Part 3

This new Florida species it gives me pleasure to name =Inodes Schwarzii= in honor of its discoverer, in whose opinion of its distinctness I have great confidence, although he makes no claims to botanical skill. It is confined, as far as observed by Mr. Schwarz, to the coral reef formation of southern Florida, the most accessible station visited being about one mile south of Cocoanut Grove on the coral reef of the mainland side of Biscayne Bay. In the vicinity of Snapper Creek, Inodes Schwarzii extends to the Everglades where it is met by I. Palmetto. It was also seen on the Perrine Grant about six miles from Cocoanut Grove; it seemed not to occur about Miami but reappeared with the appropriate formation and attendant fauna at New River, though again absent at Lake Worth. A photograph secured by Mr. H. J. Webber (negative 164) on Taby Island near Long Key shows an Inodes with a naked trunk and a smaller crown of straighter leaves than are normal for I. palmetto. Messrs. Swingle and Webber had also remarked the distinctness of the smooth-trunked palmetto of South Florida.

A third robust species of Inodes is growing in the conservatory of the Department of Agriculture labeled Sabal umbraculifera. It differs conspicuously from I. causiarum by the very large leaves and by the great development of fine brown fibers which fill all the interstices between the leaf-bases, and suggest the name =Inodes vestita=. Photographs of both the species have been prepared for the illustration of comparative detailed descriptions.

Sabal Mexicana has been reported from Cuba, and as it is described in Sargent’s Silva (=10=: 43) as having a trunk “often 2½ feet in diameter,” a robustness equalled only by the Puerto Rico trees, the question of its identity was examined. It appears that the original of S. Mexicana came from southern Mexico and is a trunkless or very slender, rather than a robust species, being only about 10 cm. in diameter. The berry and the seed are described as closely similar to those of Sabal Adansoni. Sargent’s S. Mexicana from southern Texas, in addition to the seven times greater thickness of the trunk, has a seed nearly 1.25 cm. broad with a strongly prominent micropyle. There can be little doubt that it is another new species, quite distinct from that of Puerto Rico, similar only in the unusual diameter of the trunk, which is furthermore described as bright reddish brown instead of white or very light grayish as Inodes causiarum. In the view of the apparently localized distribution of the species of this genus the name =Inodes Texana= would be appropriate for that described and figured by Sargent as noted above.

In addition to the recently described =Inodes Uresana= (Sabal Uresana Trelease, Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. =12=: 79), there is another large-seeded Inodes on the western slope of Mexico, a specimen of which was collected at Acaponeta, State of Tepic (no. 1528) by Dr. J. N. Rose, for whom this species may be named =Inodes Rosei=. The seeds are of the same size and shape as those of I. Uresana, but have the surface much more finely rugose, or nearly smooth, with the embryo directly lateral, not subdorsal. The branches of the inflorescence are slender and but little over 1 mm. in diameter instead of fusiform and thickened in the middle to nearly 3 mm. as shown in Professor Trelease’s photographic illustration.

THRINAX Linn. f.; Swartz, Prod. Veg. Ind. Occ. 51. 1788

In the genus Thrinax were formerly placed all the West Indian fan-palms with smooth stems and no midribs, but the gradual discovery of numerous and diverse species has resulted in propositions for subdivision and segregation on the part of several botanists. As usual these new groups have been characterized very inadequately, and that mostly from the flowers and seeds, and with no attempt at establishing correlations of habit or other vegetative features without which the classification is likely to remain formal and artificial, as well as useless for popular and field study. Possibly no ecological differences exist among the Thrinax-like palms of other regions, but in Puerto Rico there are, as shown in the discussion of the following genus, two well-defined types, one of which varies the ordinary short columnar habit by the possession of a tall slender and flexible trunk which doubtless enables it to compete in a measure with the rapid growth of the surrounding vegetation, and which is also obviously adapted for withstanding the force of the strong winds encountered in the exposed places apparently preferred by palms of this species.

The type of the genus Thrinax is the Jamaican T. parviflora, a tree 3 to 6 metres high with the trunk swollen at base. The leaves are said to be 30–60 cm. long with rigid lanceolate divisions; the stipes longer than the leaves, terete-compressed. The spadix is said to be terminal, nearly erect and 60–90 cm. long. The tree grows in dry maritime situations in Jamaica and Santo Domingo. It does not appear that the original specimens of this species have been examined by Sargent or other recent writers, but it seems reasonable to use the name for the group of short species with uniform albumen and a basal cavity instead of a complete perforation. Swartz’s statement regarding the seed “intus albus, medio ruber,” in connection with its context “nauco osseo fragile tectus” might possibly be rendered “white inside, red between” and might refer to the red coat of the seed rather than to a red center as commonly inferred. Of course Swartz might have cut his seed transversely, but if so he would doubtless have discovered and noted the perforation had one existed. Patrick Brown’s account of the Jamaica species, cited by Swartz, evidently refers to a palm with the habits of T. Ponceana. On the other hand the “very slender” palm referred to under this name in the Jamaica Bulletin (=I=: 196. 1894) shows greater similarity with Thrincoma.

=Thrinax praeceps= sp. nov.

Trunk 8–12 cm. in diameter at base, columnar or slightly enlarged upward, seldom attaining over 3 or 4 meters in height. The leaf-bases split in the middle of the midrib and long remain adherent to the trunk. When they finally fall away on older trees a rather rough grayish and longitudinally chinked rimose surface is exposed.

The stalks of large leaves measure 75–80 cm. in length and 1.2–1.5 cm. in width. The middle divisions of the leaf are 55 cm. and under in length and attain a width of 4.8 cm., and in the middle of large leaves are united for more than half their length. Cross-veinules numerous, distinct in both surfaces but especially the upper. The white pubescence or tomentum which clothes the young leaves and is especially abundant on the ligule soon disappears, leaving the under side glaucous or slightly pruinose.

This species is described at some length a little later in a comparison of generic characters under Thrincoma alta. The type specimen (no. 850) was collected on the precipitous mountain-side which overhangs the road between Utuado and Arecibo, a short distance to the northward from the station where Thrincoma alta was obtained.

What is believed to be the same species was collected in a similar situation on the side of a mountain overlooking the town and valley of Lares.

=Thrinax Ponceana= sp. nov. Plate 43

Trunk 5–8 cm. or more in diameter, columnar, or slightly tapering or enlarged upward, 1–4 m. high; surface coarsely and irregularly rimose longitudinally. Leaf-bases separating into abundant rather loose light grayish or brownish fibers. Leaves numerous, large, drooping or pendant; petioles 65 mm. long, 1.5–2 cm. wide; segments attaining 75 cm. in length and 3.5 cm. in width, united for half their length. Seed smooth, mahogany-brown, 5 mm. in diameter. Type specimen no. 1005.

This species apparently exists in much larger quantities than any other yet known from Puerto Rico, being the predominant plant on several square miles of territory along the range of dry limestone hills which skirt the southern coast of the island, to the west of Ponce. Many of the palms are scattered among the taller shrubs and trees wherever there is sufficient soil and water to permit these to grow and yet not enough to give them exclusive possession, but on many of the drier and more sterile higher slopes the advantage is with the palms.

This abundance of living material deserves more careful study than could be given during a very brief visit to this almost uninhabited part of the island, but one note of systematic interest was made. Several species of Thrinax, of which T. Morrisii Wendland may serve as an example, have been described chiefly with reference to the relative size of the leaf segments and the extent of their separation. If the palms under observation near Ponce belonged, as was believed, all to one species, it is not only true that the individual Thrinax passes all the stages from the narrow and grass-like, almost completely separated segments of the very young plant, to the more than half united leaf of the large tree, but it also appears to be true that under unfavorable conditions a Thrinax may not be able to attain to full maturity of size and form but may at the same time produce flowers and seeds. In the narrow chinks and crevices of the bare rocks were very small, stunted trees, obviously of great age, while but a few feet distant a deeper fissure might hold vegetable débris and moisture sufficient to nourish vigorous specimens several times the size of their less fortunate companions. The stunted trees retain in proportion to their size, but apparently with little reference to their age, the small deeply divided leaves of young plants and have short few-branched inflorescences, another difference of supposed systematic importance.

In Thrinax Ponceana the leaves of well grown trees have the middle divisions united to about the middle; the smaller the leaves, the more deeply they are divided. A further correlation with size is that of the “fullness” of the leaf. The basal sinus is not closed by the overlapping of the lateral divisions as in some species, but the area is too great for a plane circle and there are one or more folds, more numerous and deeper in large leaves. The lateral divisions do not lie in the plane of the others but project upward or backward nearly at right angles with the plane of the middle divisions.

The middle divisions of large leaves may measure 75 cm. in length by 3.5 and sometimes nearly 4 cm. in width, while the narrowly grass-like lateral segment is only .8 cm. wide and about 30 cm. long. The lowest segment is not divided at the tip but is produced into a slender hair-like seta, 6 or 8 cm. long, making it nearly as long or longer than the next segment above.

The normal segments are split at the apex to the distance of from 2 to 8 cm. and the tips are usually markedly divaricate, owing to the fact that the young leaves of this species suffer two impressions from the bases of older leaves, one near the middle, the other near the end. The pressure causes the curvature of the unopened leaves, which in turn causes them to split apart when the leaf expands.

Old leaves are smooth and glaucous on the lower side, but in the younger state more or less remains of the delicate appressed hairiness present on the lower surfaces of the newly opened leaves. The lower surface is distinctly grayish and glaucous, but under a lens it can be seen that this appearance is due to the presence of numerous whitish points (stomata?) among which are scattering brownish spots of larger size, the nature of which remains a question.

The free stalks of the largest leaves attain 65 cm. in length and are 2 cm. wide near the base, 1.5 cm. near the apex. The cross section is lenticular above, but the upper surface becomes flat toward the base.

Young unopened leaves are covered near the base, both above and below, with a scurfy white tomentum and the margin of the ligule has a long white fringe.

To avoid possible error it seems best to make separate entry of the following notes on specimens which might be considered quite distinct from the larger and normally mature form of Ponceana, but which represent, it is believed, merely a somewhat depauperate condition of that species, although leaves exactly comparable were not brought home by our party. The specimens in question were collected by Sintenis (no. 3500) on the south coast of the island near Guanica and distributed from Berlin as “Thrinax n. sp.”

The leaves are characterized by the narrow straight-sided segments which retain the same width (15 mm. or less) for about 11 cm.; they are united in the middle of the leaf for about 8 cm. and the apical tapering part is about the same length. Other species, so far as known, have the segments much broader, both absolutely and relatively, and the width is held for a very much smaller proportion of the length.

In addition the midrib is unusually weak, inconspicuous and only slightly prominent on the lower side. The small fibro-vascular bundles which compose it are sometimes spread apart so that there is scarcely an indication of a rib while in other segments of the same leaf, and especially at the base, the conditions are more normal. The midrib is sufficiently distinct above, though very small and fine in comparison with other species.

Lower surface of leaf glabrous or somewhat glaucous, very slightly puberulous on the depressed veins near the base. Veinlets inconspicuous, mostly subequal, though 4 or 5 are sometimes a little larger than the others. Transverse veinlets indistinct below.

Petiole slender, 4 mm. wide, lenticular in cross section; about 2 mm. thick. Ligule small and weak, short, with a small apical mucro.

Fruits 5 mm. in diameter, olive brown, irregularly rugose-coriaceous on the outside as though dried from a pulpy condition; exocarp with a slightly sweetish taste. Seed bright mahogany-brown, darker below, depressed-globose, with a sublateral raphe; embryo ascending but more nearly lateral than vertical; conical basal cavity extending somewhat above the center, nearly filled with a deep red material.