Palmae. 45 
small and monoecious. The fruit is a drupe, or stone-fruit, and is 
oval-oblong and violet blue when mature. 
The Royal Palm, a native of Cuba and tropical America is the 
most typical of the genus Oreodoxa and is the most common palm 
in Cuba, where it is similarly used, as in Honolulu, for avenues, a 
purpo.-e to which it is admirably adapted. The peculiarity of this 
palm is that there rises upon the white part of the trunk a grass 
green smooth shaft, appearing like a column placed upon another; 
it is from this green shaft that the leaf-stalk springs. 
It is said in the West Indies, that the broad part of the foot- 
stalks of the leaves, which form a hollow trough, are used by the 
negroes as cradles for their children, and when cut up make ex- 
cellent splints for fractures. 
In Honolulu this palm is one of the most frequently cultivated 
and is especially used along drive-ways as its royal bearing makes it 
especially desirable for such purposes. The picture here reproduced 
shows a portion of the residential grounds of the old Claus Spreckels 
place on Punahou Street. In the immediate foreground is a Traveler's 
tree, to the left a Chinese fan palm and to the right Royal Palms. 
This species has been in the Islands since 1850. 
Oreodoxa oleracea Mart. 
Cabbage Palm. 
The trunk of the Cabbage Palm is not ventricose like that of the 
Royal Palm, but is of even thickness, of large diameter, and reaches 
a height of one hundred fifty feet. The leaf segments are linear- 
lanceolate and pointed, the pinnae are bi-fid at the top, the petiole 
long-sheathing. The spadix appears at the base of the cylinder formed 
by the leaf-sheaths as in the Royal Palm, but of larger dimensions. 
The drupe is incurved, obovoid-oblong while that of the Royal Palm 
is ovoid. The Cabbage Palm is therefore most easily distinguished 
when mature enough for bearing, by its trunk, which does not bulge 
at the middle, its more robust habit, and the obovoid oblong seeds. 
It is a native of the West Indies and is one of the loftiest of all 
Palms. The broad part of the leaf stalks forms a hollow trough 
which is employed as a cradle for the negro children ; when cut up 
it makes excellent splints for fractures. The heart is made into 
pickles, or when boiled is served as a vegetable, hence the name 
Cabbage Palm. 
In Honolulu mature specimens of this stately palm occur only 
in Mrs. M. E. Foster's grounds, once the property of Dr. Wm. 
