1202 
the name pacayito may be chosen as best suited to use in 
the United States. Judging from accounts given me by 
various residents of the Verapaz, this palm commonly 
occurs in the mountains of that region at elevations 
of about 4000 to 6000 feet. It always grows in dense 
forests, and must be considered a shade and moisture- 
loving species. The soil in which it grows is nothing 
but decayed leaves for the first several inches, which 
is kept continually moist by the abundant rains of 
this region. In Coban the pacayito is a favorite house 
plant, being grown in pots and tubs and used to dec- 
orate living rooms and patios. In the city of Guate- 
mala it is occasionally used for the same purpose, the 
plants being brought down from Coban. In the forests, 
the pacayito seems never to reach a greater height than 
3 feet. It is a true dwarf (one might almost call it 
a miniature palm) , for it reaches maturity and comes 
into flower when not over a foot high. This dwarf 
habit makes it of unusual interest as a pot plant for 
the north, as it can be fruited in an ordinary living 
room when growing in an eight-inch pot. It makes its 
character leaves almost as soon as the young plant is 
out of the seed. I have seen many plants in the forest, 
not over 4 inches tall, which already had 2 to 4 fully 
characterized leaves. When quite small it strongly 
resembles Cocos weddelliana, but the pinnae are somewhat 
broader and not so numerous. For fern dishes in the 
northern states it should have great value. When ma- 
ture, the plant has a slender trunk, perhaps half an 
inch thick and two feet high. The leaves are a foot 
to eighteen inches in length, rather finely pinnate, 
deep green, and graceful, with the rachis stiff but 
arching slightly. In the Verapaz the flowers are pro- 
duced in June and July and the small, round seeds, 
about as large as small peas, ripen in December. 
Since it is found at considerable elevation in the 
Verapaz, it seems likely that this palm will be suf- 
ficiently hardy for cultivation in the open in Cali- 
fornia and Florida. . It should be provided with ample 
shade, however, and planted in a very moist situa- 
tion in soil containing a large proportion of leaf 
mold. As a house plant for the northern states, and 
for use in fern dishes, it seems to me that this 
plant possesses unusual possibilities, and I strong- 
ly recommend it for trial." (Popenoe.) 
Chamaedorea sp. (Phoenicaceae . ) 45022. Pacaya palm 
seeds from Guatemala. Collected by Mr. Wilson Popenoe, 
