Pomona College Journal of Economic Botany 367 



Furthermore the fruit of the Cuban Acrocomia is smaller than that of A. 

 aculeata, and the fruiting perianth has the pieces of the corolla triangular, 

 rather acute, and entire, not lobed and crenulate as are those of A. aculeata. 



Generally the Acrocomia of Cuba has been known under the name of A. 

 lasiospatha, a name which was originally applied by Martius to a species grow- 

 ing at Cayenne; but to it he also appended the synonym of Palma cocifera 

 caiidice ticmido et aculeato of Plumier, reproducing also the description left 

 by that author; in this description, however, it is easy to recognize the 

 Acrocomia growing in the island to the east of Cuba, provided we take into 

 account his description of the fruits, of which it is said that they are "pila 

 lusoria paullo minores", that is to say, of about the size of a small billiard 

 ball ; these dimensions are never attained by the fruit of A. crispa, while they 

 really are approached by those of A. aculeata. The localities given by Plumier 

 for his Palma cocifera (Martinique, San Domingo and S. Vincent) are also 

 an argument in favor of its identification with A. aculeata. 



As I consider that not the slightest doubt can now remain as to the identity 

 of Cocos? crispa H. B. et K. with the Cuban Ac7-ocomia, I think that the name 

 of A. crispa may be considered as the most appropriate one. 



Acrocomia aculeata Lodd. ex. Mart. Hist. nat. Palm. Ill, 286 (excl. syn. 

 A. sclerocarpae). A. fusiformis Sweet. Hort. Brit. ed. I, 432 (ex. Ind. 

 Kew.) A. fusiformis Maycock, Fl. Barb. (1830), 355 (excl. descript. 

 fol.). A. funiformis Baill. Hist, des plant, 304, e Jamaica (psalmate pro 

 A. fusiformis?). A. lasiospatha Mart. Palm. Orb., 81, et Hist. nat. Palm. 

 Ill, 286 (tantum quoad citatum Plumierii : Palma cocifera caudice 

 tumido et aculeato); Griseb. Fl. Brit. W. Ind., 521 (partim?). A. 

 sclerocarpa (non Mart.) Griseb. 1. c; Bello, Apunt., II (1833), 114, n. 

 771 (ex Urban, Symb. Ant.) A. media O. F. Cook in Bull. Torrey Bot. 

 Club, XXVIII (1901), 566; Urban, Symbolae Ant., IV, 130; Cook et 

 Coll. Econ. pi. Port, 67. Cocos aculeata Jacq. Select. Amer. (1763), 

 278 (non vidi), et in Willd. sp. pi. IV (1805), 401; Swartz Nova Gen. 

 seu Prodr. (1788), 151 (una cum syn.) C. fusiformis Swartz Fl. Ind. 

 occid. I (1797), 616, (una cum syn. sed excluso fructu). 



Stem 10 to 15 m. high, and 20-30 cm. in diameter, more or less fusiform 

 in its middle part, but at times almost cylindrical throughout, armed with close 

 rings of robust, black, very sharp spines. 



The leaves have the leaflets polished above, dull and more or less whitish 

 beneath, rather brittle, and easily splitting longitudinally ; those of the inter- 

 mediate part of the rachis 70-75 cm. long, 3 cm. broad; the rachis is very 

 powerfully armed with black, very unequal spines, some of them being as 

 much as 10 cm. in length, flattened, covered with a rusty wooUiness in their 

 basal part, otherwise polished. 



The inner spathe is densely covered with very fine, soft, brown hairs, 

 mixed occasionally with a few spines. 



The spadix, on the whole, is 1 to 1.5 m. long; the peduncular part is armed 

 with spines 5-12 mm. long which are covered with ru.sty woolliness in their 

 lower part, their points being of a shiny black. The branches of the spadix are 



