PRINCIPES

Butia Bon'netii Paurotis Wrightii capinta Ph,oenix canariensis Nehrlingiuna d,actylilera Caryota Cumingii tarinilera mitis reclinata urens Roebelenii Chamaed,oreaconcolol P oly andr ococu s ca,udesc e ns erutnpens Pritchardia pacilica Tepejilote ThurstSnii Chry salillo car pus lucubensis PseudophoenixSar gentii lutescens saona,e rnad,agascariensis airilera alta Ptychosperntaelegans argentata Macarthuri crinita Dussi,ana Roystoneaelnla regia Copernicia glabre scens hospi,ta causiarum, Torreana exul Corozo olei.fera minor I)irtyosperma album Palmetto album.aar, rubrum paruillora &ureufn u,mbrnculilera Elaeis guineensis Scheelea Lauromuelleriana Caussia attenud,ta Serenoa repens Heterospathe elata Syagrus coronata H exopetion mexican. um llexuosa Latania.borbonica Treubiana (probably Lodrlig:esii a hybrid microcarpa than the itself) rather species Ilorrisii Liuistona chinensis paruillora decipiens M ascarena lagenicaulis T rithrinax a.canthocomu Verschat't'eltii brasiliensis Opsiand,raMaya Washingtonia t'ilit'era Orbiguy*a Cohwte robusta swctos& Zombia antillarun

TheGenus Pritchordio - LouluPolms L. W. BRYAN The interesting genus Pritchard,ia Wrightii ( Pritchardia Wrightii ) of Cuba contains thirty--sevenspecies plus six which is now senerallv considereddis- varieties,most of which are endemieto tinct. Of this number, all of the varie- the Hawaiian Islands. In 1921, Beccari ties and twentv-oneof the specieswere and Ilock published A Monographic discoveredby Rock. Pritchardia is the Study of the Genus Pritchardia (Mem- onlv genus of palms which occurs na- oirs of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Mu- turally in except, of course,for seum 8 (1)-Honolulu). At that time. the common coconut rvhich has been they described thirty-three speciesand distributed all over the tropical world. five varieties, including Colpothrinax The original palms foirnd in Hawaii, 'r40 PRINCIPES

PRITCHARDIA BECCARIANA. Left, trees growing naturally in rain forest, Waiakea Forest Reserve, Island oI Hawaii. elevation 1,000 {eet; right, a tree forty years old growing in Kalakaua Park, Hilo, Hawaii, near sea level. and now classified as Pritchardio, were and heavy, it is understandablethat it at first consideredas belonging to the would roll down and germinatebelow gents Liuistona (L. Martii and.L. Cau- the parent tree. But how did the orig- dichaud.ii being the first two species inal securea foot-hold near the found). The name Pritchard,ia rvas es- summit? I wish that I could answer tablishedafterwards (1860) for a palm these questions.They pose an interest- found growing in (P. pacit'ica, ing problem. Seem. & H. T[endl.) where P. Thur- (named by stonii, F. Muell. & Drude was also Dr. J. F. Rock in honor of the late Dr. found. Latero Liuistona lllartii H. Odoardo Beccari of Florence, Italy, a Wendl. and L. Gaudichaudii H. Wendl. well-known authority on the tribe Cory- were placed in this genus. Other mem- pheae) pictured here is one of the many bers of Pritchardia are found in the speciesendemic to Har,r,aii.This species Dangerous Archipelago (P. Vuylste- occurs in the heavy rain forest (150 heana H. Wendl. and P. pericularunt. inchesto il00 inchesof rain per annum) H. Wendl.). at elevations of from 1,000 to 5.000 the reach Hawaii? How did senus feet. dt its maximum upper elevation And after this genusarrived in Hawaii, it withstands several degrees of frost. how was it spread? The seed of most speciesis too large to be carried by any It is slow-growing, living fol many native Harvaiian bird. Many species years, and may be planted at lower ele- occur naturally on isolated inaccessible vations where it makes an attractive knifelike ridges. The seed being large street tree. The tree pictured has been r60 PRINCIPES growing in the City of Hilo for about Seedwhich happensto reachthe ground fortv vears. is usually eaten by wild pigs, and the Aithough most species seed freely, seed of some speciesis attacked by an fertile seedsare not always easy to ob- insect. However, seed is occasionally tain. Tree rats are very fond of them available and can be supplied to any- and climb the treesin order to eat them. one interested in limited quantities.

Notes on Pritchordiq HAROLD ST. JOHN (Reprinted rvithout the footnotes trom Bern.ice P. Bishop foIuseum Occasional Papers 9(19): 3-5, 1932, by permission of the Museum.) Nectar Secretion The palm trees of the genus Pritch' of this cup, and the stigma barely equals ard,iaare know4from 38 species:I from its rim. Fully formed buds are dry Cuba and the Isle of Pines in the West within, but those just mature are found Indies" ll0 (and 6 varieties) from Ha- to be nearly filled with liquid. After wa7i,2 from Fiji, 2.from the Tuamotus, anthesis,the staminal cup is brimming and 3 from rather indefinite locations full of a viscous, yellowish liquid that in Polynesia. is perceptibly sweet to the taste. Pro- fessor R. S. Bean kindly aided in test- The genus has recently been given a ing this liquid. With a capillary pipette monographic study by Beccari and Rock two large drops were collected from in which Professor Beccari states that some ten flowers. With Fehlins's solu- he has no evidencethat the flowers of tion a strong test for sugar was obtained. these palms secreteany nectar. Careful dissectiondid not reveal any trips to the upper ridges On collecting localized nectar glands. However, the of I have of the Koolart Mountains whole staminal cup is of yellow tissue, several of the become acquainted with 0.5 mm. thick. Its inner surface glistens .|9. 1930.the type species.On Januarr' and seernsto be elandular and to secrete martioidesRock focalitv of Pritcharrlia the nectar g".retilly over its entire area. and Caum was visited. Here on the di- 14, 1932, severalgroves vide between Kahana and W'ahiawa, On February were discovered where they are a conspicuous feature of P. Rockiana Beccari feet of the vegetation, the trees attain a at altitudes of from 1500 to lB00 in the Koo- height of 30 feet in.the woods below the on Laie-MalaekahanaRidge lau Oahu. The weather was crest, whereasat the nearlv bare, wind- Range, rainy, and the collected (St. swept divide the dwarfed trees fruit at specimens 11559) showedno nectar. The a height of 5 feet. Specimenswere col- John no. next morning fresh florvers opened in Iected on the Wahiawa side (St. John laboratory. All no. 10180). One of the paniclescon- the these had their sta- minal cups filled with sweet nectar. tained numerous unopened buds. Dur- It can now be stated that, at least in ing two days in the laboratory many of P. martioid,esand P. Rockiana, nectar its flowers opened. After the dehiscence is secretedin abundance. of the cap of petals, the large anthers radiate out at an angle of 45 degrees. Validity of the Hawaiian The free tip of eachfilament is subulate Species of Pritchardia and 2-2.5 mm. lons. The anthers are In 1BBB Hillebrand recosnized two borne by a staminal cup, 6 mm. long, speciesand a suggestedbui unnamed which often protrudes 2 mm. above the variety of Pritchardia. Subsequentlocal calvx. The ovarv is seated in the base collectors gradually addedto the knowl- t6l