176 



HOUSE PLANTS 



more in diameter, the outer edge being 

 divided into long narrow drooping seg- 

 ments. The foHage is a deep, rich green, 

 and presents a more massive appearance 

 than that of any other palm. This will 

 succeed in any room where the temperature 

 does not go below 45 degrees at night. 



I know of one specimen of this which was 

 grown for the last ten years in a north window 

 during the winter and on the porch in the 

 summer. The owner secured it from a 

 florist as a small plant in a six-inch pot and 

 was so successful in the management that 

 the plant grew until it took up so much space 

 in the room as to be actually in the way. 



A somewhat stiff, formal, but interesting 

 palm is the so-called ground rattan (Rhapis 

 flahelUformis). It is a slow grower and 

 lasts very well indeed in the house. The 

 rhapis seldom grows more than five or six 

 feet high. The stem is three-quarters of 

 an inch to an inch in diameter and covered 

 with a mass of dark brown threads which 

 are the remains of the leaf sheaths. A cluster 

 of very deeply divided dark green leaves is 

 borne on the top of the stem, each of which 

 is about a foot in diameter. The rhapis 



