JAMAICA. 



BULLETIN 



OF THE 



BOTANICAL DEPARTMENT. 



Vol. IX. OCTOBER, 1902. 



ELEMENTARY NOTES ON JAMAICA PLANTS, V. 



5, 6, 7. — Carludovica jamaicensis, Lodd. 

 Ippi-appa, or Broom Thatch. 

 By ihe Editor and W. Harris, F.L.S. 



The leaves of the Ippi-appa plant (Plate 5) may be seen here and 

 there in damp, shady places in the bush, rising four or five feet from 

 the ground. At the first glance they look as if they belonged to one 

 of the palms with fan-shaped leaves, but on examination it will be seen 

 that the Ippi-appa leaves are divided into four parts by cuts runoing 

 nearly down to the stalk, and the flowers are quite different Take the 

 unopened leaf growing up from the centre of the plant that looks more 

 like a dark green stick than a leaf, and examine how wonderfully it is 

 folded, — quite differently from the rolled up young leaf of the banana. 

 The stalk runs up a short distance at the back of the leaf, and a few 

 inches above this, it will be found possible to insert the thumb nail, 

 and split the green rod upwards into two equal parts. Using one's 

 nail again, it will be found possible to open out the leaf which is folded 

 exactly like a fan. Counting from the central cut there are 12 folds 

 on each side, then we come to the other cuts which go even deeper down 

 towards the stalk than the central one ; and beyond these there are about 

 13 more folds. (Fig. 11 on plate 7 shows the 4 divisions of the un- 

 opened leaf, and they can also be seen in Plate 5). 



The stalks are round and smooth 2 to 5 feet high. The blade of the 

 leaf measures 1 to 3 feet in length, and 1£ to 4 feet across the middle. 



Root-stock. It has a stout, fibrous rootstalk, with long, cord-like, 

 fleshy roots after the manner of the banana plant, and like the banana 

 too, it produces numerous suckers from the base and sides of the root- 

 stock ; these suckers grow and in time produce other suckers, and in 

 this way the plant spreads and forms dense clumps or patches. 



The plant is stemless, or, in the case of an old root, with a stem 6 

 to 9 inches high. The bases of old, decayed leaves are persistent, and 

 these, through exposure to the weather, become frayed into tough, 

 brown fibres which form an excellent protection for the dwarf stem 

 and crown of the plant. Each crown, or stem supports about half a 



Part 10. 



