Archive image from page 498 of A dictionary of the flowering. A dictionary of the flowering plants and ferns . dictionaryofflow00will Year: 1919 Diagrams of Raphia (after Eichler). Above, the arrangement of the last branches of infl. a, b, two of the sterile sheathing bracts, above them bracts with branches in their axils, a little out of the median line. Below, arrangement of the flowers on branches of upper figure : bracts 2-ranked ; each fl. has a 2-keeled bracteole v. Economically, the P. are very important, furnishing many of the necessaries of life in the tropics, &c. Many have ed. fr.
Archive image from page 498 of A dictionary of the flowering. A dictionary of the flowering plants and ferns . dictionaryofflow00will Year: 1919 Diagrams of Raphia (after Eichler). Above, the arrangement of the last branches of infl. a, b, two of the sterile sheathing bracts, above them bracts with branches in their axils, a little out of the median line. Below, arrangement of the flowers on branches of upper figure : bracts 2-ranked ; each fl. has a 2-keeled bracteole v. Economically, the P. are very important, furnishing many of the necessaries of life in the tropics, &c. Many have ed. fr. or seed, date (Phoenix) and coco-nut (Cocos); the stems contain much starch as reserve food, esp. in those sp. which save up for a great terminal infl., Metroxylon (sago), Caryota, &c.; the rush of sap to the infl., esp. in the cases just mentioned, is great; and by tapping the stem great quantities of sugar-containing fluid may be obtained and utilised, either directly as a source of sugar or indirectly to make intoxicating drinks by fermentation. The bud of 1. at the top of the stem is some- times used as cabbage, but of course its removal kills the tree. The stems are used in building, but do not yield plank-timber; the 1. in thatching and basket-making, and for hats, mats, &c.; the fibres of the leaf-sheaths or sometimes of the pericarp ( Cocos) are used for ropes, &c.; other P. furnish oil from the seed ( Elaeis, Cocos), wax (Coperm'cia), vegetable ivory (Phytelephas, &c.), betel-nuts (Areca), &c. [Cf. Baillon, Hist, des PI. xin. 283.] Classification and chief genera (after Drude): A. Perianth 6-partite, enclosing the fruit after fertilisation. I. COR YPHOIDEAE (spadix loosely branched, often a pro- lix panicle; fls. single or in long rows flowering from above; 31 — 2
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