AliNALS OF THE EOYAL BOTANIC GAKDEN, CALCUTTA. [(?. uiminaHS
bracteolje, wliich are united by their bases but do not form a cup. Male
Jbwera very small (2'5 mm. long), ovate; . the calyx divided almost to the base into
3 large acute lobes, of which 1-3 are keeled and more or less distinctly
«iliolate on the back; the corolla twice as long as the calyx, ovate, obtusely
tritronous, glabrous, divided almost to the base into 3 ovate rather acute lobes,
superficially striately veined externally; stamens with linear-subulate and—at the
gpgj inflocted filaments; anthers lanceolate, shortly bilobed at the base ; rudimentary
pistil columnar, 3-dentate, shorter than the filaments. Female spadix about 2 m.
long (including the terminal flagellum), simply decompound, with 5-6 partial
inflorescences, which are shorter than those of the male spadix and bear 3-6
Bubdistichous spikelets on each side; pi-imary and secondary spathes as in the
male spadix; spikelets more robust than the male ones, inserted just at the
mouth of their respective spathe, usually 8-10, but sometimes even 20 cm. long,
with numerous bifarious flowers ; spathels usually furfuraceous, short, broadly
iufundibuliform from a narrow base, truncate and shortly apiculate at one side
at the mouth; involucrophorum very short, subdiscoid, supported and embraced
by its own spathel and attached at the base of the one above; involucre
^ orbicular, subdiscoid or sliortly cupular ; areola of the neuter flower depressedly
lunate. Female flowers small, about 3 mm. long ; the calyx divided into 3 ovateacute,
not distinctly striately veined lobes ; the corolla as long as the calyx; filaments
of the stamens forming an urceolate cup which is crowned by 6 short teeth.
Fruiiing perianth explanate. Fruit small pisiform, spherical or slightly depressed or
sometimes subturbinate, 8-9 mm. in diam., crowned by a distinct narrow cylindric
beak- scales in 15 series, dirty-yellowish, shining, channelled along the middle, not
bordered by a darker intramarginal line, almost obtuse, sometimes darker at the
apex, their margins entire. Seed globose, slightly compressed, about 6 mm. broad and
4 mm. tbick, opaque, convex and deeply pitted on the back, flattish on the raphal
side with a round central chalazal fovea ; albumen equable; embryo subbasal.
Habitat.—C. viminalii, with its varieties, has a rather wide geographical distribution,
being found in Java, India, Bunna, in the Andamans and in Cochin-China,
but the plant growing in Java must be considered as the type, and therefore is
that which I have described above.
From this island I have seen the specimens collected by Winter near Batavia
(Leyden Herb.) named C. liioralis by Blnrae, and others from the same locality in
the Delessert Herbarium; these last probably came from Burmann's collections.
Zollinger's No. 2884 comes from the forests of the Province of Banjuwangi,
also the No. 2652 of the same collector in Herb. De Cand. belongs to this species.
The native name in Java according to Zollinger is " Rotang Glatek." Blume
gives that of " R. Ayer." Rumphius says that the entire intertwined canes are
made into cables for anchors,
Obssrvations.—A very distinct species because of its leaflets usually pointing
different ways and being grouped in many fascicles; by the leaf-rachis being armed
beneath with long straight deflexed spines, which often are ternate and divaricate;
and by the glomerulate male flowers which form a very short subscorpioid spikelet
C. vimwalis] BECCABI. MONOOEAPH OP THE aENUS CALAMUS. 205
t
Et each soathel. The typical C. vminali, (as I have already Bsid) is the Javan
plant Miied C. litaralii by Blume, which however n hardly dutmguishahle by
constant chiractek from the viB. imcimUim, which name I have assigned to the
ancient C. fmciouUu, of Roxburgh, common in many parts of India and m
Cochin-China.
In some Jayan specimens, as, for instance, in those of Zollinger No. 2884
(Herb, Boiss. and Herb. Deless.) and in No. 2662 (in Herb. DeOand.) as many a.
20-24 of the uppermost leaflets are regularly alternate in one plane, but m o her
.pecimens, also ftom Java, all the leaflet, are distinctly fasercled and po.ntnrg
d k r e n t ways, and only 4-0 are regularly set at the apex. The spathels and
the inrolucre of the male spikelets are perhaps a h.tle smaller m the Javan than
in the Indian plant.
c. vimmali, was first made known by Eumphius, and was figured in vol. v
„f the plate 55, f. 2, under the name P«/»»»»"»
« Eotang Java.» Th. explanatory description of that plate ,s however worthless,
being a "mixtum compositum " derived from heterogeneous elements, but the plate
itself is so highly characteristic on account of the peculiar armature of the leafrachis
formed by long straight deflexed spines, as to leave no doubt as to its rdentification.
Willdenow (1799) in the FUntar^ first applied the name of C
to but he was wrong in considering all the figure, of the ,.1« e
56 in vol. v of the fflri.™,» as belonging to a smgle .pee.es, while
figm-e 1 in that plate represent, another speoies-the veru. j C.
X a r j , « B!.); tetby »he diagnosis ot C. vim„al« aculeis . • frondium
distanfibus reflexis," it i. easy to see that Willdenow had applied that name only to
the specie, represented in figure 2 of the said plate 65.
Blnme ( ¡¡i, P- ) bas well established that the name of C
. » . « 6 Wiild., ought to be applied to the above mentioned f. 2, plate o6, but^ n
Z plate Blume has not recognised his own C. lOcr^a^, wh.ch is cer ainly
ynonymou. with C. — F u r t h e r m o r e , Blume (1. c , p. 46) bebeves that the
f 2 of the same plate 55 cannot represent a Javan species of Calamu, as
Kumphins writes when speaking of the Javan Cdamm that he had not seen the
leaves and from this passage Blnme infeM that the Cabmu: figured m pl.le o6,
f 2 'must be one from Burn, included by Eumpliius under the comprohensiye name
of ¿ . ¡ » . J . » « . . — a But I have to point out that Eumphius, wlien speaking ot
the "Dragon Blood," shows he had had much correspondence with Javan people
about Kotangs, and it is very probable that figu™ 2 of plate 55 ^ f™
after the chapter on the Palmij«.cus vmimb had been already written, But this
L of little or no importance. What is certain is that Willdenow has established
h i . C mmnabB on plate 65, fig. 2, vol. v of the nerlarium Amlcimm,, and that
C litoraliE docs not differ from tH.. Be.ides a. the presence of C. mm,nal„ in
the f o r c t s of Barn is highly improbable, it is almost certain that figure 2 of plate
66 must have been made from examples coming from Java.