THE PALM FAMILY. 



143 



manner, having niimeroiis suckers, and then seldom exceeds 

 3 — 4 feet in height. The leaves are used for many pur- 

 poses, and yield a tough fibre resembling horse-hair, and for 

 •which it is sometimes substituted. 



Palmata Palm (^Chamcerops palmatd). This is a small 

 stemmed palm, 10 or more feet high, occupying large tracts 

 on the eastern coasts of the Southern United States. It was 

 used as an emblem in the late American war on the banners 

 of the Confederate States. 



Mauritia Palm {Mauritia flexuosa). Found near the Rivers 

 Amazon and Orinoco. Its stems are about 2 feet in diameter, 

 surmounted by a tuft of fan-shaped leaves, and sometimes 

 rising to 100 feet in height. It affords many articles of 

 domestic use to a tribe of Indians, who during the periodical 

 inundations of the rivers, suspend their dwellings from the 

 trees. These dwellings consist simply of a floor of mats made 

 from its leaves, on which they place earth and make their 

 fires, " which," as Humboldt says, " present a singular ap- 

 pearance at night." 



" Wide o'er his Isles, the branching Oronoque 

 Eolls a brown dehige ; and the native drives 

 To dwell aloft on lite-sufficing trees ; 

 At once his dome, his robe, his food, and arms." 



TJiomson. 



"VTax Palm (C'(9per?2^cm ceriferci). A native of Brazil ; its 

 cylindrical stem rising to the height of about 40 feet, and 

 measuring about a foot in diameter, and studded its entire 

 length with hard, projecting knobs, an inch in length, being 

 the base of the fallen leaf-stalk. The wood is very hard, takes 

 a fine polish, and is used for veneering. The young leaves 

 are coated with a waxy secretion, Avhich is obtained by 

 shaking the leaves. It is imported to this country and used 

 for making candles. 



**WlNG-LEAVED PaLMS. 



Cocoa-nut ( Cocos nucifera), A native of the coasts of 

 tropical Africa, India, Malay, and islands of the Indian and 



