BACTRIS (from baktron, a cane; the young stems being used for walking sticks). ORD. Palmoe. Very ornamental, slender growing, and prickly stove Palms. Peduncle of the spadix bursting through about the middle of the leaf sheath. Drupes small, ovate, or nearly round, and generally of a dark blue colour. Leaves pinnatisect; segments generally linear and entire. Instead of being confined to the apex of the trunk, the leaves are scattered over nearly the whole surface, and the lower ones retain their verdure long after the upper ones have fully developed. Stems slender, varying from 2ft. to 10ft. in height. Some of the species are of easy culture in a compost of loam, peat, leaf mould, and sand, in equal parts; but most of them are very difficult to manage. Propagation may be effected by suckers, which are very freely produced. Many species are ornamental only when in a young state. BACTRIS baculifera (cane-bearing). l. pinnate, bifid at the apex, 2ft. to 6ft. long; pinnae arranged in clusters about 1ft. long and 2in. broad, dark green above, paler below; petioles sheathing and densely clothed with sharp brown and black spines, 1 1/2in. long. South America. BACTRIS caryotaefolia (Caryota-leaved).* fl., spathe ovate, prickly; branches of spadix simple, flexuous. l., pinnae wedge-shaped, three-lobed, and erose; rachis, petioles, and caudex prickly. h. 30ft. Brazil, 1825. BACTRIS flavispina (yellow-spined). Synonymous with BACTRIS pallidispina. BACTRIS major (greater). fl. greenish-yellow, with a broadly ovate spathe. h. 25ft. Carthagena, 1800. BACTRIS Maraja (Maraja). Maraja Palm. fl. yellow, with a prickly spathe. h. 30ft. to 50ft. Bahia, 1868. BACTRIS pallidispina (pale-spined).* l. pinnate, bifid at the apex; pinnae clustered, 6in. to 12in. long, 1in. wide, dark; petioles sheathing at the base and furnished with a profusion of long, yellow spines, which are tipped with black. Brazil. SYN. BACTRIS flavispina.