Raphia (rafia)

[NL. (Palisot de Beauvois, 1804), beaked with the three terminal stigmas, and has a thick pericarp te ellated with overlapping scales, spongy within and containing a single oblong fur rowed seed with very hard o eous albumen. There are 5 species, natives of tropical Africa and Madagascar, with one, R. tædigera, the jupati-palm (which see), native in America from the mouths of the Amazon to Nicaragua. All inhabit low swampy lands and banks near tide-water. Their trunks are unarmed and of little height, but their leaves IMG:content-1636.png:[graphic][merged small][merged small][merged small] height to their erect tips. The large pendulous flowers pikes reach 6 feet in length, contain flowers of both sexes, and have their numerous branches set in two opposite rows, their flower-bearing branchlets resembling flattened catkins. In fruit the spike sometimes becomes 15 feet long, and weighs 200 or even 300 pounds, bearing numerous egglike brown and hard fruits often used as ornaments. R. Ruffia, which produces the largest spadices, is known as the raffia - palm. (See raffia.) R. vinifera supplies the toddy of western tropical Africa, and its leafstalks are used in various ways. IMG:content-1637.png:[blocks in formation] 4. A filter used in a vinegar-manufactory to separate the mucilaginous matter from the vin egar. It derives its name from being charged with rapes. E. H. Knight. rape (rap), v. t.; pret. and pp. raped, ppr. rap ing. [Prob. a var. of rap3, perhaps affected by F. raper (= Sp. Pg. rapar ), rasp: see rasp1.] To scratch; abrade; scarify. [Prov. Eng.] Interesting reading; wasn't it? I wish they'd rape the character of some other innocent-ha! The Money - makers , p. 78.