USES. Palms belong to the most useful plants; they contain no poison, and are of little medicinal interest, but are largely employed in the arts and manufactures, the hard timber being adapted for many purposes on account of the hard tissue in which the vascular bundles are embedded. “Cane” is the stem of _Calamus_-species (from India). SAGO is obtained from the pith of _Metroxylon rumphii_ (Sago-palm, Sunda-Is., Moluccas), _Mauritia flexuosa_, etc. Sugar-containing sap (“palm wine”) is obtained from the American _Mauritia vinifera_ and _flexuosa_, _Borassus flabelliformis_ (Asiatic Palmyra-palm), _Arenga saccharifera_, etc., by cutting off the young inflorescences, or by perforating the stem before the flowering (_arrack_ is distilled from this). _Vascular strands_ for the manufacture of mats and brushes, etc., are obtained from the outer covering (mesocarp) of the Cocoanut, and from the detached leaf-sheaths of _Attalea funifera_ (Brazil) (Fig. 296). WAX is yielded by the leaves of _Copernicia cerifera_ (carnaueba-wax, Amazon region), and by the stem of _Ceroxylon andicola_ (palm-wax, Andes); East Indian _Dragon’s blood_ is from the fruit of _Calamus draco_; the young buds of many species, especially _Euterpe_, _Cocos_, _Attalea_, etc., are used as “cabbage.” Palm-oil is obtained from the oily mesocarp of the plum-like fruits of _Elæis guineensis_ (W. Africa), and from the seeds, when it is largely used in the manufacture of soap. EDIBLE FRUITS from the Date-palm (_Phœnix dactylifera_, Arabia, Egypt, W. Africa), and the endosperm of the Cocoanut (_Cocos nucifera_). The seeds and the unripe fruits of the Areca-palm (_Areca catechu_) are chewed with the leaves of the Betelpeper, principally in Asia. VEGETABLE IVORY from the hard endosperm of _Phytelephas macrocarpa_ (S. America.)--Many species are cultivated in the tropics as ornamental plants, but in this country only _Chamærops humilis_, _Livistona australis_ and _chinensis_ are generally grown. In addition to the few just mentioned, many others are of importance, but these are much the most useful. Order 2. =Cyclanthaceæ.= This is a small order related to the Palms (44 species from Tropical America), with fan-like, folded leaves. The flowers are unisexual and arranged in whorls or close spirals on an unbranched spadix. Ovary unilocular, ovules numerous. To this belongs _Carludovica palmata_, whose leaves are used for Panama hats.