336 THE BOOK OF USEFUL PLANTS 



graceful head of foliage. All are of the same 

 structure as reeds and grasses, in that they have 

 round stalks composed of a pithy, central part 

 enclosed in a hard rind, and growth is not in- 

 dicated by rings of wood added year by year. 

 The flowers are in spikes or clusters, usually com- 

 ing out of the crown of the tree, and each flower 

 is on the plan of three. Staminate and pistillate 

 flowers are separate, though the clusters may be 

 on the same or different trees. 



Leaves differ in form of blade, but between the 

 palmate and pinnate types, and all have stems, 

 usually with clasping or sheathing bases. Our 

 familiar palm-leaf fan illustrates the palmate 

 form; the funeral palm, the pinnate or feather 

 form. The most exuberant species bears leaves 

 ten to thirty feet in length. The highest palm 

 trees reach two hundred feet. 



An old saying, of tropical origin, perhaps, says 

 there is a use for the palm for every day in the 

 year. The Hindoo goes further; for of one noble 

 species of India he claims eight hundred distinct 

 uses! What claim can be exaggerated for trees 

 that furnish all the parts for a house and the 

 furniture in it: thatch to keep out sun and rain, 

 fibre for clothing, for paper, for ropes, brooms, and 

 rugs; meal for bread, sugar, wine, and a cabbage- 



