Palms. 
185' 
species, which are natives of the East Indies and Caro- 
lina. 
Phoenix. Gen. char.— — (1) Cal. a three-parted 
one-valved sheath j cor. with three concave oval pe- 
tals ; (2) cal. the same ; cor. with three petals; fruit 
oval, one-seeded. 
Phcen. Paciylifera, Date Tree ; with pinnated leaves, 
leaflets sword-shaped, folded. To the inhabitants d£ 
many extensive regions of Asia and Africa, the Date- 
Tree is the most important vegetable production ; it 
grows with a straight cylindrical stem to the height of 
thirty or forty feet, thickly set on the upper part with 
scales, which are the vestiges of old leaves, and is ter- 
minated by a bunch of leaves nine or ten feet in length. 
The fruit is composed of a fine soft pulp, of a sweet and 
slightly vinous taste, and of a very wholesome and nu- 
tritious quality. 
Cocos. Gen. cfiar .— -Monoecious : ( 1 ) Cal. with: 
three leaves, cor. with three petal's. (2) Cal. with two 
leaves, and cor. with six petals ; seed vessel a drupe,, 
with a fibrous husk, including a large oval nut. 
Cocos Nucifera, Cocoa-nut Tree ; is a native of al- 
most every tropical region ; grows to the height of fifty 
or sixty feet, and is terminated by a bunch of ten or 
twelve leaves, from ten to fifteen feet long. The cocoa- 
nut tree is of slow growth, but when it reaches matu- 
rity it lives long, and produces fruit three or four times 
a year. By wounding the upper part of the tree, which 
is green and tender, a sweet thick liquor distils, of an 
agreeable flavour, and known in Ceylon by the name 
©f tody, is a wholesome and cooling drink while fresh, 
Q3 
