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POPULAR

_

HISTORY OF THE PALMS

AND THEIR ALLIES,

CONTAINING

A FAMILIAR ACCOUNT OF THEIR STRUCTURE,
GEOGRAPHICAL AND GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION,
HISTORY, PROPERTIES, AND USES,

AND A COMPLETE LIST OF ALL THE SPECIES
INTRODUCED INTO OUR GARDENS.

BY

BERTHOLD SEEMANN, Pu.D., M.A., F.LS.,

MEMBER (BONPLAND) OF THE IMPERIAL LEOPOLDINO-CARCLINE ACADEMY OF
' NATURALISTS; AUTHOR OF THE BOTANY AND THE NARRATIVE OF THE
VOYAGE OF H.M.S. HERALD, ETC. ETC,

LONDON:
LOVELL REEVE, 5, HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN.
1856.

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aps, 2
5 ee
Se

JOHN EDWAKD TAYLOR, PRINTER,

LITTLE QUEEN STREET, LINCOLN’S INN FIELDS.

a oTowny caseacdh SHS Aoods (SO 1bMc\6 ae

7

TO

ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT

Chis Little Work
IS DEDICATED

WITH FEELINGS OF HIGH REGARD AND ESTEEM

BY HIS FRIEND AND ADMIRER,

BERTHOLD SEEMANN. .

PREFACKH.

In producing the present little Work I cannot say that 1
have yielded to any urgent solicitations of friends, but 1
must own that after having made known my resolution to
write a Popular History of the Palms and their Alhes, I
received so much warm encouragement and ready assistance
from all sides, that I feel I have undertaken a task in which
many are interested. The late Dr. E. Stocks furnished me
with notes on the Palms of Scinde, and other parts of India,
with which he was familiar; Professor C. B. Heller, well
known as a successful explorer of the South-eastern States
of Mexico, drew up an account of the Palms of that region ;
Professor Géppert, one of the most accomplished paleon-

tologists of the day, sent the necessary information about

Vill PREFACE. -

the fossil Palms; John Miers, Esq., the distinguished tra-
veller and botanist, communicated notes on the Palms of
Chile and Peru; Dr. Carl Bolle, the indefatigable investi-
gator of the Canary Islands, wrote an elaborate treatise on
the Palms of that archipelago; Dr. J. D. Hooker, the ta-
lented author of the ‘Flora Antarctica’ and other publica-
tions of high repute, readily opened some of the vast
treasures of information accumulated during a voyage
round the world and scientific journeys in the Hast Indies;
and lastly, though not least, Mr. John Smith, the intelli-
gent curator of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, and his
son, the zealous curator of the Museum of Economic Bo-
tany at the same Institution, obligingly gave me the loan of
a series of notes, containing extracts from works often not
easily accessible, and information obtained from the lips of
travellers, such as Purdie and others. I have also to ac-
knowledge to the three last-named gentlemen, as well as to
Mrs. Hooker, my deep sense of gratitude for assisting in
seeing this Work through the press, and eradicating the
mistakes and crudities which here and there had crept
into the manuscript. Besides these sources of information,

PREFACE. 1x

my own circumnavigation of the globe in H.M.S. Herald,
and travels in tropical countries, put me in possession of
numerous facts bearing upon the subject. I have also
consulted all the works I could obtain—and this number is
nearly two hundred; but as no attempt has ever been made
to collect such information as that contained in the pre-
sent publication, this branch of botanical literature is of
course very much scattered about, and it would be dishonest
to pretend that the Popular History of the Palms, etc., con-
tains an account of all that has ever been written on this
subject. However, I may safely affirm, without the fear of
contradiction, that there is no work in existence, in any
language whatever, in which an equal amount of informa-
tion, such as here given, is to be met with.

The quotations from other works, though they may ap-
pear between inverted commas, have in most instances been
very much condensed; and as there was, as might be ex-
pected in information derived from so many different quar-
ters, a great diversity in the terms employed, I have en-
deavoured to reduce them to uniformity, especially where
the rules of modern botanical terminology rendered such a

x PREFACE. °

proceeding imperative. For instance, the term “leaf” has
been substituted for “branch” and “ frond,” “ segment”
for “pinnule” and “leaflet.” Less stringency has been
shown with words which did not interfere with those ter-
minological laws; that of “kernel,” for example,—to the
use of which, in strictly scientific ‘works, strong objections
must be raised, as it denotes sometimes cotyledons, some-
times the albumen, sometimes the whole seed,—has been
admitted, as it has a fixed meaning in popular language,
and people will always know a kernel when they see one.

The illustrations have been adopted from the works of
Martius, Hooker, Wallace and others, by M. J. Ch. Frank,
to whom great praise is due for the skill shown in reducing
them, mostly from large folio plates, to the small size of
this volume, without sacrificing their minute characteristic
features.

That I should have been desirous of dedicating this little
Work to so great a man as Humboldt, will be found quite
natural by those who know that it was Humboldt who
more than half a century ago wrote the first popular account
of the Palms, and that it was he who, by his glowing de-

“”

PREFACE. xi

scriptions of tropical scenery, did more than any one living
to encourage that desire for the exploration of equinoctial
regions, to which we owe indirectly so much of our know-
ledge of these Palms, and directly the elaborate works of
Martius, Griffith, Blume, and other Botanists of eminence,
more particularly devoted to them. How much Humboldt
himself was pleased with the dedication will be evident
from the following letter, which in justification of what I
have stated cannot be very well withheld :—

, . * Berlin, June 18, 1855.
‘My dear Friend and ‘ Travelling Companion,’*

“ Your kind letter of the 13th instant has been a source of great
pleasure to me. I received it the moment of my return from
Potsdam, early this morning, there being no postal delivery on a
Sunday at Berlin. As there is only an hour left until the depar-
ture of the mail-train, and as you are pleased to long for a speedy
answer, I must unfortunately be very brief in expressing my high
sense of gratitude for the honour you intend to confer upon me. |
A dedication from you, dear Seemann, cannot but be extremely
agreeable and flattering, and I gladly accept your favour, but on
the express condition that you will simply call me your friend,

' * A playful allusion to my academical name, “ Bonpland.”—B. 8.

xii PREFACE. ~

and avoid every species of titulation, which is quite contrary to
my way of thinking. . . . Your Work will, I am convinced, go
through several editions; it begins in a jovial strain, but never
oversteps, according to my opinion, the boundaries of good taste ;
it may be called popular, because, without supposing the reader
to be possessed of any great botanical knowledge, it supplies him
with an agreeable literary recreation. The ‘low connections ’
(p. 12) with the plebeian Grasses have not proved a serious disad-
vantage to your patrician, aristocratic Palms. . . . I have read
line for line of the sheets you sent, and as a-proof thereof note
two unfortunate misprints, which I discovered at page 33 and 34.
The first is Moricheles, instead of Morichales. The terminations
indicative of forests (Waldendigungen) form themselves in Spanish
always in ‘al’ or ‘ar;’ thus, Pino, Pinal or Pinar (Pine-forest) ;
Olivo, Olivar (Olive-forest) ; Roble, Robledar (Oak-forest). The
second misprint is Cauca and Hrenato, instead of Caura and
Erevato. Of the Caura, which flows into the Erevato, I have
published a special chart. Caura, again, is a tributary of the
Orinoco, whilst Cauca is a tributary of the Magdalena. You
will perceive from this that I have carefully perused your in-
structive pages. The description of the great Palm-house at
Kew, and especially the paragraphs which immediately succeed
that, have pleased me very much indeed. Pray do not omit to
mention the surprise travellers experience when beholding for the

PREFACE. ‘xin

first time European forms (Pinus for instance) growing together
with tropical ones (Palms, etc.) in the same forest, as is the case
at Chilpanzingo, on the western declivity of the Mexican table-
land, or in that, on account of its mahogany, frequented Isle of
Pines, south of Cuba. Peter Martyr (Angheria) states on the
authority of one of Columbus’s letters that Pineta and Palmite
grew there together. The Conquistadores noticed a coniferous
plant with fruit resembling Olives (parezen azeytunos del Azarate
de Sevilla), which I take to be a species of the genus Podocarpus.
As your Work will be much read, you must not forget to dwell
upon the oppositum of the numerous littoral plants,—the little-
known, small group of mountainous or alpine Palms (Ceroaxylon
Andicola, Oreodoxa frigida, and Kunthia montana). Ceroxylon
Andicola I found in the cordillera of the Pass. of Quindiu, be-
tween Ibague and Cartago, not lower on the declivity than
7930, not higher than 9700 English feet (you could say be-
tween 7900 and 9700 feet), in company of Podocarpus-trees and
Quercus Granatensis.
“T am, etc.,
‘‘ ALEXANDER VON HuMBOLDT.”

I shall offer no apology for the numerous imperfections
which, notwithstanding all the advantages I have enjoyed,
may still appear in these pages. Those who have been en-

X1V PREFAOE. »

gaged in similar compositions will, I am sure, if they should
happen to be among the number of my critics, deal leniently
with me; whilst those who have not, will please to bear in
mind that my “ History of Palms” is not a purely literary
production, but a scientific work, which, to meet the views
of my publisher, has assumed a popular garb, in which
mere literary considerations have been made subordinate to
scientific accuracy.
BERTHOLD SEEMANN.

London, December 8th, 1855.

LIST OF PLATES.

—+—
Ss Tee Frontispiece. | PuatTE VI....... to face p. 90
1 The Great Palm-House at 1 Chameerops humilis.
the Royal Gardens, Kew.
Piare VIC: 3. oe 104
PuateE Il. ...... to face p. 30 1 Cocos nucifera.
1 Acrocomia Mexicana.
Setiacdorea Gchicdeana. Puars Vill...) 22.2
1 Copernicia cerifera.
a ee
1 Areca Catechu. PLATE TK. S30 eee 134
1 Elis melanococca.
MOEN. ss... J. .... 60 9 Triartea exorrhiza.
1 Arenga saccharifera.
2 Nipa fruticans. PLNTEE RS Sete ee 150
1 Gulielma speciosa.
MMO ea. cnet 74
1 Borassus flabelliformis. PLATE: AE 396 are 164

2 Corypha umbraculifera. 1 Hypheene Thebaica.

xvi

Prave XII. ... to face p. 180
1 Iriartea ventricosa.

Peeve ALT... .t. 194
1 Lodoicea Sechellarum.

PLATE XIV. 210
1 Mauritia vinifera.

PuaTeE XV. ne 994

1 Metr ce Teaephis

: Sagus elata.

2 ee 24.0

1 Oreodoxa oleracea.

LIST OF PLATES. ~

Puate XVII. .. to face p. 254
1 Oreodoxa oleracea.
2 Thrinax multiflora.

Pirate XVIII. 270
L Phoenix dactylifera.
PuaTe XIX. . 284

1 Phytelephas macrocarpa.

PraTs XXit.¢ 22 eegeee
1 Thrinax argentea.

POPULAR HISTORY

OF THE

PALMS AND THEIR ALLIES.

INTRODUCTION.

My first acquaintance with the Palms was not in the great

. conservatories of Europe, nor in the virgin forests of tropical
America or Asia, where I had afterwards an opportunity of

- studying them, but in a dusty schoolroom of my native town.
Acquaintance with them was, I may say, not sought by me;
but, as the reader will presently see, quite forced upon me.
Our schoolmaster, having to keep in order about fifty unruly
boys, had always a number of canes, the excellence of which
we had an opportunity of testing whenever we had been
guilty of a misdemeanor. Deeming our master’s possession
of these light, flexible sticks, with their yellowish polish, a

, Circumstance not very conducive to our comfort, we seized

B

2 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS#

upon them whenever a fair chance presented itself. Hav-
ing once laid hands upon them, they were, on the advice of
some of the elder boys, cut into pieces about as long as
cigars, lighted at one end, and thus used for practising
smoking, so as to be perfect in that habit whenever the
increased allowance of our pocket-money should admit of
investing the requisite sum in the purchase of real cigars,
genuine pipes, and unadulterated tobacco! Thus we succeed-
ed in converting instruments peculiarly hateful to us into a
great source of amusement; for such, I fear, I must call it.
However, all our endeavours to exhaust the stock of our
master were as ineffectual as if we had attempted to fill the
leaky vessel of the Danaids. The supply was quite equal
to the demand; and lo! to prove to us the utter useless-
ness of our illegal proceedings, we had one day, on leaving
school, the satisfaction of seeing a whole waggon-load of
those abominable canes entering the town. Some of us
followed this interesting vehicle to the very door of the
house in which the cargo was to be stored; and one of our
number, bolder than the rest, actually ventured so far as
to ask the person who took charge of it whence the sticks
came, and what trees produced them, questions which drew
forth the reply, that they had been sent from far across the

INTRODUCTION. 3

sea, and that they were the shoots of a species of Palm.
This information had a most melancholy effect when re-
peated to our other school-fellows. Up to that moment, we
had been labouring under the belief that the canes were the
branches of some willows of our own county, and that, if
we could only discover the place where they grew, we could ,
easily destroy them, and thus free ourselves for ever from
the tyranny of the magisterial sceptres. Even now, after
their true source had been pointed out to us, those who had
most strongly advocated the willow theory still clung to it;
and as the point was one of vital importance to all, we de-
termined to consult some book on the subject, so as to set
our minds at rest. After a great deal of searching in the
limited library at our disposal, we found in some encyclo-
- peedia a passage which, alas! confirmed the statement of the
storekeeper. It informed us that the canes in question were
slender stems of an Kast Indian Palm, belonging to the
genus Calamus, and used for making bottoms of chairs,
walking-sticks, etc. ‘Another species of this interesting
genus” (very interesting, we thought), continued the book,
“yields the famous ‘ Malacca canes’ so much used in Eu-
rope.” There was no appeal from such authority; and we,
entertaining no longer any doubt about the true source

~.

4 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS#

of our master’s sticks, relinquished every hope of cutting off
his inexhaustible supplies.

It was thus that my attention was first directed to that na-
tural order of plants, the Palms, one of the largest, the most
beautiful, as well as the most useful, of the whole Vege-
table Kingdom. It was rather an odd introduction ; but 1
daresay, if every one of my readers would only ask himself
where and how he first came in contact with those plants of
which the present work treats, narratives even more strange
than the one related would probably be brought to light.
Palms, indeed, supply so many of our wants, and administer
so largely to our comforts, that those fully impressed with
this grand truth, may well wonder how the human race can
inhabit any parts of the globe whence they are excluded.
It was therefore not merely a rhetorical figure when Lin-
neeus, full of admiration for this noble tribe of plants, ex-
claimed—“ Man dwells naturally within the tropics, and
lives on the fruit of the Palm-tree; he evzsts in other parts
of the world, and there makes shift to feed on corn and
flesh.” Take, for instance, a walk in the streets of London,
and observe everywhere how substances originally obtained
from Palms, and turned to useful purposes, meet your eye.
That ragged boy, sweeping the crossing, and begging you

INTRODUCTION. 5

with a faltering voice, real or assumed, to ‘remember poor
Jack,’ holds in his hands a broom, the fibrous substance of
which was cut by the wild Indians of Brazil from the stems
of a Palm; that gentleman, dressed in the tiptop of fashion,
who playfully swings his ‘Penang lawyer,’ little thinks that,
in carrying that walking-cane, he is in fact carrying a young
plant of the Liewala acutifida; that fine lady’s parasol-knob
—what is it but a Coquilla-nut turned into that shape?
Continue your walk, and you will find still more, worthy of
notice in a Popular History of the Palms. Those “ chip
hats” so extensively worn on fine summer days, what are
they made of ?—the leaves of a Cuban palm (Thrinax ar-
gentea). Look at that stand, with heaps of dates upon it,
gathered on the borders of the great Desert of Sahara, and
eagerly purchased by the people; look at those fine cocoa-
nuts, grown on the shores of the Indian Ocean and the
Caribbean Sea, and here retailed in penny slices to the
humbler inhabitants of the British metropolis. Step into a
house, and there too will you observe many products ob-
tained from Palms in the most remote corners of the globe.
That thick brownish matting, now so generally used for co-
vering halls, staircases, and offices, is woven from the husk
(mesocarpium) surrounding the cocoa-nut. Those beautiful

6 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS#

pieces of furniture, which arrest your attention, are made of
various kinds of palm wood. ‘That elegant little plaything
you see in the hands of yonder child, was skilfully manu-
factured of the bone-like kernels (a/bumen) of the Vegetable
Ivory Palm. Those fine stearic candles illumining the room
—what are they composed of but the fatty substance ex-
tracted from the fruit of the Oil Palm and the Cocoa-nut P
That sago, which, under various disguises, appears at the
dinner-table, it also is the produce, the pith, of Palms
flourishing in the islands of the Hast Indian Archipelago.
That arrack, pronounced by connoisseurs to be of excellent
quality, it too is extracted from a Palm,—the Cocoa-nut.
Be still more inquisitive, and ask of what that tooth-powder,
so extensively applied, consists, and you will be told that
its chief ingredients are Betel-nuts, previously reduced to
charcoal, and dragon’s blood,—both produced by palms ; or
examine our toilet soap, and you will find that the fatty
substance, which enters so largely into the composition
of it, has been derived from Palms. Everywhere you will
meet numerous products of Palms, either in a raw state, or
turned by the ingenuity of man to some useful purpose;
and this too at a place thousands of miles from those re-
gions which Palms principally acknowledge as their native

INTRODUCTION. L

country. Even at such a distance, their benign influence’is
strongly felt; and millions of people, whose privilege it has
never been to obtain even a glimpse of a single Palm, en-
tertain feelings of well-founded gratitude towards an order
of plants which is to them a source of so much usefulness
and enjoyment.

.But if such is the case in a city like London, and in a
country like England, where few Palms ever grow except
within the walls of a well-managed conservatory, and under
the careful treatment of a judicious gardener, it is much
more so the case in regions like those of tropical Asia, Africa,
America, and Australia, where these elegant members of the
Vegetable Kingdom flourish in all their native splendour,
where the inhabitants derive nearly every necessary of life
from them, and where almost every action of a man’s daily
occupation comes more or less in contact with them ; asso-
ciating them so closely with the traditions, the history, and
the destiny of the countries in which they have taken up
their abode, that it is quite impossible to treat of their reli-
gious, social, or political condition, without mentioning in a
greater or lesser degree the Palms,—those splendid offspring
of Tellus and Phebus. To illustrate this more clearly, let
us change the scene we behold on the banks of the Thames

8 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS«#

for one of those on the Rio Negro, the great tributary of
the Amazon. The background is a thick virgin forest, the
wild domain of tiger-cats, tapirs, monkeys, and snakes ; huge
trees are densely crowded together; orchids, pepperworts,
ferns, and other epiphytical plants cover their trunks; creepers
are luxuriantly growing among them, here forming elegant
festoons, there hanging slovenly, like ropes of a ship out of
trim: all is teeming with vegetation. The foreground is an
open spot with a few Indian huts and some isolated Palms,
the dark green foliage of which, gracefully waving in the
morning air, forms bold outlines, agreeably contrasting with
the dark blue of the sky; a group of merry boys, almost
entirely in the simple garb of nature, are playing around
them, practising their bows and arrows, and reminding one
of a petty army of young Cupids preparing for a conquering
expedition.

A comparison of the scene with that we beheld in London
is sufficient to create an interest for it. To learn more of
an Indian’s life becomes a prominent wish, and to visit one
of these huts an irresistible desire. Let us enter then, guided
by that enterprising traveller Mr. Wallace, one of those be-
fore us; the inmate is friendly disposed; he will make some
allowance for our curiosity, and permits us to examine the

INTRODUCTION. 9

various articles which arrest our attention. The main sup-
ports of the building are stems of some forest-tree of heavy
and durable wood, but the light rafters overhead are formed
by the straight, cylindrical and uniform trunks of the Jara
Palm (Leopoldinia pulchra). The roof is thatched with
large triangular leaves, arranged in regular alternate rows,
and bound to the rafters with sipos, or creepers; the leaves
are those of the Carané Palm (Mauritia Carana). The door
of the house, a framework of thin hard strips of wood neatly
thatched over, is nade of the split stems of the Pashiuba
Palm (Jriartea erorrhiza). In one corner stands a heavy
harpoon, for catching the cow-fish ; it is formed of the black
wood of the Pashiuba barriguda (Jriartea ventricosa). By
the side of it is a blowpipe, from ten to twelve feet long, and
a little quiver full of small poisoned arrows, for procuring
birds for food or for their gaily-coloured feathers, or even
bringing down the wild hog or tapir ; and it is from the stem
and nerves of the petiole of two species of Palms that they
are made. The great bassoon-like musical instruments, the
Indian has made of palm-stems ; the cloth in which he wraps
his most valued feather ornaments is a fibrous palm-spathe ;
and the rude chest in which he keeps his treasures is woven

from palm-leaves. His hammock, his bowstrings, and his
¥

10 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS. @

fishing-line are obtained from the fibres of different palm-
leaves. ‘The comb which he wears on his head, is inge-
niously constructed of the hard wood of a Palm; and he
makes fish-hooks of the spines, or uses them to puncture on
his skin the peculiar markings of his tribe. His children
are eating the agreeable red and yellow fruit of the Pupunha
or Peach Palm (Gwilielma speciosa), and from that of the
Assai (Euterpe edulis) he has prepared a favourite drink,
which he offers to his guests. That carefully-suspended
gourd contains oil, which is the produce of the fruit of an-
other species; and that long elastic plaited cylinder, used
for squeezing dry the mandiocca pulp, extracted from the
root of a shrubby Euphorbiaceous plant, the Manihot uti-
Hissima, is made of the trunk of one of the singular climb-
ing Palms, which resists for a considerable time the action
of the poisonous juice it comes in contact with.

The curtain may be allowed to drop for a moment on this
view of Indian life. Enough has already been shown to in-
spire the reader, if not as yet with love, at least with respect,
for a tribe of plants which constitutes so important an ele-
ment in the social life of both the most civilized nations
and the rudest savages. To make him still more favourably
disposed towards Palms, I will give a general description of

INTRODUCTION. Lei

them ; add a summary of their geological and geographi-
al distribution, and a brief notice of their cultivation in
northern Europe; and then enumerate the most prominent
species, with detailed accounts of their aspect, structure,
history, and uses.

GENERAL ACCOUNT OF THE PALMS.

Palms have been termed “the Princes of the Vegetable
Kingdom.” ‘This title, however poetical to some minds, is
so far objectionable, as it may possibly lead those consi-
dering things in the abstract to the erroneous supposition
that the Palms, like the chiefs of states, to whom they are
thus compared, are placed pre-eminently at the head of the
world of plants; whilst, on the contrary, notwithstanding
their beauty and usefuiness, they occupy but a subordinate
position in that classification of organized beings known as
the Natural System of Botany. They belong, systematically
speaking, to the Hndogens or Monocotyledons, the same
great division which comprises the Grasses, Sedges, Lilies,
Orchids, and Screwpines, and which stands about interme-
diate between the highest and lowest orders of the Vege-

12 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.@

table Kingdom. But the metaphor holds good in another
sense: Palms may be said to be as exclusive as princes,
forming close alliances amongst themselves, and acknow-
ledging no immediate relationship with any of the nume-
rous families of the great natural division amongst which
they are classed. They seem to glory in isolation, proudly
waving their graceful foliage amongst those with whom
they are thrown together. Yet, as is often the case in
every-day life, they have, like many noble familes, low con-
nections and poor relations. In their external structure, as
well as in their internal organization, they approach nearest
to the Grasses ; plants which the same authority (Linneus)
who conferred upon Palms the dignity of princes, termed
“the Plebeians.” This relationship will probably be thought
rather distant by those who, from want of other materials,
compare the meadow-grasses of the temperate zones with
the cocoa-nut trees of the tropics; but it will become more
apparent when the huge Bamboo, as the representative of
the Grasses, is placed by the side of some small Rattan,
as that of the Palms. Indeed Nees von Esenbeck, one of
the best systematic botanists of the present day, considers
Grasses to be a sort of Palms of a lower grade; and he is
not singular in that opinion. In habit, especially in the in-

INTRODUCTION. 3

stance cited, the two Orders have much in common: their
leaves are formed upon exactly the same plan, the only dif-
ference being that those of the Palms are generally (not
always) divided, and even the silicious secretions, so cha-
racteristic of Grasses, are observable in Rattans; whilst,
about their flowers, it may be said that those of the Grasses
are those of the Palms, with the floral envelopes removed
and only the bracts remaining.

Palms* are perennial and woody plants; they are never

* The structure of the Palm has been well explained by various authors,
and is generally looked upon as typical of that of Endogens in general. In
the language of Lindley (Vegetable Kingdom, p. 95) it is as follows:—
“In the beginning, the embryo of a Palm consists of a cellular mass of a
cylindrical form, very small and not at all divided. As soon as germination
commences, a certain number of cords of ligneous fibre begin to appear in the
radicle, deriving their origin from the plumule. Shortly afterwards, as soon
as the rudimentary leaves of the plumule begin to lengthen, spiral and dotted
vessels appear in the tissue in connection with the ligneous cords; the latter
increase in quantity as the plant advances in growth, shooting through the
cellular tissue, and keeping parallel with the outside of the root. At the same
time, the cellular tissue increases in diameter to make room for the ligneous
cords (or woody bundles, as they are also called). At last a young leaf is de-
veloped, with a considerable number of such cords in connection with its base;
and, as its base passes all round the plumule, these cords are consequently
connected equally with the centre which that base surrounds. Within this a
second leaf gradually unfolds, the cellular tissue increasing horizontally at the
same time; the ligneous cords, however, soon cease to maintain anything

14 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

annual and herbaceous. Most of them attain the size and
assume the aspect of trees ; a considerable number however
remain shrubby, and some even have quite the appearance,
but nothing save the appearance, of perennial herbs. The

like a parallel direction, but form arcs, the extremities of which pass upwards
and downwards, losing their extremities in the leaf on the one hand, and on
the other in the roots, or in the cellular integument on the outside of the
first circle of cords ; at the same time the second leaf pushes the first leaf a
little from the centre towards the circumference of the cone of growth. In this
manner leaf after leaf is developed, the horizontal cellular system enlarging all
the time, and every successive leaf, as it forms at the growing point, emitting
more woody bundles, curving downwards and outwards, and consequently in-
tersecting the older arcs at some place or other; the result of which is that
the first formed leaf will have the upper end of the ares which belong to it
longest and much stretched outwardly, while the youngest will have the ares
the straightest; and the appearance produced in the stem will be that of a
confused entanglement of woody bundles in the midst of a quantity of cellular
tissue. As the stem extends its cellular tissue longitudinally while this is
going on, the woody arcs are consequently in proportion long, and in fact
usually appear to the eye as if almost parallel, excepting here and there, where
two arcs intersect each other. As in all cases the greater number of ares
curve outwards as they descend, and eventually break up their ends into a
multitude of fine divisions next the circumference, where they assist in form-
ing a cortical integument, it will follow that the greater part of the woody
matter of the stem will be collected near the circumference, while the centre,
which is comparatively open, will consist¢chiefly of cellular tissue ; and when,
as in many Palms, the stem has a limited circumference, beyond which it is
its specific nature not to distend, the density of the circumference must, it is

INTRODUCTION. 15

various modifications of the trunk, or stem, determine this
part of their habit; for, while the trunk of some species
hardly shows itself aboveground, it attains in others the
length of 500 feet; while in some it seems to have no

obvious, be proportionately angmented. It is however a mistake to suppose
that the great hardness of the circumference of old Palm-wood is owing
merely to the presence of augmenting matter upon a fixed circumference ;
this will account but little for the phenomenon. We find that the woody
bundles next the circumference are larger and harder than they originally
were, and consequently we must suppose that they have the power of in-
creasing their own diameter subsequent to their first formation, and they also
act as reservoirs of secretions of a hard and solid nature, after the manner of
the heart-wood of Exogens. When the growth of the stem goes on in this
regular manner, with no power of extending horizontally beyond a specific
limited diameter, a trunk is formed, the sections of which present a singular
appearance. There is a number of curved spots crowded together in a con-
fused way, most thick and numerous at the circumference, comparatively
small and thinly placed at the centre; and the only regular structure that is
observable with the naked eye is that the curves always present their convexity
to the circumference. Never is there any distinct column of pith, or medul-
lary rays, or concentric arrangement of the woody arcs; nor does the cortical
integument of the surface of the stems assume the character of bark, separat-
ing from the wood below it; on the contrary, as the cortical integument con-
sists very much of the finely-divided extremities of the woody ares, they ne-
cessarily hold it fast to the wood, of which they are themselves prolongations;
and the cortical integument can only be stripped off by tearing it away from
the whole surface of the wood, from which it does not separate without leav-
ing myriads of little broken threads behind.”

eae INTRODUCTION. ~

power to raise itself upwards, but remains a low creeping
caudex, it towers in others to the height of 200 feet, dis-
playing a vigour altogether prodigious; while in some it is
hardly as thick as a goosequill, it measures in others from
three to five feet in diameter ; while in some it is climbing
and seeking for support among the surrounding vegetation,
it exists in others quite independent of all other plants;
while in some it is cylindrical and undivided (simple), it is
in others—as the Doom or Gingerbread-tree of Egypt, the
Palmetto of Mexico, and the Sago Palm of New Ireland—
more or less forked; while in some it is perfectly smooth or
even brightly polished, it is in others rough with concentric
rings ; and again, while in some it is armed with spines of
greater or lesser length and thickness, it is in others covered
with hairy fibres. 7

The foliage, that part of the Palms which renders them
objects of such beauty and elegance, generally forms a mag-
nificent crown at the end of the trunk. The leaves, sup-
ported on petioles, or leaf-stalks, sheathing at the base, are
alternate, coriaceous, and often of such gigantic size,—mea-
suring, as they do in some species, fifty feet in length and eight
in width,—that they surpass in the latter respect those of any
natural order of plants. Their structure may be summed

- INTRODUCTION. LF

up in a few words :—they are simple, and furnished witha
midrib, from which parallel veins branch off. This structure,
best seen in some species of Geonoma,—G. simplicifrons,
Willd., for instance, where it appears in all its normal sim-
plicity,—is common to all Palms, but assumes in different
species different forms, easily recognized by accomplished
botanists wont to look upon the Vegetable Kingdom with a
morphological eye, but not so readily traced by those who
have made only a limited progress in phytological studies.
In some species—as, for example, in the species of Geonoma
just quoted—the blade of the leaves is quite entire; while in
others, of which the Cocoa-nut may be cited as the type, it
is cut into long segments (pinnatisect), giving it the appear-
ance of the plume of a feather: occasionally, in the genus
Caryota, these segments are again divided (bipinnatisect),
.their ultimate divisions resembling in shape the fin or tail
of a fish. The midrib in'these three forms, it must be ob-
served, extends throughout the whole length of the leaves;
when the contrary is the case, namely when the midrib is
less developed, palmate or fan-shaped leaves are the result.
This however does not happen very frequently; for, out of
582 known species, only ninety-one have fan-shaped leaves-

The leaves are green, generally on both sides, as in the

Cc

18 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS®

different species of Chamedorea, but occasionally on the
under side of a silvery white, as in the Copernicia Mira-
guama and C. cerifera; sometimes the middle of some
' Jeaves is adorned with concentric bands of yellow and blue
in the manner of a peacock’s tail, as in the prickly Mau-
ritia, discovered by Bonpland, on the banks of the Rio
Atabapo. The direction of the leaves is a character of no
less importance than that of form and colour. The seg-
ments are either ranged in a comb-like manner close to
one another, with a stiff parenchyma, allowing the solar
rays to play over their surface, and causing them to shine
with a brilliant verdure in the Cocoa-nut Palm, and with
a fainter, ashy-coloured hue in the Date-tree ; or they have
a more flexible, grass-like texture, and are curled near the
extremity. Another peculiarity is also notable: the more
acute the angle made by the leaves with the upper part of.
the stem—the nearer the leaves approach the perpendicular,
—the bolder and nobler is the aspect of the species to
which they belong. ‘This will at once be evident by com-
paring the pendent leaves of the Palma de Covija (Coperni-
cia tectorum) with the more horizontal leaves of the Cocoa-
nut Palm, and the lofty heavenward-pointed foliage of the
Jagua, the Cucurito, and Pirijao.

INTRODUCTION, 19

In Palms with feathery (pinnatisect) leaves the petioles
either burst from the dry, rough, ligneous portion of the stem,
—as, for instance, in the Cocos nucifera and Phenix dactyli-
Jfera,—or there rises in the rough part of the stem a grass-
green, smooth, and thinner shaft, like one column above
another, from which the leaf-stalks spring, as is the case
in Oreodoxa regia. In the Fan Palms the living foliage
often rests on a layer of dead leaves, imparting to the tree
a character of melancholy solemnity and grandeur.

Palms, after having arrived at the proper age, flower
either every year until they die, or only once during the
whole course of their existence. The spathe, or sheath
enclosing the flowers, consists of one or many valves, is
occasionally of a woody texture, and presents, according
to the testimony of Alexander von Humboldt and Richard
Schomburgk, the curious phenomenon of bursting suddenly
open with an audible report, reminding one of Pindar’s
Dithyrambus on Spring, and of the moment when, in the
Argive Nemeea, “ the first opening shoot of the Date Palm
announces the coming of balmy Spring.” The flowers
themselves are produced on either a simple or a branched
spadix, appearing in the axil of the leaves or at the end of
the stem (being terminal), and in the latter instance fore-

20 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS#

shadowing, as Palms have not the power of forming regular
side-branches, the death of the individual graced by their
presence.

The flowers, supported by scaly bracts, are polygamous,
or occasionally hermaphrodite ; they are small and incon-
spicuous, generally of a white, pale-yellow, or green colour ;
but, as if to make up for this defect (if we may use that
term), they emit sometimes a very powerful odour, which
attracts such swarms of insects that a newly-burst spathe
may, in most cases, be discovered by the buzzing cloud of
them hovering around it; and moreover they are mostly
produced in such masses as to present an eminently strik-
ing and imposing appearance. A single spathe of the Date
Palm contains 12,000 male flowers; Alfonsia amygdalina —
has been computed to have 207,000 flowers in a spathe.
A still greater number is observable in Sagus Rumphii, a
single spathe of which has, according to the calculations
made by Professor Agardh, Mr. Alexander Smith, and
myself on one of the specimens in the Botanical Museum
at Kew, no less than 208,000 flowers, or about 624,000
upon a single tree!

The sepals,—or outer perigonial leaves, as some authors
term them,—three in number, are fleshy or leathery, and

INTRODUCTION. ay

persistent ; the petals, or inner perigonial leaves, alternate
with, and are often larger than, the former; both calyx
and corolla, or inner and outer perigonial leaves, are some-
times united throughout the greater part of their length
(connate), so as to consist only of a single piece. The
stamens are definite, mostly six in number; in some
instances that number is trebled, and very rarely reduced
to three. The filaments are quite free, or in a few excep- -
tional cases form amongst themselves a kind of tube. The
anthers are turned inwards, and two-celled. The ovary
is free, and usually composed of three, or rarely of two or
only one, carpellary leaves ; the ovules are solitary, or oc-
casionally in single pairs, erect, and orthotropal, or anatropal
in various degrees. The styles are continuous with the
carpels, and equal to them-in number. The fruits, being
drupaceous, or nut-like, or berried, often covered with a
fibrous rind, are almost of every colour, and occasionally
very numerous; a single spathe of the Seje Palm of the
Orinoco bears as many as 8000 of them. Compared with
the size of the plants, they are generally small; some are
in this respect like peas. The common Cocoa-nut is one
of the largest ; and the double Cocoa-nut of the Seychelles,
measuring about four feet in circumference, is probably

99 POPULAR HISTORY Of PALMS#

surpassed in its dimensions by none hitherto discovered ;
the seed, filling the cavity in which it grows, is often re-
ticulated ; and the albumen—of which the white fleshy
part inside the Cocoa-nut may serve as an illustration—
fills the kernel, and is frequently ruminate. The embryo is
undivided, and conical or cylindrical.

Such is a general account of Palms,—plants which,
at the present day, we associate with all that is poetical
and beautiful. We introduce them frequently as rhetorical
figures, and thus involuntarily bear testimony to the great
influence they exercise over our minds. We speak of
“‘palmy days” when wishing to allude to times of glory;
we say of a man that “‘he has carried off the palm” when
desiring to express his having achieved an honourable
victory over an adversary; we give the name of “ Palm
Sunday” to the festival on which we celebrate the tri-
umphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, as much on
account of the transcendent ideas connected with that event
as on account of the palm-leaves stated to have been used
on that occasion. It would be an interesting, though a
difficult, inquiry to find out how long Palms have thus
been associated with these and similar ideas and sentiments.
The first step towards a satisfactory result in that direction

INTRODUCTION. 23

would be to endeavour answering the questions :—~* How
long is it since the term ‘ Palm’ has been used as a general
or collective one for the plants now called so?” “ Has it,
or any synonym, always been applied to them, or has that
been the case only in modern times?” ‘The latter is the
most probable. The Romans—not to go further back—
from whom we obtained the name, originally gave it solely,
it would seem, to the dwarf Fan Palm (Chamerops humilis,
Linn.), a plant growing in considerable abundance near
the Mediterranean Sea, probably on account of a certain
resemblance of its leaves to the human hand (palma), in
the same way as the Aztecs applied to their singular
Cheirostemon platanoides, H.B.K., the term ‘‘ Macpalxo- ~
chitlquahuitl,” or hand-flower tree. Afterwards it appears
to have been gradually extended to the other members
of the Order, until it has become incorporated as a col-
lective term with most modern European languages. The
Indian Amarishina has called the Palms “ Kings among
Grasses,” a title as objectionable as that of “‘ Princes of the
Vegetable Kingdom,” but so far valuable as it: shows an
attempt at finding some general term for the whole of
them; for although the Palms, with scarcely any excep-
tions, have specific names in their native countries, they

24, POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMSe

are always without any general (collective) ones, unless the
latter are derived from the sources indicated. A few words
will explain this circumstance. The presence of specific
vernacular names in barbarous countries is a sure proof
that the plants bearing them have attracted the attention
of the natives, either by their noxious or useful qualities,
or by their odour, colour, beauty of form, or some other
peculiarities ; for whenever the contrary is the case, the
plants have remained without names. The absence of
general vernacular terms in uncivilized countries is not
confined to Palms, but is common to all other things,
and proves that the nations destitute of them never had
any use for them; or, in other words, they never began
to generalize, never attempted to reason. This remark
applies also to civilized countries, and accounts for our
occasionally hearing there unthinking men expressing sur-
prise when a fish is called an animal, and a tree a plant.
If therefore we find people or persons inventing or using
a general (collective) term for the plants named by us
Palms, it indicates a step in popular progress towards a
more perfect knowledge of them, the importance of which
can scarcely be overrated. It plainly shows that they
have commenced to think about them; and that is exactly

INTRODUCTION. 25

the movement which those who, from choice or compul-
sion, hold the office of popular instructors, are desirous of

bringing about.

GEOLOGICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF PALMS.

During the last, and even the first quarter of the present
century, so little was known of the structure of Palms, and
all that was known appeared so abnormal to the scientific
men. of those days, that they were only too readily inclined
to class with them almost all fossil plants presenting
strange and curious forms. This remark applies with full
force to Sigillaria and Lepidodendron, genera belonging to
palzozoic formations; and, startling as it may be, it can-
not be very surprising to us, when we consider that even
In our own times notions equally erroneous prevail to an
almost incredible extent. For instance, a principal share
in the formation of coal is still ascribed by the generality
of geologists to the Ferns, although it was proved some
years ago, by a series of careful observations on nume-
rous carboniferous formations, that such can be claimed
only for the Sigillarias and Stigmarias; that merely a sub-

i eee

26 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

ordinate share is due to the Araucarias and Calamites con-
tained in anthracite coal, and a still more insignificant one
to the Lepidodendrons, the Ferns, and the other members
of the flora of the carboniferous period.

A diligent study of the extinct flora has demonstrated
that the Palms occur more rarely than was thought in the
transition rocks and the carboniferous formation, and more
frequently than was believed in more recent formations.
Generally speaking, we know at present only trunks, leaves
(both fan-shaped and pinnatisect ones), and a few fruits of
the fossil Palms ; flowers have not as yet been discovered,
and spathes, which have been disentombed, have hitherto
not been satisfactorily proved to belong to this order.
These fragments, remnants of members of former creations,
have been distributed under nine genera and seventy-eight
species.

The classification itself is very simple. For the trunks,
there have been adopted the genera Palmacites, Brongn.
(with two species), and Fuasciculites, Cotta (with twenty-
four species), the former not differing essentially from the
latter. Tor the leaves, the genera Flabel/aria, Sternb. (twenty-
two species), with fan-shaped leaves ; Zeugophyllites, Brongn.
(two species), with pinnatisect leaves, the segments of

INTRODUCTION. 27

which, resembling those of Calamus and Desmoncus of the
present flora, are opposite, and have an unequal, well-
marked nervation ; Phenicites, Brongn. (tem species), with
pinnatisect leaves, the segments of which are opposite, and
have not such strong nerves as those of Zeugophylilites,
but they have a midrib ; and Amesoneuron, Geepp. (five spe-
cies), with pinnated leaves, the segments of which are fur-
nished with nerves either equally thick, or alternately thick
and thin, and they are besides without a midrib,—hence the
name. For the spathes, the genus Paleospatha, Unger
(four species), which, as has already been stated, is founded
upon doubtful materials. For the fruits, the genera Bae-
cites, Zenk. (three species), resembling somewhat Syagrus
botryophora, Mart., and Castellinia, Massalong. (six spe-
cies), related, according to Massalonga (author of ‘A Syn-
opsis of Fossil Palms’), to the Cocoinee tribe of Martius.
The genus Burtinia, Endl., placed by Unger among these.
plants, belongs, without a doubt, to Mipadites, among
Pandanee.
Although our present imperfect knowledge of fossil
plants renders it an almost useless task to speak of the
proportion which the number of Palms bears to that of
other members of the extinct flora, yet it may be re-

28 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS®

marked, that if the number of species of the Fossil Flora
is assumed to be 4000 (there are actually at present 3945
described), Palms constitute about an eighty-fourth part
of the whole.*

In the transition rocks no remnants of Palms have as
yet been discovered. In the carboniferous formation five
species have been noticed; in the “ Kupfersandstein,” or
Permian formation, only two have been collected ; in the
secondary class of rocks, which succeeds (Keuper, Bunter
Sandstein, Muschelkalk, Lias, Jura, and Wealden forma-
tion), none have been gathered, except three in the creta-
ceous formation, specially in the “ Quadersandstein.” The
greatest number has been found in the tertiary class of
rocks, viz. sixty, twenty-nine of which belong to the Hocene,
and thirty-one to the Miocene formation. The habitat of
nine species remains still unknown.

It will be seen from this synopsis that there was a geo-
logical period when Palms were entirely wanting in the
extinct flora, or when, after their first appearance, they
vanished again, and after a lapse of time appeared once

* Of these 4000 species 1100 belong to the Paleozoic, 538 to the Secon-
dary, 200 to the Cretaceous formation, and according to a calculation made
by Dr. Goppert in August, 1854, 2095 to the whole Tertiary class of rocks.

INTRODUCTION. 29

more: a state of things which, if confirmed, would certainly
be highly curious, and is one which has never before been
observed in a like manner in any large group of plants. No
species is common to two formations. Several species show
a remarkable degree of resemblance to those of the now
existing flora, especially some of those discovered by Jung-
huhbn, and described by Goppert in the ‘Tertiary Flora of
Java,’ as, for instance, Amesoneuron calyptrocalyr, Gepp.,
A.- dracophyllum, Geepp., A. fagifolium, Geepp., and A.
anceps, Gepp. But it would be rather bold, perhaps in-
judicious, to attempt identifying them, from the fragments
hitherto collected, with species of the present flora. The
result hitherto obtained only entitles us to say :—Palms
make no exception to the rule laid down, that the laws
governing the Vegetable Kingdom were the same in all
periods of our earth’s history when plants existed; and
that the species of Palms have a very local geological, as
they have a very local geographical, distribution.

The Palms of our present flora may be said to be almost
exclusively tropical plants, being most numerous, both in
species and individuals, towards the equator, and decreas-
ing on receding from it. Few extend their range into
the warmer parts of the temperate zones, and none, it is

‘ Pa. - — 7 ek Ds Se \ Leelee =r: et * ile
; npg? tat B,. oe

30 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS®

hardly necessary to add, venture within the limits of the
Arctic and Antarctic Circles. The true Palm climate has
a mean annual temperature of 70° to 81° 5’ Fahr.; but
the Date Palm vegetates in the South of Europe, in
districts the mean annual temperature of which is only
from 59° to 62° 4' Fahr.. Martius has divided the Palm
region into five zones, which he has named and circum-
scribed as follows :—The North Palm Zone, extending from
the northern limit of Palms to the tropic of Cancer; the
Transition North Palm Zone, from the tropic of Cancer to
the 10th degree of north latitude; the Chief Palm Zone,
from the 10th degree of north to the 10th degree of south
latitude ; the Transition Palm Zone, from the 10th degree
of south latitude to the tropic of Capricorn; and the South
Palm Zone, from the tropic of Capricorn to the southern
limits of the family. The northern limit of Palms is, in
Europe, the 43rd degree, in Asia and America the 34th
degree of north latitude; the southern limit in Africa the
34th, in Australia (New Zealand) the 38th, and in America
the 36th degree of south latitude. To the north of the
tropic of Cancer forty-three species of Palms are known to
exist; to the south of the tropic of Capricorn only thir-
teen. Advancing from either side towards the equator, the

es Sy ;
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INTRODUCTION. ol

number increases, until in the Chief Zone, between the 10th
degree of north and south latitude, there are more than
three hundred species. Inthe Eastern Hemisphere, theislands
of the Indian Archipelago ; in the Western, the valleys of the
Amazon and Orinoco on the mainland, produce the greatest
number of Palms. In proportion to its extent, America
is the most prolific country in Palms; for while the Old
World—including Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia, with
their islands—contains 307 species, the New World—that
is to say, America alone—can boast of 275. In the Old
World the islands produce more species than the continents,
the former containing 194, the latter only 113; in the New
World however the reverse is the case, the continent pos-
sessing 234, the islands only 42. The species have generally
a very local geographical distribution: only a few, such as
Elais melanococca, Hyphene Thebaica, Acrocomia sclerocarpa,
and Borassus flabelliformis, possess an extensive range; but
none of the species,—if we except the Cocos nucifera (the
Cocoa-nut tree), about the native country of which there
are grave doubts,—are found in a wild state mm both hemi-
spheres, rendering cosmopolitanism in this family an im-
possibility.

The localities in which Palms grow are as diversified as

32 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

everything else connected with these extraordinary plants.
While some are closely confined in the hotter regions of
the tropics to the shores of the ocean, and are scarcely able
to extend their range beyond the limits of the sea-breeze,
others flourish luxuriantly far inland on the tops of moun-
tains 14,000 feet high, and in the immediate neighbour-
hood of perpetual snow; while some seek the moisture,
shade, and gloom of the virgin forest, others take up their
abode in arid deserts, where they are exposed to the fulj
influence of the scorching rays of an equinoctial sun; while
some luxuriate in swamps, others only live in well-drained
soil; while some form extensive woods by themselves, and
seem to expel from their society all other large plants,
others, adopting more social habits, live harmoniously in
company with other members of the Vegetable Kingdom of
equal size with themselves, but not in any way connected with
them by ties of relationship; while some are intermingled
with oaks and pines,—representatives of the flora of the
temperate zones,—others keep company with Scctaminea,
Ingas, arboreous Rubiaceae, tree-ferns, gigantic Arums, and
epiphytical Orchidee,—forms typical of the vegetation of
the Tropics: in fine, almost every species grows under cir-
cumstances peculiar to itself; hence the difficulty; nay im-

INTRODUCTION. — 33

possibility, of generalizing on the habitat of the Order ; but
hence also the interest connected with this topic.

How many species of Palms are scattered over the face
of the globe, is still an open question. Many plains will
have to be traversed, many mountains to be climbed, ere
sufficient data will have been brought together for a final
and satisfactory answer. Only fifteen species were known
at the time of the death of Linneus; Ruiz and Pavon
added eight, while Humboldt and Bonpland described
twenty new ones, and distinguished a great many more,
which they named, without however being able to procure
their blossoms in a perfect state, an object occasionally at-
tended with considerable difficulties.* Of later years great

* “The difficulties,” says Humboldt, “ of reaching and procuring the blos-
soms of Palms are, in fact, greater than can well be conceived. Most of the
Palms flower only once a year, and this period near the equator is generally
about the months of January and February. How few travellers are likely
to be in the region of Palms precisely during this season! The period of
blossoming of particular trees is often limited to a few days, and the traveller
commonly finds, on his arrival in the region of Palms, that the blossoms have
passed away, and that the trees present only fructified ovaries, and no male
flowers. In an area of 32,000 square miles, there are often not more than
three or four species of Palms to be found. Who can possibly, during the
brief period of flowering, simultaneously visit the various Palm regions near
the Missions, on the Rio Caroni, in the Moricheles, at the mouth of the

D

34 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.”

additions have been made by the indefatigable labours of
Martius, Liebmann, Griffith, D’Orbigny, Blume, Spruce,
Wallich, and others, so that we are acquainted at present
with about six hundred species, scarcely one half of which

Orinoco, in the valley of Cauca and Erenato, on the banks of the Atabapo
and the Rio Negro, and on the declivity of the Duida? There is moreover
great difficulty, when the trees grow in thick woods, or on swampy shores (as
at the Jemi and Juamini), in reaching the blossoms, which are often suspended
from stems, formidably armed with huge thorns, and rising to a height of
between sixty and seventy feet. Those who contemplate distant travels from
Europe, for the purpose of investigating subjects of natural history, picture
to themselves visions of efficient shears and curved knives attached to poles,
ready for securing anything that comes in their way, and of boys who, obe-
dient to their mandates, are prepared, with a cord attached to their feet, to
climb the loftiest trees. Unfortunately, scarcely any of these visions are ever
realized, while the flowers are almost unattainable, owing to the great height
at which they grow. In the missionary settlements of the river network of
Guiana, the stranger finds himself amongst Indians who, rendered rich and
independent by their apathy, their poverty, and their barbarism, cannot be
induced, either by money or presents, to deviate three steps from the regular
path, supposing one to exist. This stubborn indifference of the natives pro-
vokes the European so much the more from his being continually a witness
of the inconceivable agility with which they will climb any height when
prompted by their own inclination; as, for instance, in the pursuit of a
parrot, an iguana, or a monkey, which, wounded by their arrows, saves itself
from falling by its prehensile tail. In the month of January the stems of
the Palma real (Oreodoxra regia, H.B.K.) were covered with snow-white
blossoms in all the most frequented thoroughfares of the Havana and in the

- <tee

INTRODUCTION. 35

are, according to Hermann Wendland,* under cultivation
in European gardens. Martius, whose authority in all mat-
ters concerning Palms is of weight, thinks that the whole
number existing on our earth may amount to about one
thousand species, which, considerable as it appears, may be
far below the truth; I say, may be, as similar calculations
have invariably been proved by our increasing stock of
knowledge to be erroneous.

immediate vicinity of the city; but although we offered, for several conse-
cutive days, a couple of piastres for a single spadix of the hermaphrodite
blossoms to every Negro boy we met. in the streets of Regla and Guanava-
coa, it was in vain; for in the Tropics no free man will ever undertake any
labour attended by fatigue, unless he is compelled to do so by imperative
necessity. The botanists and painters of the Royal Spanish Commission of
Natural History, under Count Don Jaruco y Mopox (Estevez, Boldo, Guio,
Echeveria), confessed to us that for several years they had been unable to
examine these blossoms, owing to the absolute impossibility of obtaining
them.” (4. v. Humboldt’s Ansichten der Natur). My learned friend has here
stated, very circumstantially, the difficulties presenting themselves in collect-
ing flowering specimens of Palms, but he has omitted to mention that some
botanists have it perfectly in their power to escape at once from the distress-
ing position alluded to in the latter part of his statement, namely, by them-
selves climbing the trees, the blossoms of which they are desirous of obtaining.

* <Tndex Palmarum, Cyclanthearum, Pandanearum, Cycadearum, quee in
hortis Europeis coluntur, synonymis gravioribus interpositis. Cura Her-
manni Wendland.’ MHannovere, 1854.

36 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS. ™

CULTIVATION OF PALMS IN NORTHERN EUROPE,

Most of the Palms are too closely confined to the hotter
regions of our globe to grow in the open air of cold coun-
tries like England or Germany. Only one species, Phenix
dactylifera of Northern Africa, has been naturalized in
Italy and other parts bordering the Mediterranean Sea;
and only two species, Chamarops humilis of Southern
Europe, and C. excelsa of Northern China, have proved
hardy in some of the milder districts of Great Britain; and
although there is reason to suppose that several others may
be able to bear a Kuropean winter without being injured by
frost, yet the greater portion of them can only be cultivated
in our latitudes under the crystal roofs of conservatories,
specially built for their reception. It requires therefore,
particularly as the Palms are nearly all plants of great
dimensions, considerable means to become the owner of a
living collection of them; and those who cannot afford to
spend large sums of money have, unfortunately, to desist
from the accomplishment of such an object. But the pro-
verb, “ Where there’s a will there’s a way,” remains not
without application in this instance. The admirers of
Palms have discovered long ago that several species may,

INTRODUCTION, 37

in the absence of better accommodation, be grown to con-
siderable perfection in a room; and I have a Continental
friend,—a gentleman of more taste for plants than means
of gratifying it,—who has devoted one corner of his study
to a regular bower, composed of Date-palms, Chameedoreas,
and other members of this order, all flourishing luxuriantly
im company with Draceenas, India-rubber trees, Arums, Ivy,
and Begonias. During the winter, when all nature is re-
posing in her icy bed, and white flakes of snow are drifted
against the windows, he may often be observed sitting in
that charming corner, reading, writing, or carrying on some
other rational occupation, and now and then looking up,
enjoying the sight of the fire blazing in the stove, and the
green foliage by which he is surrounded.

Yet as even the cultivation of a few types of the order
of Palms in the manner indicated is a luxury which only a
limited class of people is able to enjoy, and as the number
of those who possess a predilection for these elegant mem-
bers of the Vegetable Kingdom is considerable, it is a
matter of congratulation that in so many public and private
gardens in nearly every civilized part of Europe “ Palm-
houses” are built, some of them of such dimensions, and
their contents arranged with so much care and judgment,

38 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.”

as to make their visitors fancy themselves transported into
the midst of those virgin forests, of which Palms, tree-ferns,
and Scitamimeous plants form the characteristic features.
It is unnecessary at this place to inquire which of these
buildings deserves to be considered as the best, and which
collection is the most extensive,—the office of a Paris is one
so thankless, that I can scarcely be blamed for trying to
escape from it; nor is it necessary to notice the rivalry for -
pre-eminence observable in this respect amongst the various
horticultural establishments,—a feeling to be encouraged
rather than deprecated: it is sufficient for the purpose in
view, to mention, as an example of a fine Palm-house, and
as a noble collection of Palms, that of the Royal Botanic
Gardens of Kew, an establishment which, since it has be-
come national property and has been placed under the judi-
cious direction of Sir W. J. Hooker, has acquired a degree
of fame, completely putting into the shade that by which
the “ Hortus Kewensis” was formerly identified with bo-
tanical science.

The Palm-house or Palm-stove of the Royal Botanic
Gardens of Kew, built from a design of Decimus Burton,
Esq., was completed in the year 1848. The shell, or ex-
ternal frame, consists of a centre and two wings, occupying

INTRODUCTION. 39

an open area 362 feet in length; the centre is 100 feet
wide, and 66 feet in height to the summit of the lantern;
the wings are 50 feet wide and 30 feet high. The whole is
of iron, stone, brick, and sheet-glass, the latter slightly
tinged with green, to temper the too powerful rays of light.
The extent of glass covering this vast building is about
45,000 square feet. The ribs, mserted in enormous blocks
of Cornish granite, are placed on the most solid concrete.
The central portion of the building,—a space 138 feet long
and 100 feet wide,—has a substantial gallery all round, at
the height of 30 feet from the floor, ascended and descend-
ed by spiral staircases, enabling visitors to view the plant
from above, by bringing them on a level with the summits
of many of the loftiest. The whole interior is heated by hot-
water pipes and tanks, distributed under the tables and
beneath the level of the floor. To avoid the ugliness of a
chimney attached to so noble a structure, or even placed
near it, the smoke is conveyed by an underground flue,
within a brick tunnel, to a distance of 479 feet from the
-house, where the most part of it is consumed, and the re-
mainder ascends by means of a shaft or ornamental tower
96 feet high, so situated and of such a form as to be an

4.0 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS?

architectural object when seen from the main walk of the
Garden.*

On entering this magnificent building, the visitor sud-
denly finds himself in the midst of a tropical vegetation.
Broad-leaved Plantains, Bananas, Strelitzias and Uranias,
Feathery Bamboos, Tree-ferns and Tamarind-trees, Spiny
Screwpines and Cactuses, are mingled with numerous
Palms of all dimensions and sizes; the whole being grace-
fully interwoven and surrounded by creeping and winding
plants,—Passion-flowers, Bauhinias, Jessamines, Aristolo-
chias, and others,—and agreeably relieved by the vivid green
of densely crowded Lycopodiums, covering like turf the
ground between them. The two loftiest Palms arresting the
attention are species of Cocoa-nut (Cocos plumosa and C.
coronata), both good examples of the extensive group bear-
ing pinnatisect leaves; the two stoutest, a species of Sabal ,
(S. umbraculifera), equally good examples of another less
numerous group, distinguished by its fan-shaped leaves.
There are besides in this collection:—the Date Palm
(Phenix dactylifera), producing the dates of commerce

* For further details of this fine building, see ‘Kew Gardens, or a
Popular Guide to the Royal Botanic Gardens of Kew.’ By Sir W.J. Hooker,
12th edition. London, 1854,

+ Siar’

INTRODUCTION. 41

e

and of Scripture ; the Palmyra Palm (Borassus flabelliformis),
one of the most difficult of Palms to rear; the African
Oil-palm (H/ais Guineensis), which yields Palm-oil; the
Cocoa-nut (Cocos nucifera), the uses of which are said to
be more numerous than the days of the year; the Ameri-
can Cabbage Palm (Oreodoxa.oleracea), the young leaves of
which are an excellent esculent vegetable; the Betel-nut
tree (Areca Catechu); the Wild Date of India (Phenix
sylvestris), supplying Palm-wine and sugar ; the Ivory-plant
(Phytelephas macrocarpa), the seeds of which resemble ani-
mal ivory in appearance; the Wax Palm of the Andes
(Ceroxylon andicola), of which the full-grown stem is co-
vered with a waxy substance; and lastly the Broom Palm
(Attalea funifera), the coarse fibre of which is used for
making brooms and brushes.

It would lead us too far, and we should be obliged to
anticipate too much of what is about to be discussed in
the following pages, were we to extend our sketch of this
remarkable collection. Enough has been said to convince
the student of Palms that the Great Conservatory in the
Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew is a place worthy of his
attention, and a school where much valuable information
may be obtained. For the purposes of study, no doubt a

42 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS”

bright sunny day is to be recommended; but to see the
Palms to their greatest advantage, in an esthetic point of
view, a dull or rainy day should be selected, especially when
the shades of evening are approaching,—a time when they
always look best, owing partly in Kew to some local causes,*
but principally to the fact that the generality of Palms are
intended for the gloom of the virgin forest, and are there-
fore, like some pictures, not well adapted for bright and
strong lights. If at such a time the visitor will take up his
position in the gallery, and cast his eye upon the thick foli-
age filling the vast area of the building, his thoughts cannot
help wandering to those far-off regions whence the beautiful
objects before him have with so much difficulty and care
been imported. If he know anything of the history of
botany, the names of Humboldt, Wallich, Bonpland, J. D.
Hooker, Purdie, Wilson,.Griffith, Linden, Hartweg, and
others, who, disregarding dangers and mental and bodily
exertions, explored trackless forests, climbed steep moun-
tains, traversed pestilential swamps—the abode of myriads

* The plants, having to be syringed with water from the Thames, which is
charged with a considerable quantity of alluvium, are covered with a minute
crust of dust, hardly seen when they are moist, as in the evenings, when
the process of syringing is applied, or on damp days, but rather conspi-
cuous when they are quite dry, which is always the case during clear weather.

INTRODUCTION. 43

of mosquitos,—and crossed dreary deserts and monotonous
steppes, will flash before his memory as having been in-
strumental in bringing together this magnificent collection,
—magnificent from its numerical size, its excellent condi-
tion, and its noble associations: and whilst admiring the
heroism displayed by them in facing savage people and
ferocious animals often obstructing their passage, and the
patient endurance they exhibited in dragging scarce plants
from the entangled masses of virgin forests and the remote
recesses of the highest mountains, he cannot but feel grate-
ful to those men who thus strove to satiate that irresistible
thirst for knowledge felt by every human being, laboured:
so strenuously towards completing the grand survey of those
finite things, calculated in such eminent degree to inspire
us with love and reverence for the infinite! ‘Gradually,
whilst giving rise to such and similar reflections, the —
verdant masses will assume before his mind’s eye more
extensive dimensions than they actually possess, become
endless forests, where strange animals and barbarous people
have taken up their abode. -The more he looks, the more
new beauties, fresh charms, will be revealed; and the more
he reflects, the more uses, the more properties beneficial to
mankind, will be discovered; until, fully impressed with the

<a 2 i ~

44, POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS!

grandeur of the subject before him, he will exclaim :—
«What a pity that our northern countries are deprived of
Palms, plants alike beautiful and useful! I wonder why
this is,—why a country should not be able to supply all the
wants of its own people, and thus ensure the perfect inde-
pendence of one nation from another. Why have we to go
to Africa for our dates, to America for our cocoa-nuts, and
to Asia for our sago?” Nature does nothing without an
object, and must, in acting thus, have intended to convey a
lesson. What can that lesson be? A great and glorious
one, repeated in all her works, even in the smallest details!
She has never lavished on one country all the productions
which its inhabitants require, nor heaped—to quote another
instance—upon an individual human being all the talents
and beauties of our species, though she may have been
occasionally extremely liberal, but sown them broadcast
over the whole face of the earth, divided them judiciously
amongst the whole race of man. She has, by distributing
her gifts in such a manner, wished to point out the mutual
dependency of one country or one man upon another, thus
practically teaching us peace, humility, love!—the three
great watchwords, without which human society cannot
prosper, and human happiness becomes an impossibility.

Plile

a

45

DETAILED ACCOUNT OF THE PALMS.

Genus I. ACROCOMIA, Martius.

Tue traveller in tropical America, after disentangling him-
self from the dense jungle of the virgin forests, and entering
once more the open country,—the campos, savanas, llanos,
prairies, and pampas,—often finds the landscape dotted
with Palms, which a closer inspection readily identifies with
those occasionally seen on the banks of rivers bordering
the forests just left behind. Their stem, seldom exceeding
the height of fifty feet, is often swollen in the middle, and
clad, as are the petioles and spathes, with long brown or
black spines; their leaves, forming a dense crown at the
top of the trunk, are pinnatisect, of a lively green, and
considerable dimensions; their spathes, appearing between
the lower leaves, enclose a simply-branched spadix, bearing
small green or yellow flowers; and their fruits (drupes) are
round, of a greenish-olive, and contain dark-coloured nuts.
These Palms belong to the genus Acrocomia of Martius.

=

46 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

They have long been known to botanists, being mentioned —
by Aublet, Gartner, and Jacquin; and have always, it would
seem, been familiar to the natives of the districts in
which they grow, as all of them, principally on account
of the oil extractable from their nuts, are of considerable
value in domestic economy. About seven different species
have been recognized in systematic works, three of which,
A. Cubensis, Lodd., A. lasiospatha, Mart., and A. sclerocarpa,
Mart., have been introduced into European gardens; but
that number will probably have to be reduced, as the dif-
ferences between them insisted on by some authors, appear
to be of too insignificant a nature ever to receive the general
sanction of the botanical world.

The different species are known in their native countries
by the names of Macaja, Macajah, Macaw, Macoja, Maca-
huba, Macauba, Mocaja, and Mucuja, all variations of one
original term, the diffusion of which over the West Indies
and the whole eastern part of South America, shows that
there is a very striking habitual character in this genus, or
else the semi-barbarous people who apply it would never
have been able to trace these Palms over so extensive a
tract of land. The most important species of Acrocomia
is A. sclerocarpa, Mart. (A. aculeata, Lodd., fide J. Smith,

ACROCOMIA. 47

Cocos fusiformis, Swartz, C. aculeata, Jacq., Bactris globosa
(minor), Geertn., Geonoma Pohliana, Hortor.), the Great
Macaw-tree of the West Indies, the Macoya of the Guianas,
and the Macahuba of the Brazils: a Palm occurring im con-
siderable abundance in Jamaica, Trinidad, and the adjacent
islands, as well as the eastern parts of South America as far
as the latitude of Rio Janeiro. It is from twenty to thirty
feet high, has leaves measuring from ten to fifteen feet in
length, and bears a fruit, the nut of which, susceptible of
a very high polish, is sometimes fancifully carved by the
Negroes. It is on account of the fruit, which yields oil,
that the Great Macaw-tree becomes notable. The oil is ex-
tracted by the following process :—The fruit, having been
slightly roasted, is ground to a paste, first in a mill and
then on a levigating stone. This paste, having been genily
heated and mixed with three-tenths of its weight of boiling
water, is put into a bag, and pressed between two heated
plates of iron: it yields about seven-tenths or eight-tenths
of oil. The oil, if discoloured, can be purified, when melted
by filtration. It is then of the consistence of butter, of a
golden yellow hue, has an odour like violets, and a sweet-
ish taste. If well preserved, it will keep several years; if
spoiled, it loses its golden hue and delightful aroma. It

48 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

is frequently sold in the shops as “ Palm-oil,”’ and at pre-
sent enters largely into the composition of toilet soaps. As
- an emollient it is considered to be useful in some painful
affections of the joints: the Negroes deem it a sovereign
remedy for “ bone-ache.”

Less important in an economical point of view is Acro-
comia lasiospatha, Mart., the Mucuja of the Brazilians; a
tree which, according to Wallace,* is common in the neigh-.
bourhood of Para, but which is also found in various other
parts of Brazil. Its trunk is about forty feet high, smooth,
and ringed; its leaves are drooping; its fruit, which is of
the size of an apricot, globular, and of a greenish-olive co-
lour, has a thin layer of firm edible pulp (mesocarpium), of
an orange colour, covering the nut (putamen), and which,
though oily and bitter, is much esteemed and eagerly sought
after by the natives.

Of still less importance than the foregoing species is
Acrocomia Mexicana, Karwinsky (A. Zapotecis, Jangangha),
of which my friend Professor C. B. Heller says (Bonplan-
dia, vol. i. p. 157), “ I met with this noble tree, vernacularly
termed ‘ Coyoli,’ repeatedly in Tabasco and Chiapas, two

* «The Palm-trees of the Amazon and their Uses.’ By Alfred Russel
Wallace. With forty-eight plates. London, 1853.

ARECA. 49

states particularly rich in Palms, growing isolated on the
slopes of hills, but more frequently on the banks of rivers.
The trunk, which is from twenty to thirty feet high, and ~
from six inches to a foot in diameter, bears a magnificent
and very regular crown of leaves, often seen above the tops
of the surrounding trees. The fruit, which is termed ‘ Co-
quito habroso,’ is eaten by the inhabitants, but not much
esteemed.”

Genus I]. ARECA, Linneus.

The European, when beholding for the first time the
Bengalese, or still more the Malays and Burmese, cannot
help noticing, with a feeling of regret, mingled with dis-
gust, the offensive appearance of their mouths, their brick-
red lips, and their black teeth,—discolourments brought
about by chewing the Betel or Areca-nut, together with
lime, tobacco, gambir (an astringent substance extracted
from the foliage of Uncaria Gambir, Roxb.), and the leaves
of various species of pepper. ‘The plant yielding it belongs
to Areca, a genus composed of about twenty species, un-
armed trees, inhabiting the Eastern hemisphere, chiefly the
islands; generally growing in groups, and always produ-

E

7 -,

50 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS®

cing slender, annulated trunks, about fifty feet high, and
crowned with elegant pinnatisect leaves, having linear, en-
tire segments, and bunches of drupes, contaming single
seeds, scarcely ever larger than a hen’s egg. Areca Cate-
chu, Willd., the well-known Betel or Areca-nut Palm, from
which the genus takes its name, and which the Hindoo
poets have likened to “an arrow shot from heaven,” is
cultivated throughout the Hast Indies, especially towards
the sea-coast, near which alone it comes to perfection. It
is termed in Sanscrit Goorvaka, in Bengalee Gooa, in Arabic
Foolful, in Persian and Hindustanee Soopara, in Telingee
Poka Chelloo, in Malayan Pinang, and in the languages
spoken in the Philippine Islands Bonga and Luyos. As is
the case with all plants which have been long in cultiva-
tion, a great many varieties of this tree exist, all of which
are distinguished by the natives by particular names, merit-
ing, as Griffith justly observes, as much attention as those
of the Cocoa-nut. The Betel-nut tree has been well de-
scribed by various authors, but perhaps in the most popular
manner by Bennett, in his ‘ Wanderings,* who, when
speaking of Sumatra and its productions, says :—

* ‘Wanderings in New South Wales, Batavia, Pedir Coast, Singapore,
and China,’ ete. By George Bennett. London, 1834.

ARECA. 51

“The Areca Palm is of elegant growth, rising with a
very erect and slender trunk to the height of forty or even
sixty feet, the summit terminating in a tuft of dark-green
foliage ; the trunk is seldom more than eighteen inches to
two feet in circumference ; when young of dark-green, and
when old of a dark-grey colour; the circles formed by the

-clasping petioles of the leaves being very visible upon it.

The fruit ripens only once during the year, at which pe-
riod the tree, with its long bunches of orange oval-shaped
fruit, pendent from the upper part of the trunk, contrasted
by the dark-green foliage, has a beautiful appearance. The
Areca-nut, when planted, takes three years to arrive at a
sufficient size to produce fruit. Each fruit is about the
size of a small hen’s egg; the external covering (sarcocar-
pium) is thick and fibrous, which, on being cleared away,
shows the nut surrounded by its shell (putamen), often
difficult of removal. The nut is conical, but varies, in some
having an elevated apex and small base, in others a large
base and very slightly elevated apex.

“Many of the common drinking and baking utensils in
the boats, and vessels for holding water, not dissimilar to

those made by the Australian natives from the bark of the
Gum-trees (Lucalyptz), are made from the spathe ; it is also

52 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMs.”

nailed upon the bottoms of the boats, and I have often seen
on this coast, as well as in Java, small bunches of the abor-
tive fruit placed as an ornament at the stern and bows of
the native boats.

“The nuts vary in size; their quality however does not
at all depend upon this property, but upon their internal
appearance when cut, intimating the quantity of astringent
matter contained in them. If the white or medullary por-
tion, which intersects the red or astringent part, be small,
has assumed a bluish tinge, and the astringent part 1s very
red, the nut is considered of good quality; but when the
medullary portion is in large quantity, the nut is considered
more mature, and, not possessing as much astringency, is
not esteemed so valuable.

“The quantity of nuts produced on the coast of Sumatra
is stated to be 80,000 piculs.* When there is no immedi-
ate demand for this article, it is not shelled, but preserved
in the husk, as it is considered not to be so liable to be de-
stroyed by the worm in that state; but I have seen nuts
destroyed totally by the worm, while in the husk, in the space
of two months. The produce of the first month or month
and a half, amounting usually to 40,000 piculs, the natives

* One picul = 1334 lbs. English.

ARECA. 53

informed me, is exported; and the second gathering, amount-
ing to about the same quantity, is consumed in the country.”

When speaking of Southern China, the same author
says :—‘‘ The quantity of Areca-nut imported by the Chi-
nese amounts to 45,000 or 48,000 piculs annually, exclu-
sive of that brought from Cochin China, the amount of
which is not known. In 1832, from a failure of the usual
supply of nuts from Cochin China, 48,000 piculs, imported
from other places, sold so high as 42 dollars the picul ; the
price it usually fetches in the China market is from 2 dol-
lars to 3$ dollars the picul. The principal consumption of
the nut as a masticatory, in conjunction with the leaf called
betel, produced from a Pepper-vine (the Piper Bete, Linn.),
is in the provinces of Quang-tong (Canton of Europeans),
Quang-si, and Che-keang, and it may be seen exposed for
sale, on little stalls, about the suburbs of Canton, with the
other additional articles used in the preparation; it is also
used as a mordant for coarse dyes. The Areca-nuts brought
from Cochin China are considered by the Chinese the best
imported. This may however arise from prejudice in fa-
vour of a country so nearly allied to them. In the central
provinces of Hoo-kwang and Kiang-si, the nut 1s, after
being bruised and pounded, mixed with the green food of

:
54 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

horses, as a preventive against diarrhcea, to which that kind
of food sometimes subjects them. It was likewise mentioned
to me by a Chinese, that it is used as a domestic medicine
in the north of China, small pieces being boiled, and the
decoction administered in various visceral affections.

“A cargo of this article generates so much heat as to
raise the thermometer in the hold of a ship 40° above that
on deck; and from this circumstance, and the quantity of
steam generated, the crew are prevented from sleeping be-
tween decks.

“The Areca-nut is commonly known in Southern China
by the very prevailing Malay name of Pinang or Pinong,
but in the Acheneese language it is called Péww, and the
tree Ba pénu. The ripe Areca-nut is called also Pénu massa,
and the green, Péxw mudr; the Gambir used with the Betel,
Gambé; the Betel-leaf, Ranu ; and the lime, Gahu ; the to-
bacco, Bakun.

«The mastication of the Betel is considered very whole-
some by those who are in the habit of using it. It may
be so; but the black appearance it gives to the teeth, al-
though it is said to be an excellent preserver of them, to-
gether with the brick-red lips and mouth, give anything
but an agreeable appearance. Its use certainly does not im-

ARECA. 55

part additional beauty to the native females, who habituate
themselves to an equal extent to those of the opposite sex.”

When in Singapore, I often saw the Malays chewing the
Betel-nut, together with gambir, tobacco, lime, and the
leaves of the Siri (Piper Siriboa, L.), and the Chinese
practising the same filthy habit, with the only difference
that they used the foliage of the black pepper (Piper m-
grum, lu.), instead of that of the Siri. This statement how-
ever applies only to the Chinese colonists in the island; in
the southern parts of the Celestial Empire, the people avail
themselves of the leaves of Piper Betle, L. Though the
quantity of tannin contained in the Betel-nut must exer-
cise an injurious influence, yet it is a mistake to suppose
that the mere chewing of it gives to the mouth an offen-
sive appearance ; unless the other ingredients are added, the
saliva hardly changes its natural colour.*

Low, in his ‘ Borneo,’ says:—‘‘ The graceful Betel or
Areca-nut Palms do not grow in such abundance in Borneo
as to form an article of exportation; on the contrary, large

* In this remark I am fully borne out by Bennett and Blanco, the latter
of whom states: ‘‘ Es digno de notarse que el compuesta de la bonga, del
buyo, y de la cal, hace la saliva encarnada, y no sucede esto, cuando falta
alguna de las tres cosas,”

56 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.”

quantities are imported ; for, like the Cocoa-nut trees, they
were destroyed during the wars which, previous to Sir James
Brooke’s arrival, desolated the country. The nut is only
used for chewing,—a practice universal in the Indian Ar-
chipelago. The male flowers are deliciously fragrant ; they
are in request for all festive occasions, and are also consi-
dered a necessary ingredient in the medicines and charms
employed for healing the sick.”

Manuel Blanco* gives a detailed account of this Palm
in the Philippine Islands, in which the following passages
occur :—“I think the Areca might be used for making
red ink, and it is not improbable that it is already thus
employed in India. . . . In combination with the Alpa-
parroso it makes black ink, which however is inferior to
that obtained from the Aroma (Acacia Farnesiana, Willd.).
The lower part of the petiole, vernacularly termed ‘ talupac,’
is very clean, white, and flexible, and serves for wrapping
up things, and for other purposes, on account of which
it is sold by the natives. The heart of the leaves is eaten
as a salad, and has not a bad flavour; but, gathering it,
the tree dies. When the natives are in want of Areca-nuts
for chewing they use as a substitute the bark of the Gua-

* ©Flora de las Filipinas,’ ete. Por Manuel Blanco. Manilla, 1845.

ARECA. 57

yabo (Psidium Guayaba, Raddi), or that of the Antipolo.”
The same necessity seems to compel various other Asiatics
to have recourse to different other species of Areca ; for
instance, the convicts confined on the Andaman Islands use
the nuts of Areca lara, Hamilt.; the Nagas and Abors of
eastern Bengal use those of 4. Nagensis, Griff.; and the
natives of the mountainous districts of Malabar those of
A. Dicksoni, Roxb., instead of those of A. Catechu, Linn.
So much are these people attached to the Betel-nut, that
they would rather forego meat and drink than relinquish
the mastication of it. They entertain the notion that by
means of it the teeth are fastened, the gums cleansed, and
the mouth cooled, and this notion, unfounded as it is, may
in some degree have influenced those Europeans who, of
late years, have recommended Areca-nut charcoal as a tooth-
powder; at least, so far as we know, it can have no par-
ticular value over ordinary charcoal, except perhaps that
derived from its greater hardness.* On account of the

* Tt is very doubtful whether any of the extracts called Catechu are derived
from Areca Catechu, Linn. Blume (Rumphia, vol. ii. p. 67) denies it alto-
gether, and says that the error has arisen from the circumstance that old
and dry Areca-nuts, broken in small pieces, are macerated in rose-water in

which Catechu has been dissolved. J.D. Hooker, T. Thomson, and myself
have never seen Catechu as prepared from Betel-nuts. Pereira (Elements of

58 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

large quantity of tannin which these nuts contain, they
have been employed in some parts of India for dyeing
cotton cloths; some medical men also consider them useful
in cases of dysentery. In Malabar an inebriating lozenge
is prepared from the sap of the tree, and in Khasia the
natives measure distances, according to Dr. J. D. Hooker’s
statement, by the number of mouthfuls of Betel-nut chewed
on the road.

The exact native country of the Betel-nut is unknown,
but is supposed to be the Sunda Islands; the tree from
time immemorial has been extensively cultivated in all parts
of the East Indies, so that we are at present unable to trace
it back to the spot whence it originally may be supposed
Materia Medica, vol. ii. part i. p. 1045, ed. iii.), speaking of Areca-nut
Catechu, says:—‘‘In the southern parts of India, and probably in Ceylon,
an extract called Catechu is procured from Areca-nuts. The mode of pre-
paring it has been described by Herbert de Jager and Heyne. The last-
mentioned author states that it is largely procured in Mysore, about Sirah,
in the following manner :—‘ Areca-nuts are taken as they come from the
tree, and boiled for some hours in an iron vessel. They are then taken out,
and the remaining water is inspissated by continued boiling. This process
furnishes Kassu, or most stringent Terra Japonica, which is black, and
mixed with paddy (rice) husks and other impurities. After the nuts are
dried, they are put in a fresh quantity of water, boiled again, and the water,

being inspissated, like the former, yields the best or dearest kind of Catechu,
called Coury. It is yellowish-brown, has an earthy fracture, and is free from

ARECA. 59

to have come. It has also found its way into Kuropean
gardens, where it is grown, together with Areca alba, Bory,
A. sapida, Soland., A. crinita, Mart., A. Madagascariensis,
Mart. (from the ashes of which the natives of Madagascar
extract salt), 4. monostachya, Mart. (Livistonia inermis, Hort.,
and Seaforthia premorsa, Hort.), A. pumila, Mart. (Pinanga
Nenga, Bl.), A. rubra, Bory (Euterpe globosa and L. pisifera,
Hort.), and A. ériandra, Roxb.,—plants of great beauty, but
possessing, except 4. sapida, few peculiarities which entitle
them to a special notice in a work of such limited extent as
the present. 4. sapida, Soland. (4. Banksii, Mart., A. sa-
pida, Banks et Soland., Kentia sapida, Mart.) deserves con-
sideration, on account of its being the southernmost of all

the admixture of foreign bodies.’ None of the extracts brought from India,
under the denomination of Catechu, are distinguished by any name by which
they can be referred to the Areca-nut. It is probable, however, that some
of those which come over in the form of round and flat cakes, and also in
bails, and which are more or less covered with paddy husks, are obtained from
this seed. A decoction of some of these kinds of Catechu yields, when cold, a
blue colour on the addition of iodine, indicating’ the presence of starch. The
presence of fatty matter in them is considered by Guibourt to be a proof that
the Areca-nut has been employed in their production. I think it is probable
that the Colombo or Ceylon Catechu of commerce, in the form of round flat
cakes, covered by paddy husks, is the Kassw of Heyne; and Guibourt is of
opinion that the dull reddish Catechu in balls, partially covered by paddy
husks, is the Coury of Heyne.” Compare also genus Borassus.

4 —
60 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

Palms,—found in New Zealand as far as latitude 38° 22’
- south. It is, according to J. D. Hooker (Flora of New Zea-
land, vol. i. p. 261), a small Palm, the trunk of which is
from six to ten feet high, and six to eight inches in dia-
meter, bearing leaves from four to six feet long, and a gla-
brous, much-branched, densely flowered spadix, enclosed in
two boat-shaped spathes. It grows principally in the North-
ern Island and the north part of the Middle Island, where
the natives, who eat the young inflorescence, term it “ Ni-

kau.”

As there exists in most works a great deal of con-
fusion amongst the synonyms of this plant, I cannot do
better than make an extract from the excellent Flora
quoted, in which J. D. Hooker has set this perplexing sub-
ject, it is to be hoped, finally at rest. ‘Mr. Allan Cun-
ningham has applied to this Palm Endlicher’s description,
drawn up from Ferdinand Bauer’s drawings of Norfolk
Island specimens. This does not agree with the New Zea-
land plant in the shape of the drupe, which is said to be
globose in the Norfolk Island species. Mr. John Smith,
curator of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, has both in
cultivation, and has shown me a very considerable difference
in habit and in the breadth of the segments of their leaves,
those of the Norfolk Island Palm being twice as broad as

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ARENGA. 61

those of the New Zealand one; but there is great varia-
tion in these respects with both species. Dr. von Martius
also separates them, but gives Forster’s name to the Nor-
folk Island plant, whereas Forster figured the New Zealand
one only, to which the name sapida must remain attached,
whilst that of Baweri may be given to the Norfolk Island
species, if it should prove really distinct. There is as much
difference between the narrow and broad segments of spe-
cimens of A. sapida, growing in Kew Gardens, as between
the latter and those of 4. Baueri.”

Genus IJ]. ARENGA, La Billardiere.

This genus numbers at present, if we exclude the doubtful
Arenga Manillensis (Saguerus Manillensis) of the gardens,
five species—A. obtusifolia, Mart. (Gomutus obtusifolius,
Blume, Saguerus Langkab, Blume), A. saccharifera, Labill.,
A. Westerhoutu, Griff., A. Wight, Griff., and A. Griffithii,
Seem.,* all of which are handsome trees. Their trunks are

* I have given this name to the species from the second Kiouk-
dweng, or mountain defile, of the Irawaddy, described, but not named, at p.
168 of Griffith’s ‘Palms of British India,’ the northernmost species of the
genus hitherto discovered, growing in company with Hematospermum,
Dillenia, Campanula, and Aisculus,

a fee SOO aS J. ee
bee i: Sos ctaly
a 3 oe

62 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS. ™

ringed, and occasionally decumbent; their petioles are fur-
nished with copious black, rigid fibres, and they are some-
times prickly ; their leaves are pinnatisect, the segments of
which being linear, often with lobed bases, and more or
less toothed and divided apices, and always dark green
on the upper, and dirty white on the under surface. All
Arengas flower only once during the term of their exist-
ence. Their spikes are pendulous, often in bundles like
the tail of a horse; their flowers are large, moncecious, and
generally, but not always, in different spadices; their sta-
mens are indefinite, their ovary trilocular, and their fruit, a
green and round berry, is depressed and three-cornered at
the apex, imperfectly three-lobed and three-seeded. They
chiefly inhabit the islands of the Indian Archipelago, but
are also met with on the Asiatic continent; their favourite
localities being dense shady forests and the neighbourhood
of rivers and rivulets.

The genus, though composed of several species, is ren-
dered famous by only one—the Arenga saccharifera, La-
bill. (Saguerus Rumphii, Roxb., Borassus Gomutus, Lour.,
Gomutus saccharifera, Spr.), which occurs in great abundance
in a wild state throughout the islands of the Indian Archi-
pelago, but is more common in the interior, principally in

-

ie

x

ARENGA. 63

~ the hilly districts, than on the sea-coast, and it is also very
generally cultivated by the various people who inhabit that
region, It has been called one of the most useful of all the
Palms ; and how well it deserves that epithet may be judged
from a perusal of the accounts published by Roxburgh,
Griffith, Marsden, Low, and, above all, by Crawfurd.*
Like all plants enjoying .a wide geographical distribution,
this tree is distinguished by names as numerous as the
languages of the countries which claim it 2s a member of
their flora. With the usual copiousness of these languages
on similar occasions, each useful part of the plant is desig-
nated by a special name. In Malay the tree is called Anao
(Anowe according to Griffith, and Anau according to Ben-
nett), the liquor (toddy) obtained from it Zuwak or Nera,
the soft brown scurf found at the base of the petioles Barum
(Baru 7), and the horsehair-like material covering the latter
Tju (Foo or Hju) or Gomuti. It is this last name which
some botanists have applied as a generic, others as a spe-
cific one to the whole~plant. In Javanese the tree is called
Aren, the material like horsehair Duh (occasionally spelt
Doh), the gossamer-like substance Kawu/, and the sap La-
gen, which means the sweet material by distinction. In the
* History of the Indian Archipelago. London, 1820,

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. e « 4a") - Ce = bn rs
a4, > ? ‘a Aes a
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aa ae mS
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64 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS. ™

Amboynese language the tree is called Nawa, the horsehair-
like material Makse. In the Ternati language the tree is
called Seho, in the Bali Jahaka, and in the Bima Nawa. In
the Macassar language the tree is termed JJonchono, the sap
or toddy Juro; and in the Mandar, the former Afe/ and
the latter Az. The Portuguese, and other European nations
following their example, call the tree and its liquor Sagwire,
though no one knows for what reason.

The Sagwire or Gomuti—we had better adopt the latter
name, as being the most euphonious—attains a height of
thirty to forty feet, is without spines, and bears a dense
crown of pinnatisect leaves, which have rather a sombre
aspect ; their segments are generally fasciculate, the middle
ones five feet long, about four inches broad, linear-ensiform,
dark green above, white underneath, with distant spinescent
teeth, and a bilobed or bifid, eroso-dentate apex. When very
young, they are eaten, like those of the American Cabbage
Palm (Oreodoxa oleracea, Mart.). The petioles are very
stout, and it is at the base of these, and completely embra-
cing the trunk of the tree, where the horsehair-lke material,
which co-operates to render this Palm so valuable, is pro-
duced. This fibrous substance, superior in quality, cheap-
ness, and durability to that obtained from the husk of the

hp aa

ARENGA. . 65

Cocoa-nut, and renowned for its power of resisting wet,
is used by the natives of the Indian islands for every pur-
pose of cordage, domestic and naval, a practice in which
Europeans have of late years imitated them. The coarser
parts—or ‘‘ small twigs,” as some authors call them—found
with this “vegetable horsehair,” are used by all the tribes
who write on paper as pens, and they are the arrows used
by others to discharge, poisoned or otherwise, from blow-
pipes or arrow-tubes. Underneath this material is found a
substance of a soft gossamer-like texture, which is imported
into China. It is applied as oakum in caulking the seams
of ships, and more generally as tinder for kindling fire: it
is for this latter purpose that it is chiefly in request among
the Chinese.

The substance of the foregomg account of this fibre is
chiefly derived from Crawfurd, but he is not the only author
who bears testimony of its excellence and value. Marsden,
in his ‘ Sumatra,’ says :—‘It is bound on as a thatch, in
the same manner we do straw, and not unfrequently over
the galoompye (bamboo thatch); in which case the roof
is so durable as never to require renewal, the Hjoo being
of all vegetable substances the least prone to decay; and
for this reason it is a common practice to wrap a quantity

F

66 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

of it round the ends of timbers or posts which are to be

fixed in the ground. . . . The joo exactly resembles coarse.

black horsehair, and is used like it, among other purposes,
for making ropes, and mixing with mortar.” Low, in his
‘Borneo,’ whilst corroborating this statement, adds :—
“The hairy filaments are plaited by the natives into orna-
ments for the arms, legs, and neck, which are more pleasing
in their deep black hue and neat appearance (at least to
eyes of Huropeans), than the beads and brass with which
these people are fond of adorning their persons.” Bennett,
in his ‘Wanderings,’ also gives a highly favourable de-
scription of this fibre, and throws out the suggestion that
it may be the same as that called “Cabo negro” by the
Spaniards at Manilla.

The principal production of the Gomuti Palm is the
toddy,* which, according to Crawfurd, is procured in the
following manner:—One of the spadices is, on the first
appearance of fruit, beaten on three successive days with.a
small stick, with the view of determining the sap to the
wounded part. The spadix is then cut off a little way from
its root (base), and the liquor which pours out is received
in pots of earthenware, in bamboos, or other vessels. The

* Derived from the Sanscrit word “ Tide.”

ARENGA. 67

Gomuti Palm is fit to yield toddy when nine or ten years
old, and continues to yield it for two years, at the average
rate of three quarts a day. When newly drawn the liquor is
clear, and in taste resembles fresh must. In a very short
time it becomes turbid, whitish, and somewhat acid, and
quickly runs into the vinous fermentation, acquiring an in-
toxicating quality. In this state great quantities are con-
sumed; a still larger quantity is immediately applied to
the purpose of yielding sugar. With this view the liquor is
boiled to a syrup, and thrown out to cool in small vessels,
the form of which it takes, and in this shape it is sold in
the markets. This sugar is of a dark colour and greasy
consistence, with a peculiar flavour: it is the only sugar
used by the native population. The wine of this Palm is
also used by the Chinese residing in the Indian Islands in
the preparation of the celebrated Batavian arrack.

In Malacca, the Gomuti, there termed Kabong, is cul-
tivated principally for the juice which it yields, for the
manufacture of jaggery (sugar). The ‘Journal of the In-
dian Archipelago’ for November, 1849, says :—* Like the
Cocoa-nut tree, it comes into bearing after the seventh year.
It produces two kinds of mayams or spadices—male and
female. The female spadix yields fruit, but no juice, and

68 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.”

the male vice versé. Some trees will produce five or six
female spadices before they yield a single male one, and
such trees are considered unprofitable by the toddy collec-
tors; but it is said that in this case they yield sago equal
in quality, though not in quantity, to the Cycas circinals,
although it is not always put to such a requisition by the
natives; others will produce only one or two female spa-
dices, and the rest male, from each of which the quantity of
juice extracted is the same as that obtained from ten cocoa-
nut spadices. A single tree will yield in one day sufficient
juice for the manufacture of five bundles of jaggery, valued
at two cents each. The number of mayams shooting out
at any one time may be averaged at two, although three is
not an uncommon case. When sickness or other occupa-
tion prevents the owner from manufacturing jaggery, the
juice is put into a jar, where, in a few days, it is converted
into excellent vinegar, equal in strength to that produced
by the vinous fermentation of Europe. Each mayam will
yield toddy for at least three months, often for five, and
fresh mayams make their appearance before the old ones
are exhausted ; in this way a tree is kept in a state of pro-
ductiveness for a number of years, the first mayam open-
ing at the top of the stem, the next lower down, and so

ARENGA. 69

on, until at last it yields one at the bottom of the trunk,
with which the tree terminates its existence.” The fruit,
according to Crawfurd, is about the size of a medlar, and
produced in such abundance that a single spadix is more
than a load fora man. The fleshy outer covering of the
fruit. affords a juice of a highly stimulating and corrosive
nature, which, when applied to the skin, occasions great
pain and inflammation. The inhabitants of the Moluccas
were in the practice of using, in their wars, in the defence
of posts, a liquor afforded by the maceration of this fruit,
which the Dutch appropriately denominated “ hell-water.”
The seed, or rather the albumen, freed from this noxious
covering, is made into sweetmeat by the Chinese.

Like the true Sago-palm, continues the last quoted au--
thor, the Gomuti affords a medullary matter, from which
a farina is prepared. In Java, it is the only source of this
substance, which in the western and poorer part of the island
is used in considerable quantity, and offered for sale in all
the markets. It is smaller in quantity than the pith of
the true Sago-tree, more difficult to extract, and inferior m
quality; having a certain peculiar flavour, from which the
farina of the true sago 1s free.

Griffith, who has given a good description and figure

)!lU™| See io we
—wreter se st
Ft re

.

70 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS”

of this Palm, says:—‘‘ Mr. Lewis informs me that trees
that have died after the ripening of the whole crop of fruit,
—which is the natural course of events,—are almost hollow,
and particularly adapted for making troughs, spouts, or
- channels for water, and that they last extremely well under-
ground. In short, it is so valuable a Palm, that it early at-
tracted Dr. Roxburgh’s attention, who introduced it largely
into Hindostan. The natives of Bengal however have
never taken to it, preferring the coir of the Cocoa-nut, and
the toddy and sugar of Phenix sylvestris. The following
are Dr. Roxburgh’s words :—‘ With respect to the various
important uses of this most elegant Palm, I have nothing
to offer myself, but refer to what Rumphius and Marsden
have written on the subject. At the same time, I cannot
avoid recommending to every one who possesses land in
India, particularly such as is low and near the coasts, to
extend the cultivation thereof as much as possible. The
wine itself and the sugar it yields, the black fibres for
cables and cordage, and the pith for sago, independent of
many other uses, are objects of very great importance.
“¢From observations made in the Botanic Garden at Cal-
cutta, well-grown, thriving trees produce about six leaves
annually, and each leaf yields from eight to sixteen ounces

‘witaed

ASTROCARYUM. 71

of the clean fibres. In the same garden there are now (1810)
many thousand plants and young trees, some of them
of above twenty years’ growth, with trunks as thick as a
stout man’s body, and from twenty to thirty feet high, ex-
clusive of foliage. They are in blossom all the year; one
of them was lately cut down, and yielded about 150 lbs. of
good sago-meal.’”

Genus IV. ASTROCARYUM, G. Ff. VW. Meyer.

“There is no rose without thorns,” and, it may be added,
no Astrocaryum without spines. Trunk, foliage, fruit-stalks,
spathes, and, in some cases, even the fruit of every species
of this genus are armed with acute spines. It has been said
that thorny- and spiny plants are indicative of a poor soil
or an arid climate, but that induction, though holding good
as a general rule, is, like all such rules, subject to particu-
lar exceptions, and the genus Astrocaryum is one of them.
Instead of growing as, according to owr rules it ought to do,
in a meagre soil, or a country rarely visited by vivifying rains
and refreshing dews, it is generally found in moist places,
often on the banks of rivers, exposed to occasional floods,

oF ae a —~ .' 9 oe eee
bhp 7, SN

72 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.”

in. virgin forest, luxuriating in rich vegetable mould. Astvo-
caryum is composed of about sixteen species, natives of the
north-eastern parts of South America, chiefly Brazil. They
resemble in habit, as well as in every other respect, the va-
rious Acrocomias ; most of them are trees, some attaining
the -height of forty feet; and only a few, as, for instance,
A. acaulis, Mart., the Iti of the Brazilians, stemless plants.
Their trunks are covered with rings of black or dark brown

spines, occasionally a foot long; their leaves, which are ter-.

minal, pinnatisect, and have linear, entire segments, ,of a
dark-green above, and generally of a silvery-white under-
neath, form a dense crown, from the lower parts of which,
generally from the axils of the old decayed leaves, the
spathes are developed. ‘The latter, during the flowering
season, are in most cases erect, but finally, when the fruit
has increased in size and weight, they always hang down;
their flowers, appearing in simple or branched spadices, are
yellowish or green; their drupes are round and oval, of a
yellow or orange colour, occasionally agreeably scented, and
contain solitary stony seeds. We cultivate in our gardens,
as far as I have been able to ascertain, seven species of As-
trocaryum, viz. A. aculeatum, G. EF. W. Mey., A. Ayri, Mart.
(Towophamea aculeatissima, Schott), A. campestre, Mart., A.

2 ie
a

ASTROCARYUM. 73

Murumuru, Mart., A. rostratum, Hook., A. Tucuma, Mart.,
and A. vulgare, Mart..

From the number of spines with which these Palms are
clad, they have rather a repulsive aspect, yet nevertheless,
and notwithstanding their being “armed to the teeth,” it
has not prevented man from approaching them, and find-
ing out their various useful properties. Astrocaryum vul-
gare, Mart. (A. Awarra, Hort.) ,—every part of which, even
the edges of the segments of the leaves, bristles with sharp
spines,—is of great importance to the Indians of Brazil,
who term it Tucum, and cultivate it in their mandiocca-
fields and about their huts,—not for the sake of its fruit, for
that is scarcely eatable, but for the sake of its unexpanded
leaves, from which they manufacture cordage, superior in
fineness, strength, and durability to that procured from the
Miriti (Mauritia flexuosa, Linn.), and serving for bow-
strings, fishing-nets, hats, fans, and other purposes where
fineness, combined with strength, is required. The Brazi-
lians of the Rio Negro and the Upper Amazon make beau-
tiful hammocks of Tucum-thread, knitted by hand into a
compact web of so fine a texture as to occupy two persons
three or four months in the completion of one hammock.
These sell at about £3 each, and when ornamented with

—
74 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

feather-work borders, at double that sum. Most of them
are sent as presents to Rio Janeiro.

The Tucum has occasionally been confounded with the
Tucuma (Astrocaryum Tucuma, Mart.), to which indeed it
is nearly allied, and in company with which it is often seen
in the dry forest land (terra firme) of the Upper Amazon
and Rio Negro. The Tucuma is never used for making
cordage, but the fleshy part of its fruit is esteemed for food
by the Indians, and the stony seeds are turned into rings,
“birros” (or knitting pins), and other smaller articles for
which bones are employed. Two other species of this
genus also produce edible fruit: I mean the It (A. acaule,
Mart.), an almost stemless Palm inhabiting the Catinga fo-
rests of the Upper Rio Negro, and from the outer portion
of the leaf-stalks of which the Indians make baskets ; and
the Murumurt (4. Murumuru, Mart.), growing in humid
places of the Brazilian forest.- The fruit of the latter has—
I quote Kunth’s description—an agreeable flavour, and, at
first, a scent resembling musk, but afterwards that of a
melon. Wallace, too, states that the fleshy covering of the
fruit is rather juicy, and eatable, but he does not mention
the agreeable fragrance to which the former author alludes ;
nor does he dwell much upon the partiality of man to this

ASTROCARYUM. 75

fruit, but gives instead some account of the high favour in
which beasts hold it. ‘On the Upper Amazon,” he says,
“cattle eat the fruit of the Murumurd, wandering about
for days in the forests to procure it. The hard stony seeds
pass through their bodies undigested, and become thickly
scattered over the pastures of that district ; they are so hard
that it is almost impossible to break them, except by a
powerful blow with a large hammer; the kernel (a/dumen)
is also very hard, nearly approaching to vegetable ivory.
Yet pigs are very fond of these seeds, and on one estate on
the Upper Amazon, where I was staying, they had scarcely
anything to eat, during a part of the year, save those which
had already passed through the stomachs of the cows. They
might constantly be seen cracking the shell (putamen) with
their powerful jaws, and grinding up the hard kernel, on
which the teeth of few other animals could make any im-
pression. They not only existed on this food, but in some
eases actually got fat upon it. .

76 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

Genus V. ATTALEA, Humboldt, Bonpland, and Kunth.

Of late years the streets of London have been, in places at
least, kept peculiarly neat and clean, by brooms and brushes
made of a new material,—those of the machines as well as
those employed by hand. If the question is asked, what is
this new material, the reply often heard is, “ Whalebone,
I suppose.” But, no; it is not of animal, but of vegetable
origin. Piassaba,* the coarse black fibre of a species of
Attalea (A. funifera, Mart.), a genus composed of about
twenty members, ten of which (A. amygdalina, H. et K., A.
Butiros, Lodd., A. Cohune, Mart., A. compta, Mart., A. coro-
nata, Lodd., A. excelsa, Mart., A. funifera, Mart., A. Maripa,
Mart., A. speciosa, Mart., and A. spectabilis, Mart.) are culti-
vated in our gardens; they are all natives of the American
Continent, where they range from the mouth of the La

* Wallace has declared the Piassaba to be a species of Leopoldinia. Sir
W. J. Hooker (Hook. Journal of Bot. and Kew Misc., vol. i. p. 121), in
common with other botanical writers of high repute, consider it as the Af-
talea funifera of Martius. I have looked upon Wallace’s L. Piassaba as
identical with Attalea funifera, as I cannot discover in anything Wallace has
written upon the subject, either a positive or a negative proof to lead me
to a contrary conclusion. Wallace himself informs us that he neither saw

the flower nor the fruit of his new Leopoldinia. “How,” botanists ask,
“could he know then that it is a Leopoldinia, and not an Attalea ?”

ATTALEA. 77

Plata to the British colony of Honduras, but chiefly con-
gregate in the neighbourhood of the Amazon and its tribu-
taries: their favourite habitat is the forest. They are erect
trees, generally of middle size, with thick, irregularly rmged
trunks, terminated by a crown of large pinnatisect leaves
(between which the spathes appear), yellowish flowers, and
ovate or elliptical fruits (drupes), of a brown or greenish-
brown colour, each of which contains generally three, but
sometimes four or five edible seeds.

Attalea funifera of Martius (Leopoldinia Piassaba, Wal-
lace, Cocos lapidea, Gertn., Lithocarpus cocciformis, Targ.-
Tozz.), termed by the Brazilians Piassaba, and by the Ve-
nezuelians Chiquichiqui, has a very extensive distribution
on the eastern side of South America, where it grows in
swampy or partially flooded lands on the banks of rivers.*

* Wallace, speaking of the distribution of this Palm, in those parts wita
which he is more intimately acquainted, says :—“‘ It grows in swampy or par-
tially flooded lands, on the banks of black-water rivers. It is first found on the
river Padauari, a tributary of the Rio Negro, on its northern side, about four
hundred miles above Barra, but the waters of which are not so black as those
of the Rio Negro. The Piassaba is found from near the mouth to more than
one hundred miles up, where it ceases. On the banks of the Rio Negro
itself not a tree is to be seen. The next river, the Daraha, also contains
some. The next two, the Marahivé and Cababuris, are white-water rivers,
and have no Piassaba. On the south bank, though all the rivers have black

78 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS. ™

The trunk reaches twenty to thirty feet in height. The
leaves are very large, and their leaflets rigid, but slightly
drooping at the tips: they form an excellent thatch. The
dilated base of the petioles separates, like that of Arenga
saccharifera, into a long, coarse fringe, which is collected by
the natives, and partly used for home consumption, partly
exported to Europe, tied up in bundles of several feet in
length, and sold in London at the price of about £14 the
ton, under the name of Piassaba (Piagaba).

This fibre is an extensive article of commerce in the
country where it grows, and it seems to have been used
from a very early period to form cables for the canoes na-

water, there is no Piassaba till we reach the Marié, not far below St. Gabriel.
Here it is extensively cut for about one hundred miles up, but there is still
none immediately at the mouth, or on the banks of the Rio Negro. The
next rivers, the Curicurfarf, the great river Uaupés, and the Isanna, though
all black waters, have none; while further on, in the Xié, it again appears.
On entering Venezuela, it is found on the banks of the Rio Negro, and is
abundant all up to its sources, and in the Témi and Atabapo, black-water
tributaries of the Orinoco. This seems to be its northern limit, and I cannot
hear of its again appearing in any part of the Amazon or Orinoco, or its tri-
butaries. It is thus entirely restricted to a district about three hundred miles
from north to south, and an equal distance from east to west. I am enabled so
exactly to mark out its range from having resided more than two years among
people whose principal occupation consisted in obtaining the fibres of this
tree.” — Wallace's ‘ Palm Trees,’ p. 19.

ATTALEA. 79

vigating the Amazon: it is well adapted for this purpose,
as it is light—the cables made of it not sinking in water—
and very durable. It twists firmly into cordage, from the
fibres being rough-edged; and as it is very abundant, and
is procured and manufactured by the Indians, ropes made
of it are much cheaper than any other kind of cordage.
The price in the city of Barra, in June, 1852, was 400
reis (one shilling English) for 32 lbs. of the fibre, and 800
reis (two shillings) for every inch in circumference of a
cable sixty fathoms long,—the standard length they are
all made to. Before the independence of Brazil, the Por-
tuguese Government had a factory at the mouth of the
Paduari, one of the tributaries of the Rio Negro, for the
purpose of making these cables, for the use of the Para
arsenal, and as a Government monopoly. Until the last few
years, the fibre was all manufactured into cordage on the
spot; but it is now taken down, in long conical bundles,
for exportation from Para to England. It is cut by men,
women, and children, from the upper part of the younger
trees, so as to secure the freshest fibres; the taller trees,
which have only the old and half-rotten portion within
reach, being left untouched. The trees are much infested
by venomous snakes, a species of Craspedocephalus, and

80 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.”
the Indians, when at work, are not unfrequently bitten by
them, sometimes with fatal consequences.

The nuts of the Piassaba are also an article of commerce,
long brought to England under the name of “Cogquillas.”
Being excessively hard, beautifully mottled with dark and
light brown, and capable of taking a very high polish, they
are extensively used for turnery-work, especially in making
the handles of bell-pulls, the knobs of walking-sticks and
umbrellas, and similar articles.

Another A?talea, the commercial importance of which
has only lately become apparent, is A¢talea Cohune of Mar-
tius, the northernmost species of the genus. In speaking
of this Palm, Mr. R. Temple, Chief Justice of British Hon-
duras, in a letter addressed to Mr. Le Néve Forster, dated
Belize, April 15, 1854, and published in the ‘ Journal of
the Society of Arts’ (vol. 1. no. 81, p. 500), says :—“ My
chief object in addressing you is to draw your attention,
and through you that of the public, to a valuable article
of commerce, hitherto much neglected, and growing in
Honduras spontaneously, and in profuse abundance; I -
allude to the nut of the Cohune Palms.* The Cohune
resembles in appearance the Cocoa-nut Palm, but it is not

* Whitten also Cahoun.

ATTALEA. 8]

nearly so high as that tree, and the trunk is considerably
thicker. The order and regularity in which it grows is
surprising. J have seen rows of it presenting the ap-
pearance of having been planted with the greatest care,
long avenues which closely resembled the nave and aisles
of a cathedral, the arched leaves meeting overhead, and
producing an exact imitation of the vaulted roofs, and,
if the sun was declining, the horizontal rays, shining at
intervals through one side of the avenue, created the splen-
did effulgence of the most richly painted window.

“This tree bears a fruit about the size of a large hen’s
egg, which grows in clusters, each cluster resembling a
bunch of grapes. The kernel tastes somewhat like that of
the cocoa-nut, but is far more oleaginous, and the oil ex-
tracted from it is infinitely superior. No other oil except
that of the cohune and the cocoa-nut is burnt in this coun-
try, but a pint of the former will last double the time that
the same quantity of the latter will. The Cohune oil con-
geals at a temperature of seventy-five degrees. There is no
question whatever that if it were known to the public in
general it would completely supersede the use of the cocoa-
nut oil.

“ Honduras consists principally of two kinds of land;

G

—
82 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

the one is called a‘ Pine ridge,’ the other a ‘ Cohune ridge.’
The former is, generally speaking, sterile and sandy, and
but here and there interspersed with patches of greater
fertility, ‘green spots’? in the midst of a sandy wilderness,
the resort of immense herds of deer and antelopes, the flesh
of which bears not the least resemblance to the succulent,
well-fed venison of England, but is dry, white, stringy,
and an utter stranger to fat. This ridge,—densely covered
with pines, which are very much more resmous than the
red pines of North America,—might yield any quantity of
pitch, of an excellent quality, for commercial purposes. The _
Cohune ridge differs materially from the Pine ridge. The
soil of the latter, as I have said, is sandy and unproductive ;
whereas that of the former is rich and loamy, and possesses
every agricultural capability. There is no tropical plant
which cannot be grown in great abundance upon these
ridges. The Cohune there abounds: for miles and miles
you have nothing but forests of it; and yet with all these
trees, bearing ‘nuts’ from which a most valuable oil can
be extracted—an oil for which there would be a ready mar-
ket in every town of Europe and America—ne one has yet
been found to turn them to a profitable account. Not one
single bottle of oil has ever been exported to Europe, or

ATTALEA. 83

+

elsewhere, as an article of commerce. Over these vast fields
of wealth a few old Negro women occasionally wander, pick-
ing up the nuts which have fallen accidentally to the ground,
from which, in their rude and clumsy way, they manufac-
ture as much oil, and no more, as will serve to satisfy their
personal wants, and purchase for them a few /wxuries, such
as pickled pork and gin, pipes and tobacco.

“7 should be glad if some enterprising individual would
undertake to develope the riches of this country, and es-
tablish this new branch of trade. Mahogany and logwood
now engross, as they have always done, the entire attention
of the merchants settled in Belize; but a much more pro-
fitable, a more certain, and a more durable trade awaits
those who have courage and capital to open this new vein
of wealth. British Honduras contains numerous navigable
rivers and creeks, and on the banks of all those rivers the
Cohune is found in abundance. The river Hondo, the
New River, the Northern River, the Belize, the Sibun,
Manatee River, Mullin’s River, Sette River, Monkey River,
Deep River, Golden Stream, Rio Grande, Moho River, and
the River Sarstoan, are all navigable, and by these cohune
oil could be conveyed from the place where it is manufac-
tured to the sea.”

ears.

SCR ae ae CEP eee ote eal aE eat Rphe SPE Mee per el >
reo x TOPS he SS vo Beiek sare eae nay. Fy ae ee yes Oe re
a 4 Pa Ret S ae ee is Lewes
pire ais : a ee
. - 2 o +s .

84 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

-

Annexed to this interesting account is a letter from Mr.
J. H. Faber, Crown Surveyor, dated Belize, January 10,
1854, containing some valuable observations on the same
Palm. It runs as follows:— By the latest computation
the settlement of Honduras contains 37,500 square miles,
two-fifths of which, | have no hesitation in asserting, are
composed of what are commonly called Cohune ridges (Co-
rozales i Spanish). These Corozales, or Cohune groves,
are mostly along the banks of the rivers, and possess the
richest virgin soil; some of them are only a quarter of a
mile in depth. The cohune-trees grow at an average di8s-
tance of fifty yards from one another, thereby forming
arches of evergreens, which soften the ardent rays of the
tropical sun, and give a grand air to these forests, the
silence of which is only broken by the twitter of bright-plu-
maged birds, or the solitary cries of some wild mammal ~
roaming in these wildernesses.

‘The cohune-trees yield one crop every year; this crop
consists of generally three, and sometimes four, bunches of
nuts, as close together as grapes; the nuts are of the size
of a small turkey’s egg, and on an average there are eight

_ hundred nuts in one bunch. The people here extract the
oil from them in the following manner:—when the nuts

re a
ne es ate.
eo tee

ATTALEA. 85
are what they term full, they break, between two stones,
the shell, which is very hard, then pound the kernel in a
wooden mortar; then put the sediment in a boiler with
water, and boil it down until all the oil or fat floats; they
skim the oil off, fry it m an iron pot, so as to disengage all
the aqueous particles, and then bottle it; by this process
the average yield is one quart bottle of oil from a hundred
nuts. With improved machinery more oil can be extracted .
and if any one with some capital at his command, and
having a. ready market for his produce, would undertake
such a manufactory, there is no doubt that the staple article,
that is. to say nuts, will not be found wanting; there would
always be an abundant supply on hand, because the women
and children who live along the banks of the rivers, hay-
ing nothing else to do during the dry season, and being
certain of a trifling remuneration, would vie with one another
to bring to such an establishment the produce of their la-
bour, which only consists in gathering the nuts.”

These two articles naturally attracted the attention of Mr.
G. F. Wilson, the intelligent superintendent of Price’s Pa-
tent Candle Company, at Vauxhall, London, who, on the
30th October, 1854, addressed a letter, of which the follow-
ing is the substance, to the ‘ Journal of the Society of Arts.’

‘st

86 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS*

He says :—‘ As the introduction of new fats and oils for
manufacturing purposes into England has long been a hobby
of mine, I trust that you will not suspect me of any wish to
discourage the manufacture of cohune oil, suggested by Mr.
Temple, when I repeat that the cohune oil will not be worth
more for manufacturing purposes, whether for soap, candles,
oil, or grease, than the fine cocoa-nut oil of the Malabar
coast, which comes to England in large quantities. The
reason why Mr. Temple finds the oil expressed in Honduras
from the cohune nut superior to that of the cocoa-nut, is pro-
bably the fact that the cohune-nuts, being small and without
milk,* would be dried whole, and thus be protected by their
brown skin from any risk of mould, which, unless some care
and attention is taken during drying, the cocoa-nuts are
liable to at the inside, and where broken. These carelessly
dried kernels would yield an oil, if not of so low a quality

* What is called, in popular language, the milk of Palm-nuts, is the albumen
of the seed in a liquid state, which, when the fruit is gute ripe, appears as a
solid white or yellowish mass, and is then termed the kernel. The reason
why cocoa-nuts have generally such a great quantity of milk is that they are
gathered from the trees before they have arrived at maturity, and the reason
why the cohune-nuts, of which Mr. Temple speaks, are destitute of milk is
that they are collected after they are ripe, indeed after they have fallen from
the tree; compare the two fruits in the same state of growth, and the
amount of milk will be found proportionately the same in both.—AB. 8.

ATTALEA. 87

as that known as Sydney cocoa-nut oil, at any* rate not
superior to the lowest quality of Ceylon oil, which will not
bear comparison with the cohune. As to the question, how
to separate the oil from the dried kernel, Mr. Temple must
add a 0 to his figure of the steam-power necessary, if a
regular mill is to be erected. Some years ago, not being
able to obtain from other sources sufficient supplies for our
works at Vauxhall, we established a large mill, with perfect
machinery, in Ceylon, but we found that after a time the
natives of the Malabar coast, with their rude sort of pestle and
mortar, beat us, making better oil, not costing more than
ours ; the native-made oil being supplied at so near the cost
of the quantity of dried kernel required to produce it, as
not to leave margin for interest and charges of machinery.
There is no fear, for many years to come, of the supply of
fats like the cohune being so great as to make their judi-
cious extraction an unprofitable business. I should recom-
mend a number of Malabar coast mills being tried in the
first instance, and, rather than any running into expensive
machinery, that a supply of nuts, thoroughly dried, should
be tried by the seed-crushers in England. I had a discus-
sion with an intelligent gentleman from Venezuela, and a
South American merchant, on the comparative merits of

al “tbe Pa

88 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS®

the Cocoa and Cohune oil, which they knew well, and of
which they spoke highly.”

To this communication Mr. Temple replied in a letter,
dated Belize, December 15, 1854, and published in the same
Journal (vol. i. p. 159), from which the following 1s an abs-
tract :—‘ Mr. Wilson’s letter does not at all discourage
me nor cause me in the slightest degree to relax my efforts to
make the cohune oil more generally known and used by the
public. Notwithstanding Mr. Wilson’s opinion respecting
the merits of that oil,—without presuming to differ from
him upon a subject to which he has devoted so much atten-
tion,—from all that I have read, and seen, and heard, I have
arrived at the conviction that cohune oil is destined, at no
very distant date, to take the highest rank amongst vege-
table oils. Mr. Wilson (very naturally) forms his opinion
from the specimen which was sent to him. But I warned
your readers that the specimens forwarded to you were not
to be regarded as fair representations of the cohune oil, be-
cause they were manufactured in a very imperfect and un-
scientific manner; nevertheless, the manager of the British
Sperm Candle Company places it—so far as it is applicable
to the manufacture of candles—in a higher niche than the
best cocoa-nut oil.

ATTALEA. 89

“Mr. Wilson says, ‘The cohune oil will not be found,
for manufacturing purposes, whether for soap, candles, oil,
or grease, worth more than the fine cocoa-nut oil of the
Malabar coast, which comes to this country in large quan-
tities.’

“The general manager of the British Sperm Candle
Company gives a practical opinion upon the subject, for,
having actually made three candles from the oil which you
sent to him, he says, ‘I consider the cohune-nut oil supe-
rior to cocoa-nut oil for making composition candles, for
the odour is more pleasant and the compound is less oily’
[that is, not so liquid]. ‘The dest cocoa-nut oil’ [including,
I presume, the Malabar oil,] ‘is now selling in London
at 51s. per cwt., and I think there would be no difficulty
in selling the cohune-nut oil at a higher rate in very large
quantities.’ :

«Now, here are two very different opinions expressed by
gentlemen, both of whom are well acquainted with the sub-
ject on which they write; and each occupies too high a
position to permit us to suppose for an instant that either
of them would give expression to anything but a conscien-
tious conviction. The testimony is conflicting. How is
it to be reconciled? The manager of the Sperm Candle

is SS. pay Tee

ee
90 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS. #

Company founds his opinion upon experiment. Mr. Wilson
would appear to have formed his in the absence of such ex-
periment; at all events, it is not in evidence that he made
any. Under these circumstances I would say, Utrum horum
MAvIS accipe.

«But I am content to take the opimion of Mr. Wilson.
He says that the cohune oil, for the purposes which he
mentions, will not be found ¢o de worth more than the fine
— cocoa-nut oil of the Malabar coast. From this mode of
expression, I think it may be inferred that Mr. Wilson is
of opinion, at any rate, that it is worth as much. If, then,
that be so,—if the cohune oil and the Malabar cocoa-nut
oil be placed upon the same footing as regards quality, with
which can the English market be the most readily and
cheaply supplied? The time occupied in the passage from
Malabar to London is, I suppose, from four to five months;
the voyage from Honduras to England is performed in six
or seven weeks. This circumstance then, I should imagine,
must give to the cohune oil what may be termed a collateral
advantage over the Malabar cocoa-nut oil, and ceteris pa-
ribus must render the former the more desirable commo-
dity. }

“Mr. Wilson says, ‘The reason why Mr. Temple finds

os A See

ATTALEA. 9]

the oil expressed in Honduras’ [I am sorry to say it is not
expressed | ‘from the cohune palm nut is superior to that
from the cocoa palm nut is probably this :—The cohune-
nuts, being small and without milk, would be dried whole,
and thus be protected by their brown skin from any risk
of mould, which, unless some care is taken, the cocoa-nuts
are liable to at the inside, and where broken” This is very
valuable testimony in favour of the cohune-nut, and the
fact mentioned by Mr. Wilson undoubtedly gives it another |
advantage over the cocoa-nut. ‘The shell of the cocoa-nut
is thin in proportion to its size, and is consequently easily
broken. Falling from nowery great height, its own weight
would oecasion it to be fractured. Not so with the cohune-
nut. The shell of that nut is remarkably hard, and, though
probably not thicker than that of the cocoa-nut, the texture
is altogether different. ‘Then again, beg so much lighter
and smaller (the cocoa-nut being the size of a cannon ball,
and the cohune-nut not much larger than a hen’s egg), it is
not liable to so many accidents. The shell admits of a most
beautiful polish, and is capable of being turned into a great
variety of useful and ornamental articles. Mr. Wilson speaks
of the mz/k of the cocoa-nut: I presume he means the water
which that nut contains. This water, when the nut is

92° POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.”
taken from the tree early in the morning, and whilst the
dew is yet upon it, is a cool and delicious draught. It is
slightly effervescent and greatly aperient. The milk is
made from the kernel itself, and for this purpose the kernel
is grated, a little warm water is poured over it, and the
liquid is then filtered through an open cloth. This milk is
excellent with coffee, and indispensable to a curry.

“But Mr. Wilson gives me more credit than I deserve,
in supposing that I derive my opinion of the superior
merit of the cohune-nut by such a scientific mode of rea-
soning as that which he suggests. I will state in a few
words why I think that the cohune-nut is, and must be,
superior to the cocoa-nut. In the first place, the cocoa-nut
tree prefers an arid, sandy soil,—a soil in which nothing
else will grow: there it grows spontaneously—there it
luxuriates. On the desolate beach, where no other tree or
shrub of any kind, or patch of green, presents itself to the
eye, these trees are seen in groves, their leaves waving
in the wind like the nodding plumes of a hearse, and, as
the gale sweeps past them, giving utterance to wailing,
melancholy, funereal sounds. There is something inde-
scribably solemn and ghost-like m the appearance of a
large avenue of cocoa-nut trees on the sea-beach by moon-

Aaa Vy _-” *

ATTALBA. 93

hight, more particularly if there be a fresh breeze blowing
at the time. The cohune tree is found only on the most
fertile land: it is never to be seen on the sea-coast, nor
within eight or nine miles of it. Where this tree grows,
there is the richest pasture—there plants and fruits of every
variety flourish in great profusion—there you see flowers
of surpassing beauty and fragrance—and there also birds
of the brightest plumage. Well, then, we have it on the
authority of Lucretius that ‘ex miltlo nihil fit;’ and a
greater authority has said, ‘Do men gather grapes of
thorns, and figs of thistles?? What inference do I draw
from this? Simply, that as the cocoa-nut tree derives its
nutriment from a sandy, sterile soil, and the cohune tree
receives its sustenance from the richest materials, the fruit
of the latter must be very much superior to that of the
former.* ‘This is one reason why I think more highly of
the cohune-nut than of the cocoa-nut. There is another:
if you chew a portion of the kernel of the cocoa-nut, the
flavour is agreeable, and the process of mastication produces
in the mouth a lacteous substance. But if you submit the
kernel of the cohune-nut to the same dental process, the

* Science does not countenance the conclusion here arrived at by Mr.
Temple.—-B. Seemann.

2 -
94, POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

result is a positive oil. But the strongest argument in fa-
vour of the superiority of the cohune-nut, is the broad fact
that one bottle of the oil extracted from it will burn as long
as two bottles of oil made from the cocoa-nut. The trunk
of the cocoa-nut is very lofty, and the leaves grow only at
the top.. The cohune is much shorter, and the leaves com-
mence at the root. These leaves, when a tree is cut down,
are eagerly devoured by the cattle. It is a singular circum-
stance that the bees generally select the top of the cohune. —
trees in which to build their hives and deposit their honey.

“Mr. Wilson says that he had a conversation with an
intelligent gentleman from Venezuela, who knew the cohune
oil well, and spoke highly of it. If the cohune tree grows
in Venezuela, it is rather remarkable that Humboldt, in his
account of that country, makes no mention of it.* J am
_ glad to find that, through the publicity given to cohune oil
by means of your Journal, a demand has already been
created for that article. Messrs. Hyde and Company, one

* Mr. Wilson did not state that the intelligent gentleman from Venezuela
told him the Cohune grew in that country, but only that he knew it well.
It is however not at all unlikely that it is found in Venezuela, as it was met
with by me in the latitude of that republic (Isthmus of Panama), and has
probably a much more extensive geographical range than we are at present
aware of. Humboldt not mentioning it is no proof that it is not a member

i*- . See ~~
oo . t
lee as
i
— (ew ¥ >

ATTALEA. 95
of the oldest mercantile houses connected with Honduras,
possessing a large capital, and animated by a warm desire
to develope the resources of the country, and contribute to
its general prosperity, have determined to give their aid to
a more extensive and more perfect production of cohune
oil. Mr. Travis, the representative -of that firm, has com-
municated to me the following -extract from a letter ad-
dressed to him by Mr. Hodge :—

“<The high price for oil im consequence of the Russian
war, has caused a demand for cocoa-nuts and oil, and we
have also inquiries for cohune-nuts and oil. As an experi-
ment, we have promised to bring here five tons of cohune-
nuts in the shell, which please ship in one of our own ves-
sels for London. Should it succeed, we shall send machinery
for crushing, etc.’

‘Mr. Travis writes to me as follows :—‘ We informed them
in answer that there were abundance of cohune-nuts, but
our difficulty would be labour, as this country is so thinly

of the flora of Venezuela, as every botanist knows; for Humboldt did not
remain sufficiently Jong in Venezuela to be able to write a complete enume-
ration of its flora. All he and Bonpland could do was to collect a number of
plants, which, however great it was, is far inferior to that which has since
come to light, by the indefatigable labours of Wagener, Karsten, Eduard
Otto, Moritz, Warszewicz, Linden, and others.—B. Seemann.

96 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

populated, and labour high. In time, if the men living on
the banks of the rivers were to find that they could always
sell the cahoun-nuts in Belize, a steady supply would be
obtained, which would increase every year.’ Mr. Sheldon,
the head of another mercantile house connected with Hon-
duras, has also resolved to try the experiment. He has
directed ten tons of nuts to be sent to him.

“T have sent to England, in order that they may be
forwarded to you, ten bottles of cohune oil, which I think
will be found to be of a better quality than that previously
transmitted. Perhaps you will be good enough to send one
of them to Mr. Wilson. But even this oil, not being ar-
tistically made, is very far inferior to what it ought to be,
and what it would be if it were properly expressed.”

The Cohune is also a native of the Isthmus of Panama,
where I often had opportunities of seeing it, and where it is
termed “ Palma real” and “Corozo gallinazo.” Its trunk
is about forty feet high, seldom higher ; its leaves are thirty
feet long, and each leaflet three feet long: I measured them
accurately. From the trunk Palm-wine is prepared; the
unexpanded leaflets are used for wrapping up cakes of In-
dian corn (fortil/as) previous to boiling them in water; the
expanded leaves serve as thatch, and play an important

BACTRIS. 97

part in the religious ceremonies observed on Palm Sunday
throughout the country: from the fruit an oil is extracted.

All we know of the economical properties of the other
species composing the genus A¢talea is, that their leaves,
like those of most Palms, are used for thatch, and that
their seeds are eaten by the natives ‘of the countries in which
they grow. The fruit of Attalea excelsa, the Urucuri of
the Brazilians, is, according to Wallace, burnt, and the
smoke employed to blacken newly-made India-rubber. The
kernels of various other species of Attalea, when rubbed in
water, form an emulsion, used by the inhabitants of Brazil
both externally and internally.

Genus VI, BACTRIS, Jacquin.

Baetris, Calamus, Chameadorea, and Geonoma, the four
genera which, numerically, are the largest of the whole
order of Palms, are, curiously enough, those of the econo-
mical properties of which we know least. Neither the rude
savages, who come in almost daily contact with them, and
hand down, by means of tradition, the uses which they may
happen to discover; nor the intelligent northern travellers

H

98 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

who have, from time to time, observed them in their native
countries, have accumulated much information on those
points. More than forty species of Bactris are described
in systematic works; yet out of the whole number, only a
few deserve notice on account of their uses to mankind.
The trunks of Bactris minor, Jacy., a native of New
Granada and the West Indies, produce walking-sticks,
occasionally imported into Europe, under the name of To-
bago canes; B. major, Jacq., also an inhabitant of that
region, bears an edible fruit, which has a pleasant acid
flavour,—a peculiarity it enjoys in common with the Bra-
zilian Maraja (B. Maraja, Mart.),—and from it the inhabi-
tants prepare a vinous beverage.

Bactris, like the other genera alluded to, with which it
must naturally share the contempt of the utilitarian, grows
generally in forests, where it performs the menial office of
underwood. ‘The species composing it are all inhabitants
of tropical America, chiefly the eastern parts; they are
mostly only a few feet high ; but some, assuming the cha-
racter of trees, attain a height of forty feet, and even more.
In many cases they have several trunks, forming thickets
difficult to penetrate, especially as all the species are more
or less covered with spines; and the foliage, instead of be-

BORASSUS. 99

f

ing, as in most Palms, confined to the top, is scattered over
the whole surface of the trunk. The leaves are pinnatisect,
and their segments generally linear and entire, but in some
instances—for example, in Bactris caryotefolia, Mart.—
delta-shaped and eroso-dentate.. The flowers are either axil-
lary or terminal, of a dark yellow, green, or rose colour ;
the drupes are ovate or nearly round, generally of a dark
blue, and contain a white pulp enclosing a solitary, black
seed. Most members of this genus being small, they are
easily accommodated in conservatories ; about twenty are
cultivated in Europe.*

Genus VII. BORASSUS, Linnaeus.

Remarkably straight trunks, often seventy feet high, fan-
shaped leaves, with spiny petioles, dicecious flowers ap-

* Hermann Wendland, in his ‘ Index,’ gives the following list of them :—
B. acanthocarpa, Mart., B. Caracasana, Lodd., B. caryotefolia, Mart., B.
chetorhachis, Mart., B. Corozillo, Hort., B. cuspidata (?), Mart., B. Maca-
nilla, Hort., B. macracantha, Mart., B. major, Jacq., B. Maraja, Mart., B.
martinezieformis, Hort., B. minax, Miq., B. pallidissima, Mart., B. Poi-
teauana, Hort. Paris., B. setosa, Mart., B. simplicifrons, Mart., B. Varinensis,
Hort., and three other species, not yet determined.

>
100 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

pearing in the axils of the leafstalks, and large brown
drupes, containing three seeds (pyrene) each, are the most
characteristic features of Borassus, a genus found in Africa
and Asia. Little is known of the African species (B. ?
LEthiopum, Mart.), which grows between the latitude of the
Cape de Verd Islands and Benin, and the young seedlings
and fruits of which are eaten; but we possess vast stores
of knowledge about the Asiatic species (Borassus flabelli-
jformis, Linn.), a plant cultivated in our gardens. The
terms “vast stores of information” were used advisedly ;
for so much has been written upon this Palm, that William
Terguson* was able to produce a pamphlet of nearly one
hundred closely printed pages on the subject.

Borassus flabelliformis—best known in the countries in
which it abounds by the names of Tal, Tala, Tal gaha, Trin-
rajan, Lontar, Palmeira, or Palmyra,—is one of those Palms»
enjoying the widest geographical distribution. A glance
at one of the maps in Berghaus’s or Johnston’s Physicat
Atlas, showing the range of the most remarkable plants,

* «The Palmyra Palm (Borassus flabelliformis). A popular Description
of the Palm and its products, having special reference to Ceylon. With a
valuable Appendix, embracing extracts from nearly every author that has
noticed the tree. Illustrated by wood-engravings, ete. By William Fer-
guson. Colombo, 1850.

BORASSUS. 101

will help to illustrate this fact. There will be found the
word Borassus flabelliformis written in a curve beginning
on the north-eastern parts of Arabia, in about 20° north
latitude and 54° east longitude, extending through the In-
dian Ocean and the southern parts of Hindostan, and end-
ing in about 20° north, and 93° east, in the Bay of Bengal.
The Palmyra is met with on both sides of the Persian Gulf.
Immense groves of it are found on the Malabar coast, ex-
tending from Cape Comorin through Travancore, Calicut,
-Goa, and the Bombay Presidency, on through Gujerat, and
up some distance on the banks of the Indus in Scinde.
But what are emphatically called the Palmyra regions may
be included in a line extending along the Coromandel
coast from Cape Comorin to Madras, including the north-
ern portion of Ceylon, thus passing through Tinnevelly,
Tanjore, Pondicherry, etc., and from Madras all along,
taking in a considerable belt of the coast between that and
Point Palmyras, and then passing up to Gya on the 85th
degree of east longitude, and nearly 25° of north latitude.
After that the line should be carried on about due east
until it reaches Ava, the capital of Burmah, below which,
on the banks of the Irrawaddy, there are immense groves of
this Palm. From Ava the line should pass down south-

102 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS®

east, through the Malayan Peninsula and the Indian
Archipelago, including Sumatra, Borneo, Celebes, Floris,
Ceram, Amboyna, the Molucca Isles, and perhaps the Island
of New Guinea. The extent of this distribution, in a south-
easterly direction, from Arabia, in about 54°, to New Guinea,
in about 140° east longitude, is about 86°,—5160 geogra-
phical miles, or about one-fourth of the circumference of
the earth! The Palmyra extends in various parts of Asia
to between the 25th and 30th degrees of north latitude; the
island of Timor is its southern limit ; so that it may be said
that the region of this Palm is situated between 10° south
and 80° degrees north latitude, and 54° and 140° east lon-
gitude.

The Palmyra is found in various parts of the mountain
districts of Ceylon, including the vicinity of Kandy and of Ba-
_ dulla, at elevations of 1680 and 2450 feet respectively, and
having a mean annual temperature of about 74° at the for-
mer, and, by calculation of the difference in altitude, a mean
annual temperature of 714° at the latter. Yet although,
as already stated, immense groves of this Palm are met with
on the banks of the Irrawaddy, from the sea-coast up to
nearly as far as Ava or Amarapoorain Burmah, and as far
inland as Gya in Bengal, and in isolated patches through-

BORASSUS. 103

out Ceylon, still the most congenial places for its deve-
lopment are low sandy plains, scarcely elevated above the
level of the sea, exposed to the burning sun and the force
of at least one of the monsoons. Such are Jaffna, with the
surrounding islands, and other portions of the northern pro-
vince of Ceylon ; such the district of Tinnevelly, with por-
tions of the Madura Collectorate; portions of the Madras
and Bombay Presidencies, and of the Indian Archipelago.

An estimate may be formed of the number of Palmyras
existing on the globe by Ferguson’s calculation of those
living in the Jaffna peninsula and the islands adjacent. He
says :—‘‘ The area of Jaffna peninsula and the islands is
about seven hundred square miles: I think we may safely
assume that one-fourteenth of this surface is covered with
Palmyras. If so, fifty square miles, equal to 32,000 acres, at
the moderate average of two hundred to an acre (according
to my calculation, three hundred trees can be planted on an
acre), would give a total of 6,400,000 trees; the popula-
tion being 200,000, this estimate, if correct, gives thirty-
two trees for each individual person.”

Few trees are better adapted for sheltering animals than
the Palmyras, and hence they are resorted to by birds

at night, and by rats, squirrels, mongooses, monkeys, ma-

104 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS*

ranayas (Felis Vivenina,) etc., during the daytime. When
a tree has its old leaves undisturbed, the number of bats
sometimes found occupying it is incredibly great. The
grooves of the petiole, and the whole construction of the
leaves, are well adapted for conveying the rain; and every-
thing falling upon the foliage towards the trunk of the
tree,*gives nourishment, especially on trees in a wild or
' unpruned state, to numerous species of epiphytical plants,
orchids, ferns, figs, ete. In Ceylon an Orclud, termed by
the natives Parang Cataté, often encircles the trunk at va-
rious heights, displaying beautiful tassels of pink-coloured
flowers. But the most generally conspicuous and interest-
ing union of the Palmyra with other plants is that formed
with ten or twelve species of fig, including the Bogaha
(Ficus religiosa, Linn.), the Gan-Attika (F. glomerata,
Roxb.), and the Nuga-gaha, the true Banyan-tree of the
English (Ff. Indica, Linn.). In Ceylon and India Proper
many of these united trees are met with. There is especially
one remarkable specimen of a Banyan having two or three
Palmyra trees growing in it, at Kaythady, four or five miles
from Jaffna, on the road to Chavagacherry, which covers
one and one-twelfth acre of ground. ‘This is perhaps the
largest Banyan-tree in Ceylon, and a favourite resort for

BORASSUS. 105

pleasure parties from Jaffna. It probably commenced its
existence in the leaves of one of the Palmyras, the coronets
of which now surmount its foliage and thousand stem-like
aerial roots. The knowledge we possess of the way in
which these unions originate warrants us in presupposing
this; for, when the fruits of the Banyan are ripe, various
species of birds flock to eat them, and these, when they
alight on the Palmyras, drop the seeds in the axils of the
leaves, where they germinate and extend their roots, so as
in time to embrace the parent Palmyra, except its upper
parts. The top of very old Palmyras is just seen issuing

from the stem of the Banyan, as if it grew from there,

whereas it runs down through the centre, and has its roots
in the ground, the Palm being the oldest. For such a
union the Hindoos entertain a religious veneration, saying
it is a holy marriage, instituted by Providence.

The number of uses for which the Palmyra is employed, |
may be said to be almost infinite ; indeed one of the eastern
languages, the Tamil, spoken in a portion of the region
which the tree acknowledges as its native country, possesses
a poem, entitled ‘ Tala Vilésam,’ enumerating no fewer than
801 different purposes to which the Palmyra may be applied,
and this poem by no means exhausts the catalogue. The

106 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS®

roots are perhaps the only parts of the plant to be regarded
as worthless in an economic point of view; that is, if we
reject the information of the natives, according to whom
their sap, as well as that of the trunk, is used to cure
sores created by the “ falling of spittle,’ and also in cases
of dysentery. The young plants, namely those about two
or three months old, called Kelingoos in Ceylon, are an
article of food, and cultivated for that purpose; the seeds
being sown in six to eight layers, under loose sandy soil.
These Kelingoos, if not eaten fresh, are deprived of the
parchment-like covering in which they are enveloped, dried
in the sun, and thus kept for future use. Those dried in
this manner are, when raw, emphatically called Odials; and
after they are boiled, Poolooc Odials. It is the former
which, reduced to flour or meal, serve for the preparation
of the favourite Cool, or gruel of the Singalese. The
Kelingoos roasted, boiled, or cut into slips and fried like’
those of the Bread-fruit, are eaten by the natives of Cey-
lon, and are to be found in the bazaars of Colombo and
other parts of the island throughout the year. It is of the
Odials, according to Bennett, that the flour, once so prized
by the Dutch, is made: I say, once so prized, for at the
present day we never hear of its being sent to the Cape of

. BORASSUS. 107

_ Good Hope, Holland, or any other countries inhabited by
the Dutch. The Singalese also prepare a dish called Putoo,
considered a great delicacy, of the Kelingoo flour. To the —
meal is added a little water, some prawns or small fish,
scrapings of cocoa-nut kernels, unripe Jack-fruit (the pro-
dueé of Artocarpus integrifolia), etc.; this mixture is put
into an ola (¢.e. Palmyra-leaf) basket, placed on the top
of a pot of boiling water, covered over_with a chatty, and
cooked by the steam. Putoo is occasionally eaten with rice
as a curry, and also with jaggery (or Palm-sugar).

A full-grown Palmyra is from sixty to seventy feet high;
its trunk at the bottom is about five and a half feet, at the
top two and a half feet, in circumference. Its wood is
favourably known in Ceylon and the maritime ports of
India. Large quantities of it are exported from Point.
Pedro and other parts of Jaffna to Madras and Colombo.
At. certain seasons of the year, the felling, splitting, dress-
ing and exporting of it give work to thousands of the
Tamil people of the northern peninsula of Ceylon. The
trees have to arrive at a considerable age before they are
of use for timber; when a hundred years old, they are
excellent ; but it is a well-known fact, that the older they
get, the harder and blacker does the wood become. Its

108 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS

durability has also been well tested: there being doubtless
many buildings in Ceylon which have rafters more than a
century old. Its specific gravity is, according to Mr. Men-
dis, sixty-five pounds per solid foot, Pillars and posts for
the verandahs of the houses, well-spweeps, etc., are made of
this timber. In the sandy parts of Jaffna, where water is
found near the surface, and where, from the strong winds
and other causes, the wells are liable to be filled up, a hol-
lowed part of the trunk of a Palmyra is inserted, and forms
a well, from which many a thirsty traveller refreshes himself.
Palmyra trunks split into halves, with the heart scooped
out, are used as spouts for various purposes, but more espe-
cially for carrying away the water from the eaves of houses.
The thick parts of the trunks are generally taken for rafters,
the thinner or tops for reepers (laths). The trunks of young
trees or the tops of old ones are often cut into pieces, split,
and placed where game is plentiful, as in the Patchelepalla
district of Jaffna. The wild hogs and hares are very fond
of the soft, white, spongy hearts of the logs, and in resort-
ing to them to eat, are frequently shot by the natives. The
dark outside wood of very old trees is used to some extent in
Europe for umbrella-handles, walking canes, paper rulers, .
fancy boxes, wafer-stamps, and other articles. The work-

BORASSUS. 109

man operating on this wood has to be extremely careful, as
when split some of the wiry fibres get loose, and are apt to
run under the nails of his fingers, or into the flesh of his
hand. It is stated that that side of the trunk exposed to
the south wind is the thickest, hardest, and best. The
natives, if not quite certain of the age or quality of the

trees to be felled, often cut a notch in the trunks near the

ground, to see how far the black wood extends, a test which
in most instances holds good. From the wound thus made,
a large quantity of sap frequently runs, which must not be
confounded with the toddy obtained from the spathes; it
forms a slimy, useless jelly on the tree, and is not, as has —
been asserted, the bdellium. Rumphius, whose authority
is generally quoted to cover this mistake, has not written a
word which could support such a statement,—a statement,
as Ferguson justly remarks, as preposterous as the supposi-
tion that Areca Catechu yields the catechu of commerce.
But to return to the timber. It is well known in India
that the female tree produces the best and hardest, and that
that of the male, notwithstanding Rumphius’ assertion to the
contrary, is considered so inferior that, unless the trees are
very old, itis never used. Buyers and sellers of the Palmyra
rafters should always choose the blackest and heaviest, but

>
110 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

bear in mind that the natives add weight and colour to the
white rafters of young trees and those of male ones, by
steeping them in salt water. If there is any suspicion that
such a fraud has been practised, an adze or axe should be
used. If the timber is good, it will be found very hard, and
fly away in chips, displaying the ends of the dark wiry
fibres thickly packed together: if bad, or if it has under-
gone the “salt-water cure,” it will be found soft and spongy,
with the fibres far apart, and the other parts composed of
fecula or farina like sago. Vessels are never built exclu-
sively of Palmyra wood ; they would be too heavy to float
with a cargo, but the rails or bulwarks and the roofs or
decks of Dhonies are often made of it. In Jaffna, where
Palmyras are plentiful, they sell at from three shillings to
six shillings each ; a single tree will yield from three to four
rafters, and if cut entirely into reepers (laths), the number
is fifteen. One hundred rafters, sixteen cubits in length,
sell at Colombo for about £17. 10s.

The trunk is generally simple, but occasionally it is more
or less divided. Ferguson says :— The first of such trees
I saw had four heads then upon it, but with marks where
three or four others had been. These divisions began about’
twenty-five or thirty feet from the ground. I noticed one

— me oe

x
“

BORASSUS. 111

near Oodooville with six heads on it. One of them grew
nearly in a line with the body of the tree, while the other
five formed a whorl, but bending somewhat outward before
they could attain their upright posture. There were marks
where other three had been. The Palm-tree mentioned by
Forbes in his ‘Oriental Memoirs,’ as having about forty
heads, was probably a Palmyra.”

The leaves (or olas), on trees in the jungle, or at a dis-
tance from human habitations, will be found extending until
the tree attains a height of twenty-five to forty feet from
bottom to top, the older ones displaying their stalks only,
the blade or fan part having rotted away. A tree thus
armed with the silicious and serrated edges of the petioles
(which latter are from three to four feet long) is a formid-
able object to encounter, as he who has to ride through
groves of them readily admits ; a Tamil proverb says, ‘‘ What
he saw was a snake, but what bit him was a Palmyra leaf.”
The foliage is distributed on the trunk in three spiral rows,
beautifully ascending from night to left in some, and from
left to right in others. The blade of the leaf has from
seventy to eighty rays, diverging from the end of the stalk
in nearly an entire circle, but are not able, from the breadth

of the leaf, to spread horizontally, thus giving a section of

112 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.”

the leaf a serpentine form. ach tree has from twenty-five
to forty fresh green leaves upon it at a time, and of these
the natives frequently cut off twelve or fifteen annually, or
a greater number once in two years, to be devoted to vari-
ous purposes, as well as with the view to enable the fruit
to ripen and increase in size.

When the leaves are intended for thatch, or for making
fences, they are placed flat on the ground in layers over each
other, and often with weight upon them, to assist in the
process of flattening them. The thatch formed of them does
not last longer than two years, nor is it so handsome as that
made from the plaited Cocoa-nut leaves. They make very
elose and elegant fences. In Jaffna, and doubtless in India,
the blades of the leaves are put into the ground of the rice-
fields until they rot off, and thus yield an excellent manure,
giving a quantity of siliceous and other matter to the soil.
Mats are made of Palmyra leaves, and are used instead of
carpets on floors, for ceilings, for drying coffee and punatoo
upon, and for packing chilies and: other articles of exporta-
tion. A Tamil proverb says, “‘ Witchcraft is the easiest of all
arts, and Ola Barkel the easiest of all plait.” Bags, baskets,
water-baskets (employed in irrigation), winnows, hats and
caps (the latter are worn, for instance, by the Catamaran

BORASSUS. to

men at Madras), fans, umbrellas, etc.,—all are made of these
leaves. But one of the most singular purposes to which
they are devoted is that of writing upon. The oldest Hin-
doo author who mentions writing on O/as is Panniny-rishee.
He lived, according to Hindoo reckoning, about the year
790 of the Caliyugam, or about 4160 years ago, and resided
at Arittuwarum, near the source of the Ganges. Pliny
(lib. xiii. cap. 2) says expressly that the most ancient way of
writing was upon the leaves of Palms. Indeed, that such
was the case with those of Palms, as well as other plants,
admits of no doubt, and hence, it is believed, the Zeaf of a
book came to be synonymous with that of a plant. The
leaves of the Palmyra are not the only ones used for writing
upon in India; those of the Cocoa-nut tree (Cocos nucifera,
Linn.) and those of the Talipot (Corypha umbraculifera,
Linn.) serve the same purpose. Palm-leaves, when they
are prepared to receive the impression of the stylus, are
called O//ahs. The natives write letters upon them, which,
neatly rolled up, and sometimes sealed with a little gum-
lac, pass through the post-office. During the operation of
writing, the leaf is supported by the left-hand, and the let-
ters scratched upon the surface with the stylus. Instead
of moving towards the right the hand which performs the
I

114 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

writing, the leaf is moved in a contrary direction, by means
of the thumb. To render the characters more legible, the
engraved lines are frequently filled by smearing the leaves
with fresh cow-dung, which is tinged black by rubbing the
lines over with Cocoa-nut oil, or a mixture of oil* and
charcoal-powder. The Palmyra books are never much be-
yond two feet in length and two inches in breadth, as the
parchment-like webs between the little mbs will not admit
of their increase in size. The statements respecting the age
of Palmyra manuscript-books are conflicting : whilst some
authors attempt to prove that they do not last longer than
a century, others are ready to show that they may be pre-
served for four or five hundred years.

The male and female flowers of the Palmyra are generally
produced on two different trees (dicecious), but sometimes,
as in the case stated by Ferguson, they are found upon one
individual tree (moncecious). The difference of sexes in
the trees is not observable until the inflorescence has ap-

* Mr. G. H. K. Thwaites, the intelligent Superintendent of the Royal Bo-
tanic Gardens, Peradenia, has sent to the Museum of Economie Botany at
Kew a specimen of oil, called “‘ Doommale Tel,” and distilled from the Doom-
male resin, which is dug out of swampy places, in which at present no trees -

grow. “This oil,” he says, “is used by the Cingalese for making legible the
writing on the Palmyra-leaf, by rubbing it on with a burnt rag.”

BORASSUS. 115

peared. The appearance of this organ, about the twelfth or
fifteenth year after the trees have been planted, marks an
epoch in the life of the Palmyras. They may be said to
have come of age, and henceforward begin to play an im-
portant part in the domestic economy of the natives. They
now yield toddy, a beverage almost as famous for its use
as notorious for its abuse, and obtained by a very singular
process. | .
At the season when the inflorescence begins to appear,
and before the spathes have had time to burst, the ¢oddy-
drawer is at work in the Palmyra groves. His practised
eye soon fixes on those trees fit for the “ scalping-knife,”
and if they have not dropped the footstalks of the leaves,
the first operation, if the trees are valuable, is to wrench
them off. This done, the toddy-drawer, armed with his
leathern protector for his breast, his raceme-batten of wood,
his stall thongs, straight and crooked knives, with the side
leather-pouch to contain them, procures a piece of tough
jungle vine, or a strip of the stalk of a young Palmyra or
Cocoa-nut tree, which he converts into a sort of loop, of
such dimensions as to admit of his feet getting through to
a space large enough to allow them to clasp the tree. This
done, he puts his feet in this thong, stands close to the tree,

116 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

stretches himself at full length, clasps it with his hands, and
pulls his feet up as close to his arms as possible; again he
slides up his hands, and repeats the same process, until, by
a species of screw-process, he ascends to the summit of the
tree, When the trees are high, use is occasionally made of
hoops, of the same material as that of the thong, large
enough to encircle both the tree and the toddy-drawer,
so that it affords always a support to the body while the
climber is in the act of taking a fresh grasp. Arrived
at the summit, amongst the leaves, the toddy-drawer lays
his climbing apparatus across a leafstalk, and commences
the pruning and phlebotomy. Leaving one or two of the
lower leaves as a support for his own body until the opera-
tion he is about to perform is completed, he frees the tree,
by means of a crooked knife (on a small scale resembling
a reaping-hook), of all the accumulated dirt, and cuts off all
the leaves, except three or four and the top bud of the tree.
Besides the removal of all this, the crooked knife is now
used in shearing off the outer covering of that part of the
tree from which spring the foliage and inflorescence. The
yarious spathes are supported during this operation by being
tied up by several thongs to the footstalks of the uncut
leaves. The pruning having been completed, all or most

BORASSUS, 117

of the spathes are effectually encompassed from end to end
by thongs, to prevent the inflorescence from bursting forth.
Thus tied, they are beaten and crushed between the wooden
battens. This operation is repeated for three successive
mornings, and on each of the following four a thin slice is
cut from the points of the spathes; and all this is done in
order to keep them from bursting and to encourage the
flow of sap. On the eighth morning a clear, sweet liquor
begins to flow from the wounded parts, which is indicated
by the toddy-birds (Artamus useus ?) and crows fighting and
chattering among the trees. The toddy-drawer then as-
eends again in the morning with chatties, or toddy-receivers,
in which he places the ends of the spathes, and leaves them
until the evening, when they are found to contain a quan-
tity of this liquor. The operation of attracting the juice
is repeated every morning and evening, or in the mornings
only, until the whole spathe is sliced away. ‘The trees are
drained in this manner for several months in the year; but
it is said, that if the eperation is repeated on the same tree
three successive years, without allowing any of the spathes
to burst, the trees die. According to Mrs. Tucker, a spathe
continues to give toddy for five months; and while it is sel-
dom that three spathes are yielding toddy on the Cocoa-nut

118 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS

tree, seven or eight will yield juice at once on the Palmyra.
An expert climber can draw toddy from about forty trees
in a few hours. In Jaffna a distinction is made between
“toddy ” and “sweet toddy ;” the former, called by the Ta-
mils “ culloo,” is the fermented, the latter the unfermented
juice. It is amusing to notice the various comparisons to
which toddy, in general, has given rise. Sir William Jones
compares it, fresh from the tree, to Poubon water, fresh
from the fountain, or to the best mild champagne; Mal-
colm, the American, associates its taste with his native
cider ; while Johnson, a traveller in Abyssinia, ranks it no
higher than ginger-beer! It is possible that it bears a cer-
tain resemblance to all three, and indeed a good deal of the
Ceylon ginger-beer is made from toddy. The result of
partaking of it early in the morning is, upon most constitu-
tions, a listless, drowsy sensation, much the same as that of
beer when drunk in the heat of the day,—of course, only
within the tropics.

Toddy serves extensively as yeast, and throughout Ceylon
no other is employed hy the bakers ; large quantities of it are
also converted into vinegar, used for pickling gherkins, limes,
the undeveloped leaves of the Cocoa-nut and Palmyra trees,
and other substances; but by far the greatest quantity is

BORASSUS. 119

boiled down for jaggery or sugar.* It appears that in the
time of Menu, upwards of four thousand years ago, the
Hindoos knew how to make sugar from the flowers of the
Madhuca (Bassza latifolia, Roxb.), and this being the case,
there is reason to suppose that sugar was made from some
of the Palms at a much earlier period. Sugar-candy is al-
luded to by Megasthenes under the name of “ Indian-stone ;”
and to this day, the crystals formed either by jaggery or the
juice of the sugar-cane, are called ‘‘ cat candoo,” or stone-
sugar. The common Indian name for the finer sorts of
sugar is “ Cheenee,” and has been supposed to point to
the Chinese origin of the production. Be that as it may, it
seems certain that sugar, in various shapes, was used by the
people of India at a very remote period of history.

The usual processof making jaggery, as pursued at Jaffna, is
very simple:—The “ sweet toddy” is boiled until it becomes
a thick syrup, when a small quantity of scraped Cocoa-nut
is thrown in, to ascertain, by the feel, whether the syrup has
attained the proper consistency; if that be the case, it is
poured into small baskets of Palmyra leaf, in which it cools
and hardens into jaggery, and is either kept for home con-

* Both these words are derived from the Sanscrit Sakar, whence also
the Arabic Shkar, the Latin Saccharum, the German Zucker, ete.

120 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS®

sumption, sent coastwise to Columbo, or shipped beyond
sea to be refined. In the year ending January 5th, 1850,
the total export of jaggery from Ceylon was 9580 ewts.,
bearing a custom valuation of £1937, fully two-thirds of
which consisted of the produce of the Palmyra. To make
vellum, or crystallized jaggery, used for medicinal purposes,
the process is nearly the same as that just described, only
the syrup is not boiled for so long a time. The pot which
contains it is covered, and put aside for some months, at
the end of which period the crystals are found in abundance.
The juice of the Palmyra possesses a greater quantity of sac-
charine matter than that of most other Palms; about three
quarts of it suffice for boiling into 1 lb. of jaggery. The chief
fault of the jaggery made at Jaffna seems to arise from the
superabundant application of lime, a small quantity of which
is of course absolutely necessary to prevent fermentation.
Jaggery, according to Malcolm and Crawfurd, forms an ar-
ticle of commerce from the upper and lower provinces of
Burmah. In Sawnu, when the crops fail, the inhabitants
derive subsistence from jaggery; and the people of Timur
depend, during part of the year, chiefly upon it as their
principal article of food. It is stated that sugar which is
chiefly the produce of the Palmyra, is more granulated and

BORASSUS. 121

higher prized than that obtained from the sugar-cane, and
that large quantities of it are imported from Madras and
Cuddalore into Europe. The export of sugar from Madras
is about nine thousand tons annually, and a considerable
proportion of that is supposed to be the produce of the Pal-
myra.

The fruits of the Palmyra vary, in different trees, in form,
colour, smell, and taste, and are classified by the natives in
several varieties, each of which bears a distinct name. The
fruit, when it falls ripe from the trees, is sometimes eaten
raw, but it is more generally roasted; and the scene ex-.
hibited at such a roasting-feast is one of the most purely
oriental that can well be witnessed. When at hand, the
shade of an Illipe (Bassta longifolia), of a Margosa (Melia
Azadirachta), or Tamarind (Yamarindus Indica), is chosen ;
a fire lighted, and the party of natives—men, women, chil-
dren—squat around it, sucking the pulp out of the fibres
of the fruits roasted, tearmmg them asunder with nails and
teeth in the most approved and natural style,—all appearing
wrapped in the highest possible state of alimentive enjoy-
ment. This jelly, or pulp, resembles mashed carrots, but is
a little darker. The period during which the fruits are ob-
tained being short, and a greater number ripening than the

122 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS®

inhabitants can consume, Punatoo, or preserved pulp, is
made. Huropeans seldom eat it; but when the Dutch had
possession of Ceylon, they used to® consider it such a great
daimty, that quantities of punatoo, preserved in sugar, were
exported as presents to residents at Java and Holland. Pu-
natoo is made in the following manner :—Pandals (stages)
are constructed within four or five feet of the ground, and
on these mats of Palmyra leaf are spread; the ripe fruits
are then taken, torn up, put into ola baskets containing
fresh water, and are then squeezed until the pulp, with the
water, forms a jelly; layers of this jelly are spread on the
mats to dry. This process is repeated for fifteen or eighteen
days, one layer being deposited above the other, until they
amount to about fifteen, or attain to about half an inch in
thickness; the mats are exposed to the sun to dry, being
covered at night and protected from rain and dew. Fer-
guson remarks that he has seen this process carried on, in
a dry season, at Ittavil, in Patchelapalla (Ceylon), until the
wells in the neighbourhood were nearly exhausted. Punatoo
is sold by the mat, at three shillings to six shillings each
(about a thousand fruits being sufficient for a mat), or in
square cubits; it is the chief food of the poorer inhabitants
of the peninsula of Jaffna for several months of the year.

_ BORASSUS. 123

In the ‘ Thala Vilasam’ its taste is compared to honey, milk,
and sugar; but Ferguson, who has eaten this famous com-
pound, does not deem it particularly agreeable. It is pre-
served in ola baskets or bags, by being hung up in the
smoke, and is generally consumed, plain or mixed, with
gruel made from the pounded farina of the Kelingoos, or
young Palmyra plants, and with Cocoa-nut kernel; it also
enters largely into the composition of soups, puffs, cakes,
etc., and various other preparations.

It is not exactly the wholesomeness or the nourishing
qualities of the edible products of the Palmyra which renders
the tree so important to the inhabitants of India, but simply
the fact that thousands, perhaps millions, of the people can
procure them from their own groves, or purchase them at a
low rate from their neighbours, while rice and other articles
of food are frequently so expensive that they are beyond their
means. ‘The Palmyra is, in this respect, what the potato is
to the poorer Irish or Scotch. The Palmyra yields perhaps
one-fourth part of the food of about 250,000 inhabitants of
the northern province of Ceylon; while it, no doubt, forms
the chief support of six or seven millions of the inhabit-
ants of India and other parts of Asia,—thus proving itself -
one of the most important plants on earth, rivalling the

124 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS®

Date-tree, and ranking only below the Cocoa-nut Palm in
usefulness.*

Genus VII]. BENTINCKIA, Berry.

Bentinckia Codda-panna, Berry,—the “ Codda-panna” of
the Telinga language,—is the only species representing this
genus. It is found in the mountains of Travancore in the

* Tt seems natural that a tree so largely diffused over the regions where
the Tamil language is spoken, and which, with its various products, enters so
largely into the daily use of the people of Southern India, should occupy a
prominent place in their proverbial sayings and illustrations. Accordingly,
in a volume of Tamil proverbs, published by the Rev. P.-Percival, of Jaffna,
I find the following, borrowed more or less from this familiar Palm and its
characteristics. Fibre used as toothpick—a hit at a spendthrift : ““ He whose
father possesses a thousand Palmyra-trees has not a fibre to pick his teeth.”
Sharpness of the petiole: ‘‘ What he saw was a snake, but what bit him was
the stalk of a Palmyra leaf.” Leaves young and old, illustrative of heirship and
succession: “It is said that the young leaves of the Palmyra-tree laughed be-
cause the dried leaves fell off.” Tenacity with which fruit clings to the tree :
“Will the Palmyra fruit fall because a crow alights on the tree?”’ -Size and
weight of the fruit: “‘Can Palmyra fruit be suspended from the neck of a little
bird?” Tenderness of the germ—taking unuecessary trouble: ‘‘ Why use a
mallet and wedge for splitting the newly germinated root of the Palmyra, that
may be split by the hand?” Height of absurdity: “‘As the scorpion stung
the Cocoa-nut tree, and the Palmyra swelled in consequence!” Felled timber
—removal of obstacles: “ As an ass perambulated the place where Palmyra

‘

‘oer,

BENTINCKIA. 125

East Indies; has a reed-like trunk, about twenty feet high ;
pinuatisect leaves, with linear segments; scarlet male, and
lilac or violet female flowers ; and small, egg-shaped berries,
of a purple colour. Nothing is known of its uses, nor is it
as yet introduced into our European conservatories ; but it
is cultivated in the Botanic Garden at Calcutta.

* timber had been felled.” Falling from a Palmyra-tree—injuring a fallen

man: ‘A snake bit him who had fallen from a Palmyra-tree.” ‘* Yorkshire,
though in London:” the fox of the Palmyra-tree is said to have deceived
the fox of the city. Avoid even the appearance of evil—toddy-drinking
discreditable: “‘If you drink under a Palmyra-tree, it will be regarded as
toddy.” Palmyra-tree insufficient for shade : “‘ Is the shadow of the Palmyra-
tree a shade, or is the friendship of the malignant friendship?” Rustling of

~ Jeaves—effects of long experience: ‘ Will the fox of the Palmyra grove be

frightened by the rustling of leaves?” ‘Tell that to the marines:” “ As one
ascended a Palmyra-tree, and descended without touching the blossom.”
Toddy—the habit of drinking cannot be concealed: “ He who drinks milk
will belch milk, and he who drinks toddy will belch toddy.” lating a Pal-
myra-tree—effects of perseverance: “ By eating slowly, even a Palmyra-tree
may be eaten.” How the fruit falls: “The fruit of the tree will fall at its
foot.”” Young trees—to save your property you must take care of it: “ Pre-
serve young Palmyras by cutting, and buffaloes by tying.” Turning the tree
to a bad use: “Is it to drink toddy you have reared the Palmyra-tree ?”
Witchcraft and basket-making easy arts: “ Witchcraft is the easiest of all
arts, and the common ola basket is the easiest of all plaits.”

>
126 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

Genus IX. BRAHEA, Martius.

If a person should wish to reside in a district combining
the beauties of the tropics with those of the temperate
zones,—a climate neither too warm nor too cold, a flora
and fauna in which the characteristic types of both are
harmoniously blended—oaks, palms, and pines, humming-
oirds and deer,—he could not select a more suitable one
than the vicinity of La Mojonera and Alto de las Cajas,
in Mexico, the native country of Lrahea dulcis, where all
the conditions alluded to are to be found. Brahea dulcis,
Mart. (Corypha dulcis, H.B.K.), the only representative of
a very curious genus, is known among the Mexicans by
the names of “Palma dulce” and “ Soyale,” and has for some
years been an inmate of our conservatories. When fully-
developed it is about thirty feet high; its trunk yields
timber; its leaves (which are fan-shaped) measure several
feet across, and serve for thatch; its flowers are green; its
fruit, a succulent drupe, of a yellow colour, and about the
size of a large cherry, is sweet and edible.

CALAMOSAGUS. 127

Genus X. CALAMOSAGUS, Griffith.

Forests of the mountains of the Malayan peninsula are
the places where the four species of which this genus is
composed are found. They are more interesting on account
of their botanical character—having the habit of Calamus,
the leaves of Wallichia (Harina), and the seed of Sagus
and Zalacca—than on account of their economic properties;
indeed, if the truth must be told, of the latter we know no-
thing whatsoever. Calamosagus hariniefolius, Griff. (C.
wallichiefolius, Griff.), is termed “ Rotang Simote,” and
C. ochriger, Grilf., “ Rotang Donam,” by the Malays, and it
is not unlikely that these, as well as the other two species
(C. scapiger, Griff, and C. Jaciniosus, Griff.), contribute
their share towards the stock of “canes” annually sold in
the markets of the Hast. All Ca/amosagi are climbing
plants, bearing pinnatisect leaves, the segments of which
are wedge-shaped, eroded from the middle upwards, of a
lively green above and a bluish colour below ; their petioles
are, like their trunks, armed with prickles, and they have
near the base a leafy expansion (ligula) characteristic of
this genus; their inflorescence is axillary, and bears herma-
phrodite flowers ; while their fruit, best compared in appear-

128 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS

ance to a pine-cone, is scaly and dry. None of them have
as yet found their way into our gardens.

Genus XI. CALAMUS, Linnaeus.

Although St. George, the legendary hero, may have ex-
terminated the last of the dragons, yet he certainly did not
take any efficient steps to prevent their blood from con-
tinuing to circulate,—if no longer in the veins of that fabu-
lous race of animals which he slew, at all events in the
body of three species of plants (Pterocarpus Draco, Linn.,
Dracena Draco, Linn., and Calamus Draco, Linn.), belong-
ing to Natural Orders (Leguminosae, Liliaceae, and Palme)
widely separated from each other.

Dracena Draco—to which belongs the famous Dragon-
tree of Orotava in Teneriffe, considered to be one of the
oldest vegetable inhabitants of our globe—and Plerocarpus
Draco are without the range of the subject proposed in this
work; but Calamus Draco is a true Palm, entitled to a
special notice. The genus (Ca/amus) to which it belongs
is indigenous in Asia, and abounds in the islands of the
Indian Archipelago, as well as in the Malayan peninsula.

a A

CALAMUS. 129

A. few species are found within the Madras territories, but
in India they chiefly abound in the forests of the districts
of Chittagong, Silhet, and Assam, whence they extend along
the foot of the Himalayas as far north-west as the Deyra
Doon, where one species (Calamus Royleanus, Griff.) flou-
rishes in wild luxuriance.

All species of Calamus are spreading shrubs, or small
trees, erect or often climbing to a considerable height ; their
trunks at intervals, where leaves are rent off, are covered
with their sheaths ; their foliage is, like their spathes, va-
riously armed with spines or prickles; their leaves are
pinnatisect, generally with linear segments, and their pe-
tiole runs out in some into a long whip-like cord, furnished
with recurved hooks, in others a similarly armed cord ex-
tends from the sheath, in both cases these attach the Ca-
Jami to their supports; their spadices are axillary, and bear
male and female flowers on distinct spadices of the same
plant (moncecio-dicecious) ; their fruit has much the appear-
ance of a reversed pine-cone, being covered with scales,
and is generally one, but occasionally two-seeded.*

* Martius enumerates fifty-two species of Calamus ; but the total number
composing this genus as at present known, cannot be stated even approxi-
mately, as Griffith, who added thirty-five to those previously described, did

K

130 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS¥

Calamus Draco, Willd., the Dragon’s-blood Palm, is a
native of Sumatra and the Malay Islands, where it overruns
trees to a great extent. The Stem is believed to yield the
white and brown “ Manilla Dragons’ Canes” of commerce.
The natural secretion of the fruit constitutes the best D’jwr-
nang, or Dragons’-blood ; a second and rather inferior kind
is produced by the fruit from which the natural secretion
has been removed by heat and bruising; the third, and
most inferior, seems to be the refuse of this last process:
it is perhaps doubtful whether it is ever procured from the
plant by incisions. Dragons’-blood has been an article of
commerce from the earliest times, and still continues in de-
mand. “Large quantities,” says Low, “are annually sent
from Borneo to Singapore and Batavia, and thence to China,
where this drug is much prized.’ In Europe it was for-

not succeed in identifying the latter with the older species, to, which a great
many, no doubt, belong. In our gardens we cultivate at present, according
to Wendiand’s ‘ Index,’ twelve species, viz. Calamus ciliaris, Bl.; C. crinitus,
Wendl. (Demonorhops, Bl.); C. heteroideus, var. refractus, Bl., and var,
spissus, Bl.; C. Javensis, Bl. (C. equestris, Hort.); C. latispinus, Hort. ;
C. niger, Willd. (Demonorhops melanochetes, Bl.; D. asperrimus, niger,
viminalis, Hort.; C. asperrimus, Hort.; C. montanus, Hort.); C. oblongus,
Reinw. (Demonorhops oblongus, Bl.) ; C. ornatus, Bl.; C. rudentum, Lour.
(C. oblongus and rhomboideus, Hort.) ; C. Rotang, Linn.; C. Salacca, Hort.
(Demonorhops Salacca, Hort.); and C. verus, Lour.

eo: ar ae

CALAMUS. 131

merly reputed an astringent; but as it has been found to
be inert, or nearly so, it is no longer pres¢ribed by medical
practitioners. It is a constituent of some tooth-powders
and tinctures, and is also, and chiefly, used for colouring
spirit and turpentine varnishes.

Calamus Scipionum, Lour., the Heotau of Cochin-China,
is believed by Griffith to be the plant which produces the
well-known “ Malacca Canes ;” yet—another instance of
lucus a non lucendo—they do not occur about Malacca it-
self, but are imported from Siak, on the opposite coast of
Sumatra. Some of them are simply mottled or clouded;
others of a brown colour, in consequence, it is said, of their
having been smoked. The most slender specimens, with the
longest internodes, are those most highly valued.

Calamus Rotang, Linn., C. rudentum, Lour., C. Roylea-
aus, Griff., and doubtless various other long trailing species,
yield the rattans or canes of commerce, which, though ap-
parently insignificant, form a considerable. article of export.
Royle* informs us that in some years between four and five
millions of them have been shipped from the territories under
the government of the Kast India Company alone. The same

* <The Fibrous Plants of India fitted for Cordage, Clothing, and Paper,’
ete. By J. Forbes Royle. London, 1855,

: doe POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

author adds :—‘ Canes are abundant in all the moist tropical
parts of the Hast, both on the continent and islands. In Java
the cane is cut into fine slips, which are plaited into excellent
mats or made into strong, and at the same time neat, baskets.
In Japan all sorts of basket-work are made of split cane,
and even cabinets with drawers. Cane is also plaited and
twisted into cordage, and slender fibres are made to answer
the purposes of twine. It is stated that in China, as also
in Java and Sumatra, and indeed throughout the Hastern
islands, vessels are furnished with cables formed of cane,
twisted or plaited. This sort of cable is very extensively
manufactured at Malacca. The species employed for this
purpose is probably the Calamus rudentum of Loureiro,
which this author describes as being twisted mto ropes
in the eastern regions, and employed, among other things,
for dragging great weights, and for binding untamed ele-
phants.”

Rattans are extensively used in Europe for caning chairs,
for making brooms, and, when dyed black, as a substitute
for whalebone, for umbrella-ribs, and for stiffening bonnets,
etc.; they are also occasionally used in India for making
bridges, as described in the following passage extracted
from Dr. J. D. Hooker’s Himalayan Journals :—“ Soon after

22
SJ thee) Girt .* oh

CALAMUS. 138

crossing the Rungmo, where it falls into the Rungeet, at a
most wild and beautiful spot, I saw,” says the enterprising
traveller, ‘for the first time, one of the most characteristic
of Himalayan objects of art,—a cane bridge... . A fig-tree
projecting over the stream, growing out of a mass of rocks,
its roots interlaced and grasping at every available support,
formed one pier for the canes; that on the opposite bank
was constructed of strong piles, propped with large stones ;
and between them swung the bridge, about eighty yards
long, ever rocking over the torrent (forty feet below). The
lightness and extreme simplicity of its structure were very
remarkable. Two parallel canes, on the same horizontal
plane, were stretched across the stream; from them others
hung in loops, and along the loops were laid one or two
bamboo stems for flooring; cross pieces below this flooring ~
hung from the two upper canes, which they thus served to
keep apart. The traveller grasps one of the canes in either
hand, and walks along the loose bamboos laid on the swing-
ing loops: the motion is great, and the rattling of the loose
dry bamboos is neither a musical sound, nor one calculated
to inspire confidence, the whole structure seeming as if about —
to break down. With shoes it is not easy to walk, and
even with bare feet it is often difficult, there being fre-

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CARYOTA. 135

guished from all other Palms.* The Caryotas are elegant
trees, frequent in woody mountains of the East Indies.
Their trunks are ringed, and often lofty; their leaves are
bipinnatisect, large, reticulated, and their segments wedge-
shaped, obliquely eroded, and green on both sides; their
spadices are nodding ; their spikes pendulous, often hanging
down in bundles, like the tail of a horse: their flowers are
moneecious, their stamens infinite in number, and their
roundish, somewhat red. berries often one-seeded and con-
taining sour juice. ‘The Caryotas flower only once during
their course of existence. ‘The first spadix. appears at the
top of the tree; as soon as that has done flowering, others
(latent buds) issuing from the axils, or former axils, of the
leaves, make their appearance; this process, being of a down-
ward tendency, is repeated until the last spadix, which may
be looked upon as the death-knell of the plant, shows itself
at the foot of the trunk, proclaiming that the hour of de-
parture from life is at hand.

* T am aware that Zippel has described a genus (Drymophleus) which has
the habit and foliage of Caryota ; but that genus has not yet been generally
adopted, and appears to be, judging from the imperfect description known to
me, more entitled to the rank of a section of Caryota, than to that of a
separate genus,

136 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS. *

Caryota wrens, Linn., the oldest and best known species,
is a native of Malabar, Bengal, Assam, and various other
parts of India, where it often grows with teak and wild
mango-trees. It is a lofty Palm; the trunk is more than a
foot in diameter, and more than forty feet high. The leaves
are very large, measuring eighteen or twenty feet in length
and from ten to twelve across; from their fibre (“ Kittul
fibre” of commerce) ropes of great strength, brushes, brooms,
baskets, caps, and similar articles, are manufactured; the
woolly material found on the petioles is sometimes used for
caulking ships. The tree is known in India under the
various names of Kvimpannah, Jeroogoo, Ramguoah, Bon-
khejur, and Bura-flawar, and, says Roxburgh, “ it is highly
valuable to the natives of the countries where it grows. It
yields, during the hot season, an immense quantity of toddy,
or Palm-wine. I have been informed that the best trees
will yield at the rate of a hundred pints in the twenty-four
hours. The pith, or farinaceous part of the trunk of old
trees, is said to be equal to the best sago ; the natives make
it into bread, and boil it into thick gruel; these form a
great part of the diet of those people, and during the late
famine they suffered little while those trees lasted. I have
reason to believe this substance to be highly nutritious. I

-CARYOTA. 137

have eaten the gruel, and think it fully as palatable as that
of the sago we get from the Malay countries.”

“Jn Ceylon the Caryota wrens is termed Kittul, and there
has given rise to a distinct caste among the natives, that
of the Jaggeraros, taking its name from the sugar which
is made of the produce of the Cauryota wrens being called
jaggery, and from the whole of the above caste, both male
and female, bemg employed in the culture of the tree itself,
or in the manufacture of the sugar procured from it. No
sugar is made in Ceylon from the sugar-cane ; all that used
by the natives is made either from the Cocos nucifera, the
Borassus flabelliformis, or the Caryota urens, and is sold for
one-fourth or one-sixth of the price of the cheapest made
from the sugar-cane.”’*

Besides Caryota wrens, several other species of this genus
(C. sobolifera, Wall., C. mitis, Lour., C. propingua, BL, C.
maxima, Bi., C. furfuracea, Bl., C. Rumphiana, Mart., C. ?
horrida, Jacq., and C. obtusa, Griff., (C. obtusidentata,
Griff.,) are enumerated in systematic works: but little is
known about their useful properties, and moreover not a
few of them seem to be founded on very indifferent cha-

* Sir A, Johnston’s letter to the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain,
p. 545,

ag ema
2 =<

138 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS*™

racters, making it difficult to recognize them, and rendering
it necessary that they should be subjected to a stringent
critical examination.*

Genus XIII. CERATOLOBUS, Blume.

_ The genus Ceratolobus is represented by one species only
(C. glaucescens, Blume), a spiny climbing Palm, with pinna-
tisect leaves (the segments of which are cuneate-rhomboid),
lateral panicles, and one-seeded, scaly berries. It is a na-
tive of the forests of Java, and is to be found in some of
the gardens in Holland.

Genus XIV. CHAMASDOREA, Willdenow.

Mexico, Central America, New Granada, and Venezuela,
but principally the former, are the native countries of the
various species of Chamedorea. ‘ Inthe Eastern Cordilleras
of Mexico,” says C. B. Heller (Bonplandia, vol. ii. p. 157),
“there is not a forest in which there is not, to an elevation

* In our gardens we cultivate: —C. Cummingu, Lodd.; C. furfuracea,
BL; @. horrida (7); C. maxima, Bl. ; C. propinqua, Bl. (Ptychosperma ap-
pendiculata ?); C. sobolifera, Wall.; and C. urens, Linn,—Wendl. Index,
p. 9, et seq.

st

vy. =.

— .
st ‘
‘

CHAMAZDOREA. 139

_ of at least three thousand feet, as part of the underwood, 4

considerable number of these slender Palms. Occasionally
they are not thicker than a man’s finger, yet still they attain
a height of twenty feet, and when having pushed their
crown. of leaves through the boughs of the surrounding
trees, they appear to great advantage. . . . Their flowers,
when still enclosed in the spathes, are highly esteemed as
a culinary vegetable, known as ‘Tepejilote.’”” Liebmann,
who, like Heller, visited that part of Mexico in which these
Palms chiefly flourish, has given the name of Chamedorea
Tepejilote to a species which he considers as producing more
especially the food in question; but, from the language of
Heller, one is inclined to infer that the young flowers of all
Mexican Chameedoreas are edible, and such is most likely to
be the case. According to Purdie, bridges are made of
these Palms in New Granada, similar to those made of canes
in the Kast Indies.

The Chameedoreas are reed-like Palms, having polished,
annulated trunks. ‘Their leaves are terminal, on both sides
green, generally pinnatisect, but in some species quite en-
tire (reduced to what has been termed in the Introduction
of this work, the normal state of the foliage of Palms).
Their flowers issue from the old wood in slightly branched

aL Seo

140 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

racemes ; they are dicecious, and often beautifully fragrant.
Their fruit, a roundish berry, is occasionally not larger than
a pea, but it appears in great numbers, and is sometimes of
a bright red or scarlet colour, and highly ornamental ; as,
for instance, in Chamedorea Ernesti-Augusti, Wendl. The
number of species known at present is, according to a re-
cent enumeration, forty-two, out of which about twenty-six*
are cultivated in our gardens.

* These are :—Chamedorea Arenbergiana, Urm. Wendl. (C. gracilis, la-
tifrons, and oblongata, Hort.) ; C. atrovirens, Mart. ; C. Bartlingiana, Hrm.
Wendl. ; C. drevifrons, Hrm. Wendl. ; C. Casperiana, Kl. ; C. desmoncoides,
Hrm. Wendl. (C. elatior, regia ?, repens, robusta, aud scandens, Hort.) ; C.
elegans, Mart. (C. Lindeniana and Martiana, Hort.) ; C. Ernesti-Augusti,
Hrm. Wendl. (C. /atifrons, C. simplicifrons, Geonoma latifrons, and Hyo-
spathe elegans, Hort.); C. fibrosa, Hrm. Wendl.; C. flavo-virens, Hrm.
Wendl. ; C. geonomeformis, Hrm. Wendl. (C. fenestrata and humilis, Hort.) ;
C. glaucifolia, Hrm. Wendl.; C. gracilis, Willd. (Borassus pinnatifrons,
Jacq.; C. Lindeniana, Hort.) ; C. graminifolia, Hrm. Wendl.; C. Karwin-
skiana, Hrm. Wendl. (C. elatior, Hort.) ; C. Klotzschiana, Hrm. Wendl. ;
C. lepidota, Hrm. Wendl. (C. velutina, Hort.) ; C. Lindentana, Hrm. Wendl.
(C. concolor and scandens, Hort.) ; C. lunata, Lich. (C. oblongata and Schie-
deana, Hort.) ; C. Martiana, Hrm. Wendl. (C. fleruosa and Lindeniana,
Hort.) ; C. oblongata, Mart. (C. aurantiaca, Lindeniana, and scandens,
Hort. ; Morenia oblongata, Hrm. Wendl.); C. pygmea, Hrm. Wendl.; C.
vadicalis, Mart.; C. resinifera, Hrm. Wendl. (C. elatior, Hort.); C. Sar-
torii, Lieb. (C. Mexicana, Hort.) ; C. Schiedeana, Mart. (C. gracilis and spe-
ciosa, Hort.; Kunthia Xalapensis, Otto et Dietr.).

|

+p ft eae

CHAMAROPS. 141

Genus XV. CHAMAROPS, Linneus. ;

Tt is a curious fact, that in the Southern Hemisphere
Palms with pinnatisect leaves (Areca, Jubea, and Pheniz),
in the Northern, Palms with fan-shaped ones (Sa4a/ and Cha-
merops), mark the geographical limit of this Order. In
Europe and Asia it is Chamerops, a small genus composed
of about a dozen species,* which forms the limit. Most
of the species have a low trunk, often creeping, and only a
few—for instance, Chame@rops Martiana, Wall.—attain the
height of forty feet. Their petioles are generally furnished
with prickles; their leaves are rigid and fan-shaped; their
inflorescence, arranged in panicles, is axillary, and bears
yellow polygamo-dicecious flowers; their berries are generally
one-seeded, and may be compared to olives in appearance.

What renders this genus peculiarly interesting is that
all its species grow in a comparatively low temperature ;
indeed Chamarops Martiana ascends, according to Madden

* According to Hrm. Wendland there are ten species cultivated in European
gardens, viz. :—C. arborescens, Pers. (C. tomentosa, Hort. Germ.); C. callosa,
Fulch.: C. Cochinchinensis, Lour. (Rhaphis ? Cochinchinensis, Bl.) ; C. ex-
celsa, Thunb. (C. Chinensis, Hort.); C. gracilis, Lodd.; C. Griffithiana,
Lodd.; C. Guianensis, Lodd.; C. humilis, Linn. (C. conduplicata, Hort.) ;
C. Hystrix, Fras.; and C. Martiana, Wall. (Loudonia excelsa, Hort.).

142 POPULAR HISTORY. OF PALM@®

and J. D. Hooker, the Western Himalaya to an elevation of
eight thousand feet, where it is annually covered with snow,
rather shaking, as Lindiey has already intimated, the hypo-
thesis of those paleeontologists who contend that Great Bri-
tain must at a former geological epoch have enjoyed a
tropical climate, because remains of Palms have been disco-
vered in its coal-fields.

The most northern species is C. Aumilis, Linn., the so-
called Dwarf Fan Palm; worthy of particular notice as being
the only Palm indigenous to Europe, the Date-tree (Phe-
niz dactylifera, Linn.) being merely an introduced plant.
It is fowid as far up as Nice in Italy, in 43° 44° north lati-
tude; but thence southward it has a great range, being met
with in all the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea,
including Western Asia, Southern Kurope, and Northern
Africa, where it covers the wild and uncultivated lands, as
the furze (Ulex Europeus, Linn.) does those of England,
and where the leaves are used for making brooms, seats of
chairs, hats, thatch for cottages, etc. In Algiers it was
until lately regarded as-a scourge; and indeed, in one
sense, it still continues to be so; for being, on account of
its deep and tough roots, difficult to extirpate, it constitutes
a great obstacle to cultivation. Some of the Arabian tribes

CHAMEROPS. 1438

use the fibres furnished by the trunk, mixed with camels’
hair, for their tent covers; others make baskets of the
leaves, and all prepare cordage from the whole plant pro-
perly twisted. These usages have called attention to this
Palm as likely to afford materials for paper, and éxperiments
made have been crowned with complete success. Millions
of hundredweights of such material can be collected in
Africa ; the price of a hundredweight of green leaves would
not exceed two francs. The Dwarf Fan Palm already
furnishes a fibre resembling horsehair, which is firm and
elastic, and is used in France in great quantities, in the
manufacture of carpets, under the name of vegetable or
African hair. Better sails are made from it than from the
Spanish broom (Genista scoparia, Lam.), for which it may
henceforward be substituted, to the annual saving of large
contributions from Spain of raw materials. This however is
not all. It has lately been discovered that the fibres, di-
vested of the glutinous matter which binds them together,
are extremely divisible, as fine as flax, and can be used,
notwithstanding their inferior length (from twenty-five to
forty centimetres), in the preparation of flax cotton. There
are already, since 1854, four kinds of manufactures—paper,
carpets, sailcloth, and thread—furnished by this plant,

144 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMSY

Of the Asiatic species we shall mention, as most deserv-
ing of notice, C. ewcelsa and C. Ritchiana. The former is
the only indigenous Palm in the northern and central pro-
vinces of China, where, as well as in Japan, it is sometimes
cultivated. It attains a height of from eight to twelve feet.
The brown fibre surrounding its trunk is very strong, and
is, says Fortune, employed by the Chinese for many domes-
tic purposes. Bed bottoms, used by all classes of the popu-
lation, are wrought out of it; ropes and cables for the junks
are made from it. Agricultural labourers and coolies of
Northern China manufacture from the leaves hats and their
“So-e,” or garment of leaves, a dress worn in wet weather,
affording great protection against the rain and wind. This
latter statement refers however only to Northern China; in
the southern districts of the Celestial Empire the “ So-e”
is made from the leaves of the bamboo and those of other
broad-leaved grasses.

Chamerops Ritchiana, Griffith (C. Grifithiana, Lodd.?), is
a small Palm, with a creeping trunk, and a much branched
panicle. It grows—says the late Dr. Stocks, in a letter ad-
dressed to me a few weeks before his much-lamented death—
in masses on the barren hills and passes below five thousand
feet, leading up to the table-land of Afghanistan and Beloo-

onl re
fe ine
oye)
<
7>

CHAMZEROPS. 145

chistan. It is well known to the natives of Scinde under
the name of “ Phees.” The dried trunks and foliage form
a common fuel, highly valued in a country where the
scarcity of wood is so great. The scurf, with the addition
of saltpetre, is a ready tinder for the matchlock. The leaves,
ealled ‘phurra,” are brought in large quantities for sale,
across the Hala Mountains, from Beloochistan into Scinde,
where they are made into baskets, fans, brushes, sieves, san-
dals, pouches, platters, and principally into ropes for the
water-wheels used for the purposes of irrigation throughout
Scinde. The leaf-bud or “cabbage,” and the young in-
florescence, as well as the flesh of the fruit, are commonly
eaten. The hard seeds are used for bullets, and also as
beads for rosaries.

The only species of Chamerops found in America is C.
Hystriz of Fraser, which grows near the town of Savannah
in Georgia: it has a creeping trunk, is furnished with
prickles which resemble porcupine quills and are often fif-
teen inches long, and produces a brown, edible berry, pos-
sessed of a sweet flavour. Another American plant, for-
merly associated with this genus (Chamerops serrulata,
Michx.), is now, more correctly, considered a species of
Sabal.

=< at ei
— rr ee

146 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.”

Genus XVI. COCOS, Linneus.

About half a mile from Belligam, a fishing hamlet on the
southern coast of Ceylon, between the towns of Point de
Galle and Matura, is, completely overshadowed by groves
of trees, a large rock of granite, which displays the repre-
sentation of a former prince of the interior, about sixteen
or eighteen feet in height, called “ Rottah Rajah,” to the
attention of the traveller. According to tradition, the dis-
covery of the Cocoa-nut tree is attributed to a vision, which
communicated to this highly favoured rajah a knowledge of
that production. A Cingalese rajah, of devout conduct and
character, became suddenly afflicted with a cutaneous dis-
ease, which covered him with a white scaly substance from
head to foot, to so great a degree as almost to deprive him
of human appearance. So very rapidly did the loathsome
distemper extend its malignant influence over the rajah’s
person, that sacrifices were resorted to by his people, in the
hope of thereby appeasing the anger of the supposed author
of the rajah’s sufferings, the Maha Yaka, or great demon.
The Kottah rajah (the zmage itself is now so styled) objected
to assist in person at any such diabolical sacrifices, and how-
ever prejudiced his people were in the belief of their eventual

Cocos. 147

efficacy, he himself preferred humbly to submit to the decrees
of that superior power from whom alone the Maha Yaka could
have derived dominion, if he really possessed any, over the
destinies of mankind. At this period the Cocoa-nut tree was
not known in the interior of Ceylon; and to this day its
scarcity is remarked by every traveller who visits the in-
terior of the late Kandian territory. The resigned but
suffering rajah having, with all due humility, paid his ac-
customed devotions, and offered sweet-smelling flowers,* ac-
cording to the Buddhist religion, and repeated the Buddha-

Sarana, fell into a sound sleep, which lasted for several
7 days. During his trance, he beheld a large expanse of
water, which he tasted, and found it both salt and nauseous,
although of a fine green colour near and bluet+ in the dis-
tance; having on its margin immense groves of trees of a
rare kind, such as he had never before seen. For, instead
of branches in various directions, as other trees had in his
country, a tuft of large leaves crowned the lofty summit

* Generally of Bignonia Indica, Tabernemontana, Jasminum odoratum,
Zeylanicum and luteum, Polyanthes tuberosa, Nyctanthes Arbor-tristis, Mi-
chelia Champaca, Nerium odoratissimum, Acacia Farnesiana, and Lawsonia
emerimz7s.

7 A liberty is here taken with the tradition, blue and green being syno-
nymous in Cingalese, ‘‘ Mil-pata.”

148 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.*

~

of each individual tree, which, to an immense height, was to-
tally divested of branches or foliage. The Rottah rajah having
awakened from his trance, felt his mind deeply impressed
with the unusual nature of his dreams; but in the natural
excitement which the hope of his recovery encouraged, he
renewed his oblations and prayers, believing that a display of
omnipotent mercy would be the result. A cobra di capello,
the Naya of the Cingalese (Coluber Naja, Linn.), and sacred
snake of the Buddhists, shortly afterwards approached; and
having expanded its spectacle-marked hood, raised its head a
cubit above the ground, and observed the rajah steadily for
some moments; after which the animal, extending his blue
forked tongue, and thrice bowing its head, lapped water from
the leaf in which it had been reserved for the rajah’s parti-
cular use. Having thrice repeated the draught, the animal,
still keeping its eyes fixed on the rajah, gradually retired to
the jungle. This was conviction itself of Buddhoo’s favour.
Again the prince felt his eyelids grow weary ; but in his then
state of disease, he had determined to occupy no place of
shelter save that which the shady Bogaha (ficus religiosa),
the tree under which he reposed, afforded him. No sooner
had sleep a second time exerted its magic influence, than
his former vision recurred, with the additional appearance

%

ms
d = Pu
ini Fs

cocos. 149

of an aged man, whose face bore the appearance of the moon
in all its splendour. It was Maha Sudona, the father of
the god Buddhoo, who stood before the astounded rajah, and
thus accosted him :—“ From ignorance of the sacredness of
the ground over which the god’s favourite tree casts its
honoured shade, thou once didst omit the usual respect due
to it from all created beings. Its deeply pointed leaf dis-
tinguishes it above all other trees as sacred to Buddhoo ; and
under another tree of the same heavenly character, thou
now liest, a mass of sores and ulcers, which the impurity of
the red water within the large and small rivers of thy body
has, at the great deity’s command, brought upon thee ex-
ternally. But since the snake, the kind snake, the shelterer
of the god Buddhoo when on earth, has thrice partaken of
thy drink, thou wilt derive health and long life by obey-
ing the commands which I now bear thee. In that direc-
tion (poiting towards the south) les thy remedy. One
hundred hours’ journey will bring thee to those trees
which thou hast seen in thy dream, and which thou shalt
see in reality, and taste their fruits to thy benefit. But
as on the top only it is produced, by fire it must be ob-
tained. The inside—partly of transparent liquid, partly
of innocent food—must be thy so/e diet until thrice the

_
150 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

Great Moon (Maha Handah) has given and refused her
light. Disease will, at the expiration of that time, leave
thee; thou wilt be clean again; but forget not, with the
restoration of thy health, sacrifices of sweet flowers and
fruits, with much thanksgiving, to that great Brahma of all
Brahmas,* to whom all other gods, and even demons, pay ©
homage; through whose mercy and forgiveness of thy neg-
lect and transgressions thy bodily vigour will have been
restored, and the days of thy enjoyment in the splendour of
the mighty and flaming chief ruler of the moon prolonged.”
A sound as of ten thousand tomtoms struck at once,
seemed to the delighted rajah a manifestation of the mes-
senger’s authority. It reverberated on his ear for hours
together, after he had awakened from his second trance;
and, impressed with a belief that the mvisible powers had
thus intimated a disposition to take him under their especial
protection, and that consequently it was his bounden duty
to obey commands so mysteriously conveyed, the rajah,
placing the palms of his hands across his forehead, and
bending to the ground, prayed for strength to act in obe-
dience to the Ossah Pollah Dewyo, the ruler and creator of
all gods and demons, and of the flat world itself. Having

* “ Brahmata-Brahma,” a name of Buddhoo.

late 10

Mart

Speqjiosa

a

uu

riliie}

i A rs are ay t

i> ’
4

~

cocos. 151

summoned his immediate followers from the various resting-
places which they had constructed with the branches and
leaves of the neighbouring trees, by way of temporary shel-
ter, the rajah repeated to them the prophetic words of the
divine messenger; and having gone through the ceremony
of making a propitiatory offering under the Bogaha-tree, of
fruits, betel-leaves (Piper Betel), and flowers of sweet per-
fume, he, attended by his retinue, proceeded in a direct
course, through rivers and forests, and over immense moun-
tains, to the southward, as directed by the Maha Sudona.
The one hundred hours’ journey having been miraculously
performed without any perceptible fatigue either to himself
or attendants, the anxiously anticipated view of that bound-
less expanse of blue water, which in his dreams had ap-
peared to him so beautiful yet nauseous to the taste,
and on its margin immense groves of trees, with tufts of
leaves, as his visions had foretold, gratified his astonished
but delighted sight. Beneath the foliage, sheltered from
the vertical sun, hung large clusters of fruit, much larger
than he had ever seen in his own country of the interior,
of green, yellow, and red* colours, and others apparently
black. There were no human beings on the coast; but

* The Cingalese language has no signification for brown, reddish, orange-

152 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.*

a vast number of wild beasts—such as leopards, bears,
sloths, and elephants. 'To climb the Cocoa-nut tree (the
promised source of health) was then unknown, and con-
sidered beyond the power of mortal man; but as fire had ~
been pointed out as the means of obtaining its fruit, the
rajah’s followers made one. Scarcely had an hour elapsed -
after the fire had been kindled that was to fell the pride of
the coast and the most valuable boon of nature to the In-
dian world, ere, with a tremendous crash, the tree became
prostrate upon the earth, whence, from its capacious and
verdant crest, crept out creatures innumerable,—large blue
scorpions, brown and yellow centipedes, snakes of various
hues—from the polonga to the less dreadful rat-snake;
blue, black, green, and yellow beetles, tarantulas, and other
spiders, of all sorts and sizes and colours; whilst, run-
ning from leaf to leaf, the detested rat seemed to imitate
the motions and equal in agility the beautiful three-striped
squirrel, or lena, of this paradise (as the glad rajah and his
suite at that time considered it) of the universe. The novel
fruit was at first with some difficulty opened; but the
rajah’s superstitions were more powerful than even the effects

coloured, scarlet, or pink, which are all expressed by the monosyllable
“rat,” red.

COCOS. 1538

of hunger itself, With awe he approached the beach, over
which wave followed wave in quick succession; whilst the
surf beat with violence against the roots of those stately
trees, which seemed to thrive best where no other tree of any
utility whatever could survive even a temporary sprinkling
from the briny spray. Mute with astonishment at the vast
expanse of ocean, which he then for the first time approached,
the rajah bent to taste the liquid aliment. It was as his
vision prognosticated. Again his wonder was increased,
but his faith had kept pace with it, im the full belief that
“ere the great moon had thrice given and refused her
light” he would be cleansed from his foul distemper, and
his disrespectful demeanour under the sacred Bogaha, which
had originally drawn down upon him the anger of the “ All-
seeing,” be forgiven. Having once commenced, the rajah
and his followers continued to live on the prescribed diet :
the former, in obedience to the commands of Buddhoo,
by the Maha Sudona; and the latter from necessity, there
being none of their accustomed fruits, rice, or roots to be
met with so near the ocean. They found the water within
the nuts sweet and delicious, and pure as crystal itself (of
which mineral their country produced abundant varieties) ;
whilst the fleshy part of it was a cooling and satisfying food.

—
154 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

The prescribed time rolled on; and day after day convinced
the delighted followers of their suffering prince that truth
came from above. The rajah gradually lost the white and
scaly skin which had enveloped him like the armour of the
great ant-eater of the interior; whilst the glow of heat
which pervaded his extremities convinced him of the near
approach of his promised recovery. Thankful to his great
preserver, he omitted not to perform the duties which in
his visions had been dictated to him ; and on the first stone
which appeared durable and beyond the reach of the sea, in
token of his gratitude, he, with the assistance of his fol-
lowers, carved on the granite rock (“which you now see”
is added by the narrator) a gigantic statue of himself; re-
marking, that its great height would show the wonderful
recovery he had experienced, being a very little man in sta-
ture; “for he had risen, by the blessing of the god of all
gods, to an undeserved height of happiness and bodily vi-
gour; the memorial of which would thus be handed down
to millions yet unborn.” Numerous families from the high
country of the interior soon afterwards emigrated to the
sea-coast ; for it had become an imperious duty on the part
of the rajah, on whom a miraculous cure had been so unex-
pectedly wrought by the fruit of the Cocoa-nut tree, to give

wr

Pig

COCOSs. 155

publicity to the circumstances which originally introduced
to him and his followers a knowledge of that splendid pro-
duction; whilst the conviction of its transcendent utility
pointed out its propagation as a never-failing source of in-
dividual advantage and of progressive national prosperity.
Such is the account Cingalese tradition gives of a tree
which is at present to be found in every part of the tropics,
where it flourishes in the greatest luxuriance in the vicinity
of the sea, especially a few feet above high-water mark.
But although that is its chief habitat, it cannot be termed
an exclusively littoral plant, for it has been met with far
inland; by C. B. Heller, at Merida, in Yucatan; by J. D.
Hooker, at Patna, in Bengal; and by Humboldt, at Con-
cepcion del Pao, leading the latter to remark :—“ I was the
more struck with the fact [of finding the Cocoa-nut tree at
this great distance from the sea], because the veracity of
those travellers who have asserted the existence of this Palm
at Timbuctoo, in the centre of Africa, has been called in
question. Bonpland and I saw it repeatedly, amid the cul-
tivated spots on the Rio Magdalena, more than a hundred
leagues from the coast.” There is however no doubt that
the Cocoa-nut Palm refuses to grow in many countries any
distance inland, with as much pertinacity as it does in

: ~
156 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

our conservatories, where, after having attained the age of
eight or ten years, it begins to sicken, and soon dies. I
may affirm, for instance, from personal knowledge, that nu-
merous trials have been made to cultivate it in the central
parts of the Isthmus of Panama,—that narrow neck of land,
—but that all of them have hitherto failed. The causes
therefore which regulate this curious phenomenon are still
involved in obscurity ; and I should not be surprised to hear
that theorists, eager to account for these apparent contradic-
tions in the distribution, had been driven to the necessity
of making several species of this Palm, which, as there
exist several well-marked varieties, would not be a task at-
tended by great technical difficulties.

The Cocoa-nut Palm is closely confined to the tropies,
and wherever it ventures beyond their limits, it loses in
elegance of aspect and power of productiveness. In the
Sandwich Islands, just at the edge of the torrid zone, it
has a mean look, and yields fruit in such comparatively
small quantities, that the nuts were formerly, during the
time of paganism, considered so great a luxury, that only
the men—the privileged class in all barbarous countries
—were allowed to partake of them, the women being
strictly forbidden to touch them, and threatened with the

=

COCOS. 157

,

vengeance of the gods in case of disobedience. This cus-
tom was rigorously kept up for many centuries,—though no
doubt often broken through clandestinely,—until a female
chief had the boldness to set it at defiance, publicly braved
the anger of the carved idols, and thus secured to herself
and her sex an advantage which had long been withheld
from them,—an act deserving the more to be recorded, as it
was the prelude to the entire downfall of the superstitious
system, preventing the free development of the Sandwich
Islanders, to be followed by similar manifestations of an
awakened reason and the ultimate establishment of Chris-
tianity in one of its purest forms.

The centres of the geographical range of this Palm are
the islands and countries bordering the Indian and Pacific
Oceans. On the western coast of Africa it has only of late
years, Mr. Oldfield informs me, become more numerous by
extended cultivation; in the Canaries it appears merely, ac-
cording to Carl Bolle, in isolated specimens. Whether it
was originally confined to the regions situated between the
eastern shores of Africa and the western of America, or
always spread throughout the tropics, is a question of too
speculative a character to be treated of in a popular work.
I will content myself with remarking that, whilst the Asiaties

>

—
158 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

and Polynesians have discovered a vast number of uses to
which it may be applied,—showing that they must have
been familiar with it from time almost immemorial,—the
Americans have made no such progress, and. only consume
the nut as an occasional luxury, though the tree grows in
their native land with as much vigour as it does in any
parts of Asia or Polynesia; implying that their acquaintance
with it must have commenced at a comparatively recent
period.

The Cocoa-nut tree attains a height of from sixty to a
hundred feet, and a diameter of one or two feet; its cylin-
drical trunk, crowned on the summit with numerous waving,
feathery leaves, has a splendid effect, and forms an elegant
object of intertropical scenery ; it is seen on the arid, sandy
shores, with its roots laved by the surges, as well as in the
rich valleys, overshadowing the huts of the natives; but
when it is found inland, it is inferior in size to what it is
on the sea-shore and about the dwellings of natives. The
Cingalese have a saying that Cocoa-nut trees do not thrive
unless “you walk and talk amongst them,” indicating
that the trees thrive best when carefully attended to.

In time of sickness the natives often make use of the
young Cocoa-nut trees as offerings to the supposed offended

cocos. 159

spirits. From the trunk the Tahitians extract a gummy
substance, called Pia Pia; it possesses no fragrant property,
but is used by the females to spread over their hair, in the
same manner that they are accustomed to use the viscid
gum of the Bread-fruit tree. The wood is devoted to va-
rious purposes : among the Polynesians it is used for shears,
rafters, fences, etc., and converted into charcoal. When the
tree has ceased to bear fruit, it is most valuable, and is im-
ported into the European markets under the name of Porcu-
pine Wood. Among the Cingalese it is used for rafters,
laths, shingles, chairs, ladies’ work-boxes, etc. ; but during
the period of its most abundant bearing (considered to be
between ten and thirty-five years’ growth), the heart is of
so soft and spongy a nature, that it is merely used for
fences, water-pipes, etc.

The leaves are from eighteen to twenty feet long; the
Cingalese split them in halves, and plait the segments, so as
to make baskets. Under the denomination of “ cadjans,”
they form the usual covering of their huts, as well as the
European bungalows. Many of the natives’ huts are con-
structed there, as well as in Polynesia, almost entirely of
materials derived from the Cocoa-nut tree. The Tahitians
plait the leaves (wiaw) for screens, or as a covering for the

>
160 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

floors ; for similar purposes, and also as a thatch, it is used
by the natives of the islands of Rotuma, Tongatabu, and
other of the Polynesian Islands. The Tahitians call the
screens paua, and they also manufacture neat baskets, one
kind of which is termed arai77, and another oimz: a shade
called ¢aho niau is made of the plaited leaves, and placed
over the eyes to protect them from the unpleasant solar
reflection from their sandy roads and beaches; the yellow
leaves (rau para) are preferred for this purpose, their colour
being much admired. The leaves formerly played a part in
many of the religious ceremonies of the Tahitians, and were
also an emblem of authority ; they were sent by the chiefs to
their dependants when any requisition was made. Through
the leaf tied to the sacrifice the god was supposed to enter ;
and by the same road the evil spirits, who, it was imagined,
tormented those afflicted with diseases, were driven out.
Bunches or strings of the segments were also suspended in
the temple on certain occasions, and answered the same
purpose as rosaries, reminding the worshipers of the order
of the prayers.

The heart, or very young leaves, called the cabbage, is an
excellent vegetable, either cooked or dressed in stews,
hashes, or ragouts. The Cingalese use the dried, old leaves

‘f ~ .

*

Cocos. 161

as torches, both for themselves during the dark nights or
to carry before the carriages and palanquins of Europeans;
they also use the spathe for a similar purpose, as well as
for fuel; and at Rotuma and other Polynesian islands it is
also adopted for a like purpose. At Tongatabu, one of
the Friendly Islands, combs are made of the midrib of the
segments, the upper part being beautifully worked with
the fibre of the husk, or bulu. ‘These combs, from their
neat appearance, were,” says Bennett, “im great requisition
during the time I visited that island, and all the women
were busily employed during our stay in making them, to
exchange with the papalangi (foreign) officers and crew for
trifling articles. The combs were stained by the bark of the
Koka-tree of a dark reddish colour, intended as a rude

‘imitation of tortoiseshell.”

The washermen of Ceylon burn the foliage for the sake
of its alkaline ashes; the midribs of the leaves, when tied
together, form brooms for the decks of ships. The Cinga-
lese use the unexpanded leaves in forming ornaments, on
the occasion of any festival, decorating arches, etc., in va-
rious picturesque forms of crowns, flowers, etc.

There is one portion of the tree which attracts much the
attention of the observer,—it is a kind of network at the

M

vay et eT <a
id am

—
162 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

base of the petiole, which when very young is delicate,
beautifully white, and transparent, but when having at-
tained maturity becomes coarse and tough, and changes to
a brown colour. It is stripped off in large pieces, and used
in Ceylon as strainers, particularly for the toddy, which 1s
usually full of impurities when first taken from the tree, as
its sweetness attracts innumerable insects. In most coun-
tries where this tree is produced, this portion of it is used
for a similar purpose. At Tahiti it is called da; and be-
sides being used as sieves for straining arrowroot, cocoa-nut
oil, etc., the natives, when engaged in such occupations as
digging, fishing, etc., in order to save their bark cloth, jom
several portions of this network together, and having a hole
in the centre, in a manner similar to their mat garment
called Tiabuta, wear it as an article of apparel, merely for
the time in which they may be engaged in those occupa-
tions. It is certainly a garment neither to be admired for
its flexibility or firmness, but well adapted for fishermen, or
those occupied in the water, as it is not easily injured by
wet, whereas bark-cloth would be utterly destroyed in the ~
water, its substance resembling paper both in strength and
appearance.

A tree produces several bunches of nuts; and from twelve

Cocos. e 163

to twenty large nuts, besides several small unproductive ones,

may be seen on each bunch. In good situations the fruit
is gathered four or five times in the course of the year. The
latter is most used as an article of food, both meat and
drink, when green or young (Owa of the Tahitians, Koroomba
of the Cingalese) ; in that state it yields an abundance of a
delicious, cooling beverage, to which Madeira wine, brandy,
etc., is sometimes added. The water, beautifully clear, has
a sweetness, with a slight degree of astringency, which ren-
ders it very agreeable. This liquid has been erroneously
considered as injurious (producing a predisposition to drop-
sical complaints), and among the Tahitians as one of the
exciting causes of /¢/¢, or elephantiasis; “but,” says Ben-
nett, “I have adopted this cooling beverage during my fre-
quent and long visits to intertropical countries, and have
always found it the most cooling and refreshing beverage
during my excursions ; but when an immoderate quantity
is drunk, I have known a slight degree of strangury pro-
duced by it. The ladies however, who may fear taking it
internally, are informed that to the water of the green
Cocoa-nut is ascribed that inestimable property to them, of
clearing the face of all wrinkles and imperfections whatever,
and imparting to it the rosy tints of youthful days!”

164 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

In Ceylon house-plasterers attribute to the water of the
green nut (i.¢. the albumen in a liquid state*) an adhesive
quality in their white and other washes, in which lime forms
a chief ingredient, for the walls of houses, ete. etc.; the
shells of the green nut, fixed on stakes, are used as illumi-
nation lamps. The albumen in the young nut is very deli-
cate, easily removed from the shell with a spoon, and may
very well be named a vegetable blancmange; in this state it
is called Niaa by the Tahitians, who use it, as well as the
natives of other of the Polynesian Islands, in several made
dishes. After the fruit is suffered to remain a short time
longer, and the albumen becomes firmer, the Tahitians
change the name to QOmate, and the fully mpe nut is called
Opaa ; in this state it is sometimes, but seldom, eaten,
being used principally for making oil, as it contains a small
quantity of oily milk; it is in this state the nuts are seen

* The following analysis of the liquid albumen of the Cocoa-nut was made
by W. von Léwenich :—

ONCE: x. Aine chs hus) eho be mm lav de
PURGE gc ie a Sse ead ae kee 4°43
Ratt) Fab e Me fhe Soy tianlc wi) ny, ea ee
Extractive matters (fat) . . . . . . 2829
Salts soluble in spirits of wine . . . . 5°44
Salts not soluble in spirits of wine . . . 6°29

1000-00

3
ii)
jes
a
ry
8
cs

{
L

rT

Mar ma

| hebaica

nN)

Hyphen \s

i

Cocos. 165

and sold in Europe. In Ceylon, when the nut is fully
ripe, it is denominated Pol, or Curry Cocoa-nut, the kernel
of which is reduced to a small size by an instrument, the
hiromane, being a circle of notched iron fastened to the
raised end of a piece of wood: the kernel, thus reduced, is
placed in a cloth, and water being poured on it, a white
juice, which may with propriety be termed “ Cocoa-nut
milk,” is extracted by pressure, used invariably, either with
or without the grated kernel, in their various curries and
mulligatawnies. A sort of tart, or cheesecake, is made from
the kernel (albumen) of dry nuts rasped or pared down.
In New Granada I have often seen the Negroes boiling it
with rice. 3

The varieties of the Cocoa-nut are numerous at Tahiti,

one of the Society Islands. Bennett says that he is ac-
quainted with six, each having a distinct appellation by the
natives. At Ceylon five varieties are indigenous; but they
are seldom, if ever, found in the same plantation, except it
be in the vicinity of a Buddhist temple of some importance.
The first, or King Cocoa-nut, the Tembili of the Cingalese,
must be well known to those who have resided in Ceylon ;
its bright orange-colour and somewhat oval shape cannot fail
to attract notice, and it is usually presented to respectable

166 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

Europeans by the Modeliars, or by the priests, as a com-
pliment to those whose curiosity may have induced a visit
to the shrine of Buddhoo. The second is of a similar colour
to the preceding, but of a more spherical shape. The third
is of a pale yellow and rather heart-shaped ; it is the Nawasz,
or edible husk, and has the peculiar quality that after the
epicarpium has been removed, the inner rind (mesocarpium)
turns to a pale red, and is edible. The fourth is the com-
mon Cocoa-nut, which is in general use, and the one most
known. The fifth is a species of Maldivia, or dwarf Cocoa-
nut, about the size of a turkey’s egg, which, being rare, is
more esteemed as a curiosity than for any peculiar good
quality it possesses.

The shells, when fully ripe, are cut transversely, scraped,
polished, and mounted on silver, being edged also with the
same metal, and are preserved as goblets, more for curiosity
than utility ; they are also used for cups (elegantly carved),
lamps, ladles, skimmers, spoons, etc., by the Polynesians,
as well as other natives, entire, for containing their water,
having two holes on the summit. Without breaking the
shell, it is filled with salt water, and buried for some time in
the sand, when the albumen becomes decayed, and is then
well washed out. The largest nuts are chosen for this pur-

Cocos. 167

pose, and are often seen highly polished and of a fine black
colour. The cups of the natives are usually made of sec-
tions of the nut in that stage of ripeness when they are de-
nominated by the Tahitians Omute ; they are then scraped
so thin as to be nearly transparent, and are of a light brown
colour. The shells will also make good lamp-black, and,
reduced to charcoal and pulverized, an excellent dentifrice.
The flowers are enclosed in a thick, tough spathe: when
the latter is just expanding they have a beautiful milk-white
appearance. The Tahitians call them Ziari, a name applied
generally to all flowers; and the spathe Pa tiart, Pa signi-
fying a shell or anything hard, sometimes applied to the
shell of the Cocoa-nut, and the spathe is thus considered to
be the shell of the flowers. The first appearance of these —
flowers on a tree of moderate size (when they are well seen)
has an elegant effect,—the cluster erect, drooping, and deli-
cately white. The flowers contain a most powerful astringent,
used in Ceylon medicinally in various debilitating diseases :
the expressed juice of the flower, mixed with new milk, and
taken in quantities not exceeding a wine-glassfull, but at
regular periods, affording almost immediate temporary relief,
and, if persevered in, effectual cure. It is from these flower
spathes, before the flowers have expanded, that toddy, or

_
168 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

Palm-wine, is made: it is called by the Cingalese Ra, and
the Hindoo Portuguese Sowra ; it is unknown to the natives
of Polynesia, although at some of the islands Europeans had
commenced instructing the natives, who were delighted to
have a beverage possessing the stimulus of their favourite
rum,

To procure the toddy the spathe is tied with strips of
the young leaves (which are much tougher and stronger than
the old ones) to prevent its expansion; it is cut a little
transversely from the top, and beaten either with the handle
of the toddy-knife, or a small piece of ebony or iron-wood ;
this process having been continued morning and evening
(at dawn of day and just as the sun declines below the
horizon) for five or six successive days, the under part of
the spathe is taken off, so as to permit of its beg gradually
bent, when the Chandos, or toddy-drawers, for the purpose
of keeping it in that position, attach it to some neighbour-
ing leafstalk. After a further period of five days, an earthen
chatty or calabash is hung to the spathe, so as to receive
the toddy that exudes, which is collected every morning and
evening, and the spathe cut a little every day: the quantity
collected varies much. f

The scene represented in the accompanying Plate (copied

Cocos. 169

from ‘ Hooker’s Journal of Botany’) was sketched by J. M.
Strachan, Esq.,in the Madras peninsula. There are three
toddy-men ; two in the foreground, and the other ascending
a Cocoa-nut tree. The shed behind is a temporary toddy
bazaar, kept (as is generally the case) by a woman, who
is helping the figure shown in the attitude of drinking to
another draught of toddy. The figures in the foreground
are equipped with the apparatus necessary to their vocation.
The ropes passing round the body of the man on the left
side of the plate, and carried on the left arm of the other,
are used in climbing the Cocoa-nut trees, and made of cow
or buffalo hide. The small ladder serves for scaling the
trees to the height of about eight or nine feet from the
ground. ‘The Cocoa-nut leaf over the shoulder of the left
figure is supposed to be his perquisite, from which he
manufactures mats.

The toddy should be drunk at sunrise, when it tastes
most delicious, having a slightly stimulating effect, and
acting as a gentle aperient, a remedy admirably adapted for
constipated habits, particularly in those of delicate constitu-
tions ; the Cingalese prefer it after fermentation, when it is
rather intoxicating. T'ermentation takes place in a few hours
after the toddy has been collected, when it is used by the

5's Te. Ta <=)
chy ah SP ee [Aran &

~
170 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

bakers as yeast, the bread made with it being remarkably
light. Toddy is seldom or never used by Europeans during
the rainy season, being then regarded as highly unwhole-
some. Bennett found the toddy in Ceylon, and a refresh-
ing bath, before or just at sunrise, cooling and bracing him
up to go through the heat of the day in that sultry, debili-
tating climate.

Arrack, or rack, is in several parts of India distilled from
rice, but in Ceylon (where it is named Pol wakéré) from
toddy, after it has undergone fermentation and become quite
sour. One hundred gallons of toddy, it is said, will pro-
duce, by distillation, twenty-five of arrack. Like all other
spirits, when new it is regarded as injurious to the consti-
tution, but when old wholesome. It is a favourite spirit
among the drinkers of that far-famed ee beverage
named punch.

Toddy also makes excellent vinegar, ete. The toddy-
drawers of Ceylon are a separate caste, called Chandos, as
are those of Bengal: almost all the families of this class re-
side in the neighbourhood of the sea-coast, where the trees
grow in the greatest luxuriance and abundance, the whole
line of coast between Point de Galle and Colombo being
thickly planted with them; and the topes or groves are let

Cocos. 171

at a stipulated sum of six rix-dollars by the month; and it
is also not uncommon for one or two families or more to
have a share in a single tree, affording them sufficient for
their favourite and universal food, the curry.

Besides vinegar, arrack, etc., the toddy yields abundance
of jaggery or sugar. The toddy being collected in a cala-
bash, as before mentioned, in which a few pieces of the stem
of the Allghas (4/pinia Allughas, Rosc.) had been placed,
a supply of sweet toddy is procured mornings and evenings,
but particular care is required that the vessels be regularly
changed, and that none are employed unless they have been
well cleaned and dried. Light gallons of sweet toddy,
boiled over a slow fire, yield two gallons of a very luscious
liquid, called Penni, or honey, or jaggery, or sugar-water,
which quantity being again boiled, yields a kind of coarse
brown sugar, called jaggery, which is formed into round
cakes, and dried in the smoke of the huts; and in order to
preserve it free from humidity, each cake is separately tied
up in pieces of dried banana leaves, and kept in a smoky
place, unless required for family use or the market.

Jaggery is exported from Ceylon to various parts of India.
In the interior a jaggery is drawn from the Kittul-tree
(Caryota urens, Linn.), and is considered to possess more

; cf >
ve POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

saccharine properties than that produced from the Cocos nu-
cifera. The jaggery makers are called in Ceylon Hakaroos,
and are one of the subdivisions of the second in rank of the
Cingalese castes.

The rind or husk of the Cocoa-nut is very fibrous, and
when ripe is the Roya or Coir of commerce, now so exten-
sively used in Europe and North America for matting,
brushes, hats, etc. It is prepared by being soaked for
some months in water, washed, beaten, to pieces, and then
Jaid in the sun to dry. This being effected, it is again well
beaten, until the fibres are so separated as to allow of their
being worked up like hemp, similar to which it is made up
in ropes of any size, from the smallest cord to the largest
cable, but will not receive tar; it is rough to handle, and
has not so neat an appearance about the ngging of ship-
ping as that made from hemp, but surpasses the latter in
lightness and elasticity, and even, it is said, durability ;
more so if wetted frequently by salt-water. From its elas-
ticity it is valuable for cables, enabling a ship to ride easier
than with a hemp or chain cable. Bennett remarks that he
was once on board a ship, in a severe gale, when chain and
hemp cables gave way; and the vessel at last, most unex-
pectedly, rode out the gale with a small coir cable. Among

Cocos. 173

the Polynesian Islands, where this tree grows, the coir is
used in the manufacture of “sinnet,’ some of which is
beautifully braided, and devoted to a variety of purposes.
At Tonga, one of the Friendly Islands, the natives dye the
“sinnet,” called Ka/a, of various colours, using it in tying
the rafters of the huts, etc. The rope for their canoes is all
manufactured from this substance. The husk from which
the fibrous substance has not been separated is used in Cey-
lon in lieu of scrubbing-brushes for the floor; and also ~
brooms, mats, and bags are manufactured from it.

Another valuable production of the Cocoa-nut is the oil,
which is an article of exportation from Ceylon and other
parts of India, Polynesia, etc. It is used in various articles
of domestic economy ; besides being an excellent burning oil
(for which it is much admired, giving out neither smoke
nor smell when burning, and having a clear bright flame),
it has since had an additional value and more extended use
in Europe, by the discovery of its capability of bemg ma-
nufactured into candles, rivalling wax or spermaceti, at the
same time without being much higher in price than those
of tallow. Soap has also been manufactured from it; and
it is lavished by the Asiatics, Polynesians, and other inter-
tropical natives over their persons; and at Tongatabu and

174 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

others of the Polynesian Islands is used scented with sandal-
wood, giving a delightful fragrance to the flowing tresses
and elegant persons of the dark beauties of those fascinating
islands. In cold weather this oil (like most of the vegeta-
ble oils) becomes very hard, and requires to be melted be-
fore it can be used for burning.

The method of making the oil is very simple. The ker-
nel having been removed from the shell, is boiled in water
for a short period; it is then pounded in a mortar, taken
out, and pressed. The mk, as it is called, is then boiled
over a slow fire, when the oil floats on the top, and being
skimmed off and afterwards boiled by itself, two quarts of
oil may be procured from fourteen or fifteen Cocoa-nuts.
When fresh, the oil is used in cookery, and has an excel-
lent flavour; the Cingalese anoint their bodies with it after
bathing, and invariably use it for the sake of giving a glossy
and smooth appearance to the hair, for which purpose it is
in great requisition by both sexes.

The remains of the Cocoa-nut, from which the oil has
been extracted, is termed by the Cingalese Poonak ; the best
Poonak is obtained when the oil is extracted by pressure: it
is an excellent food for pigs, poultry, etc. This substance
is termed by the Tahitians O¢a, and by the natives of Ton-

COCOS. 175

gatabu Hfeniu, and they use it also for fattening their pigs,
poultry, etc., as also at the other Polynesian Islands.

At Tahiti they procure the Morzz, or oil, from the nuts,
by first grating the kernel, then depositing it in the hollow
trunk of a tree, or some kind of hollow vessel, which is ex-
posed to the sun during the day. After a few days have
elapsed, the grated nut is heaped up in the trough or vessel,
leaving a space between the heaps; the oil exuding, drains
into the hollow spaces, whence it is collected into bamboo
canes, containing each a gallon or more; in this way it is
sold for export; but the indolence of the natives prevents
its being so important an article of traffic as it might be in
the South Seas.

Sometimes the Tahitians, after the oil ceases to collect in
the vessel, put the kernel into a bag, and submit it to the
action of pressure by a rude lever press; but the oil thus
obtained is considered inferior to that procured by the heat
of the sun.

The Malabar method of extracting the oil is by dividing
the kernels into two equal parts, which are ranged on shelves
made of laths of the Betel-nut Palm, or split bamboo, spaces
being left between each lath of half an inch in width;
under them a charcoal fire is then made, and kept up for

176 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

two or three days, in order to dry them. After this process
they are exposed to the sun on mats, and when thoroughly
dried (then called Koppera) are placed in an oil-press, or
Siccoor. The Malabars have a caste of oil-pressers, called
the Waany caste. .

There are medicinal properties attributed to different parts
of the Cocoa-nut tree in Ceylon; the root (the Tumu Haare
of the Tahitians) is used by the native physicians, small
pieces of it being boiled with dried ginger and jaggery, and
the decoction given at stated regular periods, and is consi-
dered highly efficacious in remittent and intermittent fevers.
When this decoction is used as a gargle, it is mixed with
the fresh oil of the nut, and generally affords considerable
relief to the patient ; and has good effect, it is said, in cases
where pustules have formed in the mouth or tonsils. The
expressed juice of the leaves, mixed with the fresh oil of the
nut, is considered a sovereign remedy in hemorrhoids. The
expressed juice of the nut applied externally, mixed with
new milk, is regarded as a remedy for ophthalmic complaints.

The celebrated naturalist Charles Darwin describes the
habits of a crab which lives on the Cocoa-nuts :—* The
animal is very common on all parts of the dry land of the
Keeling Islands, and grows to a monstrous size; it is closely

COCOS. it

allied to or identical with the Birgos /atro ; the front pair of
legs terminate in very strong and heavy pincers, and the last
pair are fitted with others weaker and much narrower. It
would at first be thought quite impossible for a crab to open
a strong cocoa-nut covered with the husk; but Mr. Liesk
assures me that he has repeatedly seen this effected. The
crab begins by tearing the husk, fibre by fibre, and always
from that end under which the three eye-holes are situated ;
when this is completed, the crab commences hammering
with its heavy claws on one of the eye-holes till an opening
is made; then, turning round its body, by the aid of its
posterior and narrow pair of pincers, it extracts the white
albuminous substance. This is certainly a curious case of
instinct, and likewise of adaptation in structure between two
objects apparently so remote from each other in the scheme
of nature as a crab and a cocoa-nut tree. The Birgos is
diurnal in its habits ; but every night it is said to pay a visit
to the sea, no doubt for the purpose of moistening its bran-
chie. The young are likewise hatched and live for some
time on the coast. These crabs inhabit deep burrows, which
they hollow out beneath the roots of trees; and where
they accumulate surprising quantities of the picked fibres of
the cocoa-nut husk, on which they rest as on a bed. The
N

~
178 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

Malays sometimes take advantage of this, and collect the
fibrous mass to use as junk. ‘These crabs are very good to
eat ; moreover under the tail of the larger ones there is a
great mass of fat, which, when melted, sometimes yields as
much as a guart-bottle full of limpid oil. It has been stated
by some authors that the Birgos crawls up the cocoa-nut trees
for the purpose of obtaining the nuts. IJ very much doubt
the possibility of this; but with the Screw-pine (Pandanus)
the task would be very much easier. I was told by Mr.
Liesk that on these islands the Birgos lives only on the
nuts which have fallen to the ground.

The genus Cocos, of which the Palm just described is the
most popular representative, is found in Asia and America,
and composed of about twelve species (seven of which are
cultivated in our gardens*): they are unarmed trees, with
smooth, annulated trunks and pinnatisect leaves, having
linear segments; their spadices appear in the axils of the
lower leaves, bearing yellow male and green female flowers ;
their drupes are elliptical, or more or less ovate, have a
fibrous husk, and a solitary seed (“nut”), with three holes

* C. Australis, Mart. (Diplothemium campestre, Hort.) ; C. butyracea,

Mart.; C. fleruosa, Mart.; C. nucifera, Linn.; C. oleracea, Mart.; C. piu-
mosa, Hort. Kew., and C. sehizophylla, Mart.— Wendl. Index, p. 17.

cocos. » 179
i

on the base, which, though not peculiar to Cocos, but com-
mon to most other genera of the Cocoine tribe (Desmoncus,
Bactris, Guitielma, Acrocomia, Astrocaryum, Hlais, Syagrus,
Diplothemium, Mazximiliana, Jubaa, Orbignya, etc.), deserve
special notice, as they are said to have given rise to the name
“Cocos,” the Portuguese fancying they could observe some
resemblance between that end of the Cocoa-nut showing the
three holes and the head of a monkey (Cocos, or Coquin) ;
hence they are said to have termed the tree Coqueiro.*

No other species of the genus is of such vast import-
ance to man as Cocos nucifera. Cocos capitata, Mart.
(Cabegudo of the Brazilians), abounds, according to G.
Gardner, in swampy places about Arrayas, where it forms
the principal food of the large blue mackaw so common in.
that district. Cocos coronata, Mart. (Urucuri-iba of the
natives), another Brazilian species, yields a pith which the
Indians make into bread, and a nut from which oil is ex-
tracted. Cocos schizophylla, Mart., of Brazil, vernacularly

* In Mexico the Cocoa-nut tree is termed, according to Heller, ‘ Maron;’
in the East Indies it is known by the following names, copied from Rox-
burgh’s ‘Flora Indica:’—Tenga (Rheed. Mal. i. t. 1, 2, 3, 4), Calapha
(Rumph. Amb. i. t. 1 and 2), Neriula (As. Res. iv. 312) ; Sanscrit, ‘ Nari-
* kela,’ ‘ Narikelee ;? Hindustani, ‘ Naryel,’ or ‘ Nariel ;’ Bengali, ‘ Narikel ;’
Telingoo, ‘ Nari Kudum,’ or ‘ Kobri-Chulloo ;’ Tamil, ‘ Tenga.’

wy
>
180 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

termed Aricuri or Aracuri, produces a fruit, the juice of which,
when in an unripe state, is employed in slight ophthalmic
attacks. Cocos oleracea, Mart. (Iraiba of the natives), of the
same country, has edible leaf-buds. Cocos butyracea, Linn., a
native of New Granada and Venezuela, produces oil (which
has been compared to butter) and also wine. “ The vine of
the country (speaking of the Rio Sinu),” says Humboldt, “is
the Palma dulce (Cocos butyracea, Linn.), which in the valley
of the Magdalena is termed ‘Palma de vino’ (the Wine
Palm), and here, on account of its majestic height, ‘ Palma
real’ (the royal Palm). After having felled the trunk, which
diminishes but little towards the top, the natives make, just
below the point whence the leaves and spathes issue, an
excavation in the ligneous part eighteen inches long, eight
broad, and six deep. They work in the hollow of the tree,
as though they were making a canoe; and three days after-
wards this cavity is found filled with a yellowish-white juice,
very limpid, with a sweet and vinous flavour. The fermen-
tation appears to commence as soon as the trunk is felled,
but the vessels preserve their vitality: for we saw that the
sap flowed even when the summit of the Palm-tree (that
part whence the leaves shoot out) is a foot higher than
the lower end, near the roots. The sap continues to mount

. COPERNICIA. 151

as in the arborescent Huphordia recently cut. During -
eighteen to twenty days the palm-wine is daily collected ;
the last is less sweet, but more alcoholic and more highly
esteemed. One tree yields as much as eighteen bottles of
sap, each bottle containing forty-two cubic inches. The
natives affirm that the flowing is most abundant when the
petioles of the leaves, which remain fixed to the trunk, are
burned.”

I may add that the same process of extracting the wine
as here described is practised in the Isthmus of Panama,
where I have often tasted the beverage, which I consider
quite equal to champagne in flavour.

Genus XVII. COPERNICIA, Wartius.

Martius, on writing the name of the great Copernicus in
the Album of Systematic Botany, could hardly have se-
lected for that purpose a more beautiful genus than the
present. It is confined to the tropics of the New World,
and composed of six species, three of which are little known, —
and therefore regarded as doubtful. They are all unarmed,
middle-sized trees, their trunk being erect, and covered with

—
182 POPULAR HISTORY OF, PALMS.

the remnants of the leafstalks, which gives it a peculiar as-
pect; their leaves are palmate, their flowers appearmg in
the axils of the petioles, and being hermaphrodite or poly-
gamous, small and of a green colour; their berries are ellip-
tical, one-seeded, and somewhat yellow. Perhaps the best
known species is the Carnaiiba of the Brazilians (Copermicia
cerifera, Mart., Corypha cerifera, Arruda da Camara), which
occurs chiefly in the northern districts of Brazil, either
isolated (as represented in our plate, copied from Martius’s
splendid work on Palms) or aggregated in immense forests.
It attains the height of from twenty to forty feet. The trunks
of the younger plants are generally covered with leaves, but
as they grow older the lower ones drop off, leaving only a tuft
at the top, which is so arranged as to form a perfect ball. The
leaves, covered by a glaucous bloom, are not unlike those
of the Dwarf Fan-Palm of Southern Europe (Chamerops
humilis, Linn.). The trunk,—from the inside of which the
Brazilians prepare for home consumption a kind of farmha,
—is used for almost every purpose to which wood can be
applied ; it is so durable, particularly the lower parts of the
full-grown plants, that it lasts for many years, even when
exposed to the weather ; hence all the framework of houses
and the enclosures for cattle are made of it; occasionally

COPERNICIA. 188

it is met with in London timber-yards. The leaves serve for
a variety of purposes, such as thatch, pack-saddles, hats, etc.,
and in time of scarcity the young ones are chopped up and
given as fodder to horses and cattle. They also produce a
kind of wax, obtained by shaking the young leaves after
they have been detached from the tree; when each leaf
yields about fifty grains of a whitish, scaly powder, which
is melted in pots over a fire. This vegetable fat is some-
times used by the Brazilians to adulterate bees’-wax ; sam-

ples of it have occasionally been sent to Portugal to see

whether a demand for it could be created, but without
any result. The wax is now however imported into Great
Britain for manufacturing candles, but those made from it
by Price’s Candle Company at Vauxhall, near London,
retain the lemon-coloured tint peculiar to the raw wax, no
process of bleaching that material having, according to Mr.
Wilson, as yet been discovered. The fruit of the Carnaiiba,
though bitter, is, either raw or boiled, eaten by the Indians.

The foliage of Copernicia hospita, Mart., a Cuban Palm,
is used for thatch, as is also that of another species, Coper-
nocia tectorum, Mart. (Corypha tectorum, Humb., Bonpl., et
Kth.), which is found in the plains of Venezuela and New
Granada, and in the former Republic is, according to Hum-

184 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

boldt and Bonpland, commonly termed “ Palma de covija,”
«¢ Palma redonda,” and “‘ Palma de sombrero ;” in the latter,
according to Purdie, ‘‘ Palma serra” (cera?). ‘The wood
of Copernicia tectorum,’ says Humboldt, “is excellent for
building purposes, and so hard that it is difficult to drive
a nail into it. The leaves are employed to cover the roofs
of the huts scattered through the llanos (plains) of Vene-
zuela, and these roofs last more than twenty years. The
leaves are fixed by bending the extremities of the foot-
stalks, which have been beaten beforehand between two
stones, so that they may bend without breaking.” Purdie,
who, as well as Schlim, met with this tree in Santamarta,
New Granada, confirms the above statement, In a memo-
randum contained in the Hookerian Herbarium, and adds
that the fruit is an article of food among the inhabitants
of that province. Purdie’s remark about the fruit may be
extended to the Pumos (Copernicia ? Pumos, Mart., Corypha
Pumos, Humb., Bonpl., et Kth.), a Mexican plant, the ber-
ries of which are said to have an agreeable flavour. Little
is known about Copernicia ? maritima, Mart. (Corypha ma-
ritima, Humb., Bonpl., et Kth.), and Copernicia Miraguama,
Mart. (Corypha Miraguama, Humb., Bonpl., et Kth.), both
natives of Cuba. To obtain perfect specimens, and a full

CORYPHA. » 185

history of them, will be one of the objects of future travel-
lers in that region.*

Genus XVIII. CORYPHA, Linneus.

Under the native government of Ceylon each person was
allowed, according to the social station he occupied, to have
a certain number of gigantic Palm-leaves, folded up in the
form of fans, borne before him. ‘These leaves were the
produce of the Tallipot-tree, belonging to Corypha, a genus
composed of about five species, all inhabitants of tropical
Asia. They have ringed or channelled trunks, generally
remarkably straight, but not much higher than thirty
feet ; petioles armed with prickles ; fan-shaped, much-divided
leaves, each division being bilobed; a terminal panicle
(hence they can flower but once) ; hermaphrodite, white or
greenish blossoms, emitting a powerful though not always
agreeable odour, and a roundish, one-seeded berry. The

* Tn our gardens we cultivate:—Copernicia? Barbadensis, Hort. (Thrinax
Barbadensis, Uort.), C.? maritima, Mart. (Corypha maritima, H.B. K.,
Thrinax multiflora, Hort.), C.? robusta, Wendl. (Cocos Jaffa, Corypha Gua-

nacoa, Licuala brevipes, Sabal maritima, Thrinax robusta, Hort.), and C.
tectorum, Mart. (Corypha tectorum, H. B. K.).—Wendl. Index, p. 19.

186 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

Tallipot-tree (Corypha umbraculifera, Linn.) grows in stony
parts of the mountains of Ceylon, Malabar, and the Malay
coast. Its leaves are of gigantic size, the petiole beg seven
feet long, the blade (which describes nearly a complete oval)
six feet long and thirteen feet broad, and the segments of
the leaf from ninety-five to a hundred in number! They
are extensively used by the lower classes of Cingalese as
umbrellas, and that they are extremely well adapted for that
purpose requires no assurance, one outspread leaf affording
sufficient shelter for seven or eight persons. Some of the
sacred records of the Cingalese are written on pieces of the
blade of these leaves with either a brass or iron style. That
such records “have resisted for ages the ravages of time” has
been asserted by various authors, denied by others; I, for
my part, believe that their power of resistance is not very
great, and those who have seen much of the effect of time
upon well-preserved specimens in herbaria wili probably be
inclined to side with me. The leaves of the Tara, Tallier, or
Tareetof the Bengalese (Corypha Taliera, Roxb.), a tree closely
resembling in habit the Palmyra (Borassus flabelliformis,
Linn.), are also used for writing upon, as well as for tying
the rafters of the native houses, being strong and durable.
The leaves of the Gebang Palm (Corypha Gebanga, Blume),

DESMONCUS. 187

are likewise useful. Thousands of boys and girls, it is
stated, are employed in Java in converting them into bas-
kets and bags; thatch and broad-brimmed hats are made
of them, fishing-nets and shirts are woven from their fibre,
and ropes manufactured from their stalk. The pithy sub-
stance of the trunk, it is further stated, yields a sort of
sago; the root is both emollient and slightly astringent ;
sliced, it is administered in slight diarrhoea ; Waitz even —
says that it is a most efficacious remedy for the periodical
diarrhceas which, in the sultry regions of the Hast Indies,
attack Europeans out of health.

Formerly, a number of other Palms were associated with
Corypha ; these are now distributed under the genera Co-
pernicia, Hyphene, Iivistonia, Sabal, and Thrinaz, as devi-
ating too much from the original type of this genus.*

Genus XIX. DESMONCUS, Wartius.
The Palms associated under the name of Desmoncus hold

* In European gardens are cultivated :—Corypha Cumingii, Lodd., C. Ge-
banga, Blum. (C. macrophylla, Hort. Germ.), and Corypha umbraculifera,
Linn.— Wendl. Index Palm. p.19. They are of slow growth. I know not
of any plant in England with a trunk.—John Smith, MSS.

PB ec pote! | | id as Be aid
~ So! vee Ct:

188 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

about the same position in the forests of America that the
Rattans and their allies do in those of Asia; most of them
climb over shrubs and among trees, often forming elegant
festoons. The trunk is slender, and furnished with large,
either straight or hooked prickles, their leaves being scattered
over their whole surface, not terminal, as in most Palms ;
the latter are pinnatisect, and end in a long whip, clad with
recurved spines, by which these plants are enabled to hold
on; their flowers, which appear in the axil of the petioles,
are simply branched, monececious, and of a yellow colour ;
their drupes are ovate.or nearly round, one-seeded, and red ;
their seeds are black. About eighteen species are described,
a few of which are cultivated in Kurope.*

The fruit of Desmoncus prunifer, Pepp., a Peruvian
plant, is succulent, has an acid-sweet flavour, and is edible,
as is also the kernel. The outer part of the trunk of the Bra-
zilian Jacitaéra, which Wallace believes to be the Desmoncus
macracanthus of Martius, is much used in the Amazon and
Rio Negro districts for making the “tipitis,” or elastic
platted cylinders employed in the manufacture of farinha,

* These are :—Desmoncus ? aculeatus, Hort., D. dubius, Lodd., D. lati-

rons, Mart., D. macracanthus, Mart. (Bactris Paraensis, Hort.), D. mitis,
Mart., D.orthacanthus ? Mart.,and D. polyacanthus, Mart.—Wend1.1.c.p.20.

DESMONCUS. »189

the produce of the mandiocca plant. “These cylinders,”
says Wallace, “ are sometimes made of certain water-plants
and several other Palms, but those constructed of ‘Jacitara’
are said to outlast two or three of the others. . . . When
the cylinders are used they are suspended from a strong pole,
after being filled with the grated pulp. A long lever is
passed through the loop at the lower end of the ‘ tipiti,
by means of which it is stretched, the power being applied
by the woman sitting on the further extremity of the pole.
The cylinder thus becomes powerfully contracted, and the
poisonous juice runs out of every part of the surface, and is
caught in a pan below, in order to be carefully thrown away ;
for it would cause speedy death to any domestic animal
which should happen to drink it.”

“The Jacitéra grows in the Catinga forests of the Upper
Rio Negro, and on the margins of small streams, climbing
over trees, and throwing out its armed leaves on every side
to catch the unwary traveller. How often will they seize
the insect net of the entomologist, just as he is making a
dart at some rare butterfly, or fasten on his jacket or shirt-
sleeve, or pull the cap from his head! Woe then to the
impatient wanderer! A pull or a tug will inevitably cause
a portion of the fractured garment to stay behind, for the

190 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

Jacitara never loses its hold, and it is only by deliberately
extracting its fangs that the intruder can expect to depart
unhurt.”

“In some places small igaripés, or forest streams, are
almost filled up with the various climbing grasses and
creepers, among which the Jacitéra holds a prominent place.
It is up these streams that the Indians often delight to fix
their abode. In such cases they never cut down a branch,
but pass and repass daily in their little canoes, which wind
hke snakes among the tangled masses of thorny vegetation.
They are thus almost safe against the incursions of the white
traders, who often attack them in their most distant retreats,
carry fire and sword into their peaceful houses, and take
captive their wives and children. But few white men can
penetrate for miles along those little winding streams, where
not a broken twig or cut branch shows that a human being
has ever passed before. Thus does the spiny Jacitéra help
to secure the independence of the wild Indian in the depths
of those forests which he loves.”

Genus XX. DIPLOTHEMIUM, Martius.

This genus is composed of four species, one of which

i

ELIS. 191

(Diplothemium maritimum, Mart.) is an inmate of our gar-
dens. Two of them inhabit the coast, and two the dry

~ campos of Brazil. They are either entirely stemless, or

possess a short ringed trunk, which, like every other part of
the plant, is unarmed. Their leaves are pinnatisect, with
linear segments, the underside of which is either of a silvery
white ora glaucous hue. The flowers are monccious, rather
large, and appear in the axils of the petioles. The fruit, an
ovate or obovate drupe, is yellow, and has a fibrous acid-
sweet flesh, which is eaten by the natives.

Genus XXI. ELAIS, Jacquin.

One chapter of the history of Botany still remains to be
written,—that showing the direct and indirect influence the
occurrence of a plant exercises on the moral and physical
condition of a country. A subject more redundant with in-
terest, a task more grateful to the phytologist, could hardly be
selected. A few leaves from the history of the Oil Palm of
Africa will serve to illustrate this idea. The state of debase-
ment of the Negro races of Africa has long been a subject
of great concern to philanthropists, and numerous schemes
have been tried to raise them to the rank of intelligent

—
192 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

beings, but all have hitherto proved an utter failure,—a
failure chiefly to be ascribed to the fact that the natural re-
sources of that country were either entirely unknown, or, if
known, so little developed that legitimate commerce on a
large scale could not be established. The traffic in slaves
was found more profitable than that of other indigenous
productions, and as long as that was the case, the establish-
ment of society on a more rational and firmer basis than
that hitherto existing was out of the question. At last a
ray of hope seems to glimmer, at least for Western Africa.
A production scattered over that country with a bountiful
hand has been found, the exportation of which yields returns
more ample than those of the abominable traffic in human
beings ; and hence it may be fairly expected that the selfish
love of gain will tend, to bring about that reform in the
social state of those degraded people, which unselfish phil-
anthropy has failed to accomplish. The African Palm oil,
the production here alluded to, has indeed long been sought
‘after by Europeans, but it did not assume that importance,
either directly or indirectly, which it now claims, until the
introduction of new processes for manufacturing Stearic
candles from it, first applied by Price’s Patent Candle Com-
pany, at Vauxhall, near London. By the introduction of

¢ id
ey

ELIS, 193

those and similar processes, Palm oil has become an article
of so much demand, and the trade in it has assumed such
dimensions, that it employs no less than 20,000 tons of
shipping from Liverpool alone! ‘The value of this trade,
as well as the possibility* of civilizing Africa by means of
increased traffic in legitimate articles in general, is fully
revealed in the evidence given before a Parliamentary
Committee in 1848, by the late Mr. William Hutton, Mr.
William Jackson, and Dr. Kehoe, as has already been
pointed out by Mr. G. F. Wilson in his instructive pamphlet
‘On the Stearic Candle Manufacture.’ *

“Mr. Hutton stated that the palm-oil trade is carried on
in British vessels; that it is a barter trade, the palm-oil
being almost entirely paid for in the manufactures of Man-
chester, Birmingham, and Glasgow ; that the trade might
be very much increased gradually, but not suddenly; that
it employs a very large proportion of the population of the
districts where it is grown, in gathering, preparing, and
bringing the oil down to the British factories ; that it is
brought down to the coast im small quantities, and sold

* On the Stearic Candle Manufacture.” By G. F. Wilson, Esq. To

which are appended, Papers on the Slave Trade and the Soap Tax. Third
Edition. London, 1852.

O

194, POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

even in single gallons ; that the natives keep no store, but
bring it as it is manufactured ; that the natives prepare it
by boiling it with water, the oil floating upon the surface of
the water, and, when the latter is cold, being skimmed off
into calabashes or large gourds (I presume of the kind Sind-
bad’s old man of the sea used as wine-cups), in which it is
brought to the European factories.

«That he considers it an indisputable fact, that the legiti-
mate trade and produce of Africa are in every respect the
most desirable means that can be applied to the mppeeeeiee
of the slave-trade.

“Mr. Jackson stated that palm-oil is a produce that may
be indefinitely multiplied ; that it is impossible for any one
to form an idea of what Africa can do; that he thought we
are only in our infancy with regard to the trade with the
West coast; that what we import now is a mere dagatelle to
what we shall be able to do in the course of a few years ;
that from his experience of the trade, and seeing the way
that increase has taken place according to the demand for it
on the coast, he considers that there is no end to the quan-
tity of palm-oil that can be produced, and that he is corro-
borated in this view by every trader he has come into con-
tact with, who has been ont to the coast of Africa, from

re

ELAIS. 195

>

whom he has always heard the opinion that the demand will
always be met by a supply, although there may be occasion-
ally a little delay, in consequence of the demand coming
suddenly when their season is not on; that the trade is
carried on invariably by barter, by which are paid British
manufactured goods for the palm-oil.

“Tn answer to the question, ‘I presume principally in
articles of clothing,—articles of civilization, so to call them ?’
he stated that they did not so commence in 1826; they
used to send out fancy articles, such as beads and looking-
glasses, and other nicknacks, which please the fancy of the
Black ; that gradually, by anticipating his wants, they led
him on to further industry, and induced him to produce
more palm-oil than he did before, and gradually led him
into habits of civilization, and a demand for civilized ar-
ticles,—a tendency which might probably be increased with
the increase of opportunity.

“In answer to the question, ‘You began with them,
like children, with beads, and you have got almost up to
pantaloons with them by this time?’ he said, ‘Oh yes; I
recollect the last year I was in the trade we sent out to
King Eaman, of Old Calabar, a house to cost nearly
£1000, which was paid for in palm-oil. Mr. Jackson

‘* i‘ feed: eS ve dag a +2 4:
: ° n= Ee
“24
’

>
196 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

further says ‘that the palm-oil trade is a peculiar one; that
the black man, if he has wants, will gratify them, whatever
it costs; if he has no desire for what you have, he will not
buy it at any price.’

“Dr. Kehoe stated that he had resided a year on the
west coast of Africa; that he had greatly turned his atten-
tion to the means of promoting civilization there, and had
made inquiries from all persons who trade upon the coast,
both from the native and other merchants resident there.
He had not the least doubt that civilization would, in the
course of time, be enormously promoted by legitimate trade;
or that any amount for which we had a demand, whether
of palm or other vegetable oils of a similar kind, could be
produced. That a largely increased quantity could be given
by the natives for their own immediate benefit; and that
he had no doubt that it would be a most important means
of gradually civilizing the inhabitants, and checking the
slave-trade, since it would be found that slaves could be
profitably employed as domestic servants, and that it would
gradually become the interest of their masters to keep them
at home, and thus that the natives would be benefited im
every possible way. That there is an increasing taste among
the natives for articles generally used in civilized life. That

\
eee

oa

ELAIs. 197

?

a naked savage, who has been taken out of a slaver, after
passing a few years at Sierra Leone, becomes a consumer
of almost every European article; the women dress in silks
and satins, and the men in cloth, and acquire comfortable
houses, and furnish them. That, from his knowledge of
the character of the natives, he thinks we have every
reason to hope that they will go on progressing in civilized
tastes, and that every additional tun of palm-oil that is im-
ported into this country is a blessing to Africa, as tending
to assist this progress.

“The latest published work bearing upon the palm-oil
and slave trades, that I am acquainted with, is ‘Dahomey
and the Dahomans,’ a journal of missions to the King of
Dahomey, in the years 1849 and 1850, by Captain Forbes,
R.N. He says, ‘The inhabitants of a vast extent of coast
have been led to give up the slave-trade; and why? Be-
cause they have been taught the immense increase of the
value of the palm-oil trade over that in slaves. . . . The
taste for British goods runs high, and if these could not be
purchased with slaves, palm-oil would be manufactured to
obtain them.’ Speaking of South-western Africa, where
the sale of relations still exists, he says, ‘Strength ever
predominated, and the father either sold his son in his

. ~
198 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

boyhood, or ran the risk of changing the positions, when
the son, now the strongest, bound the father, and sold him
to foreign slavery.’ He further says, ‘One-third, at least,
of the extent of the slave coast has been already conquered
by civilization and legal traffic, and it requires perseverance
alone to reduce the remainder. All the high-roads to Cen-
tral Africa, the Delta of the Niger,—in which I include
the Benin, the Cameroons, the Calabars, etc.,—have sub-
mitted to the laws of civilization, and the inhabitants scout
with disgust the idea of selling their fellow-men. . . . The
Africans are by nature great traders; all the higher articles
of trade are to be found on board some of the largest
trading ships in the world in the Bonny, and its neighbour-
ing rivers, in order to be exchanged for palm-oil’”

There are, in various countries, raw materials which can-
not be—or rather are not—gathered without the entire de-
struction of the plants producing them. The disappear-
ance of the Gutta-percha trees in the Indian Archipelago is
a deplorable instance of this kind; but a still more deplo-
rable one is the rapid destruction of all the magnificent
Quina-forests of South America,—a process by which, in a
few years, they will be numbered amongst those things that
have been, making it even problematical whether the seeds

ELIS. 199

necessary for propagating them by artificial means will then
be obtainable. The demand for Quinine and Cinchonine
will no doubt go on, as it has done, increasing; and how
great will be the dilemma when the supply begins to fail!
when the poor fever-stricken patient will be longing in vain
for the remedy, at present so effectually employed in curing
the malady with which he is afflicted; and the physician
search, perhaps without result, for a suitable substitute to
alleviate the sufferings which he is called upon to heal!
Professor Miquel, at Amsterdam, foreseeing this dilemma,
presented a few years ago a memorial to the Dutch Mi-
nistry, setting forth the fatal consequences which the ex-
termination of those forests would ultimately produce, and
urging the adoption of some practical remedy. His me-
morial was received with much favour. A competent
person, Mr. Hasskarl, was at once despatched to South
America, in order to collect information and seeds necessary
for establishing plantations; and at present thousands of
young plants flourish in the mountainous districts of Java,
insuring to Holland, for ages to come, the use of that in-
valuable medicine, Quinine. It would be well if nations
who, like the Dutch, have colonial possessions, were to imi-
tate this example; and if those naturalists of this country,

200 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

who, like Professor Miquel in Holland, have the ear of the
Government, would use that advantage to urge the esta-
blishment of Quina plantations, on a large scale, im the
higher districts of some of the West India Islands, or in
British India, they would, by doing so, not only receive
from their contemporaries the highest approbation for sa-
gacity, but also be justly entitled to the blessings of posterity
for the inestimable benefits conferred. It is a matter of
congratulation that the collecting of palm-oil does not, like
the gutta-percha and quina-bark, involve the total de-
struction of the tree yielding it, as the fruit is the only part
gathered,—a fact rendering the trade in that oil of a very
solid nature, and the deductions derived from, it still more
certain.

The genus Las, to which the Oil Palm belongs, is dis-
tinguished by its decumbent trunk, serrated petioles, pin-
natisect leaves with linear segments, moncecious flowers,
and ovate-angular, one-seeded fruits (drupes), with oily
husks, of a bright vermilion or a more or less yellow colour.
There are only two species, both cultivated in our gardens,
one being a native of Africa (H/azis Guineensis, Linn.), the
other a native of America (Z. melanococca, Gertn.). The
fruit of both yields oil, but that of the American species

ELIS. 201

‘

has not yet played such a prominent part in commerce as
that of its congener. Besides the oil, the Africans prepare
from Lleis Guineensis palm-soup, a dish which, the late
Dr. Theodore Vogel informs us in Hooker’s ‘ Niger Flora,’
“ when made of boiled palm-nuts on/y, is very well flavoured.
The natives pick the nuts off those young trunks which have
not yet lost any of their leaves, and consider them as supe-
rior to the fruit of older plants; they also cut down the
trunks to collect palm-wine.”

The American species (H/ais melanococca, Gertn., E. Per-
nambucana, Lodd.?, Adfonsia oleifera, H.B.K.), the Caiaue
of the Brazilians, and the Corozo colorado of the Venezuelians
and New Granadians, I have repeatedly met with in the
Isthmus of Panama, where it is very common. It is always
found in swampy, shady places, never on dry ground, or in
sunny, exposed positions. ‘The trunk, which is short and
thick, creeps along the ground, and has generally so very few
roots that it is a task of no difficulty to overturn a whole plant
by a single kick of the foot. The leaves are mostly twenty-
four feet long—I have measured them accurately—and from
them are manufactured ropes in some parts of New Granada,
according to Mr. Jervis, a gentleman who has resided in that
country. The fruit is red or vermilion-colour, hence the

—
202 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

vernacular name, Corozo colorado. In order to extract the
oil, the fruit, after having been boiled in water, is crushed
in a wooden mortar until the husk (sarcocarpium) is sepa-
rated from the seed, and the oil floats on the surface of
the liquid mass thus produced. The oil is generally used
both in private houses and churches, but I do not think it
has as yet been exported in any large quantity.

Genus XXII. EUGEISSONIA, Griffith.

In forests on the hills about Ching, Malacca, and in
Penang, occurs very commonly a stemless Palm, which the
Malays term vernacularly “ Bertam,” and which Griffith*
has made the type of a new genus— Lugeissonia—distin-
guished by its inflorescence, its indefinite number of stamens,
and the peculiar structure of the seed, from all other Kast
Indian genera of the tribe (Calame@ or Lepidocaryea), to
which it belongs. Lugeissonia tristis, Griffith—that is the
name of the typical species alluded to—has not yet been
introduced into our gardens. It grows in thick tufts, sur-

* «Palms of British East India,’ by the late William Griffith, ete. Ar-
ranged by John M‘Clelland, ete. Calcutta, 1850.

EUTERPE. 203

rounded by the remnants of its old foliage. The leaves are
very numerous, the outer ones spreading, fifteen to twenty
feet in length, and pinnatisect, with linear segments from
two to two and a half feet long, and armed, like the petiole
and spathes, with prickles. The flowers are terminal, and
dicecious, and the fruit densely covered with brown scales,
and in general outline resemble an inverted pear. There is
only one seed.

According to Lewis, the leaves of this plant are used in
Penang in making mats for the sides of houses, for thatch,
and the same purposes as those of Nipa fruticans.

Genus XXIII. EUTERPE, Wartius.

One of the first and oft-repeated cries a stranger hears
on landing at the city of Para, in Brazil, will be that of
“ Assali—i,” proceeding from Indian and Negro girls, who
are walking in the streets with small earthen pots on their
heads. “If you call one of these dusky maidens,” says
Wallace, “she will set down her pot, filled with a thick
creamy liquid, of a fine plum-colour and a peculiar nut-
flavour. You may not perhaps think a great deal of this

-_ re A al eee -
i Sa ty
4 ¥ VEN

204 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

beverage at first, but if you drink it repeatedly, you will
inevitably become so fond of it as to consider ‘ Assai’ one
of the greatest luxuries the place produces. It is generally
taken with farinha, the substitute for bread, prepared from
the mandiocca-plant, and with or without sugar, according
to the taste of the consumer. We had frequently opportu-
nities of seeing the preparation of this beverage. Two or
three large bunches of fruit are shaken and stripped by the
women into an earthen vessel; tepid water is then poured
on them, which soon becomes tinged with purple. In about
an hour the outer pulp of the fruit has become soft enough
to rub off. The greater part of the water is now poured
away, a little cold added, and a damsel, with no sleeves to
turn up, plunges both hands into the vessel, and rubs and
kneads with great perseverance, adding fresh water as it is
required, until the whole of the purple covering of the fruit
has been rubbed off and the greenish stones become bare.
The liquid, poured through a wicker sieve into another ves-
sel, is now ready for use. The smiling hostess will then fill
a calabash, and give you another with farinha to mix to your
taste; and nothing will delight her more than your empty-
ing your rustic basin and asking her to fill it again. The
inhabitants of Para are excessively attached to this beverage,

EUTERPE. 205

and many of them never pass a day without partaking of it.
They are particularly favoured in being able to get it at all
seasons, for though in most places the trees only bear for a
few months once in the year, yet in the neighbourhood of
Pard there is so much variety of soil and aspect, that within
a day or two’s journey there is always some ripe Assai to
supply the market. Boys climb up the trees to get it, with
a cord round the ankles, and with its own leaves make a
neatly-interlaced basket to carry their harvest home. From
the great island of Marajd, its Igaripés, (a small stream,
literally ‘ path of the canoe,’) and marshes, from the rivers
Guamé and Moji, from the thousand islands in the river,
and from the vast Palm swamps in the depths of the forest,
baskets filled with the fruit are brought every morning to
the city, where half the population look to the Assai to
supply a daily meal, and hundreds are said to make it, with
farinha, almost their main subsistence.”

The Palm producing the Assai is Euterpe edulis, Matt.,
(not, as Wallace has stated, Huterpe oleracea, Mart.,) a tree
with a slender trunk, often swollen at the base, and berries
in shape, size, and colour resembling the fruit of the sloe.

The terminal leaf-bud of Euterpe oleracea, Mart., a native
of Brazil, and Luterpe montana, Grah., a native of Venezuela,

206 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

and probably that of several others, if not all species of this
genus, is both used and misused ;—used as a fresh vegetable
or a pickle; misused, as in order to obtain it a whole tree
has to be sacrificed, Palms, be it remembered, not having
the power of forming regular side-branches.

The genus Euterpe is confined to the forests of tropical
South America, where it generally forms separate groves.
The trunks are sometimes one hundred feet high, and, like
all other parts of the plant, unarmed. ‘The leaves are ter-
minal, few in number, pinnatisect, and have linear segments.
The flowers are moncecious, and the berries round, one-
seeded, and of a dark purple colour. ‘Three species are
cultivated in our conservatories—Luterpe edulis, Mart., L.
montana, Grah., and L. oleracea, Mart.

Genus XXIV. GHONOMA, Willdenow.

Geonoma is an extensive genus, scattered over the forests
of tropical America, between the 20th of south and the
10th degree of north latitude. Sometimes the trunk is
entirely wanting; but in cases where present it has a reed-
like aspect, is ringed, smooth, polished, and crowned at the

ie ee a te Th Se eli +
f ry e are is.

=

GUILIELMA. 207

extremity with either quite entire, or more or less split and
pinnatisect leaves. The spadixes appear in the axil of the
petioles, and are arranged in spikes, or sometimes in panicles.
The flowers are moncecious, and more or less intensely yel-
low or purple, the male ones bearing six stamens. The
berries are ovate or nearly globose, and one-seeded, but of
an insipid taste and an obscure colour.

Their trunks are occasionally used for walking-canes, their
foliage for thatch, but they do not seem to be employed in
any other way. On account of their small size, the different
species are great favourites in our gardens.*

Genus XXV. GUILIELMA, Wartius.

A lofty, rather slender trunk, armed with black spines
and crowned with pinnatisect leaves, having linear segments
and spiny petioles, simply branched spadices, growing from

* Hermann Wendland has given the following list of the cultivated spe-
cies :—Geonoma acutiflora, Mart. (G. baculifera, Kth.); G. diversa, Kth. ;
G. fragilis, Hort. Paris.; G. fragrans, Hort. Germ. ; G. ixterrupta ? Mart. ;
G. maxima, Kth.; G. pinnatifrons, Willd.; G. Portiana, Hort.; G. pul-
chella, Hort.; G. Schottiana, Mart.; G. simplicifrons, Willd. (G. Willde-
nowt, Kl.); G. Spixiana, Mart.; G. undulata, Kl., and two other unde-
termined species.

De

>
208 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

beneath the foliage, and bearing monccious green or yel-
lowish flowers, and large, ovate, fleshy or mealy drupes, of
a yellowish-red colour, are the most striking features of
Guilielma, a genus composed of three species (G. Macaiia,
Mart., G. speciosa, Mart., and G. spectabilis, Mart.), indige-
nous to New Granada, Venezuela, the Guianas, and Brazil,
and cultivated in our gardens.

The best known and most widely-diffused species is Gui-
lielma speciosa, Mart., the Piritu or Pirijao of Venezuela,
the Puptinha of the Amazon district, and the Paripou of
Guiana, first brought into notice by Aublet, Humboldt
and Bonpland, and lately described in popular language by
Wallace. It has a slender, cylindrical trunk, thickly set
with long, needle-shaped spines, disposed in rings or bands.
It reaches sixty feet in height, and grows quite erect, though
in exposed situations it becomes curved and waving. The
leaves are very numerous, terminal, pinnatisect, and droop-
ing, forming a nearly spherical crown to. the trunk; and
their segments growing out from the midrib in various di-
rections, and being themselves curled or waved, give the
whole mass of foliage a singularly plumy appearance. The
leaves of the young plants are entire, like those of the
Bussu (Manicaria saccifera, Geertn.), but as the age of the

oe

GUILIELMA. 209

tree increases, they break up into regular narrow segments.
The spadices grow from beneath the leaves, and are small,
simply branched, and drooping. The spathes are ventri-
cose, woody, and persistent, curving over the spadix. The
fruit is about the size of an apricot, of a triangular oval
shape, and fine reddish-yellow colour. In most instances
the seed is abortive, the whole fruit being a farinaceous
mass. Occasionally however fruits are found containing
the perfect stony seed, and they are then double the usual
size. The tree is not found wild in the Amazon district,
but is invariably planted. In the Indians’ villages, about
the houses, many hundreds of these trees may often be seen,
adding to the beauty of the landscape, and supplying an
abundance of wholesome food; in fact it here takes the
place of the Cocoa-nnt tree in the East Indies, and is al-
most as much esteemed as that is. Clmbing this Palm
being, on account of the prickly trunk, impossible, the
- Indians construct rough stages up the sides of the trees, or
form rude ladders, by securing cross pieces between two of
them, by which they mount so high as to be able to pull
down the bunches of fruit with hooked poles. The fruits
are eaten either boiled or roasted, when they somewhat re-
semble Spanish chestnuts, but they have a peculiar oily
P

>
210 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

flavour; they are also ground up into a kind of flour, and
made into cakes, which are roasted like cassava bread; or
the meal is fermented in water, and forms a subacid, creamy
liquid. Parrots, macaws, and many other birds devour them,
and tame monkeys eat them greedily, though the wild ones
cannot climb the spiny stems to obtain them. The wood
of this tree, when old and black, is exceedingly hard, turn-
ing the edge of any ordinary axe. When Mr. Wallace de-
scended the River Uaupés in April, 1852, he had a number
of parrots, whose objections to any restraint upon their
liberty caused him much trouble. Their first cage was
made of wicker, and in a couple of hours the birds had all
set themselves at liberty. Then tough green wood was
tried, but the same time only was required to gnaw that
through; thick bars of deal were bitten through im a sin-
gle night. He then tried the hard wood of the Pashitba
(Iriartea exhorrhiza, Mart.) ; this checked them for a short
time, but in less than a week, by continual gnawing, they
had chipped these away, and again escaped. He now began
to despair; no iron for bars was to be procured, and his
resources were exhausted, when one of his Indians recom-
mended him to try Puptinha, assuring him that if their
beaks were of iron they could not bite that. A tree was

Lana

GUILIELMA. 911

accordingly felled, and bars made from it, and he had the
satisfaction of seeing that their most persevering efforts now
made little impression.

The sharp, needle-like spines of this tree are used by
some Indian tribes to puncture the skin, in order to pro-
duce the tattooed marks with which they decorate various
parts of their bodies. Soot, produced from burning pitch,
rubbed into the wounds, is said to make the indelible bluish
stain which these markings present.

Humboldt, speaking of this noble Palm, says :—“ The
Indians and the missionaries of the settlement of San Fran-
cisco, in Venezuela, are unwearied in their praises of this
noble Palm-tree, which might be called the Peach Palm.
We found it cultivated in abundance at San Fernando, San
Baltasar, Santa Barbara, and wherever we advanced towards
the south or the east along the banks of the Atabapo and
Upper Orinoco. In those wild regions we are involuntarily
reminded of the assertion of Linnezeus, that the country of
Palm-trees was the first abode of our race, and that man is
essentially palmivorous. On examining the provision accu-
mulated in the huts of the Indians, we perceive that their
subsistence during several months of the year depends as
much on the farimaceous fruit of the Pirzao as on the Cas-

312 POPULAR -HISTORY OF PALMS.

sava and Plantain. The tree bears fruit but once a year,
but to the amount of three clusters, consequently from one
hundred and fifty to two hundred fruits.”

Genus XXVI. HYOPHORBE, Gertner.

The islands of Bourbon and Mauritius produce the only
representative (Hyophorbe Indica, Gertn., H. lutescens,
Hort., Areca lutescens, Bory, A. alba, Hort.) of this genus,
which is cultivated in our gardens. It is a middle-sized,
unarmed tree, with a cylindrical, annulated trunk, about
thirty feet high, and from four to six inches in diameter.
The leaves are terminal, pinnatisect; the flowers are dice-
cious, and white; the berries one-seeded, and resembling
olives in shape and colour.

—————

Genus XXVIL HYOSPATHE, Vartius.

The virgin forests of Brazil, near the confluence of the
rivers Amazon and Tocantins, are the localities in which

Hyospathe elegans, Mart., the only representative of the

: apt
— a

HYPHENE. 213

genus, has hitherto been met with. The natives term it
Tajassa-ubi. It is a reed-like Palm, allied to the genus
Chamedorea, and attains the height of about six feet; its
trunk is straight and annulated, bearing terminal and lateral
leaves, which are either entire, and nearly divided into two
lobes at the point, or more or less pinnatisect: they make
excellent thatch. The flowers are of a pale yellow, and
moncecious, the male ones having six stamens; the berries
are one-seeded, violet, and resemble olives in shape. In our
gardens this plant is still a desideratum.

Genus XXVIII. HYPHANE, Gertner.

This genus is diffused, with the exception of the Cape of
Good Hope, over the whole of the continent of Africa, and
parts of Arabia. The trunk is about thirty feet igh, and
ringed, and differs essentially from these of most Palms by
being branched. The leaves are terminal, and fan-shaped,
the flowers dicecious, and pale yellow or reddish. The fruit
is of a yellowish-brown colour, and grows in large bunches;
it has a thick, mealy rind, which has very much the look

Dh Ey ee

214 - POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

and taste of gingerbread, on account of which Hyphaene
Thebaica, Mart. (Corypha Thebaica, Linn., Douma Thebaica,
Poir., Hyphene cucifera, Pers., and, according to J. Smith,
Parinarium Senegalense), the Doom Palm of Egypt, has
obtained the popular name of “ Gingerbread-tree.” A
beautiful representation of this unique tree is given in our
Plate, where it is seen in one of its favourite localities on
the banks of the Nile, in the neighbourhood of the cata-
racts. It is difficult to speak with any degree of certainty
of the geographical limits of H. Thebaica, as its synonymy
is very confused. In the Museum at Kew there are a con-
siderable number of fruits of Hyphene: some of them were
brought from Port Natal by Captain Garden, some from the
Gulf of Guinea by Mr. Daniel, and some were sent from
Egypt by the late Dr. Bromfield, an examination of which
has inclined me to the belief that the characters by which
the various species are at present defined are most unsatis-
factory, and unless better ones can be substituted, all the
supposed species must be reduced to one. Fresh seeds of
this genus, Mr. John Smith informs me, vegetate readily,
but the young plants are of slow and precarious growth,
there being no good specimen of them in England.

The wood of the Gingerbread-tree is used in Africa for

HYPHANE. 215

various domestic purposes; the rind of the fruit is eaten,
the kernel turned into beads for rosaries. Dr. Lindley has
stated (Vegetable Kingdom, ed. i. p. 137), that Egyptian
Bdellium, a gum-resinous substance, formerly employed as
a diuretic and diaphoretic, is obtained from this Palm; but
he does not give his authority, and 1 have not been able
to meet with a confirmation of his statement in any other
botanical work.

My esteemed friend, Edward Vogel, the great African
traveller, alludes, in one of his letters to Dr. Augustus
Petermann—dated Kuka, July 13, 1854, and published in
the ‘Bonplandia’ (vol. iii. p. 18)—to a Palm which, I
think, must be closely allied to Hyphene. He says:—“A
beautiful tree, about forty feet high, which forms on the
banks of the Lake of Tuberi extensive forests, is the Deleb

Palm (as it is termed in Nubia). The leaves are fan-

shaped, very much resembling those of the Doom, only
they are larger and of a more lively green, and they form a
dense and fine crown. The trunk is smooth, and never
divides. The fruits weigh about four or five pounds each ;
they are from eight to nine inches long, and from six to
seven inches thick, oval-shaped, and dark yellow; they
consist of a thick, fibrous rind, including three seeds.

216 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

The rind contains a rather bitter but by no means dis-
agreeable juice, which in taste and smell reminds one of
Pine-apple.”*

Genus XXIX. IRJARTEA, Ruiz et Pavon.

I well remember when I saw for the first time one of the
uses to which this genus is applied. It was on the 22nd of
September, 1845. I had been all day ascending the Chagres,
one of the rivers of the Isthmus of Panama, in a small canoe
roofed over with palm-leaves, and was therefore heartily
glad when at dusk our party halted near a sandy spit. My
men at once set to work preparing their supper. A fire
was kindled, and after a large pot, filled with rice and
water, had been placed on it, they brought forward a num-
ber of cocoa-nuts and several very peculiar-looking cylin-
ders, which at first sight I mistook for those barrels seen m
musical boxes and hurdy-gurdies, being covered with small
tubercular prickles, but which to my astonishment were
used instead of graters for reducing the inside of the cocoa-
nuts to a pulpy mass, to be boiled with the rice and water.

* We cultivate in our gardens Hyphene Petersiana, K)., and H. Thebaica,
Mart.— Wendl. Index Palm. p. 24.

IRIARTEA. 217

I afterwards found that these graters were the aerial roots
of the Zanora Palm of the country (Jriartea exorrhiza,
Mart.), and that they were in common use in the Isthmus ;
and I now learn from Wallace’s work that the same is the
case in the Amazon district, countries in which, from the
excessively moist climate, tin graters soon get rusty, making
these provided by nature very acceptable. Two of these
graters I have sent to the Museum of Economic Botany at
Kew, where they are exhibited amongst the other produc-
tions of Palms. The roots here alluded to are common to
Triartea exorrhiza and several allied species, including J.
ventricosa, Mart., figured in our Plate. They spring from
the trunk, each from a higher point than the last, and ex-
tend diagonally downwards until they approach the ground,
when they often divide into many rootlets, each of which
secures itself to the soil. As fresh ones appear, those be-
low them decay and die off; and it is not uncommon to
see a lofty tree supported entirely by three or four roots, so
that a person may walk erect beneath them, or stand with a
tree seventy feet high growing immediately over his head.
The genus Iriartea (Ceroxylon, H.B.K.) is peculiar to
the forests of South America. Its trunks are erect, an-
nulated, and unarmed. Its leaves are terminal, pinnatisect,

—
218 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

the segments of which are often trapeziform, plicated and
divided in toothed or truncated lobes. The flowers are
moncecious, and more or less intensely yellow, and their
fruit, a one-seeded berry, is of a green or yellowish-brown,
and sometimes of almost a black colour. About nine spe-
cies have hitherto been discovered, several of which are
cultivated in our gardens.*

Triartea exorrhiza, Mart., the best-known species, is
termed in Brazil “ Pashitba,” or “ Paxitba,”’ and attains
the height of fifty to sixty feet. The trunk is slender, and
its wood is very hard on the outside, but soft and pithy

3)

within. It splits easily and very straight, and is on that
account much used in its native country for forming the
floors of canoes, the ceilings of houses, shelves, seats, etc.,
and is also exported in great quantities to the United States
for umbrella sticks. The trunks of this Palm are also used
for making the Juriparis (or Devils), musical instruments,
played upon by the Indians dwelling on the banks of the
river Uaupés, in their Dabocuris (estas). Mr. Spruce, the

* T. altissima, K\.; I. Andicola, Spr. (Cerozylon Andicola, H. et B.) ;
I. ferruginea, Hort. (C. ferrugineum, Hort.) ; I. Klopstockia, Hort. (C.
Klopstockia, Mart., Klopstockia cerifera, Karst.) ; I. niveum, Hort. (C. nt-
veum, Hort.) ; and I. premorsa, Kl,

IRIARTEA. 219

meritorious traveller, on sending specimens of these instru-
ments to the Museum at Kew, accompanied them with the
following note :—‘“ The two larger instruments are portions
of the trunk of the Paxitiba ([riartea exorrhiza), with a
square hole near the upper extremity. When about to be
uged, this end is nearly closed bya piece of clay, and a piece
of Uaruma-leaf is tied on above the square hole, so as to
form a monster flageolet. The smaller ones consist of a tube
of Paxitiba, wrapped in a long strip of the tough bark of
the Jébari (a Cesalpineous tree, with handsome red mo-
nopetalous flowers, apparently the Parivoa grandiflora of
Aublet), which descends in widening folds to some distance
below the tube, thus forming a sort of trumpet; which is
simply blown into at the upper end.”

Wallace, who was for a long time the travelling com-
panion of Spruce, has thus alluded to the Juripari of the
Indians :—‘ One evening,” he says, “there was a caxiré-
drinking; and a little before dark a sound as of trom-
bones and bassoons was heard coming on the river to-
wards the village, and presently appeared eight Indians,
each playing on a great bassoon-looking instrument. They
had four pairs, of different sizes, and produced a wild and
pleasing sound: they blew them all together, tolerably in

220 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

concert, to a simple tune, and showed more taste for music
than I had yet seen displayed among these people. The
instruments are made of bark, spirally twisted, and with
a mouthpiece of leaves. In the evening I went to the ma-
locca, and found two old men playing on the largest of the
instruments ; they waved them about in a singular manner,
vertically and sideways, accompanied by corresponding dis-
tortions of the body, and played a long while in a regular
tune, accompanying each other very correctly. From the
moment the music was first heard, not a female, old or
young, was to be seen; for it is one of the strangest su-
perstitions of the Uaupés Indians, that they consider it so
dangerous for a woman ever to see one of these instru-
ments, that having done so is punished with death, generally
by poison; even should the view be perfectly accidental, or
should there be only a suspicion that the proscribed articles
have been seen, no mercy is shown; and it is said that
fathers have been the executioners of their own daughters,
and husbands of their wives, when such has been the case.
I was of course anxious to purchase articles to which such
curious customs belong, and spoke to the Tushatia on the
subject. He at length promised to sell them me on my
return, stipulating that they were to be embarked at some

TRIARTEA. 221

distance from the village, that there might be no danger of
their being seen by the women.”

Mr. Wallace tells us also something about another species
of this genus (Lriartea setigera, Mart.) ; he says :—“One
day I accompanied the Indian with whom I lived into the
forest, to get trunks for a blow-pipe. We went, about a
mile off, to a place where numerous small Palms were grow-
ing: they were the Jriartea setigera of Martius, from ten
to fifteen feet high, and varying from the thickness of one’s
finger to two inches in diameter: they appear jointed out-
side from the scars of the fallen leaves, but within have a
soft pith, which when cleared out leaves a smooth polished
bore. My companion selected several of the straightest he
could find, both of the smallest and largest diameter; these
trunks were carefully dried in the house, the pith cleared
out with a long rod made of the wood of another Palm, and
the bore rubbed clean and polished with a little bunch of
roots of a tree-fern pulled backwards and forwards through
it. Two trunks are selected, of such a size that the smaller
can be pushed inside the larger; this is done so that any
curve in the one may counteract that in the other; a coni-
cal wooden mouthpiece is then fitted on to one end, and
sometimes the whole is spirally bound with the smooth,

.

299 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

black, shining bark of a creeper. Arrows, made of the
nerves of the sheathing base of the Patawa (nocarpus
Batawa), which remaining when the parenchyma decays,
pointed, and anointed with poison, and with a little conical
tuft of tree-cotton (the silky covering of the seeds of a
Bombace@), at the other end, fill up exactly, but not tightly,
the bore of the tube; these arrows are carried in a wicker
quiver, well covered with pitch at the lower part, so that
it can be inverted in wet weather, to keep the arrows dry.
The blowpipes, or gravatdnas, are the principal weapon
here; every Indian has one, and seldom goes into the forest
or on the rivers without it.”

Another species of Jriartea deserving notice is the Wax
Palm of the Andes, J. Andicola, Spr. (Ceroaylon Andicola,
Humb. et Bonpl.), one of the little-known, small group of
mountain or alpine Palms—the oppositum of the numerous
littoral Palms. ‘I found this tree,” says Humboldt in a
letter to me, “in the Cordillera at the Pass of Quindiu, be-
tween Ibague and Cartago, not lower on the declivity than
7930, not higher than 9700 English feet (you could say in
your ‘Popular History of the Palms’ between 7900 and
9700 English feet), in company with Podocarpus trees, and
Quercus Granatensis.”

IRIARTEA. 223

“The lofty, noble trunks of this tree,” says W. Purdie,
“are covered with a coating of resin-like wax,* which gives
them a white and marble-like appearance, imparting a lively
feature in the scenery, so peculiar to the Paramo of Quindiu,
where the Palm abounds to an extraordinary degree, with-
out any apparent injury to the noble but subordinate forest
beneath its grateful shade. To obtain the wax the tree
must be felled; and I was informed by my guides that each
tree gives an arroba, or twenty-five pounds. A man will cut
down and scrape two trees in a day, giving fifty pounds
at least. The wax is used, mixed with tallow, for making
candles (alone it is said to burn too rapidly) ; it is also used
alone, as wax candles, for offerings to the saints and the
Virgin, tallow being prohibited by the laws or rubric of the
Church of Rome; but the priest of Toche, a small settle-
ment at the foot of the Quindiu, told me he could not per-
mit its use on high functions or occasions in the Church, it
being a resinous production, which the laws of his religion
prohibit, thus rendering it impossible for them to take ad-
vantage of this extraordinary and easily-obtained natural
production ; consequently a large importation of bees’-wax
is introduced for the use of the Church alone.

* According to Vauquelin this substance consists of one-third wax and
two-thirds resin. ~

_

2294, POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

“ After scraping, it is merely melted and run into cala-
bashes, for the use of the villagers in the neighbourhood of
the Toleme range. It is sold in the town of Ibague, at the
foot of the Quindiu, at threepence, or half a real, per pound ;
it is in considerable demand, but is abundant, and easily
obtained.”

“This, however,” says Bonpland, “is not the only ad-
vantage which can be derived from this tree; the height of
its trunk renders it preferable to the other Palms, which are
principally used to make canoes, aqueducts, ete.; its wood
is very durable, and deserves also the preference in the con-
struction of houses; its leaves are not less useful than those
of Cocos butyracea, of which the Indians of the Orinoco
make all their thatches; lastly, the filaments which hang
from the base might be used in the same way as those of
the Arenga saccharifera of the Moluccas, and those furnished
by the Chiqui-chiqui Palm of the Spaniards (Mauwritia flexu-
osa, Linn.), which grows in abundance in the Upper Ori-
noco, the Rio Negro, the Amazon, and in nearly all Para.

“It is interesting to observe that the rings formed by the
falling away of the leaves do not exude this inflammable
matter; they are truly cicatrices, in which the organiza-
tion is destroyed, and where the carbon, separated from the

Te, TE
Llite 15

“¢

as
¥

JUBA. 225

hydrogen by the oxygen of the atmosphere, is deposited
uncovered.”

Genus XXX. JUBAA, Humboldt, Bonpland, et Kunth.

The southernmost Palm on the western side of America
is the Coquito of Chile, the only representative of Jubea
(Molinea), a genus having an arboreous, unarmed trunk,
pinnatisect leaves, moncecious, dark yellow flowers, nume-
rous stamens, and an obovate, one-seeded drupe. Judea
spectabilis, TH. B.K. (Cocos Chilensis, Mol.), is cultivated
not only in its native country, but also in New Granada
and other parts of South America; it has also long been an
inmate of European conservatories. ‘‘ I well remember this
graceful Palm,” says my learned friend Mr. Miers, in a letter
addressed to me; ‘though not common in those parts of
Chile that I have visited, it is often seen here and there,
forming one of the greatest ornaments in a beautiful land-
scape country. Near where I resided at Concon, two of
these Palms grew close together, rearing their straight and
tall stems to a height of forty or fifty feet before they threw
out their graceful head of widely-spreading leaves. I re-
member the fruit well, and the large spathes enclosing their

Q

—
226 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

copious racemes, which look like gigantic bunches of very
large grapes (it is well figured by Humboldt and Kunth,
Nov. Gen. vol. i. pl. 96); it has a thick fibrous husk like
the Cocoa; its nuts are like full-sized marbles, and indeed
are used as a substitute for these toys by the boys of the
country; they also find a market among the confectioners
of large towns, where they are extensively used in the pre-
paration of various sweetmeats. The Jubaea spectabilis ap-
pears to abound in the more central provinces of Chile,
which lie between the latitudes of 33° and 35° south, but
I do not know its southernmost limit. Within the pro-
vinces alluded to, they sometimes form naturally almost
small forests, the proprietors of which derive a considerable
revenue from this source. ‘The profit arises from the pre-
paration of a syrup extracted from the trunk, called Mied de
Palma (palm honey), which I have often eaten, and which
is conveyed as an article of commerce to different parts of
Chile, where it is sold for domestic use, and much esteemed.”

To obtain the ‘miel,’ a number of trees are cut down
every year. ‘ When the trunk is lying on the ground,”
says Darwin, “the crown of leaves is lopped off; the sap
then immediately begins to flow from the upper end, and
continues so doing for several months; it is however neces-

‘hae i

JUBA. 227

sary that a thin slice should be shaved off every morning, so
as to expose a fresh surface. A good tree will give ninety
gallons, and all this must have been contained in the vessels
of the apparently dry trunk. It is said that the sap flows
much more quickly on those days when the sun is power-
ful; and likewise, that it is absolutely necessary to take
care, in cutting down the tree, that it should fall with its
head upwards on the side of the hill; for if it falls down
the slope, scarcely any sap will flow, although in that case
one would have thought that the action would have been
aided, instead of checked, by the force of gravity. The sap
is concentrated by boiling, and is then called treacle, which
it very much resembles in taste.”

“T never heard of the existence of the Date Palm in
Chile,”’ continues Mr. Miers in his above-mentioned letter,
“where I do not think it would grow, except in the desert
tracts of the north; but I know that it is cultivated in
many places along the sandy line of coast of Peru, to the
southward of Jima, especially in what are called the ‘ In-
termediate Ports,” between Callao and Arica. I have seen
the Dates brought to Chile from that coast, but never in a
fresh state. Molina says they are cultivated in Copiapo ,
this is not improbable, but if so, they must be a rarity, as

> 5s >
oo

228 POPULAR HISTORY OF aren

they never find their way to the southward. The common
Cocoa-nut trees are not unfrequently seen in Chile along
the sea-coast, but I suspect they are only planted for or-
nament, as there is hardly heat enough for them; I am
inclined to think so, because I have never seen them pro-
duce fruit. They grow only in marine sands, or where they
can be fed by salt water. I never heard of the existence
of any other Palm in Chile, although Molina mentions one
as growing in the island of Juan Fernandez, called Chonta,
but that has proved to be a tree-fern, the Zhyrsopteris ele-
gans of Kunze.”

Genus XXXI. KUNTHIA, Humboldt et Bonpland.

In the temperate parts of the mountains of New Granada,
between Almaguez and Pasto, near San Pablo, grows a reed-
like Palm, which is known to the inhabitants of that dis-
trict by the name of Cafta de la Vibora (Snake-cane), and is
the only representative of the genus Awathia. Its annu-
lated trunk is from twenty to twenty-four feet long, about
as thick as a finger; its leaves are terminal and pinnatisect ;
its flowers, appearing below the commencement of the fo-

LEOPOLDINIA. 299

liage, are white, moneecious, and arranged in simple branches;
its berries are round, green, one-seeded, and about as large
as the fruit of the sloe. |

The wood of the trunk is used by the Indians for making
blowing-tubes, through which they discharge their little
poisoned arrows. ‘The saccharine juice of it is considered
by those people a remedy for the venom of snake-bites, and
is either taken internally, or applied externally to the wound.

Genus XXXII. LATANIA, Commerson.

The genus Latania is composed of two species; the one
(L. Commersonii, Linn., L. rubra, Jacq.) being a native of
Bourbon and the beautiful island where Paul and Virginia
roamed; the other (L. Loddigesii, Mart.) being a native of
equinoctial Africa. The fruit of the former is eaten by the
Negroes, but that does not argue much for their taste, and
should not lead us to imitation, as it has a rather disagree-
able flavour.

The Zatanias are middle-sized trees, with terminal, pal-
mate-flabelliform leaves, dicecious flowers, and yellow three-
seeded drupes. Latania Commersoniit, Mart. (L. rubra,

—
230 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

Jacq., Cleophora lontarioides, Geertn.), is an inmate of most
European conservatories, and in the Royal Botanic Gardens
at Kew there is cultivated another but doubtful species,
under the name of L. glaucophylla, Hort. Kew.

Genus XXXIII. LEOPOLDINIA, Wartius.

The few species of which this genus is composed are all
‘natives of the forests of the provinces of Rio Negro and
Para, of north-eastern Brazil. They are middle-sized trees,
with straight unarmed trunks, crowned with fine pinnatisect
leaves, and bearing small moncecious flowers of a reddish
colour, and roundish, one-seeded berries, the outside of
which is of a yellowish-green.

The trunk of Leopoldinia pulchra, Mart., the Jara or
Jara-miri of the natives, is, says Wallace, very smooth and
cylindrical ; and being of convenient length, it is much used
for fences in the city of Barra do Rio Negro. “The want
of neatness out-of-doors,” he continues, ‘‘ which is quite a
characteristic feature of the Portuguese and Indian settlers
on the Amazon, is always apparent in these fences. It is
never thought worth while to cut all the poles a umiform

LEOPOLDINIA. 251

length, but they are set up just as they are brought in from
the forest; and the space between two handsome houses
in the city is often filled up with a Jara railing of most
unpicturesque irregularity. The bright green and glossy
foliage also renders this tree suitable for another purpose.
On certain saints’-days little altars and green avenues are
made before the principal houses in Barra, the Jara Palm
being always used to construct them ; and its graceful leaves,
rustling in the evening breeze, fitfully reflecting the light of
the wax tapers which burn before the images of the saints,
with the blazing torches of the rustic procession, produce
a very pleasing effect.”’

Wallace has noticed two other species of Leopoldinia
(L. major, Wallace, and LZ. Piassaba, Wallace). The latter
has been considered by me (page 76 of this Work) as a
synonym of Attalea funifera; and although since those
sheets, containing my description, have gone through the
press, Mr. Spruce has endorsed the correctness of Mr.
Wallace, in considering the Piassaba of the Rio Negro a
Leopoldinia, yet no specimens of it have hitherto reached
Kurope, and I am still compelled, in the absence of positive
information, to leave Leopoldinia Piassaba with Attalea fu-
nifera. The former species, Leopoldinia major, Wallace,

~
232 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

the Jard-assu of the natives, occurs plentifully on the lakes
and inlets of the upper Rio Negro. ‘The Indians,” says
its discoverer, “collect the fruit in large quantities, and by
burning and washing extract a floury substance, which they
use as a substitute for salt when they cannot procure that
article; they assert positively that the smaller species of
Jara (L. pulchra, Mart.) will not yield the same product ;
but perhaps this may be only because the fruit of that is
less abundant, and they do not take the trouble to collect it.
Coarse Portuguese salt is used in the Rio Negro, and among
the Indians in the upper part of the river it serves as a
circulating medium, about a pound of it being reckoned
equivalent to a day’s work. The supply however is very
uncertain, and there are many distant tribes of natives which
it scarcely ever reaches; and it is among them that this
substitute alluded to is manufactured.

“Tt is doubtful however whether the fruit contains any
true salt, for the extract is described as being more bitter
than saline in its taste; yet with this substance alone to
season their fish and cassava, the Indians enjoy almost per-
fect health. Perhaps, therefore, mineral salt may not be
such a necessary of life as we are accustomed to consider
it.”

= eee
=

LICUALA. 233

Genus XXXIV. LEPIDOCARYUM, Martius.

Lepidocaryum comprises two species of Palms (L. gracile,
Mart., and Z. tenue, Mart.), which grow in the gloomiest
parts of the Brazilian forests. They are only a few feet in
height. ~ Their leaves are flabelliform, irregularly split,
and furnished at the margin with minute prickles. Their
flowers are polygamo-dicecious, and of a reddish colour ; and
their fruit, a one-seeded berry, is covered with scales, like
that of Mauritia, Calamus, and other genera of the tribe
(Calaminez) to which these plants belong. Nothing is
recorded of their uses; nor have they as yet been introduced
into our gardens.

—e

Genus XXXV. LICUALA, Rumphius.

It was thought for a long time that those well-known
walking-sticks, the “ Penang Lawyers,” were the produce
of the Betel-nut tree; but they have now been ascertained
to be the young trunks of Lzcuala acutifida, Mart.,—the
“ Plass tikooss” of the Malays,—a miniature Palm inha-
biting Penang, and attaining generaliy only three or five
feet, and in exceptional cases from fifteen to twenty feet in

Bog Ty es 2 dee
= ~

>
234 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

height. The “ Penang Lawyers” are prepared by scraping
the young trunk with glass, so that the epidermis is alto-
gether removed, care being taken not to scrape away much
more than that, as the inside is like the substance of rattan.
Tt is on this account that the smaller, thinner sticks are so
much more sought for than the larger, thicker ones, and are
so rare. The sticks are ultimately straightened by fire, and
then polished.

The genus Zicuala is confined to the tropical parts of
Asia, and composed of about a dozen species, eight of which
are in our gardens.* Their trunk, in some species, is
marked with rings, and sometimes rough with the persistent,
indurated bases of the faded leaves; their leaves are ter-
minal and fan-shaped, with the petioles armed with horny,
conical, or often hooked prickles; their flowers are lateral,
hermaphrodite, and their drupes are red or yellow.

One of the finest species of this genus is Licuala peltata,
Roxb., the ‘“ Chattah-pat” of the Assamese, which inhabits
all the woody mountains to the eastward of Bengal, as well
as the base of the Himalaya, below Darjeling, Rungpore,

* These are, Licuala elegans, Bl.; L. gracilis, Bl.; L. horrida, Bl.
(Rhaphis Javanica, Hort.); L. nana, Bl.; L. peltata, Roxb.; L. pumila,
Reinw.; Z. Rumphii, Bl.; and L. spinosa, Wurmb.— Wendl. 1. c. p. 27.

LIVISTONIA. 235

and Assam. It is chiefly remarkable on account of its large,
peltate, orbicular leaves, which are used, according to Jen-
kins, for the same purpose as those of the “'Toko-pat” of
Assam, but are much coarser than the latter, and only em-
ployed by the lower order of inhabitants. Nevertheless the
demand for them is very great, as scarcely a single plough-
man, cow-keeper, or coolie is without his yhapee or chattah
(umbrella-hat), made of ‘‘ Chattah-pat.”

Genus XXXVI. LIVISTONIA, R. Brown.

The number of Palms to be found in our conservatories
has only of late years become considerable. Formerly it
was very limited, chiefly owing to the great difficulty expe-
rienced in transmitting the seed to Europe without its losing
the germinating power. This difficulty was however at last
overcome. When Allan Cunningham, the King’s botanist,
was in New Holland, he sent a case with living plants to
the Royal Gardens at Kew, which on being disturbed was
found to have, instead of the crocks usually placed at the
bottom of such cases for drainage, seeds of a Palm, nearly
all in process of germination. Cunningham’s attendants, too

.
236 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

indolent to look for the crocks, had substituted the seeds of
the Livistonia Australis, which happened to be more handy.
These young plants were carefully nursed, and one of them
has now become one of the gems of the collection of Palms
at Kew ; another adorns the chief conservatory at the Royal
Gardens at Hanover; and again another the Crystal Palace
at Sydenham. The discovery that the seeds of Palms could
be introduced most effectually by being in their native
country at once placed in mould was not overlooked by
Mr. John Smith, the intelligent Curator of Kew Gardens.
He made it widely known, and to its diffusion more than
to any other circumstance must be mainly ascribed the great
increase of the collections of Palms in our horticultural
establishments. I availed myself of it during my voyage
round the world, and was thus enabled to introduce several
rare species into our gardens.

The Livistonias are natives of Hastern Asia and Austra-
lia. Their trunks are generally arboreous, and always un-
armed. ‘Their leaves are palmate, their petioles clad at the
base with copious fibres, and generally at the edge furnished
with spines. Their flowers are hermaphrodite, minute, white,
and arranged in axillary panicles; their fruit, a drupe, is
often inequilateral, and always of a shining, glossy blue

LIVISTONIA. 237

colour, which, says Griffith, is one of the characters distin-
guishing this genus from its ally, Lzcwala.

The Livistonias are more remarkable for their noble as-
pect and their elegant foliage than for any peculiar useful
quality they possess. Livistonia Jenkinsiana, Gniff., (the
“Toko-pat” of Assam,) as its discoverer informs us, “is
an indispensable accompaniment of every native gentleman’s
house; but in some parts it is rare, and the trees are then of
great value. I cannot call to my recollection having ever
seen a ‘Toko-pat’ undoubtedly wild. The leaves are in
universal use throughout Assam for covering the tops of
doolees (palanquins) and the roofs of boats; also for making
the peculiar hats, or rather umbrella-hats (yhapees) of the
Assamese.” The wood and leaves of the Livistonia rotun-
difolia, Mart., a native of Java and Celebes, are employed
for various economic purposes, but I have not been able to
meet with any records of the useful properties of any of the
other species of this genus. In our gardens they are great
favourites, and five out of the entire number known* are
already under cultivation.

* These are :—Livistonia Australis (Corypha Australis, R. Brown) ; L.
Chinensis, Mart. (Latania Chinensis, Jceq., L. Borbonica, Lam., Livistonia

238 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

Genus XXXVII. LODOICEA, Labdillardiere.

Of all the Palms, perhaps that which for a long time has
been the least known, and yet the most celebrated, is the
Double Cocoa-nut, the Coco de mer, Coco de Salomon, and
the Coco des Maldives of the French, the Cocos Maldivicus
of Rumphius, the Nu# Medica of Clusius, and the Lodoicea
Sechellarum of Labillardiére. Until the discovery of the
only spot in the world where the nuts grew, in the year
1748, they were solely known from having been found float-
ing on the surface of the sea in the Indian Ocean and
near the Maldive Islands, whence their French name was
derived; and even in the time of Rumphius the nuts were
spoken of as the “ mirum miraculum nature, quod princeps
est omnium marinarum rerum, que rare habentur.” The
nuts were only found floating, destitute of their husk, and
mostly with the internal part decayed; they were called
“Calappa Laut” by the Dutch, and under that appellation
Rumphius has given an historical account of them; but fa-

Mauritiana, Wall., Saribus Chinensis, Bl.) ; L. Jenkinsiana, Griff.; L. olt-
vaeformis, Mart. (Saribus oliveformis, Hassk., Chamerops Biroo, Hort.) ;
and L. rotundifolia, Mart. (Corypha rotundifolia, Lam., Saribus rotundt-
Jfolius, Blume, Livistonia spectabilis, Griff. ?)—Wendl. 1. c. p. 26.

LODOICEA. 239

bulous as it is, he tells us that many other tales were re-
lated to him respecting it, too absurd to be repeated.

The Double Cocoa-nut is not, he assures us, a terrestrial
production, which may have fallen by accident into the sea
and there become petrified, as Garcia ab Orta relates; but
a fruit probably growing itself in the sea, whose tree has
been hitherto concealed from the eye of man. The Malay
and Chinese sailors used to affirm that it was borne upon
a tree deep under water, which was similar to a Cocoa-nut
tree, and was visible in placid bays, upon the coast of Su-
matra, etc., but that if they sought to dive after the tree
it instantly disappeared. The Negro priests declared it
grew near the island of Java, where its leaves and branches
rose above the water, and in which a monstrous bird, or
griffin, had its habitation, whence it used to sally forth
nightly, and tear to pieces elephants, tigers, and rhinoce-
roses with its beak, the flesh of which it carried to its nest ;
furthermore they avouched that ships were attracted by the
waves which surrounded this tree, and, there retained, the
mariners falling a prey to this savage bird, so that the inha-
bitants of the Indian Archipelago always carefully avoided
that spot.

With such, and many even more strange ideas respecting

240 ~ POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

its place of growth and history, it is not wonderful that this

nut should have been highly prized: in the Maldivian Is-
lands, it was death to any man to possess it; all nuts that
were found became the immediate property of the King,
who sold them at a very high price, or offered them as the
most precious of regal gifts. Their value was estimated at
from 60 to 120 crowns; but those which measured as much
in breadth as in length were the most esteemed; and those
which attained a foot in diameter were sold for 150 crowns;
nay, some kings have been so greedy of obtaining these
fruits as to have given a loaded ship for a single one.

The Chinese as well as the natives of the Archipelago
are justly thought by Rumphius to have set perhaps too
high a value upon their medicinal properties, in considering
them an antidote to all poisons. The principal virtue re-
sided in the albumen which lines the nut, and which is so
hard as to be preserved for a length of time after the em-
bryo is destroyed. This substance was triturated with water
in vessels of porphyry, and, mingled with black and white -
or red coral, ebony, and stags’ horns, was drunk, The
Double Cocoa-nut_ was also thought serviceable in all in-
flammations of the body; as a preservative against colic, ee
apoplexy, epilepsy, paralysis, e¢ ad genus omne. *

Plate 16

DS

aa eT PRT ee
~

‘ eal xr. Spear

=r
© ST

v
vl

7

dleracea, Mari

JACKAL

. LODOICRA. 241

The great men formed of the shell, which possessed fewer
medicinal properties, precious vessels, cutting off a trans-
verse slice, which constituted the lid; and in these they put
their tobacco, betel, lime, and whatever else they masticated,
believing that then these articles could never be contami-
nated by anything noxious. Water kept in it was considered
to preserve those who drank of it from every complaint.
The discovery of the Seychelles Islands, and the knowledge
thence derived, that these nuts grew upon trees, as other
Cocoa-nuts, soon reduced their value; and now probably,
by the East Indians as by the Europeans, they are only
sought as a matter of curiosity, or for domestic purposes.

The Seychelles, or Mahé Islands, as they are sometimes
called, lie to the north-east of Madagascar, in about 5° S.
latitude, and 55° EH. longitude. It is in this group only
that the Palm is found, and among them, on no others than
the Isles of Praslin and Curieuse, and Round Island. These
are within half a mile of each other, and are mountainous
and rocky.*

* Mr. R. W. Plant, well known as an ardent explorer of Port Natal, has
the following remark about the native country of the Double Cocoa-nut, in
a letter, dated Port Natal, April 16, 1855, and addressed to Mr. John Smith,
at Kew :—‘‘In the Seychelles I more nearly realized my preconceived ideas
of tropical vegetation than at any other place ;—the beach fringed with —

R

~~
94.2 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

The crown of the trunk, z.¢. the heart of the leaves, is
eaten like that of the American Cabbage Palm (Oreodoxa
oleracea), and often preserved in vinegar; but it is Jess deli-
eate, and slightly bitter. The trunk itself, after being split
and cleared of its soft and fibrous parts within, serves to
make water-troughs, as well as palisades for surrounding
houses and gardens. The foliage is employed to thatch the
roofs of houses and sheds, and even for walls. With a hun-
dred leaves a commodious dwelling may be constructed,
including even the partitions of the apartments, the doors
and windows. In the Isle of Praslin most of the cabins and
warehouses are thus made. The down, attached to the young

common Cocoa-nuts; the ravines and watercourses overhung with Bananas,
Bamboos, and three or four indigenous Palms; the open ground full of Pine-
apples—miles of them run wild; the tops of the mountains covered with
forests of Ebony and Rosewood, interspersed with Tree-Ferns of some twenty
to thirty feet high; and then these glorious Lodoieee, with their leaves of
fifteen to twenty feet span, and trunks reaching to the sky; to say nothing
of groves of Cinnamon and Cloves and Bread-fruit, all new to me in this
their natural wildness and beauty: you may believe that I enjoyed it; so
much so that I nearly forgot the errand that brought me there. We have
many beautiful scenes in this country (Natal), and there is much excitement
in travelling over it, but it is altogether of a different character; a savage
sternness or mouotonous sameness marks the two principal divisions of it,
and the really beautiful spots look small by comparison with the vast extent
spread around of another character.”

We

LODOICEA. 243

?

leaves, serves for filling mattresses and pillows; the ribs of
the leaves and fibres of the petiole constitute baskets and
brooms, the young foliage affords an excellent material for
hats ; for this purpose, the unexpanded leaves only are taken,
dried in the sun, and cut into longitudinal strips, two or
three lines in breadth, which are then plaited; and scarcely
any other covering for the head is worn by the natives of
the Seychelles. Of the nut are made vessels of different
forms and uses. When preserved whole, and perforated in
one or two places, the shell serves to carry water, and two of
them are suspended from opposite ends of a stick. Some
of these nuts hold six or eight pints. If divided in two
between the lobes, each portion serves, according to its size
and shape, for plates and dishes, or drinking-cups, these
being valuable from their great strength and durability ; so
that this kind of utensil in the Seychelles Islands bears
the name of Vazsselle de ? Isle Praslin. And such is the
estimation in which these nuts are held by the Negroes and
poor people of other islands, that the sailors always try to
make them part of the cargo of their vessels. Amongst other
articles, shaving-dishes, black, beautifully polished, carved,
and set in silver, are made from them.

The Lodoicea attains a height of eighty or ninety feet,

parent ee":

>
24.4 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

and is surmounted by a beautiful crown of winged and
palmated leaves. ‘The diameter of the trunk varies from
twelve to fifteen inches, and the whole is so flexible that
the tops of those trees which stand in each other’s vicinity
strike against and chafe each other in a strong breeze,
making an extraordinary noise. The leaves open like a fan ;
they are of large size, often attaining a length of twenty
feet, with a breadth of ten or twelve, and in some few cases
thirty feet in length, mcluding the petiole, which is of
sufficient strength to support the weight of a man. The
flowers are dicecious, the male ones having from twenty-four
to thirty-six stamens. The fruit is a drupe, of an olive-green
colour, and generally double, sometimes triple, and even
quadruple, and frequently attains a length of eighteen inches,
with a circumference of three feet, and sometimes weighs
from forty to fifty pounds. It is in fact the largest fruit
which any tree produces! The immature fruit, called by
the colonists ‘‘ coco tendre,” is easily cut with a knife, and
then affords a sweet and melting aliment, of an agreeable
taste. When the fruit is ripe, it drops on the ground, and
is no longer fit for food; in a few months, if not buried in
the earth or exposed to the rays of the sun, the fallen nut
begins to germinate, and a new plant is formed.

LODOICEA. 945

A remarkable circumstance connected with this tree is the
length of time necessary to mature its fruit, and the long
duration of its bloom. It bears only one spadix in each
year, and yet has often above ten in bloom at once ; it has
flowers and fruits of all ages at one time. The tree grows
on all kinds of soil, from the sandy shore to the arid moun-
tain-top, but the finest are found in deep gorges, on damp
platforms, covered with vegetable soil; in such situations,
the great height and slender diameter of the trunk, and the
length of its enormous leaves, produce a fine effect ; though,
near the sea-shore, its leaves, torn by the storms and hanging
in long strips, give it a desolate appearance. It is to be
regretted that the tree is not cultivated, and that a practice
has prevailed of cutting it down in order to get at the fruit
and tender leaves. In fact, it is feared that the species will
be, ere long, entirely lost. 3

After many unsuccessful attempts to introduce this Palm
into our conservatories, one has at last met with complete
success, and the plant is now to be seen in the Royal Gar-
dens at Kew. Germinating nuts were disposed of in 1854
at public sales in London for £10 apiece, but all of them
have since died.

—
246 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

Genus XXXVIII. MALORTIEA, Hrm. Wendi.

This genus, which was named in honour of M. de Ma-
lortie, the Director of the Royal Gardens at Hanover, was
brought into notice in 1853 by Hermann Wendland, who
received it from Guatemala, where it grows in the forests,
and performs, like Chamedorea and Geonoma, the office of
underwood. It is composed of two species, WM. gracilis,
Hrm. Wendl. (Chamedorea, Chamerops, and Geonoma fe-
nestrata of gardens), and WW. /atisecta, Hrm. Wendl., only
the former of which is as yet to be met with im our conser-
vatories. The Malortieas are related to the genera Oreo-
doxza, inocarpus, Manicaria, Reinhardtia, Areca, etc., from
all of which they differ in various important technical cha-
racters. They are small, reed-like Palms, covered with short,
deciduous scales; the leaves are terminal, pinnatisect, but
their segments are rather irregular, and very often more
or less grown together; the flowers are moncecious, and
appear in simply-branched racemes. below the leaves; the
berries are one-seeded, somewhat egg-shaped, and of a more
or less dark green colour. Nothing whatever is known of
their useful properties.

MANICARIA. 24.7

Genus XXXIX. MANICARIA, Gertner.

Manicaria saccifera, Gertn., the unique and handsome
Palm representing this genus, has a trunk from ten to
fifteen feet high, curved or crooked, and deeply ringed. The
leaves are very large, entire, rigid and furrowed, and have a
serrated margin; they are often thirty feet long and four or
five wide, and split irregularly with age. The petioles are
slender, with a broadly-expanded, fibrous-edged sheath at the
base ; these sheaths are persistent, and often cover the stem
down to the ground. The spadices are numerous, growing
from among the leaves, and are simply branched and droop-
ing. The fruit is of an olive colour, somewhat three-lobed,
and with a rugose or papillose exterior covering. The spathe
is fusiform and entire, of a fibrous, cloth-like texture, and
of a brown colour. As the spadix expands it breaks open
irregularly; but in some cases a dead, unopened flower-bunch
is found enclosed in an entire, half-rotten spathe, as if the
vital powers of the plant had not been sufficient to tear
asunder the tough, fibrous sheath. The “ Busst,” as the
Brazilians term this Palm, produces the largest entire leaves
of any known Palm, and for this reason, as well as on ac-
count of their firm and rigid texture, they form the very

248 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

best and most durable thatch. The leaves are split down
the midrib, and the halves laid obliquely on the rafters, so
that the furrows formed by the veins lie in a nearly vertical
direction, and serve as so many little gutters to carry off the
water more rapidly. A well-made thatch of “ Bussi”’ will
last ten or twelve years, and an Indian will often take a
week’s voyage in order to get a canoe-load of the leaves to
cover his hut. The spathe too is much valued, furnishing
an excellent and durable cloth. ‘Taken off entire it forms
bags—hence the specific name of this Palm—in which the
Indian keeps the red paint for his toilet or the silk-cotton
for his arrows, or he even stretches out the larger ones to
make himself a cap—cunningly woven by nature without
seam or join. When cut open longitudinally and pressed
flat, it is used to preserve his delicate feather ornaments and
gala-dresses, which are kept in a chest of plaited Palm-leaves
between layers of the smooth “ Bussti” cloth. This species
inhabits the tidal swamps of the Lower Amazon, and is also
met with on the western coast of America. A Palm called
“ Bussti” is also found on the Rio Negro and Upper Ama-
zon, but it is of a smaller size, and is probably a distinct
species.

MARTINEZIA. 249

Genus XL. MARTINEZIA, Ruiz et Pavon.

Martinezia is closely allied in its technical characters to
Guilielma and Acrocomia, but differs considerably from
those genera in habit. The trunk is seldom more than
eighteen feet high, clad with spines, and bears at its extre-
mity a few leaves, with spiny petioles and midribs, and
cuneiform segments, erosed at the edge, resembling those of
Caryota and Wallichia of Tropical Asia. The flowers are
moneecious, and the fruit, a round, one-seeded drupe, is about
half an inch in diameter, and of a reddish-yellow colour.
All Martinezias inhabit tropical parts of South America.
M. caryotefolia, Humboldt et Kunth, occurs in the moun-
tains of Quindiu, on the banks of the Orinoco, the Cassi-
quiare, and the Atabapo; it is cultivated in the gardens of
Ibague and Cartago, near Popayan, and has also been for —
some years an inmate of our conservatories, where several
of its congeners, WM. Aiphanes, Mart., (MM. aculeata, K1.),
and the doubtful IZ. ? globosa, Hort. (Acrocomia globosa,
Hort.), and M.? truncata? Brongn., are likewise to be met
with.

250 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

Genus XLI. MAURITIA, Linnaeus.

Sir Walter Raleigh states, in his description of Guiana,
that on his second voyage, in 1595, when in the mouth of
the Orinoco, “he saw the fire of the Tivitites and Qua-
rawetes” (as he terms the Guaranes Indians), “ high up in
the trees,” and published a drawing of the fire in the Latin
edition of his work. Father José Gumilla, who twice visited
the Guaranes as a missionary, says indeed that that tribe
has its dwellings in the Palmares (or Palm-groves) of the
morasses ; but while he speaks more definitely of pendent
habitations supported by high pillars, makes no mention of
platforms attached to still growing trees. Hillhouse and
Sir R. Schomburgk are of opinion that Bembo, through the
relations of others, and Raleigh by his own observation
were deceived into this belief in consequence of the high
tops of the Palm-trees being lighted up in such a manner
by the fires below them, that those sailing by thought the
habitations of the Guaranes were attached to the trees them-
selves. ‘We do not deny,” says Schomburgk, “that in—
order to escape the attacks of the mosquitos the Indian
sometimes suspends his hammock from the tops of trees,

MAURITIA. 251

but on such occasions no fires are made under the ham-
mock.”

Raleigh was the first who brought to England the fruit
of the Palm-trees in question, which he very justly, and on
account of their scales, compared to fir-cones; and Lin-
neeus was the first who described the trees systematically
under the name of Mawritia fleruosa; but the materials at
his disposal were so imperfect that he erroneously consi-
dered them to be devoid of leaves. Since the time of Lin-
neeus several congeners of this J/awritia have been disco-
vered, and more ample materials have been collected, so
that the genus is at present well known. It belongs to the
Lepidocarye, the same tribe as the Rattans do, and has a
tall trunk, which is either smooth or armed with spines.
The leaves are fan-shaped, and terminal. The flowers are
axillary, and moncecious ; the fruit is an oval-shaped or glo-
bular drupe, covered with rather small, imbricated scales.
At present we know about half-a-dozen species, all of which
are confined to the hottest parts of the South American
continent and the adjacent islands; only one of them,
Mauritia flexuosa, Linn., has been introduced into our gar-
dens.

The latter is one of the most noble of all the American

mike he? xe
= ee
La mde

-
252 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

Palms. It grows to a height of eighty to a hundred feet,
and is found in the island of Trinidad, on the banks of the
Amazon, Rio Negro, and Orinoco, under the names of
Miriti, Moriche, Murichi, and Ita. “It forms,” says Hum-
boldt, ‘im moist places, fine groups of a fresh and shining
verdure, reminding one of our Alders. ... The trees
preserve the moisture of the ground by their shade, and
hence the Indians believe that the Mauritia flexuosa draws
water around its roots by some mysterious attraction. In
conformity with an analogous theory, they advise that snakes
should not be killed, because the destruction of those ani-
mals is followed by the drying-up of the lagoons. Thus
the rude children of Nature confound cause and effect !”

“ Mauritia flexuosa,’ according to Wallace, “is a social
Palm, covering large tracts of tide-flooded lands on the
Lower Amazon. In those places there is no underwood to
break the view among interminable ranges of huge columnar
trunks, rising unbroken by branch or leaf to the height
of eighty or one hundred feet, a vast natural temple which
does not yield in grandeur and sublimity to those of classical
antiquity. Of the age of these trees we have no knowledge,
but it is remarkable how uniform they appear in size, there
often being not a single young tree over a considerable

Se
=

MAURITIA. 253

extent of ground, particularly in places now flooded daily
by the tide. One would therefore imagine that the present
trees sprang up when the ground was more elevated than
at present, and that it has since gradually sunk (or the
waters risen) till the conditions have become unfavourable
to the growth of young plants, though not hurtful to thosé
which had already attained a certain age. Whether such
is the true explanation of the phenomenon can only be de-
cided by continued observation on the spot.”

“In the tidal districts of Para (Brazil),’ continues the
same traveller, “the massive trunks of these trees are often
used to form a raised pathway across the expanse of soft
mud, generally left at low water between ‘terra firma’ and
the water’s edge. A. smooth and slippery cylinder is cer-
tainly not the best thing that could be devised for this
purpose, but as it is the most easily procured and the least
expensive, it is proportionally common; and on paying a
visit to many a Brazilian country-house, should you arrive
at ebb-tide, you will have no other means of getting ashore
than that afforded by these trunks.”

The medullary portion of the trunk contains a sago-
like flour, which bears the name of Jpuruma. “TI have
eaten it,” says Humboldt, “ at the town of St. Thomas, in

>
254 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

Guiana, and it was very agreeable to the taste, resembling
rather cassava bread than the sago of India. The Indians
assured me that the trunks of the MJuawritia, the tree
of life, so much vaunted by Father Gumilla, do not yield
meal in any abundance, unless the male tree is cut down
just before the flowers appear. Thus, too, the Maguey
(Agave Americana), cultivated im Mexico, furnishes a sac-
charine liquor, the wine (pu/que) of the Mexicans, only at
the period when the plant shoots forth its long panicle. By
interrupting the blossoming, nature is obliged to carry else-
where the saccharine or amylaceous matter, which would
accumulate in the flowers of the Maguey and in the fruit of
the Mauritia.”

An entire leaf of this tree is a load fora man. The un-
opened leaves form a thick, pomted column. ‘“ This is cut
down,” says Wallace, “and by a little shaking the tender
segments fall apart; each one is then skilfully stripped of
its outer covering, a thin, ribbon-like pellicle, of a pale yel-
low colour, which shrivels up almost into a thread; these
are then tied in bundles and dried, and are afterwards
twisted, by rolling on the breast or thigh, into string, or
with the fingers into thicker cords. The article most com-
monly made from it is the ‘réde,’ or netted hammock, the

aa

‘~

A
‘

pay “

MAURITIA. 255

f

almost universal bed of the native tribes of the Amazon.
This is formed by doubling the string over two rods or
poles, about six or seven feet apart, till there are forty or
fifty parallel threads, which are then secured at intervals of
about a foot by cross strings, twisted and tied on to every
longitudinal one; a strong cord is then passed through the
loop formed by all the strings brought together at each end,
by which the hammock is hung up a few feet from the
ground, and in this open net the naked Indian sleeps be-
side his fire as comfortably as we do in our beds of down.
Other tribes twist the strings together in a complicated
manner, so that the hammock is more elastic; and the
Brazilians have introduced a variety of improvements, by
using a kind of knitting-needles, producing a closer web ; or
by a large wooden frame with rollers, m which they weave
in a rude manner with a woof and weft, as in a regular
loom; they also dye the string of many brilliant colours,
which they work in symmetrical patterns, making the ‘rédes’
or ‘maqueiras,’ as they are called, among the gayest articles
of furniture to be seen in a Brazilian house on the Amazon.”
Spruce says, In a note accompanying a specimen of these
hammocks made at Tomo, on the Guainia of the Upper
Rio Negro, and sent to the Museum of Economic Botany

ey Ter th Sth Ss as
rs oy if ~ =

—
256 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

at Kew, that the body of the specimen was made from the
leaves of Astrocaryum vulgare, termed Tucum in- Brazil,
Cumari in Venezuela; and the borders from those of the
Mauritia flexuosa, the Muriti of Brazil, and the Morichi of
Venezuela. It is not unlikely that in every district different
materials are used.

The sap of the tree, when fermented, constitutes the
sweet inebriating Palm-wine of the Guaranes. The nar-
row-scaled fruit, which resembles reddish pine-cones, yields,
like the Banana, and almost all tropical fruits, different
articles of food, according to the periods at which it is ga-
thered, whether its saccharine properties are fully matured,
or whether it is still in a farinaceous condition. On the
Amazon a favourite Indian beverage is produced from it.
A quantity of it is soaked in water until it begins to fer-
ment, and the scales and pulpy matter soften, and can be
easily rubbed off. When strained through a sieve, the
liquor is ready for use, and has a slight acid taste and a fla-
vour peculiar to the fruit, and at first rather disagreeable
to the European palate.

“When the Tamanacs,” says Humboldt, in his Travels,
“are asked how the human race survived this great deluge,
the ‘age of water’ of the Mexicans, they say, ‘a man and

MAURITIA. 257

a woman saved themselves on a high mountain, called Ta-
manacu, situated on the banks of the Asivern; and casting
behind them, over their heads, the fruits of the MWauwritia
Palm, they saw the seeds contained in those fruits produce
men and women, who repeopled the earth.” Thus we find,
in all its simplicity, among nations now in a savage state, a
tradition which the Greeks embellished with all the charms
of imagination !”

Similar to the last species is Mauritia vinifera, Mart.,
also a native of Brazil. ‘In a marshy place near the head
of the valley of Brejo Grande, we passed,” says Gardner,
in his Travels, “a large group of a beautiful Palm, which I
had met with in only a few instances below Crato, but which
I afterwards saw in the greatest abundance in the swamps
of Piauhy and Goyaz; it is called Burite by the imhabit-
ants, and is the Mawritia vinifera of Martius. This Palm
is not only the most beautiful, but one of the loftiest in
the country [it is stated to be from 100 to 150 feet high,
B. §.]; the leaves are fan-shaped, and form a large round
ball at the top of the stem, after the manner of the Carnaiiba
(Copernicia cerifera, Mart.). It produces a great number of
nuts, about the size of a small egg, covered with rhomboidal
scales, arranged in a spiral manner; between these scales

s

~
258 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

° |
and the albuminous substance of the nut, there exists an

oily pulp of a reddish colour, which the inhabitants of Crato
boil with sugar, and make into a sweetmeat; m Piauhy
they prepare from this pulp an emulsion, which when
sweetened with sugar forms a very palatable beverage, but
if much used is said to tinge the skin of a yellowish colour.
The juice of the trunk also forms a very agreeable drink, but
to obtain it the tree must be cut down, when several holes
about six inches square, three deep, and about six feet
apart, have to be cut in the trunk with a small axe, which
in a short time become filled with a reddish-coloured liquid,
having much the flavour of sweet wine. During my travels
in Piauhy, we used occasionally to cut down these Palms
in order to obtain the juice.”

According to a note by Spruce, an inferior wine is also
made from the fruit of the Mauritia vinifera, Mart. The
trunks, which rarely reach thirty feet in height, are employed
for the same purposes as those of most other species; on
the Rio Negro they are much used in the construction of
houses ; strips cut from their circumference being fastened

crosswise to the upright poles, and the intervals then filled
with mud.

MAXIMILIANA. 259

Genus XLII. MAXIMILIANA, Martius.

“Nature has lavished every beauty of form on the Jagua
Palm, which, intermingled with the Cucurito or Vadgihai
(eighty-five to one hundred and six feet high), adorns the
cataracts of Atures and Maypures, and is occasionally found
on the lonely banks of the Cassiquiare. Its smooth, slen-
der trunks, rising to between sixty-four and seventy-five
feet, appear above the dense mass of foliage of other kinds
of trees, from amidst which they spring like raised colon-
nades, their airy summits contrasting beautifully with the
thickly-leaved species of Ceiba, and with the forests of Lau-
rine, Calophyllum, and different species of Amyris, which
surround them. Its leaves,—few in number, scarcely so
many as seven or eight,—rise almost vertically into the air;
their extremities are curled like plumes, the ultimate divisions
having only a thin, grass-like parenchyma, flutter lightly and
airily round the slowly-balancing midrib of the leaves.”

Thus wrote Humboldt, in March, 1801, when sailing
from the palmy shores of the mouth of the Rio Sinu, west
of Darien, to Cartagena de Indias. Strange to add, no-
thing was ever heard of the Palma Jagua, and botanists
were not able even to guess the genus to which it belonged,

1 -
260 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

until fifty-three years afterwards, again in the month of
March, Richard Spruce, during his stay at San Carlos del
Rio Negro, in Venezuela, communicated in his sketch of
the vegetation of the Cassiquiare (Hook. Journ. of Bot. and
Kew Mise. vol. vii. p. 1 e¢ seg.) another piece of informa-
tion, which established the systematic position of this Palm,
and added besides several important data concerning its
habit, to those already recorded by Humboldt. He says,
“T gathered all I could on the banks of the Ormoco, in-
cluding the Palma Jagua, the beauties of which are so
justly eulogized by Humboldt in his ‘ Aspects of Nature ;’
and I brought away specimens, and notes on the living
plant. There are two splendid trees of it in the mouth of
the Cassiquiare. I had one of them cut down, and a leaf
and a spadix embarked in the piragoa, where I could exa-
mine them at my ease and also continue my voyage. The
leaf measured thirty-four feet in length, and possessed 426
segments. The spadix bore about a thousand fruits, and
was a load for two men. Several spadices are matured si-
multaneously. ‘These statements will alone suffice to give
an idea of the magnificent aspect of the Palma Jagua, which
is one of the chief ornaments of the Upper Cassiquiare and
Orinoco, and is an undescribed species of Maximiliana.”

MAXIMILIANA. 261

The genus Wazrimiliana has received through this redis-
covery an important addition, and now boasts of three
species, all of which are natives of the forests of the north-
eastern parts of South America; they have an-arboreous,
smooth trunk, terminal pinnatisect leaves of gigantic di-
mensions, and with linear, aggregated segments of a lively _
green colour; their spathes are large and woody; their
flowers furnished with bracts, moncecious; and their fruit
ovate, one-seeded, and of a brownish colour. They are all
very noble trees ; for the two older species (JZ. regia, Mart.,
and IM. insignis, Mart.), though they may not surpass in
beauty the one rediscovered by Spruce, are by no means
much inferior to it. We have them both in our gardens,
where, although they have only been introduced during the
last ten years, they already begin to display enough charms
to make even those who have not seen them in their native
country bear testimony to their excellence.

Mavimiliana regia, Mart., which in Parad and other parts
of New Brazil is called “ Inaja,” is described by Martius as
growing to the height of from fifteen to twenty feet; but
from other authorities we learn that it sometimes attains to
the height of one hundred feet, and has leaves exceeding
fifty feet in length. The terminal leaf-bud furnishes a most

~
262 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

delicious cabbage; the spathe forms a ready-made basket,
used by the Indians for carrying earth, clay, farinha, etc.,
and by the hunters to cook meat, as, with water in it, it
stands the fire well. The fruit is eaten by the Indians,
and proves particularly attractive to monkeys and fruit-eating
birds; it is also burned by the serimgueiros (India-rubber
makers) for smoking and drying the successive layers of
the milk of the Sermgue, which they apply to their clay
moulds.

Genus XLITI. METROXYLON, Kénzg.

Sago, that palmaceous starch so largely imported into our
northern countries as a delicacy, and so extensively con-
sumed in southern regions as a common article of food (sago,
in the language of the Papua Indians, signifying bread),
is the produce of two species of Metroxylon, M. Rumphi,
Mart., and IZ. /eve, Mart., which, in common with their
congeners, present the following characteristics :—Their
trunk is large, and often tall, surmounted by a crown of
pinnatisect leaves, the sheath and petiole of which are often
armed with straight spines; their flowers are hermaphrodite,
somewhat red, and arranged in spikes; they are besides ter-

METROXYLON. 263

minal, and hence the trees flower only once during their
term of existence. Their fruit is dry and scaly, resembling
pine-cone, and having a beautiful polish. All the species
inhabit the islands of the Indian Archipelago, where they
form extensive forests almost exclusively composed of their
own kind.

The best sago is obtained from Metrorylon Rumphi,
Mart. (Sagus Rumphii, Willd.), and particularly from JZ.
leve, Mart. (Sagus levis, Rumph.), which both grow in
marshy spots. In order to procure it the trunk is split
into logs a few feet in length, their soft interior extracted,
pounded, and thrown into water; the water is then drained
off from the pulpy mass, when the starch comes away with
it, and upon being allowed to settle is afterwards prepared
and purified by successive washings. It is calculated that
a tree fifteen years of age will yield from six to eight hun-
dred pounds of this nutritious matter. The sago-meal, as
it is called, is the form in which this starch is procured,
although it is not commonly imported to Kurope in this
state. The usual form in which it is to be met with is the
common article called Pearl Sago.

“Singapore,” says Bennett, “is the principal, if not the
only place in the East Indies, where the refining or manu-

~
264 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

facturing of the Pearl Sago is carried on; the process is
said to be the invention of the Chinese. According to
Crawford, it was first practised in Malacca, and was only
introduced into Singapore in 1284. I availed myself of
the establishment of many of the manufactories of this ar-
ticle in and about the settlement to visit one, in which I
found a number of Chinese, all of whom were busily occu-
pied in different stages of the operation. The Sago, or Sagu,
is imported in large quantities into Singapore from Sumatra
in native boats, which bring it at all seasons of the year ;
and a few days since eighteen proas of different sizes arrived
in the creek laden with this article alone in its raw state.
The tree from which the raw material is produced is named
Rumbiya by the Malays, and has been too often described
to render an account necessary here.*

‘The raw Sago is imported in cone-shaped packages, each
probably weighing about twenty pounds;+ the mass is of
rather soft consistence, and of a dirty white colour, occa-

* There is a very coarse granulated sago, in large grains and of a dirty
greyish colour, which is imported by the native boats from Borneo, and is
used at this settlement during a scarcity of rice by the poorer class of people.

+ In the list of imports published in the ‘Singapore Chronicle’ the raw
sago is usually designated as “ sago tamping”’ (tamping signifying a package,

i

METROXYLON. 265

sioned by being mingled with several impurities, and the
whole is enveloped in the leaves of the Pandanus tree. It
first undergoes several different washings in large wooden
tubs, being also strained, after washing, through cloth
strainers. When the raw material has undergone sufficient
ablutions, the masses which remain at the bottom of the
vessels are collected, broken into pieces, and placed upon
platforms in the sun to dry, being broken into still smaller
pieces as the drying proceeds.

“ As soon as the pieces are sufficiently, although still not
always thoroughly, dry, they are pounded and sifted upon
long benches through sieves made of the midrib of the
leaves of the Cocoa-nut Palm, and placed at certain dis-
tances in a longitudinal direction, so as to cause the pul-
verized, or rather broken, masses of sago to pass through it
of only the required size. Having been passed through
the sieve, a certain quantity at a time is taken, placed Ina
large cloth, tied to cross sticks, in the form of a bag, hang-

from the raw sago being always imported wrapped in the leaves of the Pan-
danus-tree). It is imported into Singapore by fleets of ten boats, or even
more, having to the amount of twenty thousand tampings or packages on
board : the packages vary in weight, some weighing more and some less to
the picul.

~
266 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

ing by a cord from the roof of the building; a Chinese is
then employed in shaking the bag backwards and forwards
by aid of one of the longest crossed sticks to which it is
attached, occasionally shaking up the sago-powder ; this is
continued constantly for about the space of ten minutes,
when it is turned out granulated. It is then placed in
small wooden hand-tubs, looking beautifully and delicately
white, but still so soft as to break instantly with the slightest
pressure under the fingers, and is carried to several Chinese,
whose occupation is to make it undergo the drying process in
large iron pans over a fire. They are constantly stirring it
about when in the iron pan with a wooden instrument ; it
is then resifted at another bench and rebaked, after which
it is considered prepared. It is then of a fine pure white
colour, and, being spread thinly over a long and large bin,
in course of time it becomes both harder and of a darker
colour.

“ At this establishment there appeared to be about fifteen
or sixteen Chinese employed, and they said six or seven
piculs could be manufactured in one day. The pearl or
refined sago is imported in large quantities to Hurope, our
Indian Empire, the Cape, etc., in wooden boxes, each con-
taining rather more thau a picul, ten boxes containing

METROXYLON. 267

nearly fifteen piculs. It is sold at two and a half and three
dollars the picul, which includes the expense of boxes. A
piggery is attached to this sago establishment, the inhabit-
ants of which must fare very well upon the refuse of the
sago-washings.

“ The time for collecting the sago is just before the tree
begins to show its large, spreading, terminal flower-spike,
which it generally does at seven or eight years old. While
young, the trunk is admirably protected by its long and
stout spines from the wild hogs, which would otherwise de-
stroy it. As it grows and the trunk hardens, the spines
drop off, and the central farina is enclosed in the outer
wood. When the flower and fruit are allowed to perfect
themselves, which is in two years from the first appearance
of inflorescence, the pith of the centre is found dried up,
the leaves have fallen, and the plant perishes. The Sago
Palm is seldom propagated from seed, which is generally
unproductive, but it may be raised in any quantity by off-
sets, which are freely produced.”

In comparison with Metroxylon Rumphit and M. lave, the
other species of this genus, including WM. ? elatum, Mart.
(Sagus elata, Reinw.), figured in our Plate, may be said to
be of little value, except JZ. filare, Mart., which produces a

ate wee

_
268 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

useful fibre. I. /eve, Mart., is already an inmate of our
gardens. All the other species are still desiderata.

Genus XLIV. MORENIA, Ruiz et Pavon.

The genus Morenia is confined to the mountains of Peru,
allied to Hyophorbe and Kunthia, and composed of two
species (Morenia fragrans, Ruiz et Pav., and WM. Peppigiana,
Mart.), both of which have a thin, unarmed, reed-lke
trunk, terminal pinnatisect leaves, dicecious, white or yellow
flowers (in one species fragrant), and a one-seeded berry.
Nothing is known of their useful properties, nor have they
as yet been introduced into our conservatories ; the Worenia
corallocarpa, Hort., being probably a species of some other
genus.

Genus XLV. NIPA, Thunberg.

Thousands and thousands of acres of the salt marshes of
the islands and coasts of the Indian Ocean may be seen
covered with Nipa fruticans, Thunb., a low, stemless plant,

NIPA. 269

which partakes so much of the habit of a Palm that it is
generally considered as such by all those who do not trouble
themselves much about the technical characters which it
ought to possess, to be admitted a true member of the order
of Palms. The position thus assigned to it may be quite
near enough for all popular purposes; but science, not
content with such a superficial decision, has been obliged to
look more closely into the relationship of this plant, without
however being able to find out more than that it 1s a staunch
ally of the Palms, and shows indisputable and strong con-
nections with the Pandanee, or Screw-pines. It is therefore
a plant of the greatest interest to the botanist, and also, it
may be added, to the geologist, as has been justly remarked
by Bowerbank, Lyell, and J. D. Hooker, arising from the
fact that nuts of a similar plant abound in the tertiary for-
mations at the mouth of the Thames, where they once floated
about in as great a profusion as those of the Nipa fruticans
do at the present day in the rivers of the Indian Ocean,
until they became buried in the silt and mud which now
forms the island of Sheppey.

Nipa fruticans, Thunb. (NV. littoralis, Blanco, Cocos Nypa,
Lour., see Plate [V.), is a stemless plant, with pinnatisect,
unarmed leaves, often more than twenty feet long. The

270 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

flowers are monecious, axillary, and enclosed in a spathe
like those of tree-palms; the fruit is a one-seeded drupe,
aggregated in heads as large as that of a man. ‘The seeds
have often’ been sent to Europe, and have even germinated,
but they soon died, so that the plant is still a desideratum
in our gardens.

Nipa fruticans, termed Nipa and Sasa in the Philippine
Islands, possesses various useful properties. The leaves are
used for thatch; when burnt, they yield a supply of salt ;
“ nounded, they are applied with advantage to the bites in-
flicted by centipedes, and a decoction of them produces an
excellent effect on wounds.”* From the spathe toddy is
extracted, convertible into syrup, sugar, vinegar, yeast, and
a strong spirit. “This spirit,” says M. Blanco, “ preserves,
I am told, the sight, if the eyes are washed with it in the
mornings: it also imparts an agreeable odour to tobacco
and snuff. The inside of the fruit is edible, like that of
the Cocoa-nut.”

Genus XLVI. CENOCARPUS, Wartius.

It has been observed, first by Robert Brown and after
* M. Blanco, Fl. de Filipinas, p. 662.

Uy een

(NOCARPUS. Q2h1

wards by other botanists of eminence, that all Palms be-
longing to that tribe of Palms called Cocoinea,—charac-
terized by the originally trilocular putamen having its cells
when fertile perforated opposite the seat of the embryo,
and when abortive indicated by foramina caca,—bear a
fruit affording oil. The genus @uocarpus, one of that tribe,
so far from forming an exception, tends but to confirm the
soundness of the observation. Speaking of the oleiferous —
Palms of the Amazon district, Spruce remarks: “ After the
Caiaué (Lais melanococca, Gertn.), as to the quality of oil,
come the various species of Gnocarpus (@. Bacaba, @. Ba-

tava, G. disticha, etc.). The oil of these is apparently of

finer quality than that of the Caiaué: it is colourless and
sweet-tasted, and not only excellent for lamps but. for
cooking. ‘The shopkeepers of Parad buy these oils of the
Indians, and mix them in equal proportions with olive-oil,

_ retailing the whole as olive-oil, from which indeed even the

best judges can scarcely distinguish it. I can bear testi-
mony that for frying fish, oil of these different @nocarpi
is equal either to olive-oil or butter.

“The various species of @uocarpus abound on the Amazon
and Orinoco, and on their tributaries. I have seen the
Patawa (nocarpus Batava, Mart.) in the greatest plenty

272 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

throughout the Cassiquiare, Alto-Orinoco, and Cunucu-
numa; near the Barra it is frequent, but less so than the
Bacaba. The forests opposite San Carlos, extending from the
Rio Negro to the Xié, are literally sown with Patawa. The
fruit is in season nearly all the year round. We are just
now (March 19, 1854) beginning to make use of it, and
we shall have it (in unlimited quantity if there were always
Indians to climb the trees) all through November. I am
passionately fond of Patawa-yukissé, and it is the only
thing I shall regret when I leave San Carlos. When I
have passed a long time without drinking it and recom-
mence, I always find it slightly aperient, but this effect
passes off in “two or three days. Ywhissé, it should be
added, is the general name which the Indians of the Rio
Negro district give to all sorts of vegetable juices, and also
to the gravy of animal substances. It is obtamed by
triturating the fruit of the Assai (Huterpe oleracea) and
other Palms in water, and adding a small quantity of
sugar and farinha. The Portuguese-speaking Brazilians
term these drinks vinho, though they are totally different
from the Palm-wine prepared in other parts of Tropical
America and Asia. All the Palm-drinks are exceedingly

nutritious, and several slightly purgative, owing, no doubt,

CENOCARPUS. 278

to the oil they contain. By allowing the “ yukissé” to stand
a short time in a caya, the oil rises to the top, and an idea
is obtained of the quantity yielded by any particular palm-
fruit.’ *

The genus @nocarpus is composed of about half-a-dozen
species,t all of which inhabit Tropical America, where they
prefer dry elevated lands, none being known to extend
more than 1600 feet above the level of the sea. They are
tall, majestic trees, with large smooth trunks, generally dis-
tinctly ringed; the leaves are terminal, pinnatisect, with
linear segments; the spadices spring from beneath the
leaves, and are simply branched; the spathe is large, fusi-
form, and woody, and falls off as soon as the spadix escapes
from it; the flowers are moncecious, and the fruit is nearly
globular, one-seeded, with an edible covering.

Besides the oil and “ yukissé” which all the species af-
ford, they are also used for various other purposes. Their
leaves serve as thatch, and from the nerves of the decayed

* Spruce in Hook. Journ., vol. vi. p. 334.

+ Herm. Wendland enumerates the following species as cultivated in our
gardens :—(@. altissimus, Klotzsch; @. Bacaba, Mart.; @. Bolivianus,
Hort.; @. Caracasanus, Lodd. (Diplotherium caudescens, Hort. Kew.) ; &,
Chiragua, Hort.; @. Cubarro, Hort. ; and @. utilis, Klotzsch.

ts

—
274 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

petioles the Indians make arrows for their blow-pipes (gra-
vatanas), as has already been mentioned when describing
the latter (p. 221).

Genus XLVI. ONCOSPERMA, Blume.

In humid places and in thick forests of the Indian
Archipelago grow two Palms, with lofty, spmy trunks, ter-
minal pinnatisect leaves, from ten to sixteen feet long,
moncecious flowers, appearing below the commencement of
the foliage, and small, round, one-seeded berries, which are
the only species, as yet, representing the genus Oncosperma.
The one, O. horrida, Seem. (Areca horrida, Griffith), the
Bhyass of the Malays, is confined to Malacca, where it is
commonly met with in densely wooded valleys and ravines
at Ching, and rarely on wooded hills at Lagdang Soobubi;
it is also found in forests at the base of Battoo Bakar:
nothing is known of its uses. The other, O. ji/amentosa,
Bl. (Areca tigillaria, Jack., A. Nibung, Mart.), the Nibung
or Nibong of the Malays, is an inmate of European gardens.
It is diffused over most of the islands of the Indian Archi-
pelago, and is very generally to be met with on the borders
of paddy (rice) swamps. Low, in his ‘ Borneo,’ has given

ONCOSPERMA. 275

an interesting account of its uses, which may find a place
here. ‘Of all the excellent vegetables of Borneo,” he says,
“the heart or cabbage of the Nibong is the most esteemed.
It consists of the whole unexpanded foliage, and is delicately
white, with a very sweet nutty flavour. It excels the cab-
bage of the Cocoa-nut Palm, but is inferior to the Pinang
(Areca Catechu, Linn.), which however, on account of the
value of the tree, is very seldom used, the extraction of this
edible part invariably causing the destruction of the entire
tree. The Nibongs are very plentiful near the mouths of
all the rivers, and are prized also for house-building, ete.
Their trunks being quite round, and generally measuring
half a foot in diameter, little trouble is necessary, beyond
felling the trees and cutting them into lengths. The out-
side of the trunk is hard; the inner portion being, as in all
monocotyledons, the most recently formed, is soft, and readily
decays, which causes the Nibong to be more used by the
poor than the rich inhabitants. Posts formed of this tree
last only three or four years, and then require either sup-
port or renewal. Rafters and flooring are made of the
hardest parts. The laths for floors are laid at distances of
two feet asunder, and bound together by rattans,—a plan
adopted in order that the dirt and rubbish of the house

276 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

may fall through the interstices of the floor, and be washed
away by the next high tide.”

Genus XLVITI. OREODOXA, Willdenow.

Just as a man, when about to be introduced to another
whose good opinion is not a matter of indifference to him,
would put on the most suitable dress and assume the most
proper look he can command, so the American Palms may
be said to have been anxious to appear to the best advan-
tage, when they were about to form the acquaintance of
those Europeans who had the boldness and energy to seek
a Western world. They placed on the very threshold of
their native country several representatives, which in ele-
gance and majesty of form are equalled by few, surpassed
by scarcely any of the whole order of Palms. Even ere the
anxious voyager has set his foot on shore, he has already
perceived their graceful foliage fluttering in the breeze, and
waving, as it were, a hearty welcome to the newly-arriving
stranger. Since the time wheu Columbus first discovered
the West Indian Isles to the present day, these Palms have
been seen and admired by all who possess an eye for the

OREODOXA. 247

beautiful; and I shall never forget the delight experienced
when in September, 1845, the steamer which had brought
me from Europe approached at sunrise the island of Bar-
badoes, and allowed me to behold, for the first time, these
noble representatives of a truly tropical vegetation.

Oreodoxa regia and oleracea—for these are the Palms
here alluded to—are the most typical and best-known re-
presentatives of a genus of Cocoinez, distinguished by its
lofty unarmed trunk, terminal pinnatisect leaves, moncecious
yellowish flowers, and oval drupes. Oreodoxa regia, Humb.
and Kunth (@nocarpus regius, Sprengl.), the Palma real de
la Havana, is one of the most common Palms in Cuba,
where it is, as Eduard Otto informs us, frequently used
for making avenues, a purpose to which it is admirably
adapted. It has also been introduced, according to Carl
Bolle (Bonplandia, vol. 1. p. 277), into Teneriffe. The great
peculiarity of this tree is, that there rises upon the rough
part of the trunk a grass-green, smooth, thinner shaft, like
a column placed upon a column, and from this the leaf-
stalks spring.

Oreodoxa oleracea, Mart. (Areca oleracea, Linn., Euterpe
Caribea, Sprengl.), the Cabbage Palm of the West Indies,
is one of the loftiest of all Palms, its trunk attaining the

278 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

height of a hundred and seventy feet. As the lower leaves
drop, the broad part of the footstalks forms a hollow trough
or cradle for Negro children, and when cut up makes
excellent splints for fractures; on the inside of every
footstalk are tender pellicles, which when dried make a
writing-paper; the heart is made into pickles, or when
boiled is served up at table ; the trunks serve as gutterings ;
the pith makes a sort of sago, and the nuts yield oil by
decoction. The wood is very hard, but so thin that it is
only fit for walking-sticks or gun ramrods. When the
leaves are old they strip off, and the part that envelopes
this green trunk appears woody like deal. When the leaves
are stripped off green, the inside skin of each, if torn off
and dried, looks like vellum: this bears ink very well on
one side, on the other it seems greasy. From one trunk
may be procured twenty large sheets.

Oreodoxa ? Sancona, Humb. et Kunth (Gnocarpus San-
cona, Sprengl.), a native of the valley of the Cauca, in New
Granada, is also a very lofty tree, yielding excellent tim-
ber. Oveodova ? acuminata, Willd., produces a “ cabbage.”
0.? frigida, Humb. et Kth., the Palmito of the moun-
tains of Quinditi, is remarkable on account of the high
elevation above the sea at which it grows, being one of

PHENIX. 279

the little group of alpine Palms quite unknown before the
time of Humboldt and Bonpland’s travels in Equinoctial
America.*

Genus XLIX. PHCNIX, Linzeus.

That when Jesus Christ made his triumphal entry into
Jerusalem some of the population spread, as a mark of ho-
mage, their garments on the ground to allow the proces-
sion to pass over, is a statement common to all the four
Gospels, and St. Luke does not mention anything else as
closely connected with that circumstance; but St. Matthew
and St. Mark add that others of the multitude “cut down
branches from the trees, and strewed them im the way ;”
and St. John, still more circumstantial in this instance,
particularizes the branches as those of Pa/ms. From the
mere mention of the latter particular, it is of course im-
possible to decide, scientifically, what species of Palm is
meant, but it has always been popularly supposed that the

* We cultivate in our gardens:—Oreodoxa acuminata, Willd.; O. ole-
racea, Mart. (Areca oleracea, L., Euterpe Caribea, Sprengl.); O. regia,
Kth.; and O. ? Sancona, Humb. et Kth.— Wendland’s Indez, p. 31.

Ae ee

280 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

Date-tree—Phenix dactylifera of Linneeus—was the one
implied, as it is one of those growing in Palestine; and
moreover tradition in those countries professmg the Ro-
man Catholic form of Christianity has sanctioned this sup-
position, by prescribing that on the anniversary of the im-
portant event alluded to—Palm Sunday—the leaves of the
Date-tree should be those used in religious ceremonies.
Hence we find that in places situated so far north that the
cultivation of the tree for the sake of its fruit is impossible,
such as the Isles d’Hyéres, San Remo, Nice, Genoa, etc.,
and more especially at Bordighiera, a small town on the
Sardinian coast, in the territory of Genoa, it is still planted
on account of its leaves, which constitute an important
article of commerce, and are sold in the spring for Palm
Sunday to the Christians, and in the autumn for Passover
to the Jews. Several vessels quit Bordighiera with this
singular freight, and some go so far as Holland, where a
great quantity of it is bought by the Jews.

In places where these leaves are not to be procured, those
of other plants are substituted. At Panama, for instance, I
have seen the Palma real (Attalea Cohune, Mart.) supply
its place. Sometimes however plants more humble have to
be used :—

PH@NIX. 281

“In Rome, upon Palm Sunday,

They bear true Palms ;

The Cardinals bow reverently,
And sing old psalms.

Elsewhere those psalms are sung
*Mid Olive branches ;

The Holly branch supplies their place
Among the avalanches ;

More northern climes must be content
With the sad Willow.” —Gathe.

Having done duty for a Palm, these plants, as is often
the case, have received, here and there, the popular title of
Palm: thus, for example, does Sa/iz Caprea, Linn., go by
that name in Northern Germany, and in the counties bor-
dering the Forest of Arden and various other parts of Eng-
land, a fact not generally known to literary men.*

* “Took here,” says Rosalind, in Shakspeare’s ‘As You Like It,’ “what
I found on a Palm-tree!”’ “A Palm-tree in the Forest of Arden,” remarks
Steevens, “is as much out of place as a lioness in the subsequent scene.”
Collier tries to get rid of the difficulty by suggesting that Shakspeare may
have written “plane-tree.” “Both the remark and the suggestion,” observes
Miss Baker, in her ‘Glossary of Northamptonshire Words,’ “might have
been spared if those gentlemen had been aware that in the counties bor-
dering on the Forest of Arden, the name of an exotic tree is transferred to an
indigenous one.” The Salix Caprea, or Goat Willow, is popularly known
as the “Palm” in Northamptonshire, no doubt from having been used for
the decoration of churches on Palm Sunday; its graceful yellow blossoms

a ae POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS. —™”

The genus Phenix, of which the Date-tree is at once the
most important and popular representative, is indigenous to
Africa and Asia, and only introduced into Europe. Its
| trunk, marked with the scars of fallen leaves, is, in some
- species, so short that it hardly appears above the ground,

: and attains in others from forty to eighty feet in height.
Its leaves are pinnatisect, bearing linear segments, the
a lower ones of which gradually assume, in many instances,
a the appearance of spines; and they are moreover more or
less conduplicate at the base, a peculiarity distinguishing

Phenix from all other genera of Palms. The flowers, grow-
‘ing on branched spadices, which appear in the axils of the
leaves, are of a dark-yellow or yellowish-white colour, and
‘ dicecious. In order to make the trees bear plenty of fruit,
: it is necessary to have recourse to artificial fertilization.
appearing at a time when few other trees have put forth a leaf, having won
= for it that distinction. Clare so calls it :—
“ Ye leaning Palms, that seem to look

= Pleased o’er your image in the brook.”
That Shakspeare included the Willow in his forest scenery is certain, from

¢ another passage in the same play :—
é * West of this place, down in the neighbour bottom,

= The rank of osiers by the murmuring stream,

i Left on your right hand, brings you to the place.”

%
- ya » 4
- ss
re oe
oe
' ae , a a ‘ A 7

PH@NIX. 283

This is always done in countries where the successful culti-
vation of these trees for that purpose is an object. The late
Dr. Stocks, whilst at Muggur Peer, near Kurrache, tells us
in ‘ Hooker’s Journal of Botany’ that he witnessed the fer-
tilization of the Date :—‘‘ A man ascended the male tree,
and cut off the yet unopened spathe. He split it open, and
took out the male inflorescence, white and confert, like the
head of a cauliflower, yet with the pollen quite ripe and
fallmg in showers, if the inflorescence was shaken. On
being asked (intentionally) what was the meaning of this
strange and insane fit of cutting off the flowers which would
yield him Dates :—

* ¢ No, Sahib,’ said he, ‘ these could never become Dates:
this is the male” (mv).

««« What palaver is this? Male indeed! where is your
female ?’

“¢ Yonder, Sahib—this is the male.’

“« After more of this he explaimed that one was male, one
the female (madee), and this flour (afa) is (shaking the
inflorescence) the pollen. He then ascended the female tree
by the stumps of the old petioles, and with his axe cleared
away the old circle of leaves of 1847, and dressed up and
made tidy, as it were, for the bridal. He had previously

284 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

cut the male into little bits, some of which he gently shook
over the female, and opening out her inflorescence a little,
inserted one or two bits of the male in it, and descended.”

The fruit of Phenix is a round or more or less oblong,
yellowish-brown drupe, which generally has one seed, but
in some instances the latter proves abortive, as is the case
in the American Guzlielma speciosa.

Phenix is composed of about a dozen species.* I say
advisedly about a dozen, for it is impossible to speak more
decidedly respecting this point, as the limits of the various
species are at present very ill understood, and considerable
confusion prevails among the synonyms. As yet we do
not even know whether the East Indian Phenix sylvestris,
Roxb., is a wild state of Phenix dactylifera, Linn., which
has from time immemorial been cultivated in Asia, Africa,
and Europe, or a distinct species ; but all the evidence col-
lected seems to incline in favour of the former opinion.
Nor have we, as yet, assigned any very definite limits to
Phenix acaulis, Hamilton, which appears almost indistin-

* Herm. Wendland gives the following list of the species cultivated in Euro-
pean gardens:—Pheniz dactylifera, Linn. ; P. farinifera, Roxb.; P. ferru-
ginea, Hort. ; P. pygmea, Lodd.; P. reclinata, Jacq. ; P. spinosa, Thonning
(Fulchironia Senegalensis, Leseb.) ; and P. sylvestris, Roxb.

lith

enk del &

a
vtt

PHOENIX. 285

guishable from P. Ouseleyana, Griff., and P. pedunentata,
Griff.: other species share the same fate. It is necessary
to state in the outset these facts, as they must account in a
great measure for the rather loose terms in which the his-
tory of the various species bas to be written.

The most southerly species are Phenix spinosa, Thon-
ning, and P. reclinata, Jacq., both natives of the Cape of Good
Hope. The most northern species is P. dactylifera,—the
Date-Palm,—which is spread over the whole of Southern
Europe, Northern Africa, and South-eastern Asia, and fur-
nishes us with that well-known dessert-fruit. The Date-
Palm, justly termed one of the most important plants of the
Vegetable Kingdom, attains the age of upwards of one
hundred years. It is a noble tree, from forty to eighty
feet high, with an elegant glaucous foliage and edible fruits,
which vary in shape, size, colour, and flavour to such a
degree that in the oases of the Desert of Sahara alone the
late Dr. James Richardson counted no less than forty-six
varieties, all distinguished by different vernacular names.*

* My friend Dr. Ed. Vogel has also paid considerable attention to the
varieties of the Date, and has communicated to me, in October, 1853, from
Maurzuk in Fezzan, a list of thirty-seven kinds, with full descriptions and

figures, which I have since published (Bonplandia, vol. ii. p. 74. t. 1). From
that communication it appears that the largest Date of Fezzan (which is also

286 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

“Tn Egypt,” says Dr. Bowring in his report on the state
of agriculture and horticulture in that country, “the Date-
tree is a source of considerable revenue to the Government,
(1 piastre per tree being generally levied,) and ministers,
both by its fruit, trunk, foot-stalks, leaves, and fibres, to the
comforts of the natives, far more than any other product
of the soil. As a source of landed revenue it is highly
lucrative. One proprietor told me that he had planted five
thousand trees, which, after eight years, had produced yearly
fruit of the average value of from forty to eighty piastres
(eight to sixteen shillings sterling) per tree. Revenue is
collected on about two millions of Date-trees.” And he
further goes on to say :—‘ The Date Palm is easily propa-
gated by offshoots from the roots: of its leaves, brooms
and brushes,—of the fibre (///) by which the petioles are
bound together, all sorts of cordage are made; the trunk
is employed for house-building, and many other purposes ;
and the fruit is of universal consumption.”

the best) is 213 Parisian lines long, and 10 in diameter, the smallest 73 by 5;
that the different Dates are of almost every colour, except pure white and
black, and that there are not, as is the case with our apples and pears, early
and late sorts, but that all arrive at maturity at about the same period (re-
stricted to within a fortnight), which falls in Fezzan about the latter part of
August.

,

PHENIX. 287

The great resource of the inhabitants of Northern Africa
and of the oases of Sahara is the Date Palm. “ All Fezzan
and half of Tripolitania,” says Dr. Ed. Vogel (Bonplandia,
vol. 11. p. 2), “satisfy most of their wants with the products
of it. The huts of the poorer classes are entirely made of
its leaves, and the more substantial habitations of the
wealthy chiefly consist of the same material; every door,
every post is made of its wood, and the ceilings of the rooms
are formed by its trunks. The footstalks furnish the
most common fuel, and they are often brought on men’s
backs from a distance of six to eight miles, a man’s load
consisting of two bundles, fetching about twopence. The
fruit is the common food of both man and beast: camels,
horses, dogs, all eat dates. ven the stones are soaked in
water, and when they have thus become soft are given to
the cattle, for in many districts the cattle have no grass nor
any other herbage except a little safshah (Medi/otus), which in
Murzuk is cultivated with almost as much care as the corn,
and fetches the high price of fourpence a bundle (7. e. about
a good handful). The camels of Murzuk are therefore often
sent about one hundred miles northwards for pasture. The
number of Date-Palms cultivated is enormous. When Abd-
el-Gelil besieged Suckna, in 1829, he cut down no fewer

288 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

than 43,000 trees, to compel the town to surrender ; never-
theless there are still at least 70,000 left. Their produce
is comparatively small, a hundred full-grown trees yielding
about forty hundredweight of dates, worth at Murzuk about
thirty shillings, but at Tripoli four times that sum. The
dates, after having been gathered, are dried in the sun, and
when quite hard buried in the sand. They may thus be pre-
served about two years, but generally after eighteen months
they are attacked by worms, and in the beginning of the
third year nothing remains of them save the stones. As an
every-day food dates are considered very heating, in conse-
quence of which they are not much used on journeys, as
causing great thirst. The most relishing and wholesome
way to eat them is, when made into a paste, mixed with
barley. When the heart of the leaves has been cut out
a sweet thickish fluid collects at that cavity, called /aghi,
which is very refreshing and slightly purgative. A few
hours afterwards this fluid begins to ferment, becomes acid
and very intoxicating. From the ripe fruit a kind of treacle
is prepared, used especially for coating leather bags or
pipes to render them tight.”

The Date Palm is one of the objects that strike the voy-
ager when approaching the lovely Isle of Madeira; and I

PH@NIX. 289

well remember the pleasure it gave me when, in August,
1845, I discerned its plumy head amongst the white walls
of Funchal. ‘In the Cape de Verde it is rather too
scarce,” says J. Schmidt,* “to constitute an important con-
tribution to the food of those islands. Originally it has
probably not been wild in the Cape de Verde, but it appears
to have been formerly cultivated to a greater extent than
at present.” As Schmidt has not given his reasons for be-
lieving why he doubts its being an endemic species, he has
of course left the question whether it was originally wild,
or introduced, where it stood. It has also been called in
question whether the Date-tree was indigenous to the Ca-
nary Islands ; henceforward that cannot be repeated, as Dr.
Carl Bolle has, both from historical records and from his
own observation, set that question finally at rest. In answer
to my inquiries respecting it, he sent an elaborate treatise,
which I published entire in the second volume of the ‘Bon-
plandia,’ and much regret that I cannot reproduce it at this
place in full length, or render the abstract here given in
anything like the highly poetical and graphic language for
which the original is so justly admired.

* ‘Beitrige zur Flora der Cap Verdischen Inseln,’ ete. Von Dr. Johann
Anton Schmidt. (Heidelberg, 852.)

U

© 8 | eee a: = aaa

290 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

“That the Date-palm has always existed m the Canary .
Islands,” says Dr. Bolle, “ might be proved from the first
positive documents we possess of the history of the Fortu-
nates, 1f the mode in which it occurs at present, and the lo-
gical deductions derived from that fact, did not render such
a proof unnecessary. Well known is the expedition de-
spatched by King Juba, who, as a vassal of the Emperor
Augustus, reigned over Mauritania, and who by his love for
science, particularly cosmography and geography, attained
a degree of immortality which the simple possession of a
crown would never have imparted to him. Juba had sent
learned men to visit the isles, originally discovered by Phe-
nicians and Carthaginians, but lost again in sub-mythical
obscurity, thus originating the first scientific expedition
which the annals of mankind record. How new the scheme
must have been, is evident from the highly obscure and
confused report given by the explorers,—a report, of which
Pliny has unfortunately only preserved a fragment. Two
dogs of immense size, from Canaria, were brought to the
king as trophies. The Mauritanian reporters seem to have
found the islands uninhabited, but they say most positively
and clearly, ‘ Abundant palmetis caryotas ferentibus’—they
abound in groves of Palms, bearing dates.”

PHENIX. 29]

The information Juba acquired does not seem to have
led to a permanent occupation of the islands. They were
doomed once more to oblivion, and remained to the Ro-
mans and Arabs more a myth than a reality. The feudal
times arrived, and with them, foremost in Italy, a fervent
desire to explore the sea. The writings of the ancients,
rescued from the dust of conventual libraries, awoke in Flo-
rentines and Genoese doubts whether the ocean presented
in reality insurmountable obstacles to a more extended na-
vigation ; and there appeared another great name directly
connected with the Canaries. Boccaccio wrote the narrative
of a voyage of a company of bold Florentines, who, in the
service of Alfonso [V. of Portugal, rediscovered the Canaries
a second time, and, navigating from isle to isle, explored
them thoroughly. Here we find more clearness, and many
more details; and again we hear something about the Palms.

Their leaves, we are informed, were substituted by the
islanders for garments, as is the case at the present day in
the Bissagos. In the remarkably minute description of the
three youths, who were taken to Portugal, he says: “Crines
habent longos et flavos, usque ad umbilicum fere, et cum
his teguntur; decora facie, nudi incedunt; habent tamen
femoralia, cingunt autem lumbos corda, ex qua fila pendent

292 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

palmee seu juncorum in multitudine grandi, tis quidem tegunt
pubem omnem,” etc. ‘This is the first mention of the éa-
marco, that principal part of the old Canarian dress, which,
with the cloak of well-prepared goat-skins, was worn around
the shoulders. The derivation of its name from the Semitic
word ‘Tamar’ (the Palm-tree) cannot be gainsaid, and,
curious to add, the Islenos still term the smaller fruits of
the half-wild Date-trees ‘Tamaras,’ in contradistinction to
the ‘ Datiles,’ which, improved by culture, are larger and of
superior quality.

The members of the Canarian flora captivate in most in-
stances, by their originality and beauty of form and colour,
more the eye than the palate; Madrofos (Arbutus Canari-
ensis), Vicacaros (Canarina Campanula), Mocanes (Visnea
Mocanera), a few strawberries, blackberries, and pine-nuts,
being the only kinds of fruit which, unattended, produced
a ready harvest. But none of them equalled in flavour the
Date; for the fig-tree was only introduced in the thirteenth
century, by navigators from Majorca, and the abundant
supplies which it soon began to yield embellished the last
days of Canarian independence ; and the time was still dis-
tant when the grape and the golden @ange were to meet,
to impress upon the originally sombre physiognomy of the

PHENIX. 293

country the character of an almost paradise-like luxuriance,
—when a sacred grove was to be planted in honour of
Pomona, in which all the products of the tropical region
were to compete in perfection with those of the temperate
zone. It is evident that under such circumstances the
Date must have appeared to those unsophisticated natives
as the most perfect production of Nature. But nowhere
could that be the case in a higher degree than in the islands
of Lanzarote and Fuertaventura, where, on account of the
predominating character of the desert, the number of other
trees must have been smaller, and that of the Date-palms
larger.

But not only food and dress did the Guauches derive
from the Date-tree ; they also, as Viera assures us, knew how
to prepare from it a beverage, which replaced the wine, and
yielded at the same time vinegar, honey, and sugar. “In
Gomera,” says the author of the ‘Noticias,’ “there is a small
cask of the juice used to be extracted from each Palm.”
The introduction of the vine and the sugar-cane no doubt
caused the downfall of that branch of industry at an early
period: at least no vestige of it remains at the present day..
But a tree which conferred so many benefits, satisfied so
many wants, of the elegant and noble forms of which no

294 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

eye could remain insensible, must necessarily have stood in —
‘high estimation ; and when the kings of the Guauches placed
the bay-leaf as a symbol of their sovereignty on their brows,
it is not improbable that the Date-Palm was also planted
at the entrance of the cavern serving as their habitations,
and that the Zugoror, or parliament, was held in its shade.

“With the period of the Norman Conquest, when the
Bethencourts began to establish themselves more firmly in
the smaller islands, a clear ray of historical light falls upon
the scene of our investigation. Directly on the first land-
ing in Fuertaventura, then called Herbania, the gallant Ga-
difer de la Salle, the brother in arms of J. de Bethencourt,
penetrated without opposition as far as the ‘ Ruissel de
Palmes.’? That part of the book of the chaplains of the
conquerors is descriptive of the condition of the country
at that time, detailing in a graphic manner the great abun-
dance of Palms then existing.

«Another time, when colonists from Normandy arrived in
Lanzarote, their joy on beholding the beauty of their new
country, and the wild, still unchanged dress of the Cana-
rians, ‘qui ne sont vestus que par derriére,’ was only equalled
by their predilection for the exotic, unknown fruits: ‘ Ls
mangeaient de ces dattes et des fruicts du pays, qui leur

ee in re ae

PH@NIX. 295

sembloient fort bons, et rien ne leur faisoit aucun mal.’
Even at that time mention is made of Dates and Dragons’
blood, as articles of export from Lanzarote and Fuerta-
ventura.

“Thus far the chronicle. Let us now turn to the present.
In casting our looks from books and historical hypotheses
upon concrete nature, we are obliged to own that in com-
parison with former times, the number of Palms has de-
creased, particularly in Teneriffe. The banks of the brooks
towards the sea, the valleys of the larger barrancos, have
been claimed by cultivation. Agaves and Cactuses now
flourish as foreign intruders, where the African Flora once
reigned in native power. Perhaps there is no longer in the
whole island of Teneriffe any truly wild specimen of Phenia
dactylifera; but numerous names of places, which must have
been given during an early period of the time of the Con-
quest, prove that formerly the tree must have been rather
frequent. ‘Two large valleys, one in the north, the other in
the west, are called to this hour, ‘ Valle de las Palmas’ and
“El Palmar ;’ in the former, which terminates opposite the
rocks of Anaga, the traveller searches in vain for a justifica-
tion of the appellation—it has become quite historical.

“ But although the wild Date-Palms may have disap-

296 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

peared, and the cultivated ones appear nowhere in dense
groves, yet the landscape is by no means entirely deprived
of them. The gardens and courtyards of Santa Cruz in
Teneriffe exhibit many a lofty and beautiful specimen, fur-
nishing a most suitable groundwork for the picture pre-
sented by the Moorish architecture and the flat roofs of the
white buildings of that town. Among the valleys of the
south-east coast may be mentioned the Ygueste de San
André, shaded by groves of Bananas, as distinguished by the
picturesque grouping of its beautiful, though not numerous,
Date-palms. More abundant do these trees become, after
passing over the elevated plain of Laguna,—where only a
few stunted specimens are to be met with,—and descending
by way of the Rodeos the declivities of the milder northern
coast. There, about Vittoria, Matanza, and Santa Ursula,
they afford, notwithstanding their being rather isolated, the
most lovely aspect. They bend their foliage over many a
white wall, unfold their crowns over many a rural cottage :
there they stand on the boundaries of vineyards, orange-
gardens, and fields, watching, as it were, like guardians over
the different products, the more pleasing to the eye as they
are harmoniously blended with the Canarian and South Eu-
ropean forms in one great picture. It was near Santa Ursula

PHOENIX. 297

where Chamisso, tired and despairing of reaching, in the
short time allotted to him, Orotava, sat down under a Date-
tree, gravely to fulfil a promise he gave to his humorous:
friends at Berlin, to smoke a meerschaum-pipe under Palms;
and it was there also that the poet cut several ribs of
Palm-leaves to present as walking-sticks to the same friends,
previously to his embarking on board to continue his voyage
round the world.

“ Further on, the renowned vale of Orotava preserves the
same character, Palms still continuing to contribute towards
the beauty of the landscape. They adorn La Paz, the
charming villa of Don Thomas Cologan; a majestic tree
overshades the courtyard of a former nunnery at Puerto
Orotava, shown with pride to the stranger as one of the
observatories of the great Don Alejandro, that being the
name by which our immortal Humboldt lives and is vene-
rated in the hearts of all Spanish Creoles. The extreme
northern valleys of Teneriffe, where humidity predominates,
and the Laurel region inclines to the coast, possess only a
few and isolated Palms. At Bajamar we remember a rare
sight: the trunk of a Date-tree, covered with a fine Fern
(Davallia Canariensis),—which generally is on/y to be found
in the region of Laurels and Pines,—just as if it had been

298 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

a Vihatico (Laurus Indica) of the higher forests. The Palms
continue to prevail westwards of Orotava, towards Punta de
Teno. A splendid avenue of Date-trees of the old stock
may be seen in the beautiful gardens cf La Rambla, near
Realejo de abajo.

“Generally speaking the Date-palm is cultivated in Tene-
riffe less on account of its fruit, which only arrives at perfec-
tion when the roots are properly subjected to irrigation, than
as an ornamental and at the same time useful tree, the leaves
and petioles of which must suffer themselves to be employed
to several domestic purposes, and amongst them to the not
very poetical office of brooms—the reason why so many trees
with injured crowns are to be met with; mats used in pack-
ing up merchandise, for covering up camels’ loads, and in-
stead of carpets, are also wrought of the leaves. The flow-
ering season falls in Teneriffe in February, the fruiting in the
autumn. As African sub-tropical species common to the
whole coast region, the Date-palm may be considered as at-
taining to the height of the lower boundaries of Webb and
Berthelot’s second “climate” of the Canary Islands, which
comprises the region of evergreen forests, but not ascending
much higher than that ; 2500 feet may be looked upon as
the extreme of its vertical distribution.

-

PHENIX. 299

“The island of Palma did not derive its name directly, as
might be supposed, from the Palms occurring on it, but, as
proved by historical records, from a translation of the name
of the capital of Majorca, for from the largest of the Ba-
learic Isles came the pioneers of its Conquista. But any one
anchoring in the roadstead of Ciudad, as we did in August,
1852, and seeing the Iigh terraces of rocks covered with
hundreds of gigantic Date-palms, or on climbing up the
Barranco de los Dolores, beholding on all sides trees heavily
laden with orange-red fruits—a picture of genuine abund-
ance—will perceive that this island, called already by Cada-
mosto the most delightful of all islands he visited, enjoys
with full justice the title of the ‘Isle of Palms.? And if
he who further on passes the Cumbre, and penetrates by
way of the valley of Las Augustias into the Caldera,—that
wonderful gigantic glen, which, surrounded by perpendi-
cular walls of rock four thousand feet high, enjoys, like a
conservatory, an always uniform temperature, allowing plants
from all heights to flourish in company of each other,—the
Canarian Cedar (Juniperus Cedrus, Webb et Berth.), from
the most elevated mountain ridge, and Kleinia neriifolia,
Ait., of the hot coast region,—he may still witness the strange
phenomenon of seeing Date-palms and Pine-trees growing

300 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

harmoniously together. Leopold von Buch doubted with-
out reason the existence of this vegetative harmony, which
had already been mentioned by Viera. Berthelot, that
eminent naturalist, has however attested orally and in wri-
ting, as well as by means of pictorial illustration, the cor-
rectness of the older assertions. But the hand of man, even
in this mysterious, almost inaccessible workshop of Nature,
the way to which leads through so many dangers, along
yawning precipices, has not spared the ‘ Fauns of the wil-
derness, banished hither. It has allowed the fire to ac-
complish what the axe was not able to do. Only on one in-
accessible rock near the Barranco del Almendrero Amargo,
stood, in September, 1852, surrounded by Pine-trees, one
solitary wild Palm. MHeine’s conception of the longing of
the two trees for each other, so beautifully expressed in one
of his sweet elegies, had here found its solution :
** Kin Fichtenbaum steht einsam

Im Norden auf kahler Hoh’ ;

Thn schlafert ; mit weisser Decke

Umbhiillen ihn Eis und Schnee.

Er traumt von einer Palme,

Die fern im Morgenland

Einsam und schweigend trauert
Auf brennender Felsenwand.”

PHENIX. 301

We know nothing of the Palms of Ferro. Bourgeau,
the only botanist who has visited that island, but who has
not written anything, might be able to report on them.
But Gomera, that woody, western isle, enjoys a high repu-
tation as a Palmy country, where the culture of the Date-
tree is a regular branch of industry, to which much attention
is paid. The dates of Gomera are considered quite equal
to those of Mogador, and they are exported to the whole
neighbouring archipelago, showing that there must exist a
great number of trees producing them. ‘There is one va-
riety without a stone, and even perfectly wild trees are said
to occur among the rocks (riscos). Not less distinguished
by its Palms,—therefore far surpassing Teneriffe in the
Oriental character of its scenery,—is the great, fertile island
of Gran Canaria, where the metropolis of the whole archi-
pelago, Ciudad de las Palmas, does not only preserve the
mere name of the thick Palm-groves of the beach of Gui-
niguada, on which the conquerors pitched their first camp
(Real de Palmas), but also those features that gave rise to it.
Roses and jessamines half conceal the white walls, amongst
which the airy streets of the city are situated, and nume-
rous noble Palms display their feathery tops, calling to mind
some of the scenes in Sheherazade’s fairy tales. Several

302 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

other names of places besides the last-mentioned, are derived
from the tree here treated on; thus, for mstance, the curi-.
ous name of ‘ Tamaraceite,’ which seems to imply a spot on
which Palms and Olive-trees grow together.

«‘Hastward of Gran Canaria, separated by the channel of
Bocayna, are the Purpurariz of the ancients,-the islands of
Lanzarote and Fuertaventura, where, on account of their
low elevation and their proximity to the Desert of Sahara,
the Libyan type of vegetation prevails, and where the Date-
palm—though only in a cultivated state in the well-watered
valleys—no longer surrounded by a luxuriant mass of en-
demic Canarian species, appears as the predominating tree,
and gives the chief character to the landscape. specially
in Fuertaventura there is scarcely one of those square, flat-
roofed houses, near which, in company with Fig-trees and
Tamarisks (Zamariz Canariensis, Willd.), these Palms are
not to be found, no brook in the moist sand of which they
are not seen, no fountain in the desert near which they do
not form an oasis. ‘The same remark applies to Haria, in «
Lanzarote, Tuinije, La Antigua, La Hampudiente, and many
other places in Fuertaventura—the aspect of which reminds
one vividly of the Duars of the Arabs—and particularly to
the valley of Rio Palmas, in the last-named island, which

PHENIX. 303

we found, in 1852, abounding as much in Palms as it
must have been in the fifteenth century, when the Bethen-
courts gave it the French name of ‘ Ruissel de Palmes.’
“Jt was in April, 1852, when I left the hospitable cha-
teau of La Oliva for Villa Bentancuria, the former capital
of Fuertaventura. I was borne by a camel of fine race,
the best-suited animal for such an excursion. My two
faithful guides, Santiago Bareto and Anastasio Aguilar (the
latter, as a soldier in the Canarian militia, was dressed in
a most becoming green uniform), were riding on donkeys
near my side, and occasionally fastening their beasts to the
tail of my camel, made the ‘ship of the desert’ tow them
along like boats. re long we had the plain of Oliva be-
hind us, where the wheat was still standing on the field,
and entered the Desert at the foot of the Montana Que-
mada, an extinct volcano. A deep blue and cloudless
sky spread like a high dome over the vast brown plain,
which on the left was confined by the central mountain-
chain, on the right separated from the sea by a low ridge
of hills, whilst far away towards the south, in which direc-
tion our way led, it was guarded by a long stretching chain
of mountains. The soil, however redundant with verdure
during the rainy season, was now quite bare and cracked by

304 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

the powerful rays of the sun, and showed, except a few
grey and fleshy-leaved Chenopodiaceous shrubs, no sign of
vegetation ; only where the periodical streams of the winter
season had formed a bed, a few tamarisk-bushes were ob-
servable. Upon the loose stones scattered about, the heated
air was keeping up a trembling motion. ‘The sudden flight
of a frightened Houbara-ustard, or the melancholy cry of
a Ganga-hen, occasionally interrupted the stillness. At the
distance groups of camels, without herdsmen, were observ-
able. ‘The scenery was so entirely African in its character,
that one would not have been surprised to behold on the
tops of some of the hills the dark tents of the Bedouins, or
to see rising the dust of a flock of ostriches. It was a ride
through the Desert, full of all the poetry, surrounded by all
the melancholy magic, but without any of the horrors, of
the Sahara. From the high seat on the back of the camel
the whole country could be viewed, and without the fear
which about twenty leagues eastwards, on the continent of
Africa, would have made itself felt. There were no waves
of loose sand, drifted along by the Simoon,—no surprise of
Arabian robbers to be apprehended. A good supply of
fresh spring water, and a large flask filled with Malvasia
from Gran Canaria, and carried by the camel, not even ad-

x
s

PH@NIX. 305

mitted of a thought of thirst, which on similar occasions
had often troubled us. The mind, quite lost in reflections
on the mysterious life of nature, became not tired of ad-
miring the poetry of the surrounding objects. My guides
now carrying on a merry conversation, then reciting some
ballad, or singing the melodious verses of some popular air,
rode or walked near my side. We were almost sorry when
we arrived at the end of the plain, in a little grove of palm-
trees, situated on the foot of a midge of mountains, the
winding paths of which we passed to gain on the opposite
side a narrow but fertile valley, well supplied with water,
in which lies the old Norman town of Betancuria, with its
historically remarkable church and convent of St. Francis,
considered as the oldest of the whole Canaries. The Alcalde
of the place received us hospitably, and furnished us next
morning with guides to Rio Palmas. The road leads along
the same little river on which Betancuria is situated; but
it is only after a considerably long march, and near the
church of Nuestra Sefora de la Pefia, a celebrated place of
pilgrimage, that the real Valley of Palms is reached. There
the landscape changes its aspect suddenly: instead of wild
Olives, Pistacias (Pistacia Atlantica, Desf.) and European
fruit-trees, the verdure of which one was hitherto able to
=

306 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

enjoy, you are at once in the midst of most beautiful groves
of Palms, still grouped in the same manner as the chap-
lains of Bethencourt, Bontier and Leverrier, described them,
with the only difference that now the farms of peaceful, in-
telligent country-people are seen in their shade, orchards
and cornfields fill up the intermediate spaces, and the num-
ber of Palms, in comparison with formerly, has rather de-
creased than increased. There are still, as in bygone times,
luxuriant tree-like tamarisks on the banks of the rivers and
rivulets. Rio Palmas may indeed be termed, on account of
its fertility, its abundance of Palms, and on account of its
forming a natural antithesis to the arid, sterile mountains
surrounding it, the most beautiful oasis of Fuertaventura,
and it is certainly the largest. Leaving Rio Palmas, gra-
nitic rocks are piled one upon the other, the rivulet having
dug itself a narrow but deep bed in the stony masses. You
have entered the Malpaso, a slippery path, where the water
oozing out in every direction renders walking extremely dif-
ficult and dangerous, often rendering it necessary to creep
on your hands and feet, or to rest on the thick stick which
the Islenos term their ‘lance.’ You reach a grotto, where
is a chapel, formerly the shrine of the image of Nuestra Se-
hora de la Peha. A still steeper path leads into the lower

PH@NIX. 307

valley, and there again you find yourself in as beautiful a.
grove of Palms as‘can well be conceived. How comfortably
the foot steps on the green turf! how refreshing the breezes
that play with the gigantic leaves! how agreeable the joyous
sound of the birds (Mringilla Hispaniolensis), which have
built their nests on the footstalks of the trees !

“‘ Having accomplished the crossing of the Malpaso, we
squatted down to a rustic meal and partook freely of the
wine, which, cooled in a neighbouring fountain, was found
to be most refreshing. ‘The conversation soon became ant-
mated. I had to tell of my native country, and to listen
in turn to the miraculous discovery of the image of the
Virgin of La Pefa. At last Anastasio, who had hitherto
been silent, pushing back his curly hair from his fore-
head, contributed his share to the conversation. ‘ Do
you see, Caballero, below in the valley, another -group of
Palms?’ he said, addressing me. ‘Among them is a tree
bearing dates without a stone, and they are very sweet and
pleasant eating. What a pity that it is not autumn, or
else I should go to fetch you some for your dessert. But
do you know how these dates originated? No, you say ?
Well then I will tell you. It is an old story, and many a
fleck of snow has since fallen on the Peak of Teneriffe;

308 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

however you need not believe more of it than you choose.
The family of the Bethencourts had conquered our island,
but the Almighty did not think proper to let them retain
possession of it, and Don Diego Herrera, the same whose
monument you saw this morning in the church of the con-
vent, had become lord of this country. Our forefathers—
if it is true that we are their descendants—were at that
time still living in the caverns of the Sierra, and near the
stony corrals of their flocks of goats, in the large plains.
True they had been baptized and they went to mass, but
they still continued to mix many heathenish superstitions
and customs with the usages of the Christian religion.
Well, then came Don Diego de Alcala and Father Torcaz,
both of the Order of St. Francis, to complete the conver-
sion of the Majoreros.* St. Diego became Abbot of the
convent of Betancuria; Father Torcaz was his friend, who
always accompanied him in his difficult journeys, which he
made to preach the Gospel to the new Christians. I dare say.
the sun often proved rather more hot to his shorn head than ~
he was wont to bear it in Castile; so one day the pious men
squatted down, like ourselves, and not far from the very spot
we are now sitting, in the shade of a Palm, to rest their

* This is still the Guauche name of the inhabitants of Fuertaventura.

PH@NIX. 309

weary limbs. The soil was strewn with dates, and both ate
of them, but alas! St. Diego bit upon a stone and lost one
of his—I dare say not very young—teeth. Irritated, he com-
manded, in the presence of a numerous assembly of Islefos,
that the tree henceforward should bear only fruits without
stones. Surely the miracle actually took place, and has
been repeated every year down to our own day. It is said
to have contributed considerably to strengthen the true be-
lief, for in those times people were not quite so fond of
ridiculing sacred things as they are in these, or like your
servant Santiago in particular, who maintained he knew
positively that there were not only here in this island, but
also in Gomera, a great many of that kind of Date-trees,
and if the Saint had been deprived by each of them of one
of his molar-teeth, he must have possessed a great many
more than other mortals. That is the story of the Dates
without stones !’

“Tt is necessary to observe that the Date-tree is the only
indigenous Palm of the Canaries. The Dwarf Fan-Palm
(Chamerops humilis, Linn.), so common on the coast of
the Mediterranean Sea, does not extend as far as these
islands. One specimen of it is in the Botanic Gardens at
Orotava, which I saw in flower in the autumn of 1852.

310 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

Isolated Cocoa-nut Palms (Cocos nucifera, Linn.) are here
and there to be met with. At Santa Cruz there is in
one of the gardens of the suburb, a beautiful specimen,
through the fine pinnatisect leaves of which I have often
seen, in the winter of 1851-52, the snow of the Ladera de
Guimar,—certainly a strange sight. I never heard that in
Teneriffe the Cocoa-nut Palm had ever produced fruit, but
this is said to be sometimes the case in Gran Canaria. An-
other elegant representative of the order of Palms, the Palma
real de la Havana (Oreodoxa regia, Kth.) I observed in se-
veral gardens of Teneriffe.

“Let us resume in a few words the conclusions resulting
from the foregoing :-—

“1. The Date Palm isa genuine (endemic) member of the
Canarian flora. Its geographical distribution, as such, is
between the coast region and an elevation of 2500 feet, 7. e.
to the lower boundary of the Laurel region; a greater ex-
tension upwards being opposed less by a diminished tem-
perature, than by too great a humidity of the air and too
great a quantity of rain.

“2. The eastern parts of the Canaries, having a more con-
tinental climate, and a lesser quantity of rain in the winter,
possess the conditions necessary for the development of this

eee A.

PH@NIX. 3 le

Palm in a higher degree than the western, in consequence of
which there is a greater number of specimens of it to be
found; notwithstanding however the Date Palm is at pre-
sent only found in a few spots of the latter parts truly wild.

«3. All Palms of the Canaries, with a very few exceptions,
have exchanged their wild state with that of cultivation.

“4. In comparison with former times the number of
Date-trees has at present (in consequence of the cultivation
of numerous exotic plants) very. much diminished.

«5, The Date-palm reaches in the Canaries the western
boundary of its geographical distribution, at least as far as
concerns the countries north of the tropic of Cancer; for
south of that boundary it not improbably extends to the
Cape de Verde Islands.” (Compare page 289.)

From Phenix dactylifera, Linn., we turn to P. sylvestris,
Roxb.,—called in Bengalese, Khujjoor; in Sanscrit, Khur-
jura; and in Telinga, Peddaeita,—which Hamilton says so
much resembles the true Date-tree, that he has not been
able to detect the smallest difference between the latter and
this species. P. sylvestris is common all over India, and a
very handsome Palm, which, according to Griffith, is from
thirty-four to forty feet high, but which, according to the
statement of Dr. Hooker, must in some places attain a much

(at TAO wee PL?
‘

313 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

greater height, or else he would not be justified in saying
that at Tilotho these Palms were so lofty that the climbers
[of them], as they paused in the ascent to gaze with won-
der at our large retinue, resembled monkeys rather than
men.” The crown of the tree is about hemispherical, very
large and thick, and the leaves are from ten to fifteen feet
long. During the cold season this tree yields Tari, or
Palm-wine, but the method of extracting it destroys the ap-
pearance and fertility of the trees, the fruit of those that
have been cut for drawing off the juice being very small.
The mode of extracting this juice is by removing the lower
leaves and their sheaths, and cutting a notch in the pith of
the tree near the top; from thence it issues and is con-
ducted by a small channel made of a bit of the Palmyra leaf,
into a pot suspended to receive it. On the coast of Coro-
mandel this Palm-juice is either drunk fresh from the tree,
or boiled down into sugar, or fermented for distillation,
when it gives out a large portion of ardent spirit, commonly
called Paria aruk on the coast of Coromandel. Mats and
baskets are made of the leaves.

The Bengalese also boil the juice into sugar. In the whole
province of Bengal about 15,000 maunds, or about 1,000,000
hundredweight, is made annually. At the age of from seven

PHENIX. 313

to ten years, when the trunk of the trees will be about four
feet high, they begin to yield juice, and continue productive
for twenty or twenty-five years. It is extracted during the
cold months of November, December, January, and Fe-
bruary, during which period each tree is reckoned to yield
from a hundred and twenty to two hundred and forty pints
of juice, which averages a hundred and eighty pints ; every
twelve pints or pounds is boiled down to one of goor, or
jaguri ; and four of goor yield one of good powder sugar,
so that the average produce of each tree is about seven or
eight pounds of sugar annually. Another statement gives
a much larger produce: viz., the average produce of each
tree is sixteen pints per day, four of which will yield two.
pounds of molasses, and forty of molasses will yield twenty-
five pounds of brown sugar. The difference is so great
that it cannot well be reconciled, but I am inclined to give
most credit to the first. Date-sugar, as it is called, is not so
. much esteemed as cane-sugar, and sells for about one-fourth _
less.

Another East Indian species is Phenix farinifera, Willd.,
the Chilta-eita of the Telinga language, a dwarf plant, com-
mon on the hilly country between the Ganges and Cape
Comorin, on dry, barren ground, chiefly of the sandy lands.

314 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

Its trunk is about one or two feet high, and so entirely
enveloped in the sheaths of the leaves, that it is never seen,
the whole appearing like a large round bush. ‘The leaflets
are wrought into mats for sleeping upon, etc. The common
petioles are split into three or four, and used to make baskets
of various kinds ; but they are not so good for this purpose as
the bamboo, which is very elastic, much more durable, and
splits easily. The small trunk, when divested of its leaves,
and the strong brown fibrous web that surrounds it at their
insertions, is generally about fifteen or sixteen inches long,
and six in diameter at the thickest part ; its exterior or woody
part consists of white fibres matted together ; these envelope
a large quantity of farinaceous substance, which the natives
use for food in times of scarcity. To procure this meal the
small trunk is split into six or eight pieces, dried, and beat
in wooden: mortars, till the farinaceous part is detached from
the fibres ; it is then sifted to separate them: the meal is
then fit for use. The only further preparation it undergoes,
is the boiling it into a thick gruel, or, as it is called in
India, sawji ; it seems to possess less nourishment than the
common sago, and is less palatable, being considerably
bitter when boiled ; probably a little care in the prepara-
tion, and varying the mode, might improve it ; however it

PH@NIX. 315

certainly deserves attention, for whenever rice is too dear,
or not to be had, many of the poor are forced to have re-
course to this sort of food. Fortunately it is one of the
most common plants on this part of the coast, particularly
near the sea.

Allied in habit to Phenix farinifera, Willd., is P. acaulis,
Roxb., the trunk of which is also extremely short: Griffith
says that in plants ten years old there is none. It occurs
at. Behar, on the elevated plains on the north side of the
Ganges, and in the plains of Burmah, between the valley
of Hook-hoonk and Mogam. A species closely related to, if
not identical with this, is mentioned by Dr. Royle in his
well-known ‘ Illustrations,’ as inhabiting the Kheree Pass,
Tiwalik Hills, at an elevation of 2500 feet, in company
with Pinus longifolia. Other dwarf species are P. Ouseley-
ana, Griff., and P. pedunculata, Griff. Recommendable
for ornamental purposes is P. paludosa, Roxb., the southern-
most Indian species of this genus, which forms very elegant,
impenetrable tufts, well adapting it in tropical gardens for
bank scenery. The trunks of the smaller trees serve for
walking-sticks, and the natives have an idea that snakes
get out of the way of any person having such a stick; the
longer trunks for rafters, and the leaves for thatch.

316 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

Genus L. PLECTOCOMIA, Marts.

Malacca, Assam, Java, and the Kassya Hills are the
principal seats of the four species of which this genus is
composed. They have quite the habit of Rattans,—climb- «
ing trunks, petioles extended into whip-like thongs, and
pinnatisect leaves. Their flowers are dicecious and arranged
in large panicles; their fruit is scaly, and either one- or
three-seeded.

The longest-known and perhaps the most gigantic species
is P. elongata, Mart., a native of Java and Malacca, termed
by the Malays “ Rotang Dahown,” and chiefly used by them
for baskets and other wicker-work. Dr. Henderson states
that the tails of the leaves are very useful to the police in
Java; two of them are tied to a long pole or handle, and
used for catching a run-a-muck Malay.

“ Plectocomia elongata,” says Sir W. J. Hooker, “ with
its luxuriant foliage and its singularly spiny trunk (the
spines being digitate, or united together like the fingers of
the hand, or still more resembling the foot of the mole, and
admirably formed for strength), can hardly fail to attract
attention. Its leaves, when full grown, are of vast length,
so long indeed that they seem, as does the trunk, to need

el

PHYTELNPHAS. 317

support; and Nature has provided them with the means,
for the main stalk of the leaf at the end extends into a
lengthened slender tail, armed all along with strong-deflexed
hooks, by means of which, while running up among the
stems and catching hold of the branches of other trees, the
foliage and trunk are propped. A yet more wonderful pro-
vision of Nature is observed in the young and yet unfolded
leaves of this plant during the period when they insert
themselves upwards among the branches of the forests, for
then these spines are upright, and lie flat against the stalk
of the leaf; not becoming reflexed till they are needed as a
means of support.” 3

In our gardens we cultivate two species, viz. P. elongata,
Mart. (Calamus maximus, Rein.), and P. Assamica, Griff.

Genus LI. PHYTELEPHAS, Ruiz et Pavon.

Those who deplore that the great geological convulsions,
which our planet had to undergo before the present order
of things was established, deprived the New World of its
ivory-bearing animals, and only suffered their remains to be
preserved in the deposits ascribed to the drift period of our

318 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

times, may derive some consolation from the fact that there
still exists in the virgin forests of tropical America an ivory-
bearing -plant, the Phytelephas macrocarpa, Ruiz et Pav.,
producing a substance so exactly resembling to the eye the
ivory obtained from elephants as to be frequently passed off
for such, and even employed by mechanics as far as its size
will allow, in place of that article. When the Vegetable
Ivory first came to be imported into Europe for commercial
purposes has not yet been accurately ascertained ; but there
is reason to believe that it was shortly after the Spanish
Colonies—its ‘native country—obtained their independence
(about the year 1826), as the narrow-minded commercial
policy pursued by the Government of the Peninsula towards
its dependencies proved an almost insurmountable obstacle
to speculations in raw products, which, like the vegetable
ivory, yielded but small pecuniary profits, and could there-
fore not be introduced into the market under a system the
very opposite of that which, under the name of free-trade,
has since caused such beneficial changes in commercial and
international intercourse. Be that as it may, the vegetable
ivory is now largely imported, chiefly from the river Mag-
dalena, into Europe and the United States of America; but
we are still uncertain to what amount, as we have no sta-

PHYTELEPHAS. 3V9

tistical information, both M‘Culloch’s ‘ Dictionary of Com-
merce’ and Ure’s ‘ Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures, etc.,’
being silent on that point. Judging however from the use
that is made of the article, the amount must be considerable.
I know, from the inquiries instituted by Fred. Scheer, Esq.,
that in some years no less than a hundred and fifty tons of
it were imported into England; and that the “ nuts” are
shipped from the places where they grow in large quantities
is evident from Purdie mentioning, in one of his letters to
_ Sir W. J. Hooker (Botanical Magazine for 1847, comp.
p. 14) :—* A few days ago (about the middle of February,
1845) thirty tons of the ‘nuts’ arrived from the Magdalena
(at Santamarta), commissioned for (the United States of)
America and Germany.” The “nuts” may be purchased
in the toyshops of the British metropolis for a few pence
each, but when bought in large quantities they are obtain-
able at a very much cheaper rate; in August, 1854, one
thousand nuts were sold in London for seven shillings and
sixpence.

Long before the attention of commercial men was directed
to the vegetable ivory, the existence of the plant producing
it was known to botanists. It was during the latter part
of the last century that two Spaniards, Ruiz and Pavon,

320 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS. -

gave, in their ‘Systema Vegetabilium Flore Peruviane et
Chilensis,’ published at Madrid in 1798, a scientific name
(Phytelephas macrocarpa, R. et P.) to it, together with a
brief description and a notice of its Peruvian names, and
its properties and uses. The generic name (from gutoyr,
a plant, and eXedas, an elephant) was certainly well chosen,
and has ever since been retained in systematical works ;
unfortunately the diagnosis attached to it was very imper-
fect, and that is the reason why the plant has to this day
remained without a fixed station in the Natural System. A
short time after the publication alluded to, Humboldt and
Bonpland discovered the Phytelephas macrocarpa in New
Granada, and collected some information concerning it,
which however, useful as it proved in many respects, did
not throw much light upon it in a systematic point of view.
Nor did Gaudichaud’s labours tend much to advance our
knowledge in that direction. ‘That botanist did not see the
plant growing wild, and his three plates of it, published in
the ‘ Partie Botanique, Voyage de la Bonite,’ unaccompanied
as they are by any explanatory description, are almost un-
intelligible, and moreover they show that he had extravagant
notions respecting the species of which the genus Phytele-
phas is composed; he fancying that it was a congregate of

PHYTELEPHAS. 3ot

no less than ten species, all of which he seems to have thought
sufficiently characterized by the shape of the seeds—a most
variable organ in this instance. In 1845 and 1846 Purdie,
acting upon instructions from the Royal Botanic Gardens
at Kew, did a great deal towards clearing the mist in which
the Ivory-plant had been so long enveloped.

In 1848, Martius, towards the end of his famous work
on Palms, gave, partly from Gaudichaud’s figures, partly
from imperfect specimens in his possession, a generic cha-
racter of Phytelephas (Mart., Hist. Nat. Palmarum, vol. 11.
p- 306), which greatly tended to place the organization of
this remarkable plant in a clearer hight. Morren (Dodonea,
vol. 11. part 1. p. 74) also wrote some valuable remarks on
the seeds of it. In 1849, Sir W. J. Hooker contributed
his share towards the perfection of our knowledge of Phyte-
lephas. In an able article, published in ‘ Hooker’s Journal
of Botany and Kew Garden Miscellany’ vol. 1. p. 204, he
reproduced not only the pith of nearly all that had been
written upon the subject by Ruiz and Pavon, Humboldt
and Bonpland, Purdie, Martius, and Morren, but also added
some valuable observations of his own, as well as a detailed
description of the fruit and seed; and, availing himself of
the services of Mr. W. Fitch, he illustrated his paper with

Y

822 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

two plates, the one representing a view of a grove of
Ivory-plants on the banks of the Magdalena (from a sketch
of Edward Mark); the other, the fruit, seed, and several
toys made from the albumen. For want of perfect speci-
mens of the flowers that author was unable to confirm the
accuracy of Martius’ description of those organs, or supply
the deficiencies which the latter, from similar causes, was
compelled to admit in his generic character.

In December, 1847, whilst ascending the river Cupica,
I had the good fortune to fall in with the Ivory-plant, and
afterwards met with it in various other parts of Darien. A
selection from the notes taken on those occasions was sub-
sequently published (Hooker’s Journal of Botany and Kew
Gard. Mise. vol. i. p. 303, and‘ Narrative of the Voyage
of H.M.S. Herald,’ vol. i. p. 222). It contained a general
description of the plant, and dwelt upon the close relation-
ship of Phytelephas with Pandanee. Since then there has
not been, so far as I know, any additional information given
to the world; and it only remains for me to draw up an
account of this remarkable production, as perfect as the
various materials, published and unpublished, at my dispo-
sal will permit.

The Ivory-plant is confined to the continent of South

PHYTELEPHAS. 323

America, where it grows between the 9th degree of north,
and the 8th of south latitude, and the 70th and 79th of
west longitude. It inhabits damp localities, such as con-
fined valleys, banks of rivers and rivulets, and is found not
only on the lower coast region, as in Darien, but also on
mountains at an elevation of more than 3000 feet above the
sea, as In Ocaha. Amongst the Spaniards and their de-
scendants it is known by the name of “ Palma de marfil”’
(Ivory Palm), whilst its fruit is called by them “Cabeza
de Negro” (Negro’s head), and its seed “ Marfil vegetal”
(vegetable ivory). The Indians on the banks of the Mag-
dalena term the plant “‘ Tagua,” those on the coast of Da-
rien “ Anta,” and those in Peru “ Pullipunta” and “ Ho-
mero.”* It is generally found in separate groves, seldom
intermixed with other trees or shrubs, and where even

* At the Great Industrial Exhibition in Hyde Park, the nuts were exhibited
by R. Fauntleroy and Sons, sub Class 4, No. 135, under the names of “‘ Co-
rozo”’ or ‘‘ Corusco ;”” and Archer (Popular Economic Botany, p. 296, first
edit.) says: “ How these names originated is a mystery, as the Indians call
the Palm by the names Pullipunta and Homero.” It is indeed a inystery ;
but not as the Indians call the Palm “ Pullipunta” and ‘“‘ Homero”’ (for those
appellatious are only used in very limited districts), but as the name ‘‘ Corozo”
of which Corusco is evidently a corruption, is generally confined to certain

oil-palms, of the central parts of America, belonging to the genera Aftalea,
Hleis, and Bactris.—B. 8.

324 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

herbs are rarely met with, the ground appearing as if it had
been swept. The trunk is always pulled down, partly by its
own weight, partly by its aerial roots; and thus forms a
creeping caudex, which is frequently twenty feet long, but
is seldom higher than six feet. The top is crowned with
from twelve to twenty pinnatisect leaves, the entire length
of which is from eighteen to twenty feet. The segments
are towards the base of the leaf alternate, towards the apex
opposite; they are three feet long, two inches broad, and
their entire number amounts generally to 160. All the
plants which I saw were dicecious, the males always being
more robust, and their trunks more erect and higher, than
the females. The inflorescence of both emits a most pene-
trating, almond-lke smell. The inflorescence of the male
plant is a simple, fleshy, cylindrical spadix, which has three
or four spathes, the flowers of which are densely crowded
together, and sessile. They are generally furnished with a
small bract, and a calyx consisting of three sepals. The
stamens are numerous (thirty-six), the filaments filiform, the
anthers linear, erect, affixed nearly at the base, and bilo-
cular; the connective is mucronulate, and the pollen ellip-
tical and furrowed lengthways. The inflorescence of the
female plant has three or four spathes, and consists of a

PHYTELEPHAS. 326

simple spadix, bearimg on an average from six to seven
flowers, which form a dense cluster, and are surrounded by
bracts, placed in a spiral direction, the uppermost five of
which, being often much longer than the style, but generally
shorter, and pure white, have the appearance of petals; the
stamens are numerous, free, sterile, inserted in the torus be-
tween the petaloid bracts and the ovary. The ovary is from
six- to nine-celled, each cell containing a solitary, sessile,
erect ovule, attached to an axile placenta. ‘The style is
elongated, splitting into six, seven, eight, or nine branches,
stigmatose on the edges. The fruit, a collection of from
six to seven drupes, forms clusters, which are as large as a
man’s head, and stands at first erect, but when approaching
maturity—its weight increasing, and the leaf-stalk, which,
having up to that period supported the bulky mass, having
rotted away—it hangs down. A plant bears at one time
from six to eight of these heads, each weighing, when ripe,
about twenty-five pounds. The drupes are covered outside
with hard woody protuberances, formed in the same manner
as those of the trunk of Zestudinaria Elephanthipes. Tach
drupe contains from six to nine seeds, but generally seven.
The testa is thick, bony; the embryo peripherical, and
placed near the hilum.

326 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

In habit, the Phytelephas macrocarpa resembles the Co-
vozo colorado (Eleis melanococea, Geertn.) ; so much so ,in-
deed, that at first sight the two are easily mistaken for each
other. Both have trunks which, after creeping along the
ground a few yards, ascend, and attain about an equal height.
Their leaves also resemble each other ; and their fruit grows
in a similar way, attached to comparatively short peduncles.
The habit, however, is nearly the only link which connects
Phytelephas with the order of Palms: its simple spadix,
its imperfect flower, its indefinite number of stamens, and
its embryo situated in the axis of a fleshy albumen, separate:
it from Palms, and proclaim it (in conjunction with other
characters which it presents) a member of Endlicher’s Class
Spadicifiore, and Lindley’s Alhance Arales. Botanists
enumerate four Orders as belonging to that great division
(Pistiacee, Typhacee, Aroidea, and Pandanee). To Pisti-
acee it cannot belong, because (leaving habitual differences
out of consideration) it has an axile placentation. Amongst
Typhacee it cannot be placed, because it has a multiovular
ovary. With Aroidee it cannot be associated, because it
has a drupaceous fruit; and with Pandanee (including Cy-
clanthee) it cannot be joined, because it has an axile pla-
centation. Repelled by these and other considerations from

PHYTELEPHAS. 327

placing it with any of the Natural Orders above mentioned,
and finding it impossible to trace out any relationship of it
with any other group of plants besides the Spadiciflora, we
are compelled to adopt the views of Martius, who looks
upon it as the type of a new Natural Order (Phytelephan-
thee).

The uses of the Ivory-plant may, as far as they are
known, be summed up in a few words. The Indians cover
their cottages with the leaves of it; but this is only done
when those of Palms are not procurable, as the latter last
much longer than the former. The seed at first contains a
clear insipid fluid, with which travellers allay their thirst ;
afterwards, this same liquor becomes milky and sweet, and
it changes its taste by degrees as it acquires solidity, until
at last it is almost as hard as ivory. The liquor contained
in the young fruits turns acid if they are cut from the tree
. and kept some time. From the kernels (albumen) the
American Indians as well as European turners fashion the
knobs of walking-sticks, the reels of spindles, and little toys,
which are whiter than animal ivory, and equally hard, if
they are not put under water; and if they are, they become
white and hard when dried again. Bears, hogs, and turkeys
devour the young fruit with avidity. Purdie says: “ En-

| ee ee e

~

328 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

closing the seeds is a yellow, sweet, oily pulp, which is col-

lected at the proper season (October), and sold under the
name of Pipa de Tagua, for one real a pound at Ocaha;
a spoonful of it, with a little sugar and water, makes the
celebrated Chicha de Tagua, said to be the most delicious
beverage of New Granada.” ‘This statement is difficult to
reconcile with the internal organization of the fruit, and
requires some emendations. Purdie wrote the letter in
which it is contained in July, 1845, after he first saw the
Ivory-plant, when he could not know, from personal expe-
rience, what took place in October following. He must
have gathered it, therefore, from information obtained from
the native inhabitants, who, not being versed in botanical
terminology, might easily have made a mistake. The
“vellow, sweet, oily pulp” can, in my opinion, be nothing
save the second state into which the albumen enters, pre-
vious to its becoming solid; and I am the more inclined to
think that this opinion is correct, as it is borne out to a
certain extent by analogy. For in the Isthmus of Panama,
and other localities of New Granada, the name of Pipa is
applied to a beverage prepared from the young albumen of
cocoa-nuts, and in a similar way to that described by Purdie.
The same author proceeds :—“ It has, however, a slightly

RAPHIA. 329

drastic property. Although this substance contains much
oil, it never becomes rancid by keeping, but at the end of
nine months it preserves, in a crude state, all its flavour
and quality.”

Introduced in our gardens by Purdie, the Ivory-plant
has already produced flowers in two places,—a male speci-
men in 1852 at Schénbrunn, near Vienna; a female in 1855,
at Kew, near London.

Genus LII. RAPHIA, Commerson.

It is now some years ago since Mr. Smith, of the Royal
Botanic Gardens at Kew, succeeded in raising a remarkable
water-plant, which at once became the object of general at-
tention and admiration. That plant was Victoria regia of
Lindley, first made more widely known by the comprehensive
descriptions and splendid pictorial illustrations of Sir W. J.
Hooker, and now cultivated as the pride and gem of almost
every garden in Europe. Those minds which, zo/ens volens,
are ever ready to inquire into cause and effect, had, of
course, plenty to do to account for the sudden and great
popularity of the Royal Water Lily. Some thought it was
owing to its interesting history ; but that could not be the

330 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

case, as its history, however interesting, and however well
told in Sir W. J. Hooker’s writings, did not exceed in that
point that of many other plants which had not received an
equal share of popular favour. Others thought that the
name which the Water Lily bore was sufficient to answer
the question ; but however the fact that the name of their
justly beloved Queen was associated with it might have in-
fluenced the people of England, it could not have done
the same in foreign countries. Nor could the flower of the
Victoria, beautiful as it is, explain the case; for there are
flowers far surpassing it in beauty ;—nor the curious phe-
nomenon of the high degree of heat developed by the an-
thers, for that phenomenon is at the best more appreciated
by scientific men than by the people, and the experiments
of Ed. Otto, Klotzsch, and particularly Caspary, by which
it has been placed in a clear light, have only lately been
brought to a conclusion. Nothing remains then to account
for the sudden and lasting popularity of the Victoria, but
the dimensions of its leaves. Man is ever fond of strong
contrasts ; and we, accustomed only in our high latitudes to
leaves at the utmost but a few inches across, beheld with
astonishment bordering on amazement others, measuring
several yards in diameter. But if already the foliage of the

RAPHIA, 331

Victoria could produce such a powerful impression, what
would be the effect of the sight of a leaf of Raphia tedigera,
which, though not entire like that of the Royal Water Lily,
covers a surface of no less than two hundred square feet,
and which is probably the largest foliaceous expansion in
the Vegetable Kingdom ?

Raphia tedigera, Mart., the Jupati of the Lingoa Geral,
is one of the most striking of the many noble Palms which
grow on the rich alluvium of the Amazon. The trunk
does not generally exceed six or eight feet in height, and is
about a foot in diameter, clothed for some distance down
with the persistent sheathing bases of the leafstalks and the
numerous spinous processes which proceed from them.
These spines are sometimes like those of the Patawa (@no-
carpus Batava, Mart.), but not so thick and strong. Its
comparatively short trunk enables us fully to appreciate the
enormous size of its leaves, which are at the same time
equally remarkable for their elegant form. They rise nearly
vertically from the trunk, and bend out on every side in
graceful curves, forming a magnificent plume, seventy feet
in height and forty in diameter. ‘I have cut down and
measured,” says Wallace, “ leaves forty-eight and fifty feet
long, but could never get at the largest. The segments,

S52 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

spread out four feet on each side of the midrib, are rather
irregularly scattered, and not very closely set ; they drop at
the tips.

«The leafstalk is often twelve or fifteen feet long (below
the first segments of the leaf), and four or five inches in
diameter, perfectly straight and cylindrical. When dried, it
almost equals the quill of a bird for strength and lightness,
owing to its thin, hard outer covering, and its soft internal
pithy substance. But the Indian values it too highly to
use it entire. He splits off the smooth glossy outer cover-
ing in perfectly straight strips, and makes baskets and win-
dow-blinds. The remaining part is of a consistence between
pith and wood, and is split up into laths about half an inch
thick, and serves for a variety of purposes. _Window-shut-
ters, boxes, bird-cages, partitions, and even entire houses
are constructed of it. In the little village of Nazaré, near
Parad, many houses of this kind may be seen, in which
all the walls are of this material, supported by a few
posts at the angles, and fastened together with pegs and
slender creepers (sipés). The hand may be easily pushed
through one of these walls, but as the inhabitants do not
trouble themselves with the possession of any article worth
stealing, they sleep as composedly as if stone walls and iron

RAPHIA. 383

bolts shut them in, with all the security of a more advanced
civilization. ‘The same material is also used for stoppers
for bottles, and has been found admirably adapted for lining
insect boxes, holding the pins securely, and being more
uniform in its texture than cork.” It is also, according
to Spruce, used at Para for flambeaux. The fruit, a large
oblong drupe, has a bitter oily flesh.

The Jupati is the only American representative of the
genus Raphia, and inhabits exclusively the tide-flooded
lands of the Lower Amazon and Para rivers. ‘ When de-
scending from the Rio Negro to Para, in the summer of
1852, I observed,” says Wallace, ‘some of our Indians
who had made the voyage before, pointing out this tree to
their less travelled companions as one of the curiosities
of the lower country not to be found in the ‘ Sertio,’
In Africa Raphia has two representatives; &. vinifera,
Beauv. (Sagus vinifera, Poiret; 8. Raphia, Poir.; Metroxy-
lon vinifera, Spr.), a native of the west coast, yielding a
species of wine, which is termed ‘ Bourdon ;’ and A. Ruffia,
Mart. (2. Zyciosa et polymita, Comm. ; R. pedunculata, Palis.
de Beauv. ; Sagus pedunculata, Poir.; Metroxrylon Ruffa,
Spr.), a plant cultivated in Madagascar. All three species
are to be met with in our gardens. Their trunks are unarmed,

—
334 POFULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

short, thick, and ringed ; their leaves large and pinnatisect,
bearing linear segments, having spinulose midribs and edges ;
the spadices grow from among the leaves, and are very
large, and much-branched ; the flowers are moneecious, green-
ish or reddish-brown, and the fruit, a one-seeded drupe, is
covered with imbricated scales.

Genus LITT. RHAPIS, Lznneus filius.

Closely related to Chamerops and Thrinaz, and inhabit-
ing the eastern parts of Asia, is the genus Rhapis, composed
of five species, none of which are either distinguished on
account of any high degree of beauty or valuable properties.
Rhapis flabelliformis, Ait., a native of the island of Liu-
kiu and southern China, is cultivated in Japanese gardens
for ornamental purposes, and yields excellent walking-sticks,
called by the English “ ground rattans.” 2. Cochinchinen-
sis, Mart., is used for thatch and pillars.

The Rhapis are low Palms, with ceespitose roots and reed-
like trunks. ‘Their leaves are terminal and palmate, and
their petioles surrounded by a fibrous matting. The flowers

ae ne Cl
ee "

SABAL. 335

are polygamo-diecious, and of a yellowish colour. Their
fruit is still unknown.*

Genus LIV. SABAL, Adanson.

The feelings with which a botanist beholds those members
of a Natural Order of plants representing its extreme geogra-
phical limits are very much akin to those experienced by the
people in general at the sight of the harbingers of Spring,
the snowdrop, the crocus, or the early tulip, and hence
arises the interest attached to the genus Saal, and espe-
cially the Sabal Palmetto, Lodd., the most northern species
of all the Palms. Sadai, like Chamerops, belongs to the
Coryphinee tribe, and is composed of about half-a-dozen
species, all of which inhabit America, between the 18th and
34th degree of north latitude. They are either entirely stem-
less or have a middle-sized trunk ; their leaves are palmate ;
their flower hermaphrodite, arranged in branched spadices,
small, and of a dirty-white or greenish colour. ‘The fruit is.
a round dark green berry.

* Tn our gardens we cultivate :—R.? aspera, Hort. (Chamerops aspera,
Sieb.); R. flabelliformis, Ait.; R. humilis, Blume (Chamerops humilis,

Thunb. ; C. Sirotsik, Sieb.); and R. Kwanwortsik, Hort. (Chamerops Kwan-
wortsik, Siebold).

336 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

Three species inhabit the sea-coasts of the United States
of America, viz. 8. serrudata, Reem. et Schult. (Chamerops
serrulata, Mich.), 8. Adansonii, Guernsent (Chama@rops
glabra, Mill.; C. acaulis, Mich.; Corypha pumila, Walt. ;
Rhapis acaulis, Willd. ; Sabal minor, Pers.; 8S. pumita, Ell.),
and 8. Palmetto, Lodd. (Corypha Palmetto, Walt.; Chame-
rops Palmetto, Mich.). Sabat serrudata, R. et S., is found
in Georgia and Florida, but nothing is recorded of its useful
properties, nor is the species itself well known, systemati-
cally speaking. It has a creeping trunk, and resembles S.
Adansonii, but the fruit is double the size of that species.
Sabal Adansonii is an almost stemless plant, growing in
Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Louisiana: Pursh calls it a
plant of little beauty. It is however not entirely without
use, as the pithy part of the trunk is edible. Saba/ Pad-
metto, Lodd., the Palmetto of the Americans, is a middle-
sized tree, which grows, according to Pursh (Flora of North
America, p. 240) in Carolina and Florida, as far north as
latitude 34° 36’. Its roots contain a considerable quantity
of tannin; its wood is used for forming almost everlasting
wharfs, and its leaves are manufactured into light and durable
hats.

One species is met with in the Mexican States, viz. Sa-

SABAL. 337

bal Mexicana, Mart. ‘I never saw this Palm attain a
greater height than from twelve to twenty feet,’ says Heller
(Bonplandia, vol. ii. p. 157); ‘in Chiapas and Tabasco I
found it planted in regular rows, for the sake of its leaves,
used for manufacturing the ‘ sombreros (hats) de petate.’ It
is vernacularly termed Palmato (7. ¢. great Palm) in contra-
distinction to Palmita (7. e. small Palm) ; for the term ‘ pe-
tate’ refers more to the dried leaves used for platting the
hats than to the tree itself; moreover a peculiar kind of
mats are in Mexico and Central America called ‘ petates.’
The word petate seems to be of Aztec derivation, and ap-
pears to signify ‘covering,’ for ¢eyetate means ‘stony co-
vering.’ The leaves are prepared for platting by being
dried and bleached in the sun, and then reduced to narrow
shreds. The leaves of Corypha inermis are said to be de-
voted to the same purpose; but as I have not seen that
Palm, I cannot speak from personal experience about it.”
The West Indies produce several species of Sabai, but
our knowledge of them is as unsatisfactory as that we pos-
sess of the North American ones. We are even uncertain,
or at least have no positive proof, that the best-known
species, S. wmbraculifera, Mart., is a native of that archi-
pelago, as has generally been supposed. Mr. John Smith,
Z

338 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

of Kew, says, in one of his memoranda :—“ 8. wmbraculifera,
Mart. (S. Blackburniana, Hort. Angl., Corypha umbracu-
lifera, Hort. Germ.) is the plant called, m the last edi-
tion of ‘ Hortus Kewensis, Corypha umbraculifera, and the
two large specimens of it in the Royal Botanic Gardens at
Kew were for many years so called; but although we have
long known this species to be quite distinct from the well-
known Corypha umbraculifera of the Kast Indies, yet we are
still uncertain about its native countr: it is generally sup-
posed to be the West Indies, but we can furnish no evidence
of that being actually the case. All the specimens culti-
vated in England are very old, and it is singular that new
ones have never, as far as my personal knowledge goes,
been imported. It is by some recognized (by its appear-
ance) as the Great Bull or Thatch Palm of Jamaica: that
may be correct, but it is singular that, although we have of
late years received at Kew both living and dried specimens
of Jamaica Palms, yet this species was not among them.
Mr. Blackburn informed me that the traditionary history of
this plant is that it came from Africa, and that the two
specimens in Kew Gardens were the produce of seeds ripened
on his specimens, and sent thither ; which, if correct, must
be, judging from the appearance of the two specimens at

SEAFORTHIA. 339

present (1855), at least sixty years ago. There is a Fan-
Palm in Western Africa specifically unknown to us, but that
could hardly be identical with this, as the habit of S. umbra-
culifera has more that of the West India type, rendering it
probable that this plant is a native of Cuba, as has been
asserted.” *

Genus LV. SEAFORTHIA, R. Brown.
The shores of New Holland and the islands of the Indian

Archipelago are the native countries of this genus, which
by some authors is restricted to a very few species, by
others made to include a considerable number of those
generally grouped together under Areca. As I have already
mentioned several species under the latter genns, the few
words I shall have to say about Seaforthia will apply to
that genus only in its restricted sense. The Sea/orthias are
elegant trees, with unarmed ringed trunks, large pinnatisect
leaves, bearing reduplicate, eroded segments ; the flowers are

* In our garden catalogues we find the following species enumerated :—
Sabal Adansonii, Guern.; S. Adansonii, var. major ; S. glaucescens, Lodd. ;
S. Havanensis, Lodd. ; S. Mexicana, Mart.; S. minima ? Nutt.; S. Palmetto,
Lodd. ; S. serrulata, R. et Sch.; S. umbraculifera, Mart. (S. Blackburniana,
Hort.) ; and 8. Woodfordiana, Lodd.

~

340 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

axillary, polygamo-dicecious, placed on branched spadices,
and generally greenish; the fruit is an oval one-seeded
berry.*

Genus LVI. SLAKIA, Griffith.

Slakia geonomeformis, Griff., the Pinang Rambeh of the
Malays, is as yet the only representative of this genus,—a
genus allied to Bentinchkia (Kepplera), from which it differs
in its spathes and ruminated albumen. It is rather common
in forests near Malacca. Its trunk is from two to four feet
high, about half an inch in diameter, unarmed, and dis-
tinctly ringed; its leaves are pinnatisect, with linear seg-
ments, and from three to three and a half feet long; its
spadices are axillary and drooping, bearing simple spikes,
which are often two, but sometimes more, in number ; its
drupe is blackish-purple, and obovately oblong. In our
gardens it is still a desideratum.

* Wendland, adopting larger limits for this genus than I have here done,
gives the following list of the cultivated species :—Seaforthia coronata, Mart.
(Pinanga, Bl.); 8. costata, Mart. (Pinanga, Bl.); S. Dicksonii, Mart. (Pi-
nanga, Bl.); S. elegans, R. Rrown; S. Kuhlii, Mart. (Pinanga, Bl.); S.

latisecta, Mart. (Pinanga, Bl.); S. oryzeformis, Mart., and S. sylvestris
Mart. (Pinanga Javana, Blume).

THRINAX. 341

Genus LVII. SYAGRUS, Martius.

The Palms associated under the name of Syagrus are
closely allied to the genus Cocos, and inhabit the tropical
parts of America. They are unarmed trees, with ringed
trunks and terminal pinnatisect leaves, having linear seg-
ments; their flowers, appearing in the axils of the leaves,
are moncecious, and their fruit is a one-seeded, oblong
drupe.*

Genus LVI. THRINAX, Linneus filius.

The “chip hats,’ so much worn in warm weather in
England, have been ascertained to be made of the leaves of
Thrinax argentea, Lodd., a member of a beautiful genus of
Palms, inhabiting the West India Islands and the neigh-
bouring continent. Zhrinux is composed of about ten spe-
cies,t all of which have a low or middle-sized trunk, un-

* The following species are cultivated in European gardens :—Syagrus
amara, Mart. (Cocos amara, Jacq.); S. botryophora, Mart. (Cocos botry-
ophora, Mart.); S. campestris, Herm. Wendl. (Cocos campestris, Lodd.);
S. Mikaniana, Mart. (Cocos Mikaniana, Mart.); S. plumosa, Herm. Wendl.
(Cocos plumosa, Lodd.); and S. refleca, Herm. Wendl. (Cocos reflera, Hort,

Germ.).— Herm. Wendl. Indez, \. c. p. 38.
+ We cultivate in our gardens—TZhrinaz argentea, Lodd.; T. excelsa,

842 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

armed, but often clad with the persistent bases of the pe-
tioles ; terminal, fan-shaped leaves ; green or greenish-yellow,
hermaphrodite flowers, arranged in axillary branched spa-
dices; and a round, one-seeded berry.

The leaves of 7. argentea are also manufactured into
baskets and other kinds of wicker-work in the West Indies,
as well as at St. Albans in Hertfordshire; and they are
made into brooms in the Isthmus of Panama, whence the
tree has received in the latter country the name of “ Palma
de escoba” (Broom Palm). The leaves of various other spe-
cies (7. parviflora, Sw., T. pumilio, Lodd., T. multiflora,
Mart., etc.) serve as thatch.

Genus LIX. TRITHRINAX, Martius.

In a popular work this genus may be dismissed in a few
words. Of its useful properties we know nothing. Only
one species, Zrithrinax Brasiliensis, Mart., growing in the
campos of the province of Rio Grande de S. Pedro, between
the rivers Uruguay and Paraguay, may be said to be the

Lodd.; 7. ferruyinea, Lodd.; T. graminifolia, Hort. (T. fragilis, Hort.); T.
parviflora, Swartz; T. parviflora, Hort.; T. pumilio, Lodd.; T. radiata,
Lodd.; 7. rupestris, Lodd.; and T. stellata, Lodd.— Wendl. Index Palm. p.39.

WALLICHIA. 343

genuine representative of this genus ; for 7. aculeata, Liebm.,
from Central America, and 7. mauritieformis, Hort. (both
cultivated in European conservatories), are doubtful con-
geners. JZ. Brasiliensis has an erect unarmed trunk, bear-
ing fan-shaped leaves, hermaphrodite or (by abortion) poly-
gamous greenish-yellow flowers, and one-seeded berries.

Genus LX. WALLICHIA, Roxburgh.

Like Caryota, to which it is allied, the genus Wallichia
has the peculiarity of flowering only once during the term
of its existence, and having leaves the segments of which
resemble the fins and tail of a fish; but the latter differ
essentially from those of Caryota, by being pinnatisect in-
stead of bi-pinnatisect. The Wallichias form a part of the
underwood in the forests of Chittagong, Assam, and the sub-
Himalayan range, at Darjeling. They are low, spreading
Palms, with reed-like trunks, sometimes creeping (sobolife-
rous) ; their leaves are pinnatisect, and furnished with net-
like fibres ; the segments are wedge-shaped, variously eroded,
and on the upper surface dark green, on the lower whitish
with black dots; the flowers are monccio-dicecious; the

344 POPULAR HISTORY OF PALMS.

berry, containing a caustic juice, is somewhat dry, one- or
two-seeded, oblong, or sometimes oblique, and of a red or
- white colour.

Wallichia, which commemorates the name of the well-
known botanist, Nathaniel Wallich, is composed of half-a-
dozen species. W. caryotoides, Roxb. (Harinia caryotoides,
Hamilt., Wrightia caryotoides, Roxb.), the Chilputta or
Belputta of Chittagong, has long been an inmate of our
gardens, and is one of the most characteristic species of this
genus. It is an elegant tufted Palm, each tuft consisting
of several very short trunks; the leaves, ascending, curved,
are eight or nine feet long, two and a half feet broad. MW.
porphyrocarpa, Mart. (Caryota humilis, Reinw., Orania re-
galis, Bl, W. Oran, Bl.), has also been for some years
cultivated in Europe, as has also been another species, VW.
densiflora, Hook., introduced by Dr. Hooker from the East
Indies.

Genus LXI. ZALACCA, Rumphius.

The Palms composing this genus are spreading, almost
stemless plants, without the whip-like elongations of the
petioles, characteristic of Calamus and Plectocomia, and

ZALACCA. 545

others of its allies ; the petiole, together with the sheath, are
both armed with several series of rigid spines ; the leaves are
pinnatisect ; the flowers are moncecious, arranged in round
catkins; the fruit is often scaly, containing from one to
three seeds (which latter are like berries). All the species
inhabit the forests of the islands and continent of Tropical
Asia. Zalacca Wallichiana, Mart. (Z. edulis, Wall.), the
Salac Koombar of Penang, common in swampy places about
Malacca,.the Tenasserim provinces, as well as in Burmah,
has a fruit which, like that of the Salac Batool (Z. affinis,
Griff.) and the Rungum of Malacca (Z. macrostachya, Griff.)
is edible. The petioles of the leaves of Z. macrostachya
when split are used for tying on Aéap of house-thatch, com-
posed of the leaves of Nipa fruticans, and are also made
into baskets and other descriptions of wicker-work. Nothing
is recorded of the other species of this genus,—for instance,
the Assam-Koomber of Penang and the Assam-paiah of the
Malays of Malacca (Z. conferta, Griff.), and the Salak of
Penang (Z. glabrescens, Griff.)*

* We cultivate in our gardens:—Zalacca Blumeana, Matt. (Z. edulis,

Bl), and Z. Wallichiana, Mart. (Z. edulis, Wall.).— Wendl. Index Palm.,
p. 41. ?

Bee

Acrocomia, Mart.
aculeata, Lodd. .
Cabensis, [odd.. « « .
plobosa, #for~—. « 1.
lasiospatha, Mart.
Mexicana, Karv. .
sclerocarpa, Wart.
Zapotecis, oe :

Aracuri

African hair .

African Palm-oil

i an

Alfonsia pledfera. ‘H. B. E

Amarishina’s name for Palms

Amesoneuron, Gapp.
anceps, Gapp. :
calyptrocalyx, Gapp.
dracophyllum, Gepp.
fagifolium, Gapp.

Anao

Anatomical Structure of Palms

Anau

Anowe,

Anta .

ee AS
Page
162 | Arairi .
45 | Areca, Innn. .
. 46 alba, Bory.
. 46 alba, Hort.
. 249 Baueri, Hook. .
46, 48 Banksii, Wart.
. 48 Catechu, Willd. .
46, 51 crinita, Mart...
. 48 Dicksonii, Roxb. .
180 horrida, Grif.
. 142 laxa, Hamilt. .
191 lutescens, Hort. . :
64 Madagascariensis, Mart.
. 201 monostachya, Mart. .
23 Nagensis, Grzff. .
27 Nibung, Mart.
29 oleracea, Linn.
29 pumila, Wart.
29 rubra, Bory . .
29 sapida, Banks et Sol.
63 tigillaria, Jack.
13 triandra, Roxb.
63 | Areca-nut.
63 | Aren .
. 323 Arenga, La Bill.

348 INDEX
Page Page
Arenga Griffithii, Seem. . 61 | B. caryotefolia, Mart. . 99
Manillensis, Hort. 2B} cheetorachis, Mart. . 99
obtusifolia, Wart. BE Corozillo, Hort. . 99
saccharifera, Za Bill. 61, 62 cuspidata (?), Mart. . 99
Westerhoutii, wu «61 globosa (minor), Gertn. 47
Aricuri c 180 Macanilla, Hort. . . 99
CT : 170 macracantha, Wart. . 2 99
Astrocaryum, C. FE. W. Mey Meyer 2 fg macrantha (major) Jacq. 98, 99
acaule, Mart. . . 72,74 Maraja, Mart. . . 6 SERS
aculeatum, Mey. . 72 martinezizformis, Hort. . 99
Awarra, Hort. 73 minax, J/g. 99
Ayri, Mart. Space ee os 72 minor, Jacq. . : 98
emmpesire, Mari . . 4°. 72 pallidissima, Mart. . 99
Murumuru, Wart. 73, 74 ' Poiteauana, Hort. Paris. 99
rostratum, Hoo/-. es simplicifrons, Mart. . 99
Tucuma, Mart. 73, 74 | setosa, Vurt. . 99
vulgare, Mart. . 73 | — varinensis, Hort. . . 99
Assai 5 10 | Bentinckia (Kepplera), Berry 124
Assam Koonbar . 345 | Codda- aa me 3 124
Assam-paiah . . 345 | Bertam 202
mines, BK... |. 76 | Betel-nut . 40
amygdalina, H. et K. 76 | Betel-nut tree 50
Butiros, Lodd. 76 | Bhyass 274
Cohune, Wart. 76, 80, 280 | Birgos. ivf
compta, Mart. . . . . «. 76 | Bonga. ; 50
coronata, Lodd. ; 76 | Borassus, Linz. . . 99
excelsa, Mart. 76, 97 ? Athiopum, Mart. . 100

funifera, Wart. t
Gierips, Mart... 20%. so in'(6
en, MATE... ie lwcig
spectabilis, Mart. . . . . 76

Atap 345
Bacaba ‘ 272
Baccites, Zenk. . 27
Bactris, Jacq. 97
acanthocarpa, Mart. . 99
Caracasana, Lodd. 99

flabelliformis + . . . 81,100

Gomutus, Lour. « s « 62

piunatifrons, Jacq. 140
Bourdon. -,.. eae 333
Brahea, Wart. 126 -

dulcis, Mart. . 126
Branched Palms. 16
Buriti . 257
Burtinia, Endl. 27
Bitesa).. . .. | te es
Bussa cloth. .-.2.. «.«.. ase

INDEX. 349

Page Page

Cabbage of Cocoa-nut Tree . 160 | Carrying off the palm , . 222
Cabbage Palm of West Indies . 277 | Caryota, Linn. . 134
Cabecudo : re Sree WE furfuracea, BZ, . 138
Cabeza de Negro ti S2e humilis, Rein. . « d44
Caiaue . at 201, 271 maxima, B/. . 137, 138
Calamus, Zinn. . e+. 428 mitis, Lou. . ve
asperrimus, Hort. . 130 obtusa, Grif... . . 137
ciliaris, B/. ' . 130 obtusidentata, Grif. ep
erinitus, Wendl. . «4795230 propingua, Bl. . 137, 138
Draco, Linn. . 128-130 Rumphiana, Mart. <<: Sie
heteroideus et var., BZ. . . 130 sobolifera, Wall. . 137, 138
Javensis, Bl. . . 130 urens, Zanmm. . . 136, 138
latispinus, Hort. . . 130 | Castellinia, Massal. 27
maximus, Rein. . 317 | Catechu 57
montanus, Hort. . . 130 | Ceratolobus, Bl. 138
niger, Willd. . . 130 glaucescens, Bi. . «S05
oblongus, Hort. . . 130 | Ceroxylon Andicola, H. BK. 218, 222
oblongus, Reinw. . 180 Klopstockia, Mart. eee
oriatus, ‘Bi. ; . 130 niveum, Hort. . . 218
rhomboideus, Hort. . . . 180 | Chameedorea, Willd. . - 138
Rotang, Lznn. 130, 131 Arenbergiana, Wend. . 140
Royleanus, Grif. 129, 131 atrovirens, Mart. . 140
rudentum, Lour. . 130, 131 aurautiaca, Hort. . . 140
Salacea, Hort. . 130 Bartlingiana, Wendl. . 140
Scipionum, Louwr. et brevifrons, Wendl. . 140
verus, Lour. . . 130 Casperiana, K7. . 140
Calamosagus, Grif... Be bj concolor, Hort. ‘ . 140
harinizfolius, Griff. . . 127 desmoncoides, Wendl. . 140
laciniosus, Griff. . . 127 elatior, Hort. . . 140
ochriger, Griff. 27 elegans, Mart. . . 140
scapiger, Griff. . 2 (12 Ernesti-Augusti, Wendi. . 140
wallichizefolius, Grif. ee ry fenestrata, HZort. . . 140
Calapha . 179 fibrosa, Wendl. . 140
Calappa Laut . . 238 flavo-virens, Wendl. . 140
Cane-bridge . . 133 flexuosa, Hort. . 140
Cana de la vibora . 228 geonomeformis, Wendl. . 140
Carana 60h 28 glaucifolia, Wendl. . . 140
Carnauba . . 182 gracilis, Hort. . 140

~

350

C. gracilis, Willd. :
graminifolia, Wendl.
humilis, Hort. .
Karwinskiana, Wendl.
Klotzschiana, Wendl.
latifrons, Hort.
lepidota, Wendl. .
Lindeniana, Hort. .
Lindeniana, Wendl. .
lunata, Lied. .
Martiana, Hort. .
Martiana, Wend.
Mexicana, Hort. .
oblongata, Mart.
oblongata, Hort.
pygmea, Wend.
radicalis, Mart.
regia, Hort.
repens, Hort. .
resinifera, Wendl.
robusta, Hort.
Sartorii, Lied.
scandens, Hort. .
Schiedeana, Hort.
Schiedeana, Dart.
simplicifrons, Hort. .
speciosa, Hort. .
Tepejelote, Lied. .
velutina, Hort.

Chameerops, Zinn. .
acaulis, Mich.
arborescens, Pers.
aspera, Lieb. .
Biroo, Hort. .
callosa, Fu/ch,
Chinensis, Hort. .

Cochinchinensis, Zour. .

conduplicata, Hort. .

INDEX.

Page Page
: 140 C. excelaa 9) 4.) Ga
. 140 fenestrata, Hort. . . . . 246
. 140 glabra, Nutt. -. 3s... reas
. 149 gracilis, lodd. . . . . . IAl
. 140 Griffithiana, odd. . . 141, 144
. 140 Guianensis, odd. . . . . 141
. 140 humilis, Linn. .°Jo4* -) pgaeS-
. 143 humilis, Thunb. . . . 335
. 140 Hystrix, Fras. . 141, 142, 145
. 140 Kwanwortsik, Zzeb.. . . . 335
. 140 Martiana, Wallos. 4. ea
. 140 Palmetto, Mich. .. ..-.- <7 5gae
. 140 Ritchiana, Griff... . . . . 144
. 140 serrulata, Mich. . 145, 336
. 140 tomentosa, Hort. Germ. . . 141
. 340 | Chattah. .° i> .:-. 97
. 140 | Chattah-pat . 234, 235
- 140 | Chilta-cita . ») 45 3°)
. 140 | Chip hats. . 5, 341
. 140 | Chiguichiqui. . e's
. 140 | Classification of Fossil Palms . . 26
. 140 | Cleophora contarioides, Gertn. ss
. 140 | Cocoa-nut. eo
. 140 | Cocoa-nut milk . : 165, a
:°140 | Cocoa-nut oil. ;-. -\ (2
. 140 | Cocoa-nut tree . ... \ ~~ WER
. 140} Coco-de Mer. -. °. « .3eee
. 1389 | Cocos, Linn. . . wee
. 140 aculeata, Jacg.. 2°.) 8 Seay
. 141 amara, Jacg.. . +» » s Som
. 336 Australis, Mart. .. “<4 ae
. 141 botryophora, Mart.. . . . 341
. 335 butyracea, Mart.. . . 178,180
. 238 campestris, Lodd. . . . . 341
. 141 capitata, Mart. « . +. eRq®
. 141 Chilensis, Mol. . . . « w» 8265
. 141 coronata, Mart... « . « "a7
. 141 flexuosa, Mart. . « « “=neEee

INDEX. » 351

Page

C. fusiformis, Sw. 47
Jatta, Hort. 185
lapidea, Gertn. 77
Maldivicus 238
Mikaniana, Mart. ‘ “7 real
nucifera . . .19, 31, 178,179
oleracea, Mart. . 178, 180
plumosa, Hort. Kew. . 178
—— plumosa, Lodd. . 341
reflexa, Hort.. . e SAL
schizophylla, Mart. . 178, 179
Coco de Salomon . 238
Codda-panna . . 124
Cohune Oil 82
Cohune Palm ae
Cool . 106
Copernicia, Mart. . . 5 28F
Barbadensis, Hort. . . 185
cerifera, Mart. 18, 182
hospita, Wart. . 183
maritima, J/art. . . 185
Miraguama, Mart. 18, 184
Pumos, Mart. . . 184
robusta, Wendl. . 185
tectorum arty 183, 185
Coqueiro . ito
Coquillas . 80
Coquillo-nut . 5, 80
Coquito habroso . 49
Corozo . ‘ 323
Corozo colorado . 201
Corozo gallinazo 96
Corusco ‘ 323
Corypha, Linz. . 185
—- Australis, R. Br. . 237
cerifera, Ar. da Cam. 182
Cumingii, Lodd. . . 187
dulcis, H.B.K. . 126

Page
C. Gebanga, B/.. . . . 186, 187
Guanacoa, Horé.. . . -4 +6185
inermis. . . 337
macrophylla, Hort. Germ... 187
maritima, RB. Br: soe
Miraguama, HEE... 2S
Palmetto, Walt... . « Meee
Pamos, 7.B.K. ) oo) ee
rotundifolia, Zam. . . . 238
tectorum, H.B.K. . . 183, 184
Thebaica, Jann, . . . 97 gene
umbraculifera, Hort. . . . 338
umbraculifera, Zizn. . 186, 187
Goury . . . ..)). ..eeeee
Coyol . . . . +s >. 4 _
Cucurito . . . eee
Cultivation of Palms 3 in Northern
Europe. . . +) ee
Curry Cocoa- put. 2, an
Demonorhops, Bl.. . . . . 130
asperrimus, Hort, . . . . 130
melanochetes, BJ. . . . . 130
niger, Hort. ~.. 2. . <a
oblongus, B/.. . . .. see
Salaccea;. Hort. . < . eee
vimninalis, Hort... ... .. <a
Dates, 4 .. s * lo “eee
Date-tree . . . os
Datiles-—. . .. aoe GOS
Deleb Palm . . . 215
Derivation of the fens «Palm ” Cine
Desmoncus, Mart. . . . . . 187
P aculeatus, Hort. . . . . 188
dubius, Lodd.. ..< 4 <raeeeae
latifrons, Mart. ».-. \. “ope
macracanthus, Mart. . . . 188
mitis, Mert. « s «..e 4a

352

D. orthacanthus ? Mart.
prunifer, Pep. . .

Diplothemium, Mart. .
caudescens, Hort.
maritimum, Mart.

Double ‘Cocoa-nut
Doomale Tel .

Douma Thebaica, Pozr.
Dragons’-blood .
Drymophleeus

Dak-).

Dwarf Fan Balm.

Guineensis, Zinn.
melanococca, Gaertn.

Pernambucana, Lodd.

Eugeissonia, Griff. .
tristis, Griff. .

Euterpe :
Caribzea, Spr. .
edulis, Mart.
globosa, Hort.
montana, Grah. .
oleracea, Mart.
pisifera, Hort.

Extreme Geographical Timits of

Palms .

Fasciculites, Cotta .
Flabellaria, Sterns. .
Flowers of Palms
Fossil Palms .

~

INDEX.
Page Page
. 188 | Foliage of Palms o ae
. 188 Foolful = ea - 50
. 190 | Fulchironia Senegalensis, Leseb. . 284

. 273

. 190 | Gebang Palm . PEE:
. 130 | General Description of Palms «23
. 63 | Geographical Distributionof Palms 25
21, 238 | Geological Distribution of Palms 25
. 114 | Geonoma, Willd. . . . . . 206
. 214 acutiflora, Mart... . . . 207
. 130 baculifera, Ath. . . . . . 207
. 135 diyersa, Ath. .. 2.23. 3s eee
. 63 fenestrata, Hort.. . . . . 246
23, 142 fragilis, Hort. Par... . . . 207
fragrans, Hort. . sacs) shee
175 interrupta? Mart. . . . . 207
63 latifrons, Hort. . 2 « & seme
63 maxima, Kih.:.. «35 pee
191 pinnatifrons, Willd... . . ~ 207
. 200 Pohliana, Horé, ...i . os. eee
31, 200 Portiana, Hort. 4.3952
. 201 pulchella, Hort... 2 2 2G
. 202 Schottiana, Mart. . . . . 207
. 202 simplicifrons, Willd. . . . 207
. 203 Spixiana, Mart. . . . . . 207
ek | undulata, KZ... . [oa qa
205, 206 Willdenowii, K7.. . . . . 207
59 | Gingerbread-tree . . . . . 214
: 205, 206.) Geat Willow, .. (see 281
. 10, 205,206 | Gomuti . 63, 64
59 | Gomutus obtusifolius, Bi. ty 61
saccharifer, Spr... . . . « 62
30 | Goorvaka . . .°> 3 4") Sue
Grayatanas . . . . 2. 90
26 | Great Bull-Palm ... . . 338
26 | Great Macaw-tree . . . . - 49
79 | Guilielma, Mart. . . . . ~ 207
25 Macaiia, Mart. . . . « » 208

INDEX.
Page |
G, speciosa, Wart. . .10,208 | Jaggery . .
spectabilis, Mart. . . 208 | Jaggery of Cocoa- a Tree
: Jaggery of ape
Habit of Palms . . 14} J agua. .
Habitat of Fossil Palms 28 | Jagua Palm .
Habitat of Palms : uel aguri .
Harinia caryotoides, Ham. . 344 | Jan .
Height of Palms 15 | Jara Palm
Hell-water - 69 | Jhapee . .
Heotau - 131 | Jubea, WBE... .
Homero F . 823 spectabilis, ZH. BE. .
Hyophorbe, Gaertn. . - 212 Jupati .
Indica, Gertn. » 212 | Juriparis .
lutescens, Hort. . . 212
Hyospathe, Mart. . 212 Kabong .
elegans, Hort. - 140 | Kafa
elegans, Mart. . 212 | Kassu .
Hyphene, Gertz. - 213 | Kawul .
eucifera, Pers. . . 214 | Kelingoos ;
Thebaica, Mart. 31, 214 Kelingoo Flour . .
Tu 63 Kentia sapida, Mart.
7 > Se ; Khujjoor . :
mportance of Palms to mankind 7 Kh
Inaja aa eet see sisi Soars
— vies ‘Heda King Cocoa-nut .
Iniartea, Ruiz et Pav. . . 216 ate nec sta: Rargencunt
~ sea ie aan. | Kittulfiire. 2). ~:.
Andicola, Spr. eee be oa
exhorthiza, Mart. 217, 218, 219 ——— cevifera, Karst
ferruginea, Hort. . ~ ene Ko = b e
Klopstockia, Hort. . . 218 Kunthia a xian
remorsa, A7. . 218 > :
aa ee ' 99] Xalapensis, Otto et Dietr. :
ventricosa, Mart. . 217
Saag .. 252 pie
In . he Largest Palm- fruit .
Jacitara . 188 | Latania, Commers.

2A

. 331
218, 219

ee
. 173

: 187

. 228
. 140

354

Latania Borbonica, Lam. .

Chinensis, Jacq. .
Commersonii, Jizz. .
Loddigesii, Mart.
rubra, Jacq.
Leaves of Palms .
Leopoldinia, Mart. .
major, Wallace .
Piassaba, Wallace
pulchra, “Mart.
Lepidocaryum, Mart.
gracile, Mart.
tenue, Mart. .
Licuala, Rumph. .
acutifida, Mart.
brevipes, Hort.
elegans, B/.
gracilis, B/.
horrida, B/.
mana, B/. .. 2
peltata, Roxb. .
pumila, Reinw.
Rumphi, B27.
spinosa, Wurm. .
Lif

Livistonia, R. Brown .
Australis, R. Br.
inermis, Hort. :
Jenkinsiana, Griff. .
Mauritiana, Wall. .
oliveeformis, Mart. .
rotundifolia, Mart.
spectabilis, Griff.

Lodoicea, La Bill. 3
Sechellarum, La Bill.

Lontar . :

Londonia excelsa, Hort.

17,

Lithocarpus cocciformis, arg

937,

237,

INDEX.
Page
237 | Luyos .

. 237

229 | Macahuba
229 | Macajah
229 | Macaja

17 | Macauba .
230 | Macaw
231 | Macoja
231 | Makre.
230 | Malaccacanes . .
933 | Malortiea, Wendl. .
233 gracilis, Wendl. .
233 latisecta, Wendl. .
233 | Manicaria, Gerta
233 saccifera, Gertn. .
185 | Manilla Dragons’ Canes
234 | Magqueiras ;
234 | Martinezia, R. mS Pad.
234 aculeata, K7.
234 Aiphanes, Mart. . :
234 caryoteefolia, H. et K. .
234 ? globosa, Hort. .
234 ? truncata, Brong.
234 | Maron. sae
286 | Mauritia, Linn. .

77 Caraiia, Wallace .
235 flexuosa, Linz.
237 vinifera, Mart.

59 | Maximiliana, Wart. .
238 regia, Mart.
238 insignis, Mart.
238 | Mayam
238 | Metroxylon, Kenig
238 ? elatum, Mart.
238 filare, Mart.
238 leeve, Mart.
100 Ruffia, Spr...
141 Rumphii, Mart. .

M. vinifera
Miel de Palma
Miriti .
Mocaja
Molinea .
Monchono

Morenia, Ruiz et Pas: :

corallocar pa, Hort.

fragrans, R. e¢ Pav.

oblongata, Wendl.
Peeppigiana, Mart.

Morichi

Morii .

Mucuja

Murichi

Muriti .

Murmuru .

Nariel .
Narikel
Narikela .
Narikelee .
Nari Kundum
Nargel

Naua

Nawa .

Nawasi

Nera gt ge

a ee

Niaa era

Niau

ign...

Nipa, Thunb. .
fruticans, Thunb.
littoralis, Blanco .

Nipadites .

Number of Pais Sain

Native country of Palms .

INDEX. 855
Page Page
. 333 | Number of Fossil Palms known. 28
. 226 | Number of Palms under cultivation 35
. 252
. 46 | Odials . . 106
. 225 | Cnocarpus, Mart. . 270
. 64 altissimus, K7/. «* See
. 268 Bacaba, Mart. 270, 273
. 268 Batava, Mart. ah ee
. 268 Bolivianus, Hort. . 273
. 140 Caracasanus, Lodd. . . 273
268 Chiragua, Hort. . . 273
252, 256 Cubarro, Hort. . 278
. 175 disticha, Mart. . 271
46, 48 regius, Spr. . 217
. 252 Sancona, Spr. . . 278
256 utilis, AZ. ‘ . 2738
74 | Oil Palm of Africa : . 191
Oini : . 160
179 | Olas 111, 113
179 | Ollahs. . . 113
179 | Omate (or Gaus 2) 164, 167
179 | Oncosperma, B/. . 274
179 filamentosa, Bl. . . 274
179 horrida, Seem. . 274
29 | Opaa . . . 164
64 | Orania regalis, Bi. . 344
64 | Oreodoxa, Willd. . 276
166 ? acuminata, Willd. . 278, 279
63 ? frigida, H. et K. . 278
179 oleracea, Mart. 277, 279
164 regia, H.ct K.. « . 277, 279
159 2 Sancona, H. ez = 278, 279
. 270 | Ota. . 174
268 | Oua 163
268
. 268 | Paleospatha, ad 27
97. 1 Palma .-+:. 23
35 | Palmacites, Br ongn. 26

~
356 INDEX.
Page Page
Palma deescoba. . . . . . 842 | Phenix, Zinn. ; 279, 282
Palmademarfl. . .. . . 329 acaulis, Hamilt.. . . 284,315
Palma de sombrero .. . . 184 dactylifera, L. . 19, 279, 284
Palma de vino . Sst. Ree farinifera, Rorb. . 284, 313

Palma dulce (de Rio Magdalena) 180
Palma real de la Havana . . . 277
Palma real (del Rio Sinu). . . 180
Palma real (de Panama) . . . 96

Palma redonda .... . . 184
MEM CEPTS > uy ce ew ote BS
SMES cele) 5 i PENS ot, Jeu GOON
Re a OL | aes
Palmita . . Et ae pe

Palmita of Gandia 5. Str, i a

eee ee eee

Palm-house at Kew. . . . . 38

Palm Oil . :

Palm Sunday. 22

Palms, the princes of the Vegetable
Kingdom

SG Ria eran etait
oS SSOP ae
Seer ret

Palymra wood
Parinarium Senegalense . . . 214

Pashiuba barrignda . ie . co tee
Pataica .. oie tole antiies cen
eS. cg oe aR a alin, cee
Pana . Brg Sa Boo the cere
Peach Palm tae : 10, 211
ey, ee | eee ST |
Penang item av SE aon
Pénu .. oe ON pas bn ee
eee eee
EE 8 oe, . pel ee
SS oe asin of coo
saa og in es)
Pheenicites, Brongn. 0 (ie: 08 oc

ferruginea, Hort. . . . 284
Ouseleyana, Grif. . . . . 285
paludosa, Rorb. . . . . . 815

pedunculata, Grif. . . . . 285.

reclinata, Jacq. 284, 285
spinosa, Thonn. 284, 285
sylvestris, Roxb. . 284, 311

Phytelephas, R. ct R. . . . . 817

macrocarpa, R. et R. . 318
Piassaba (Piacaba) . 76, 7, =
Penang . . .

Pinanga coronata, Bl. a: ne
costata, , ee. . 340
Dieksoni, Bl. +4 eee
Javana, Bl... .. Ju,

Kubli, BJ. . .. i).
letiserta, Bl. 4. /ax re
Nenga, BJ. ... «eee
Pimong.........-. /+ 2

Pirijae . - «ye
Piritta .. .. ic'J\
Plass tikooss. ..... 4: ss) ste
Plectocomia, Mart.. . . . . 816

Assamica, Griff... .. sco temew

elongata, Mart. . . . . . 316
Poetical association of Palms. . 22
Poka Chelloo. . .... isc. eee
Pel... s. 3...

Pol wakéré. .. .. +. «, gee
Poolooc Odials . . . . . «. 106
Poonak . 174
Princes of the Vegetable Kingdom 23
Ptychosperma pate . 138
Pullipunta . . . .« 323

INDEX.
Page
Pumos. .... . . . . 184 | S. umbraculifera, Mart.
NE. Very SPS per rs ERD Woodfordiana, Lodd.
ee. a Se TOSS | Sago ;
Ree Sor et ok ee OO. | Bape 5.
Saguerus Langkab, Bl.
_ oe ey 70 Manillensis, Hort. .
Raphia, Commers. Wee. gl Pig ES Rumphii, Rorb. :
~ lyciosa, Comm. . . . . . 383 | Sagus elatus, Reimw.
= See levis, Rumph.
polymita, Comm.. . . . . 333 Raphia, Pois.. .
tedigera, Mart. . . . . . 331 Rumphi, Willd. .
Rau para . ' . 160 vinifera, Poir.

Relationship of Palms. . . . 12
Remains of Fossil Palms . . . 26
Rhapis, Zinn. fil, . . . . . 334
Paspera, Hort. . . . . . 335

? Cochinchinensis, B/. . 141, 334

_#~ flabelliformis, 47¢7. . . 334, 335

eg
wavamecn, Horf. .. ... . ‘. 234
Kwanwortsik, Hort... . . . 335
Rotang Dahown. . . . . . 316
Rotang Donam . . . . . . 127
Motsne Simote .. . . . . 127
PEERS? hc cat... eh ee
Wendl, Adags:. .-.. .. 2-3 NSS

Adansonii, Guern. . . 336,339
Blackburniana, Hort. . . . 838
glaucescens, Lodd. . . . . 389
Havanensis, odd. . . . . 889

niaritns, Bork... =->3 0). EBB
Mexicana, Mart., . . 337,339
minima (?) Nutt... . . . . 339
mumor, Pera = : .% . . 306
Palmetto, Zodd. . 335, 336, 339
pumila, FE. . . . . ~ . 336
serrulata, R.ef S. . . 336, 339

Sagwire

a ae
Salac Koombar .
Salac Batool .
Salix Caprea, Linn.

Saribus Chinensis, B7. .

rotundifolius, B/.

oliveeformis, Hassh.

ee

Seaforthia, R. Br.
coronata, Mart.
costata, Mart.
Dicksonii, Mart. .
elegans, R. Br.
Kuhlii, Wart.
latisecta, Mart.

oryzeeformis, Mart. .

premorsa, Hort.
sylvestris, Mart. .
Seho
Seje Palm

Segments Ty of Palm-leaves 18

Shakspeare’ s Palm-tree
Sheath of Palms ,
Slakia, Griff.

geonomeformis, ( Grif. .

358

Soze
Soopara
Soyale. ..
Spadix of Palms .
Spathe of Palms. 3
Structure of Palm-leaves .
Structure of Palms .
Syagrus, Mart. .
amara, Mart. . :
botryophora, Mart. .
campestris, Wendl. .
Mikaniana, Wart.
plumosa, Wend. .
reflexa, Wendl.

Systematic position of Palms .

Tagua .

Taho niau

Fal;

Tala

Talgaha

Tallipot-tree .

Tamar .

Tamaras

T'amarco

Tareet .

Tembili

Tenga .

Tepejelote ... .

Thatch-Palm of Jamaica

Thrinax, Janz. fil. :
argentea.
Barbadensis, Bort.
excelsa, Lodd.
ferruginea, Lodd.
fragilis, Hort.
graminifolia, Hort. .
multiflora, Hort.

~
INDEX.

Page Page
144 | T. multiflora, Mart. . 342
50 parviflora, Hort. . 342
126 parviflora, Sv. 342
19 pumilio, Lodd. 342
19 radiata, Lodd. 342
16 robusta, Hort. 185
13 rupestris, Lodd. . 342
341 stellata, Lodd. 342
aa) |. Vaaet-S- ; 167
341 | Tree of Life . 4 . 254
341 | Trinragan . 100
341 | Trithrinax, Mart. . 342
341 aculeata, Zzed. . 343
3841 Brasiliensis, Mart. . 842
ll mauritizefolius . 343
Trunk of Palms >...) +70) faye ee
323 | Toddy of Arenga saccharifera . 66
160 | Toddy of Cocoa-nut tree . 168
100 | Toddy of Palmyra-tree . . 115
100 | Toko-pat . ey? (eo ee
. 103 | Toxopheenix aculeatissima, Schott 72
. 186 | Tucum 73, 256
~ 292 | Tucnma..... .. . . ae
. 292 | Tumu Haari . ‘= il ai
«2392 | Tawak ... .. ... 2.

. 186
. 165 | Urncuri. ....:... eee
. 179 | Urucuri-iba 179.

« 189
. 838 | Vegetable Hair . 142
. 341 | Vegetable Ivory . 318
. 5,341. | Vegetable dons sagge i
. 185 | Vinho . 272

. 341
. 342 |. Wallichia, Roxd. 343
. 342 caryotoides, Rozd. 344
> ./ Be densiflora, Hook. 344
185,342 | Oranii, B/. 344

are

INDEX.
Page ;
W. porphyrocarpa, Mart. . . . 344 | Z.conferta, Griff.

Wrightia caryotoides, Ror). . . 344
UN cg Sal ee OE

Zalacea, Rumph. . . . . .« 344 Wallichiana ;
Blumeana, Mart. . . . . 845 | Zeugophyllites, Brongn.
THE END.

edulis, B/. .
edulis, Wall. .
glabrescens, Griff:

macrostachya, Griff:

JOHN EDWARD TAYLOR, PRINTER,

LITTLE QUEEN STREET, LINCOLN’S INN FIELDS.

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