230 ANÍSAL3 OP TUB KOYAL BOTANIC GARIJEN, CALCUTTA. [C- AUSTRAHS
OBSEEVATIOHS.—A very well marked species by the leaf-sheaths armed with
flattened short broad fringed spines, equidistant aubtricostulate ensifol-m leaflets and
especially by the extraordinarily long and slender spadieea with very small male and
female flowers and very small round fruit not larger than a pea—In drying the
leaves acquire a chestnut-brown colour.
A specimen in the Calcutta Herbarium collected by Lobb, probably in Sarawak,
apparently belongs t3 this species and bears the note : " Stem 3 to 4 feet; wet
forests." This specimen agrees pretty well with my number 2760, but its leaf is
more contracted and the epadiz more robust.
PLATE 71 Calamus nematoapadix Becc. Portion of the stem with the base of a
leaf and of a apadix (on the left upper corner of the plate); another portion of a
stem with an entire male spadix; the upper part of a leaf (lower surface); portion
of a fruit-spadix (on the left side) with an entire partial inilorescence; detached
fruits and seeds; cne of these longitudinally cut across the embryo.—From P. B.
Nos. 1000, 2760, 1927 in Herb. Bera.
56, CILAMOS ADSTRAUS Matt. Hi«t. Nat. Palm, iii, 313 (Ist edit.) and 342.;
Kunth Enum. PI. iii, 212; Walp. Ann. iii, 491 and v, 832.; H. Wendl.
and Drude in Linnaja, xxxix, (1875), 197; Benth. Fl. Anstr. vii, 1 3 4 . - F.
von Miiell. Syat. Cens. Austr. PI. 119; H. Wendl. in Kerch. Lea
Palm., 235 ; Becc. Malesia, i, 88.
C. oUtrama F. v. Muell. Fragm. v, 48; Bailey Queensl. Fl. 1685.
C, J'iloQlum Bailey, Bot. Bull, xiii (non vidi), and Queensl. Fl. 1686.
DESCBIPTIOK.—High scandent, rather slender or of moderate size. Sheathed stem
about 16 mm. in diam. Leaf-shathl flagelliferons, not gibbous above, obliquely
truncate at the mouth, covered when young, as are the petiole and rachis of the
leaves and the spathes, with a rusty-grey detachable cottony indumentum and
entirely clothed with very slender, brittle, flexible blackish or fuscescent, spreading,
1 - 2 cm. long, crinifonn spicula;, which are denser and erect at the mcuth. Leafsheath
Jlagella with the basal spatbe flattened, two-edged and furnished at the sides
with long spicule. Leaves not cirriferous, rather short, about 60 cm. in length;
the petiole short, 4-5 cm. long, convex beneath, where almost unainred or more or
less furnished with small claws, flattish above, where more or less densely covered
with spiculiB like thore of the leaf-sheaths; raehis bifaced and smooth above, roundish
in the first portion, flat upwards, and irregularly armed throughout beneath along
the middle and in the lower portion, also at the sides with rather small solitary or
slightly aggregate claws ; leaflets not veiy numerous, 10-18 on each side, alternate
or almost opposite, 2-5 cm. apart, subequidislant, papyraceous, rigidulous, sbming,
somewhat plicate longitudinally, snbconcolorous and destitute of hairs spmules or
bristles on both surfaces, lanceolate or narrowly lanceolate, rather suddenly contracted
at their insertion on the rachis, where often distinctly callous mainly in the lower
leaflets, gradually acuminate into a subulate not bristly or ciliate apex, more or
less deeply Indented on the lower margin neat the summit and terminating in a
long (2-3 cm.), very slender, brittle and deciduous thread; all the leaflets are of
C. australis] BECCAIL MONOGKAPH OF THE OKSDS CALAMOS. 231
about the same si.o, 15-27 cm. long, and 20-28 mm. broad, the lowest ones hardly
smaller than those of the middle; the upper ones suddenly shorter than the others;
the two of the terminal pair 6-10 cm. long, obtuse and often distinctly bidentatc
at the apex ; mid-costa rather acute and prominent in the upper face; secondary
nerves slender and only one on each side of the mid costa more conspicuous than
the others, but not so as to render the surface distinctly 3-coBtalo; beneath all
nerves less distinct than above; transverse voinlets fine, rather numerous and
distinct; margins quite smooth or very sparingly appressedly spiuulous. Male spadix
fugaciously "tawny-furfuraceous, elongate flagelliform, pendulous, ultra-decompound
with a Ion» clawed flagellum at its summit, strongly armed in the attenuated basal
portions between two partial inflorescences with half-whorled black-tipped claws;
primary spathes very elongate, tubular, cylindric, very closely sheathing, • rather
densely acnleolate in 'their upper part, obliquely truncate at the mouth where often
somewhat split longitudinally and prolonged at one side into a triangular hispid
point; partial inflorescences eloDgate, large and diffuse, as much as 60 cm. long,
arising erect from inside the mouth of their own spatbe and thea spreading,
terminating in a short filiform closely sheathed caudate unarmed appendix, and
bearing in their apical portion a few simple spikelets and in the lower one a few
secondary branches, which latter ai-e 8-12 cm. long with 4-9 spikelets on each
side; secondary spathes about 2 cm. long, very narrowly tubnlar-infundibuliform,
closely sheathing, narrowed at the base, unarmed, finely striately veined longitudinally,
entirely green and not withered at the mouth where obliquely truncate, densely
ciKated with fine paleólas and prolonged at one side into a triangular acute point;
tertiary spathes infundibuliform, striately veined, sprinkled with small greyish scales;
spikelets horizontal or deflexed, callous at their upper axilla, inserted just above the
mouth of their own spatbe, complanate, pectinate; those of the upper part of the
inflorescences 3-5 cm. long with 12-15 distichous very approximate flowers on each
side • those of the branches or compound spikes 2 cm. at most, with about 10
flowers on cach side; spathels very short, concave, subbracteiform, with their apex
acute and deflexed, striately veined, ciliolato and sprinkled with small grey scales;
involucre almost flat, transversely evolute, acute at both sides. Male mmrs very
small 2 mm. long, ovate or snbobovate, rounded and obtusely apiculate at the top;
the calyx with a short striately veined tube with 3 very broad triangular acute
lobes ; the corolla twice as long as the calyx or oven longer. Female spadix simply
decompound, the one seen entire with 6 partial inflorescences and about 2 metres in
length including a slender aculeolate apical flagellum of 40 cm. in length ; lowest
primary spatbe flattened, two-edged, rather densely coveted with spiculae like those of
tho leaf-sheaths; the other epathes like those of the male spadix; largest partial
inflorescences 25-50 cm. long, bearing en each side 8-12 spikelets, these 6-15 cm.
long, flexuose, vermicular, narrowed and acute at the summit, with 8-14 flowers OQ
each side; spathels broadly infundibuliform, somewhat narrowed at the base, finely
striately veined, truncate at the mouth and prolonged at one side into a triangular
acute point; involucrophorum almost included in its own spathel and attached at
t h a base of the one above, aub-cupular, acutely bidentate and two-keeled and deeply
Innately emarginate on the side next to the axis; involucre sub-cupukr,