Stevensonia
(named after Stevenson, formerly Governor of the Island of Mauritius and its dependencies). SYN. Phaenicophorium. ORD. Palmae. A monotypic genus. The species is a noble, stove Palm. It thrives in a hot, moisture-laden atmosphere, and suffers if the temperature falls too low, or the air becomes dry. The mixture best adapted for it is a well-drained, fibrous peat, with pieces of charcoal and turfy loam and sand intermixed. Propagated by means of imported seeds.
S. grandifolia (large-leaved).* fl., lower spathes 1 1/4ft. long, the upper ones club-shaped, smooth, 2ft. to 3 1/2ft. long; spadix 3ft. to 6ft. long; peduncle 1 1/2ft. to 3ft. long, compressed at base. fr. orange-red, 1/3in. to 3/8in. long. l. cuneate-obovate, bifid, oblique at base, deeply laciniated down the side, with incised segments; petioles 9in. to 18in. long, glabrous, pale green, convex below; sheaths 2ft. to 3ft. long, hoary, scaly, and spiny. Stem very spiny when young, less so when old. h. 40ft. Seychelles, 1865. SYNS. Areca sechellarum, Astrocaryum Borsignyanum and A. pictum (all of gardens), Phaenicophorium sechellarum (I. H. 433).