CORYPHA, in botany, appendix paimee. Natural order of Palms. Essential cha racter ; flowers hermaphrodite, six stamened: spathe many-leaved ; corolla three-petalled; pistil one ; berry globose, superior, one-seeded; seed bony, globose. There are two species, viz. C. umbracu lifera, great fan palm, and C. minor ; the former of which we shall give a short de scription of. It scarcely flowers till it is between 30 and 40 years old. Knox de scribes the great fan palm under the name of tallipot ; he says it is as large as a hip's mast, and very straight. The leaves are of great use, one being so broad and large that it will cover 15 or 20 men being dried, it is very strong and limber; yet it will fold close like a fan, being then about the size of a man's arm. The whole leaf spread is round, but is cut in to triangular pieces for use. Soldiers all carry them upon their heads, not only to shade them from the sun, and to keep them dry in case of rain on their march, but to make their tents for them to lie under. These leaves all grow on the top
of the tree. It bears no fruit until the last year of its life ; the yellow blossoms, which are very beautiful, come out on the top, spreading abroad in great branches ; these come to a round, hard fruit, the size of our largest cherries, and in such abun dance,that one tree will yield seed enough for a country ; but they are not fit for food. The flowers smell so strong, that the trees are cut down where they are near houses. It is a native of Malabar, the island of Ceylon, the Marquesas, and Friendly Islands. The trunk within is only a pith, which they beat in a mor tar to flour, and make cakes of it, which taste much like white bread. The leaves also serve for covering their houses, and for writing on with an iron style. Most of the books which are shown in Europe for the Egyptian papyrus are made from the leaves of this palm.