Martinezia
(named in honour of Balthassar Martinez, a Spanish naturalist). SYN. Aiphanes. ORD. Palmeae. A small genus (about seven species have been described) of very ornamental stove palms, rarely exceeding 20ft. in height, natives of tropical America. Flower-spikes simply branched, inclosed in a double spathe, the outer of which is incomplete. Fruit yellow, scarlet, or pink. Leaves pinnate; segments wedge-shaped or three-sided, the broad upper end very much jagged. Trunks cylindrical. The few species in cultivation thrive in a compost of sandy loam and peat, in about equal parts. A strong heat, and an abundance of water, are most essential to success. Propagated by seeds.
M. caryotaefolia (Caryota-leaved).* l. full dark green on both surfaces, pinnate, 3ft. to 6ft. long; pinnae cuneate, praemorse, 6in. to 12in. long, 4in. to 6in. broad at the apex. Several pairs of pinnae are produced in close proximity, at intervals of about 6in. to 10in. apart. Stem slender, and, as well as the petioles and back of the leaves, densely clothed with long black spines. New Grenada, 1845. (G. C. 1872, 171.) M. erosa (bitten). l. pinnate, consisting of a few pairs of narrowish leaflets at the base, and a pair of broader ones at the apex, all obliquely erose; both stalks and blades, the latter both above and beneath, thickly furnished with long, brown, needle-like spines, which, in the case of the blades, are developed from the rather prominent veins; leafstalks mealy. South America, 1871. (G. C. 1872, Fig. 296.) M. granatensis (New Grenadan).* l. roundish-oblong or roundish-ovate in outline, entire at the base, bifid at the apex, evenly toothed along the edges; petioles and rachis armed with dark brown, needle-shaped spines, which vary from 1/2in. to 1in. long, and are spreading or deflexed. Columbia, 1874. M. Lindeniana (Linden's). l., upper surface bright green, paler below, pinnate; the terminal pinnae much the larger; petiole sheathing, profusely armed with long, slender, black spines. h. 16ft. Columbia, 1869. (I. H. n. s. 99.)