188 



DOMESTIC BOTANY. 



tropics of Asia, Africa, America, and Australia. The stems 

 of the whole species consist of a pithy matter containing 

 starch. 



Cycas revoluta. Supposed to be a native of China and 

 Japan, but also found in a wild state in New Guinea, and 

 many of the islands of the Pacific. It has become natu- 

 ralized in the West Indies, and has been long introduced to 

 this country, being highly prized as an ornamental plant, 

 often having a stem 3 — 4 feet in height, and from 6 — 8 

 inches in diameter. In China and Japan, and also in 

 Jamaica, a kind of sago is obtained from the pith of the stem. 



Cycas circinalis. This is abundant in Malabar and many 

 parts of India, as well as in the Malay, Molucca, and other 

 islands. It is a taller growing species than the preceding, 

 having a trunk about 6 inches in diameter, which attains the 

 height of about 20 feet, and is sometimes forked. A kind of 

 sago is obtained from its stem, and in New Ireland and other 

 islands the natives make use of the large nutty seeds for 

 food. 



Caffre Bread {Zamid) {Encephalartos) {Caffre or E. lon- 

 gifolius). A native of South Africa, attaining the height of 

 10 — 15 feet, with a diameter of about a foot. The sub- 

 stance of the stem is mucilaginous, and the natives bury 

 it in the ground for a time, which causes the pulpy centre 

 to loosen and partially ferment; it is then dried, baked, and 

 used as food by the CafiTres. It is, with other allied species 

 of slow growth, like palms taking many years before the 

 normal diameter of the stem is formed. The leaves are pro- 

 duced annually in a fascicle of about 20 ; the circle formed 

 by the bases of the leaves of each succeeding fascicle being 

 closely seated on the preceding one, consequently the yearly 

 increase of the stem is limited to the vertical diameter of the 

 base of the leaf, which, in this species is about f of an inch. 



In 1775 a plant of this species was introduced to Kew, but 

 its size at that time is not known; in 1822 it was considered 

 a remarkable plant, being then a foot in height, with a 

 crown of leaves forming a diameter of about 8 feet; it is 



