10 Pandanaceae-Palmae. 
PANDANACEAE 
The family Pandanaceae is represented in Honolulu by the horti- 
cultural species Pandanus I eitchii Hort. a native of Polynesia, and 
the Hawaiian as well as cosmopolitan species Pandanus tectorius Sol. 
and a few of its varieties. Pandanus Rockii Alartelli from the Isl- 
and of Palmyra has been more or less extensively planted both on 
Oahu and Molokai. The first mentioned species has variegated 
leaves and forms large round clumps when left unmolested, the two 
others have bright green leaves and are more erect; the latter is 
slender in habit. 
Pandanus sylvestris Bory. 
Pandanus sylvestris, an elegant species, is also cultivated in Hono- 
lulu. It is easily distinguished by the long pedunculate (stalked) 
syncarpium, which is depressed-globose, and composed of about thirty 
drupes, somewhat compressed and pyramidal in outline, the apex is 
slightly concave. A reddish or rose-colored ring surrounds the drupe 
at about the middle or part of adherence with the other drupes. 
The branching habit of this species is rather peculiar, the branches 
are horizontal and decrease in length upwards, the whole tree having 
the appearance of a pyramid. 
It is a native of the Island of Reunion, but is cultivated in many 
botanic gardens. In Honolulu a mature specimen grows in the 
grounds of Lunalilo Home, near the entrance. 
PALMAE 
The Palms. 
The most conspicuous and stately members of the vegetable 
kingdom are unquestionably the palms, one of the largest and most 
beautiful of all natural orders. The palms indeed supply many of 
our wants and minister largely to our comforts. The palms have 
been termed "The princes of the vegetable kingdom;" this title is, 
however, only a poetical one and is for several reasons objectionable. 
They are not placed pre-eminently at the head of the vegetable king- 
dom but occupy a more or less inferior position in that classified 
organization known as the Natural System of Plant Families. They 
belong to the same great division as the grasses, rushes, and lilies, 
etc., standing intermediate between the highest and lowest forms of 
plants. In their outward structure as well as in their internal ar- 
rangement they come nearest to the grasses, which, in contradistinc- 
t'on to the palms, have been termed by Linnaeus the Plebeians. 
