THE PALM FAMILY. 



32? 



Ptyehosperma. — This family contains several 

 handsome, unarmed, pinnate-leaved species, which 

 are of great value for general decorative purposes, 

 and will withstand a somewhat low temperature 

 with impunity, provided of course that reasonable 

 care he taken in their culture. Many more species 

 of this genus may be fairly expected from Xew. 

 Guinea as the region 



explored. 



P. Alexandra — stem stout, 

 erect, ringed with the 

 scars o r the falleu leaves, 

 and forming a large mass 

 of rotts round the base ; 

 leaves long, arching, and 

 pinnate ; leaflets pendent, 

 when young reddish-pink, 

 but changing with age to 

 deep greeu. North Aus- 

 tralia. 



E. Cunninghamii — thisplant 

 will be more familiar pro- 

 bably under the name of 

 Seaforthia elegans ; the 

 stem is stout and smooth ; 

 leaves long and plume- 

 like ; leaflets long, pen- 

 dent, and bright green ; 

 the petioles are clothed 

 with a scaly tomentum 

 when young. Northern 

 Australia. 



P. rupicola, synon. Laxo- 

 coccns rupicola — a beauti- 

 ful dwarf -growing jdant; 

 stem rat her stout, smooth, 

 ringed with the scars of 

 fallen pet'oles ; leaves 

 three to six feet long, 

 a bright crimson when 

 young, which gradually 

 gives way to deep green. 

 Ceylon. 



Raphia. — These 

 plants are extremely 

 handsome, having large 

 spreading, pinnate, 

 plume-like leaves, They 

 resemble the members of 

 the genus Srigns, but, un- 

 like them, their flower- 

 spikes are not terminal. 

 These flower-spikes, how- 

 ever, are something re- 

 markable. They are 

 much branched, pendu- 

 dulous, and upwards of 



twelve feet in length, bearing an enormous quantity 

 of fruits ; the whole spike, when laden with ripe 

 seeds, frequently weighing two hundred pounds. The 

 fruits in form and size resemble a large egg, covered 

 with hard and shining imbricating scales, varying in 

 colour from pale brown to deep chestnut. The 

 species are superb as garden ornaments, though 

 rare, as they reqivire a tank of water to grow them 

 well. 



E. Hookerii — a magnificent 

 species ; stem slender, un- 

 armed, retaining the bases 

 of the old petioles for some 

 time ; these are enveloped 

 in a mass of soft curling 

 fibres ; leaves immense, 

 forty to fifty feet long, 

 beautifully arched ; leaf- 

 lets narrow, closely set and 

 deep green. It has the 



Ptychospekma Cuns i ngiiamii 



appearance of a gigan- 

 tic plume. The natives 

 call this plant " Ukot," 

 and obtain from it large 

 quantities of a pleasant 

 wine. Cameroons and 

 Old Calabar, West Africa. 



E. longiflora — stem some- 

 what stout, unarmed, but 

 rough and bristly with 

 the persistent bases of 

 the old petioles ; it pro- 

 duces very long- flower- 

 spike s,and gigantic plume- 

 like pinnate leaves ; the 

 leaflets flat, and a rich 

 green. Island of Corisco, 

 West Africa. 



E. Euflia — this species has 

 the same peculiarity (be- 

 fore mentioned) as the 

 "Lodoicea" of growing 

 in a large bowl or socket. 

 It has stout smooth stems, 

 the giant plume-like leaves 

 often fifty feet long, with 

 leaflets closely set, flat, 

 and more than a foot in 

 length. Mauritius and 

 Madagascar. 



E. tcedigera — the " Jupati 

 Palm,'"' as it is caJled 

 by the Indians of the 

 Amazons— is a bold spe- 

 cies, with ringed stems, 

 hearing gigantic pluine- 

 hke leaves, thirty to fifty 

 feet long. Spruce says, 

 "This is the only scaly- 

 fruited Palm of America 

 with pinnate leaves, all 

 the other scaly-fruited 

 kinds having fan-shaped 

 leaves, whilst all the scaly- 

 fruited Palms of Asia and 

 Africa arepinnate." -banks 

 of the Amazon and its 

 tributaries. 



Rliapis. — Small* 

 growing Fan Palms, 

 nearly related to Cha- 

 meerops. Their small size 

 and elegant appearance 

 render them very useful 

 for decorative purposes. 

 The walking-sticks called 

 "Ground Battans" are 

 the produce of this genus. 



E. flabelliformis — stem 

 slender, the petioles very 

 thin, enclosed at the base 

 in a network of black 

 fibres : leaves flabellate. 

 The plants attain their 

 true character when only 

 a few inches high, and their leaves remain on almost to 

 the base of the stem when even six or seven feet high. 

 China and Japan. 

 E. flabelliformis variegata— this is a somewhat slow-growing 

 form ; the flabellate leaves are alternately streaked with 

 yellow, green, and white. Japan. 

 E."humiJis— in general habit this does not differ from the 

 preceding; the leaves, however, are much handsomer, 

 more fan-shaped, and the segments pendulous : intense 

 deep grpen. 



Sabal. — A bold-growing family of Palms with 

 gigantic fan-leaves, and in some instances very stout 



