=The Flowers=, male on one tree and female on another, appear in February and March. The male are in spikes, which are at first, in bud, short and bright red, gradually lengthening and turning whitish as the stamens open, finally becoming pendulous and as much as 4 inches long. Often they are in great masses and flies and small insects haunt them. Each consists of a small 5-lobed red calyx, no petals and 5 radiating stamens joined below into a short column, the anthers large, whitish and with a bright yellow gland at the tip beneath. There is a rudimentary red ovary with a bifid tip. The female flowers are almost invisible at first but grow into sight very rapidly after fertilisation. They consist of a calyx with long red sepals, varying in number from 5-8, and an ovary with two styles which become very prominent and grow long. These are wrinkled and bent or twisted and beneath them the ovary enlarges till it is about an inch long and 1¼ inches broad, gradually changing from the limp green to the dark red double-seeded, winged fruit so familiar in masses and often persistent till the new leaves of the following year. =The Fruits=, as described above, ripen and split into their two cocci, each containing one large flat seed. The seed portion of the coccus is net-veined and the wing portion longitudinally veined. [Illustration] =HYPHAENE THEBAICA= Mart.—_Goriba_. “_Dum Palm_.” PALMACEAE. This very common palm is found all over N. Nigeria and is distinguished from all others by its branching habit. It thrives in dry country, farther north than any other palm. The height is some 30 feet and the girth about 3 feet. The main stem branches into two and each of these may divide again and even a third time. In agricultural land the ground is densely covered with the seedlings which are cut down each year by the farmer. =The Bark= is smooth, the rings of the leaf sheaths clearly marked except at the base of old trees where the stem has the appearance of decay and an uneven surface. =The Wood= is very fibrous and has no local use beyond that of roof or door supports. It has been used as fuel. =The Leaves= are about 4 feet long, the segments inverted V-shaped, about 18 inches long, with smooth margins, united for a few inches of their length only. The stalk is curved back at the tip and the segments at the base are higher up on one side than on the other. The stalk is heavily armed with black spines and the sheath is divided at the base, remaining clasped to the stem for some time.