380 
PALMiE. (I. B. Balfour.) 
[. Lodoicea . 
eacli flower subtended by a bracteole. Outer segments of the perianth 
spathulate-cucullate ; inner obcuneate. Stamens about 36 ; filaments 
monadelphous ; anthers linear. Budimentary pistil represented by 1-3 
subulate processes. Female. Flowers fewer than in the male spikes, con- 
tained in cups formed by a pair of bracteoles. Ovary ovoid, 3- rarely 2- or 
4-celled ; stigmas sessile. Stamens represented by minute staminodes. 
Drupe large, olive-green, usually 1-seeded ; mesocarp thick, fibrous ; 
pyrene large, bony, firmly attached to the mesocarp^ usually 2-lobed. 
Albumen homogeneous, cartilaginous ; embryo placed between the 
lobes. A single endemic species. 
1. L. sechellarum, Lahill. in Ann. Mus. ix. 140, t. 13. Palm 50 
or even 100 feet high, with a stem thickened at the base. Leaves 
spreading, 15-20 feet long ; petiole 8-10 feet long, dilated into an 
ample sheath ; blade obovate-sub rhomboid, cuneate at the base, 6 feet 
broad, flabellately cut, with bifid segments. Male spadix 5-6 feet long, 
with a few obliquely truncate spathes at the base ; spikes 2-6 feet long, 
4-5 in. thick, sheathed by basal spathes, female spikes 4-6 feet long, 
pendulous, on a 1-foot peduncle. Perianth £ in. long, Drupe lj foot 
long, broadly ovoid, obtuse or acute, sessile in a large persistent 
perianth ; pyrene a foot long. Bot. Mag. t. 2734-8. Cocos maldivica, 
Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 402. 
Seychelles, especially abundant in Praslin. Endemic. Coco de Mer . Double Coco 
Nut . 
2. LATANIA, Comm. 
Dioicous. Flowers in distichously-branched axillary spadices, each 
branch sheathed by an obliquely truncate spathe. Male. Spikes cylin- 
drical, with pits formed by the union of imbricating bracts, each pit 
containing a single flower. Perianth-lobes imbricate. Stamens 15-30, ex- 
serted ; filaments connate at the base. Budimentary pistil a triquetrous 
column or of 3 or more subulate processes. Female. Bracts toothed 
on their outer edge, combined in pairs to form a cup for each flower. 
Flowers fewer than in the male spikes. Stamens represented by a 
toothed cup. Ovary 3-celled ; stigmas 3, distinct. Drupes containing 
3 or, by abortion, 1-2 pyrenes ; mesocarp succulent ; pyrenes convex 
and sculptured externally. Seed with a testa which adheres completely 
to the endocarp, homogeneous albumen and an apical embryo. — Palms 
of moderate height, with long-petioled palmate-flabelliform leaves, the 
blade deeply laciniated. Distrib. These 3 the only species ; confined 
to the Mascarene isles. 
Male spikes under a foot long. 
Pyrene grooved longitudinally 1. L. Commersonii. 
Pyrene with tree-like branching ridges in the upper 
third 2. L. Loddigesii. 
Male spike under a foot long. 
Pyrene with a central crest and two smaller processes 
at the top' 
3. L. Verschaffeltii. 
