Pl. XXIII.
W. Fitch lith. Ford & West Imp.
GENOMA MULTIFLORA. Ht. 12 Ft.
PLATE XXIII.
Geonoma multiflora, Martius.
Ubimrána, Lingoa Geral.
This handsome species is from eight to fifteen feet high, and has the stem regularly ringed or jointed, giving it a reed-like appearance. The leaves are very large, regularly pinnate and gracefully drooping on every side. The leaflets are very regularly placed on the midrib, and the terminal pair are much larger and broader. The petioles are slender and smooth, and the sheathing bases have an expanded fibrous margin.
The spadices grow from among the lower leaves, and are short, erect and simply branched. The spathes are very small and concealed among the petioles. The fruit is small, ovate, and when ripe of a red colour.
This appears to be the Geonoma multiflora of Martius, but the species are so closely allied that without a comparison of specimens it is very difficult absolutely to identify them.
I have found it only in the Catinga forests of the Upper Rio Negro, where it occurs very sparingly.
A fruit is represented on the Plate of the natural size.
