Dr. Martius has mistaken the species from which this cordage is manufactured, stating it to be the “Tucumá,” which, though very nearly allied, is never used for the purpose. The close resemblance of the native names is probably what led to the mistake, though they are never confounded by the Brazilians. The “tucúm” is found on the “terra firme” or dry forest land of the Amazon and Rio Negro. It is growing in the Palm House at Kew. [Illustration: Pl. XLI. W. Fitch lith. Ford & West Imp. ASTROCARYUM TUCUMA. Ht. 40 Ft. ] PLATE XLI. ASTROCARYUM TUCUMA, _Martius_. Tucumá, _Lingoa Geral_. This palm is from thirty to forty feet in height, and has the stem armed with narrow rings of black spines. The leaves are terminal, rather large and regularly pinnate. The leaflets are elongate, linear and much drooping, and the midribs and petioles are very prickly. The sheathing bases of the leaf-stalks are very much swollen where they spring from the stem. The spadix grows erect from among the leaves and is simply branched. The fruit is nearly globular, of a greenish yellow colour, with a layer of yellow fleshy pulp covering the stony seed, much resembling the fruit of the Mucujá and equally esteemed for food by the Indians. This species is very nearly allied to the last, but may readily be distinguished by its globular fruit, more drooping leaflets, less prickly habit, and the peculiar aspect of its swollen petioles. It is abundant near Pará, and is also found in the dry virgin forests of the Upper Amazon and Rio Negro. There are young living plants in the Palm House of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. Plate II. fig. 5. represents a fruit of the natural size. [Illustration: Pl. XLII. W. Fitch lith. Ford & West Imp. ASTROCARYUM JAUARI Ht. 40 Ft. ] PLATE XLII. ASTROCARYUM JAUARI, _Martius_. Jauarí, _Lingoa Geral_. The Jauarí has the stem rather slenderer than the Tucumá, but of about equal height, and armed with regular narrow rings of spines. The leaves are terminal and of moderate size. The leaflets are long, narrow and very much drooping, and the midribs and sheaths are thickly covered with long, flat, black spines. The spadices are erect, simply branched, and hidden amongst the leaves. The fruit is small, oval, green, and not eatable. The rather small dense head of foliage, combined with the prickly habit of this palm, render it altogether one of the least pleasing of the family; and the feeling is increased by its abundance in many localities, extending for miles along the river banks to the exclusion of any other species. It is moreover one of the least useful among the larger palms, the only part which is applied to any purpose being the hard, black, oval seeds, of which the Brazilian ladies of the Upper Amazon make heads for their lace-making bobbins.