always consist of a mass of endosperm, in which is embedded a relatively very minute embryo (figs. 1, 3, 6). The hard stone of the date is the endosperm, the white oily flesh of the coco-nut is the same substance in a softer condition; the so-called “vegetable ivory” is derived from the endosperm of Phytelephas. In some genera the inner seed coat becomes thickened along the course of the vascular bundles and growing into the endosperm produces the characteristic appearance in section known as ruminate—this is well shown in the Areca nut (fig. 3).
Fig. 6.—Sago Palm (Metroxylon Sagus).
| 1, | Apex of leaf. | 6, | Fruit. |
| 2, | Branchlet of fruiting spadix. | 7, | Fruit cut lengthwise, showing seed s and the minute embryo e which is embedded in a horny endosperm. |
| 3, | Branchlet of male inflorescence. | ||
| 4, | Spike of male flowers. | ||
| 5, | Same cut lengthwise. | ||
| 1, 2, one-sixth nat. size; 3, one-tenth nat. size; 4, 5, one-third nat. size; 6, 7, about one-half nat. size. | |||
The order contains 132 genera with about 1100 species mainly tropical, but with some representatives in warm temperate regions. Chamaerops humilis is a native of the Mediterranean region, and the date-palm yields fruit in southern Europe as far north as 38° N. latitude. In eastern Asia the Palms, like other tropical families, extend along the coast reaching Korea and the south of Japan. In America a few small genera occur in the southern United States and California; and in South America the southern limit is reached in the Chilean genus Jubaea (the Chile coco-nut) at 37° S. latitude. The great centres of distribution are tropical America and tropical Asia; tropical Africa contains only 11 genera, though some of the species, like the Doum palm (Hyphaene thebaica) and the Deleb or Palmyra palm (Borassus flabellifer) have a wide distribution. With three exceptions Old and New World forms are distinct—the coco-nut (Cocos nucifera) is widely distributed on the coasts of tropical Africa, in India and the South Seas, the other species of the genus are confined to the western hemisphere. The oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) is a native of west tropical Africa, the other species of the genus is tropical American. Raphia has also species in both tropical Africa and tropical America.
The 132 genera of the order are ranged under seven tribes, distinguished by the nature of the foliage, the sexual conditions of the flower, the character of the seed, the position of the raphe, &c. Other characters serving to distinguish the minor groups are afforded by the habit, the position of the spathes, the “aestivation” of the flower, the nature of the stigma, the ovary, fruit, &c.
It is impossible to overestimate the utility of palms. They furnish food, shelter, clothing, timber, fuel, building materials, sticks, fibre, paper, starch, sugar, oil, wax, wine, tannin, dyeing materials, resin and a host of minor products, which render them most valuable to the natives and to tropical agriculturists. The Coco-nut palm, Cocos nucifera, and the Date palm, Phoenix dactylifera, have been treated under separate headings. Sugar and liquids capable of becoming fermented are produced by Caryota urens, Cocos nucifera, Borassus flabellifer, Rhapis vinifera, Arenga saccharifera, Phoenix silvestris, Mauritia vinifera, &c. Starch is procured in abundance from the stem of the Sago palm, Metroxylon (fig. 6) and others. The fleshy mesocarp of the fruit of Elaeis guineensis of western tropical Africa yields, when crushed and boiled, “palm oil.” Coco-nut oil is extracted from the oily endosperm of the coconut. Wax is exuded from the stem of Ceroxylon andicola and Copernicia cerifera. A variety of “dragon’s blood,” a resin, is procured from Daemonorops Draco and other species. Edible fruits are yielded by the date, the staple food of some districts of northern Africa. The coco-nut is a source of wealth to its possessors; and many of the species, e.g. Areca sapida (Cabbage-palm and others), are valued for their “cabbage”; but, as this is the terminal bud whose removal causes the destruction of the tree, this is a wasteful article of diet unless care be taken by judicious planting to avert the annihilation of the supplies. The famous “coco de mer,” or double coco-nut, whose floating nuts are the objects of so many legends and superstitions, is known to science as Lodoicea seychellarum. The tree is peculiar to the Seychelles, where it is used for many useful purposes. Its fruit is like a huge plum, containing a stone or nut like two coco-nuts (in their husks) united together. These illustrations must suffice to indicate the numerous economic uses of palms.
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| Fig. 7.—Palmyra Palm (Borassus flabellifer), a female tree. |
| 1, Portion of female inflorescence showing young fruits. |
| 2, Fruit cut across showing the three seeds, all much reduced. |
The only species that can be cultivated in the open air in England, and then only under exceptionally favourable circumstances, are the European Fan palm, Chamaerops humilis, the Chusan palm, Trachycarpus Fortunei, &c., and the Chilean Jubaea spectabilis. The date palm is commonly planted along the Mediterranean coast. There are several low growing palms, such as Rhapis flabelliformis, Chamaerops humilis, &c., which are suited for ordinary green-house culture, and many of which, from the thick texture of their leaves, are enabled to resist the dry and often gas-laden atmosphere of living rooms.
PALMA, JACOPO (c. 1480–1528), Italian painter of the Venetian school, was born at Serinalta near Bergamo, towards 1480, and died at the age of forty-eight in July 1528. He is currently named Palma Vecchio (Old Palma) to distinguish him from Palma Giovane, his grand-nephew, a much inferior painter. His grandfather's name was Negretto. He is reputed to have been a companion and competitor of Lorenzo Lotto, and to some extent a pupil of Titian, after arriving in Venice early in the
