Palms of British Guiana. 259 
Fruit, smooth, roundish, dark-purple, about the size of 
a large pea, borne on branched spadices. 
This plant is very common on the Corentyn and its 
creeks, growing in clumps in many places along the 
river, and in the forest under the shade of the trees. It 
appears in very distinfl forms in the two places. When 
growing in exposed places, near the river, it is shorter 
(8-10 ft.) and slightly stouter (4! inch) in the stem ; it 
also then has more spines, and more numerous and 
broader pinnae. When growing in the shade it is taller 
(up to 20 ft.), the stem is much slighter, and is almost 
denuded of spines ; the pinnse are very few in number 
and narrow. The leaves of the two forms are however, 
otherwise, alike ; and the fruit is identical. The fruit, 
which was ripe in 06tober, is edible, but not much used. 
The stems of the plant would make excellent walking 
sticks. 
I have not seen the palm elsewhere than on the Cor- 
entyn. 
Genus XIV. DESMONCUS. 
[" Pcrigone exterior small, sub-truncate or 3-dentate, interior male 
3-phyllous, female urceolate, sub-truncate. Stamens 6. Ovary 3 ( — 1) 
—celled, with 2 cells abortive : no cupule of abortive stamens : stigmas 
3, terminal. Drupe i-seeded: putamen 3-porous at the summit-— Stem 
arundinaceous, scandent, prickly ; leaves scattered : rachis produced 
into a cirrhose extremity, with its segments transformed into hooks : 
petiole sheathing : spadix simply branched, axillary, flowers sessile : 
drupes small." — Griesbach.] 
[D. macrantha, Mart : 
Occurs, according to SCHOMBURGK, throughout the 
forest region, where it flowers in January and February ; 
and in the sandstone region, in forests and on the Humi- 
rida mountains, where it flowers in November.] 
KK 
