P A L 
downward, and between thefe pinnae hang down long 
threads. The flowers and fruit come out from be- 
tween the leaves ; the fruit is of the fhape and fize of 
thefmall Lucca Olives. The leaves of this tree are 
ufed for thatch all over the Weft-Indies. 
The eighth fort grows naturally in Japan, and alfo 
upon rocky dry mountains at Malabar. This in 
time rifes with a ftrait trunk about forty feet high, 
which has many circles round it the whole length, 
which are occasioned by the veftigia of the leaves, 
which are placed circularly round the Item ; fo as 
thefe feparate entirely and fall off, the circles remain 
where their bafe embraced the ftalk. The ftalks are 
terminated by an obtufe cone, juft below which the 
leaves are placed ■, thefe on the large trees are eight 
or nine feet long, but thofe of the fmall plants are 
much lefs the largeft I have feen were not more than 
two feet long. The bafe of the foot-ftalk, which 
partly embraces the trunk, is broad and three-corner- 
ed, and is armed on each fide with fliort fpines to the 
place where the lobes, or fmall leaves, begin. Thefe 
pinnte or lobes, are long, narrow, and entire, of a 
lucid green on their upper fide, Handing by pairs op- 
pofite along the midrib, very clofe together. The 
flowers and fruit are produced in large bunches at the 
foot-ftalks of the leaves ; the fruit is oval, about the 
fize of a large Plum, and nearly of the fame fhape ■, 
the fkin, or covering, changes firft yellow, and af- 
terward red when ripe, of a fweet tafte, under which 
is a hard brown fhell, inclofing a white nut, which is 
in tafte like the Cheftnut. 
From the pith of the trunk of this tree is made the 
fago •, this is firft pulverized, then it is made into a 
pafte, and afterward granulated. 
The ninth fort was difcovered by the late Dr. Houf- 
toun, growing naturally in the fands near Old Vera 
Cruz in America. This hath a thick ftem, which > 
feldom rifes more than two feet high. The leaves 
come out round the upper part of the ftem, Handing 
upon foot-ftalks which are a foot and a half long ; 
they are winged ; the lobes or fmall leaves are about 
five inches long, and one and a half broad in the mid- 
dle, drawing to a point at both ends ; they are ftiff, 
fmooth, and entire, having a few fmall indentures at 
their points, and are placed alternate, of a pale green 
colour ; there are fourteen or fifteen of thefe lobes 
ranged along the midrib, or ftalk. The fruit rifes 
up from the fide of the ftem, upon a fhort thick foot- 
ftalk, Handing upright, and fhaped like a club, hav- 
ing many red feeds about the fize of large Peas, Hand- 
ing in feparate cells round the central foot-ftalk, to 
which they adhere. Thefe plants have their male 
flowers on feparate plants from the fruit, for all thofe 
plants which have flowered in England are of the male 
kind. Thefe plants lofe their leaves before the fruit 
is ripe annually. The firft time when Dr. Houftoun 
faw thefe plants growing at La Vera Cruz, they were 
in full leaf, but on his return to the fame place three 
months after, the fruit was then ripe, and all the 
leaves were fallen off; and this he afterwards obferved 
the following feafon. 
The tenth fort was difcovered by the late Dr. Houf- 
toun in the Spanifh Weft-Indies. This rifes with a 
very tall naked trunk, garnifhed at the top with long 
winged' branches or leaves, whofe lobes are fpear- 
fhaped and plaited ; they are of a fofter texture than 
any, of the other forts, and for the mo ft part come 
out two from the fame point, fo ftand by pairs on the 
fame fide of the midrib •, they have two lobes on a 
fide a little above each other, but there is a great 
fpace between every four lobes. The flowers come 
out in long bunches from between the leaves, the 
male flowers hanging on long tender firings-, but the 
fruit, which is about the fize of a middling Plum, is 
colle&ed into large bunches. 
The eleventh fort grows naturally in the Cape Verd 
Iflands, from whence I had one of the plants brought 
me, as alfo in the Madeira, from whence I have re- 
ceived the feeds. This is called Dragon-tree, be- 
caufe the infpiffated juice of the plants becomes a 
PAL 
red powder,, very like the eaftern Dragons Blood, and 
is frequently uied in Head of it in the fhops ; but the 
tree, from whence the true Dragons Blood is taken, 
is of a very different genus from this. Dr. Van 
Royen ,in Hie Prodromes of the Leyden Garden, has 
ranged this among the Yuccas, I fuppofe, from the 
fimilitude of the plant to thoie of that genus ; for, 
as the fruit of this is a berry not unlike thofe of the 
Bay-tree, and the feeds of the Yucca grow in cap- 
iules with three cells, they cannot he of the fame ge- 
nus ; nor have we any good account of the real cha- 
rafters of this plant, lo as abfolutely to determine 
the genus. Dr. Linnasus has, upon the information 
of his pupil Loefling, ranged it in his genus of Af- 
paragus, to \yhich it feems to have little affinity j 
therefore, as it has by feverai modem authors been 
ranged under this title, I have continued it there. 
This rifes with a thick trunk nearly equal in fize the 
whole length, the inner part of which is pithy ; next 
to this is a circle of ftrong fibres, and the out fide is 
foft. The ftalk or trunk rifes twelve or fourteen feet 
high, and is nearly of the fame diameter the whole 
length, which is rarely more than eight or ten inches % 
there are the circular marks or rings left the whole 
length, where the leaves are fallen off; for as thefe 
half embrace the ftalk with their bafe, fo when they 
fall away, the veftigia where they grew remain. The 
top of the ftalk fuftains a large head of leaves, which 
come out fingly all round it 5 they are fhaped like 
thole of the common Iris, but are much longer, be- 
ing often four or five feet long, and an inch and a 
half broad at their bafe, where they embrace the ftalk, 
and leffen gradually to the end, where they terminate 
in a point. Thefe leaves- are pliable, and hang do wn 
all round the ftem they are entire, and of a deep 
green, fmooth on both furfaces, and greatly referable 
thole of the common yellow Iris. As this plant has 
not flowered in England, I can give no account of its 
flowers but fo far as I can judge from the berries 
which I have received, it may properly enough be 
ranged in this genus. 
All thefe forts of Palms are propagated by feeds, 
which lhould be Town in the lame way as hath been 
direfted for the firft fort, and the plants lhould af- 
terward be treated in the fame manner; with this dif- 
ference, that fuch of them as are natives of very warm 
countries, will require to be kept in a wanner air. 
The fecond, third, fourth, fifth, fixth, feventh, 
eighth, and ninth forts lhould be conftantly kept in 
the bark-bed in the Hove, otherwife they will not 
make great progrefs in England ; and when they do 
thrive, they grow in about twenty years too tall for 
moll of the ftoves which are at prefent built here, nor 
can we hope to fee many of them produce their fruit 
in England ; fo the plants are preserved by the curi- 
ous for their foliage, which being fo lingular and dif- 
ferent from that of the European trees, renders them 
worthy of care. 
The other forts may be kept in a dry ftove in winter 
in a moderate temperature of air, and in the heat of 
fummer they may be expofed to the open air in a warm 
Iheltered fituation for about three months, but they 
fhould be removed into the ftove before the morning 
frofts come on in the autumn. When thefe plants are 
kept in a moderate degree of warmth, they lhould 
have but little water during the winter feafon and in 
the fummer, when they are expofed in the open air, 
they mull not be often watered, unlefs the feafon is re- 
markably dry and warm, for too much moifture will 
foon deftroy them. The other management of them 
is nearly the fame as for the Date Palms, which is not 
to cut their principal roots when they are fluffed from 
one pot to another, nor to confine their roots too much 5 
but as the plants grow in fize, they fhould annually 
be removed into pots a fize larger than thofe they were 
in the former year. The earth in which they are 
planted, fhould be light, fo as to let the moifture 
eafily pals off 5 for if it is ftrong, and detains- the 
moifture, the tender fibres of the roots will rot. 
\ 1 
PAN AX. 
