Catoblastus
(from kato, beneath, and blastos, growth, in allusion to the aerial roots). ORD. Palmae. A small genus of two or three stove Palms, closely allied to Iriartea, but differing from that genus in the male and female flowers being borne on separate spikes, the males having a small rudimentary ovary in addition to the nine to fifteen stamens; whilst the females have scarcely any rudimentary stamens. Trees having, in their native habitats, trunks from 30ft. to 50ft. high, distinctly marked with circular scars, supported, a short distance above the level of the ground, upon a tuft of aerial roots, and bearing a crown of pinnate leaves. The undermentioned is the only species in cultivation. For culture, see Iriartea. C. praemorsus (bitten off).* l. impari-pinnate; leaflets simple. Venezuela, 1850. SYN. Iriartea praemorsa.