142 



DOMESTIC BOTANY. 



400 lbs. It takes ten years to ripen its fruit, the albumen 

 of which is similar to that of the common cocoa-nut {Cocos 

 nucifera)^ but is too hard and horny to serve as food. The 

 shell is converted into many useful articles by the natives, 

 but the most important part is the leaves, which are made 

 into hats, baskets, and the like. The demand has of late 

 years become so great that in order to obtain the leaves the 

 trees are cut down, and as no care is taken to form new 

 plantations, it is feared this palm will eventually become 

 extinct. In 1864 the leading botanists in this country 

 petitioned the Government for its protection. By more 

 recent information, however, it appears that on one island 

 alone there are many thousands of trees. 



Before its habitat Avas discovered the nuts were found 

 floating on the sea near the coast of the Maldive Islands, 

 which led to the supposition that they grew in the sea, and 

 they were called " Coco de Mer" or " Sea Cocoa-Nut," 

 and were considered very valuable as presents, even to 

 kings. 



Gingerbread, or Doum Palm {Hyphcene thehaica). A 

 native of Upper Egjrpt, Nubia, Abyssinia, and adjacent 

 countries. Its stem is a foot or more in diameter, and of 

 very slow growth. It continues simple for a number of 

 years but eventually divides into branches, and attains the 

 height of 20 feet, each branch bearing a crown of fan-shaped 

 leaves. The fruit is borne in a large pendulous bunch, 

 1 — 200 together, each fruit being about the size of an 

 apple, having the flavour of gingerbread. The fibrous 

 pulp forms part of the food of the poorer classes in Upper 

 Egypt. This species, or one very closely allied, has been 

 found in South Africa. The stems are not always branched, 

 but often remain undivided and cylindrical, or spindle- 

 shaped. 



Common Fan Vslm. {Chamarops humilis). This is found 

 in Southern Europe and N. Africa, where it occupies extensive 

 sandy plains and rocky places. When old it is sometimes 

 20 — 30 feet high, but it generally grows in a cespitose 



