Palmae. 35 
fan-shaped leaves extend from the base to the top of the tree up to 
forty feet in height when undisturbed, only the older specimens 
showing a trunk. The petioles become from three to four feet long 
and are armed with spines on the edges, being silicious and ser- 
rated. The foliage is distributed in three spiral rows around the 
trunk; the blade has from seventy to eighty rays and each tree has 
from twenty-five to forty fresh green leaves at a time. The male 
and female flowers are produced on different trees and appear about 
the twelfth or fifteenth year after planting. The sex of the tree 
cannot be determined till that time. The fruits of the Palmyra 
Palm vary considerably on different trees. They fall to the ground 
when ripe. 
The Tamils of India enumerate eight hundred and one uses 
for this species. The flower stalks are tapped for toddy similar to 
the wine palm, the fruits roasted or eaten raw. A fibre is ex- 
tracted from the leafstalks and is used for rope and twine making, it 
is exceedingly strong and wiry. Toddy (the sap) is boiled down to 
sugar, the quantity of sugar made from the juice of this palm is very 
considerable. The peduncles are the portion tapped, and tapping is 
done only before flowering has begun, the sap is collected in pots 
tied to the cut peduncle. The germinated seeds, that is the young 
seedlings, are eaten as a vegetable. The outer shell of the trunk is 
exceedingly hard, consisting of a solid mass of thick fibro-vascular 
bundles. It is employed for various purposes, and is stated to support 
a greater cross-strain than any other known wood ; the center is soft. 
In medicine the sap plays an important part and is used as a laxa- 
tive; a poultice of the toddy with added rice flour is a valuable 
stimulant application to gangrenous ulcerations and carbuncles. 
Other parts of the palm have also valuable medicinal properties. 
Only three specimens are known to the writer in Honolulu ; the 
best occuring in Kapiolani Park (see illustration). The others are 
in the grounds of the Board of Agriculture and Mrs. Jaeger's 
premises respectively. None of these specimens have as yet flowered. 
The specimen in Kapiolani Park was unfortunately trimmed and 
robbed of its lower leaves by the inexperienced care-taker. 
Coelococcus carolinensis Dingl. 
Caroline Ivory-nut Palm. 
Plate XV. 
The Ivory-nut Palm reaches a considerable height and has stout 
pinnate leaves of a dark green color. The spheroid fruits are about 
