poses. Australia. 

 L. Borbonica — this is the 

 most familiar name of this 

 plant, but it is more cor- 

 rectlynamed L.Chineusis. 

 It is a most useful species 

 in all its stages ; and 

 though hardy enough for 

 the green-house, or even 

 open air in summer, it 

 prefers the stove during 

 the winter months. 

 Leaves much plaited, 

 divided at the edges, a 

 bright and cheerful shade 

 of green ; petioles armed 

 with short reflexed spines. 

 China. 



L. Hoogendorpii — the stem 

 stout ; petioles long, deep 

 brown, enclosed at the 

 base in a network of dark 

 fibres. The large fan- 

 like leaves are nearly cir- 

 cular, divided into long 



