2 5 0 ANNALS OF T H E ROYAL BORA>'IC GAUDEÍT, CALCUTTA. [C. MYMCANTHUSflagella
filiform, very slender, -with the lowest epathe flattened and acutely two-edged,
sparsely aculeolate. Ocrea very short, truncate, glabresceat, smooth. Leaves not
•cirriferous, 60-90 cm. long; petiole (in leaves of the upper part of adult plants)
short or very short, broadly channelled above, armed at the sides with unequal
spines, of which a few are long, straight and spreading, and beneath with short
deflexed aculoi; raclns smooth and acutely bifaced above, armed beneath along tbo
middle with a line of solitary claws; leaflets numerous, equidistant, 15-25 mm.
apart, thinly papyraceous, linear-cnsiform, narrowed to the base, very gradually
acuminate into a long subulate apex, which is bristly-spinulous at the sides, subshining
and concolorous on both surfaces, unicostate, the mid-costa sparsely bristlyspinulous
on both surfaces, but only near the summit; side-nerves slender, always
naked; margins finely and appressedly spinulous; transverse veinlets veiy distinct,
much interrupted; the largest leaflets, those a little above the base, 18-25 cm.
long, 10-12 mm. broad; the upper ones shorter but not narrower; the two of the
terminal pair the smallest, quite free at the baso.—Other parts unknown.
EIABITAT.—The Great Nicobar, whence it was sent to me in August 1886 by
jl/i'. E. n. Man, who informed rae that it is much used by the natives and that it
is in great demand by ship-tradera who take it to the Straits, and that it is called
• ' T c h y e " by the Nicobarese.
OBSEEVATIOSS.—It appears to be allied to G. delicatulus, from which it is distin-
.guished by the leaflets spinulous on the mid-costa only. It seems alHed also to
C. JJelferiams, but this has fascicled leaflets, while they are equidistant in C. niooiaricus.
Its characteristics amongst the species of the group are its slcnderness, the leafsheaths
armed with rather broadly laminar, sometimes very long, elastic, entirely
light-coloured spines; and the numerous equidistant, linear, subulately acuminate, únicostate
leaflets, with only the mid-costa bristly-spinulous on both surfaces.
FLATS 84.—Calamus nicobaiicus Beec.
and leafy stem, one armed with long ar
Prom Men's specimens in Herb. Beec.
Naked cane ; two portions of the sheathed
I the other with shorter, slender spines.—
69. CALAMUS MYKIACANTHUS Becc. in Ree. Bot. Surv. I n d . ii, 214.
DESCKIPTION.—Not scandent ( ?), rather robust. Sheathed stem about 4 cm. in diam.
Leaf-tiieaihi not flagellifcrcuB ^always?), very thick and woody, not gibbous above
and gradually passing into the petiole, open anticously Ion 0*1 tu dm ally with the remains
(in adult leaves), ou the margins, of the decayed ocrea, entirely covered ivith innumerable,
moatly small, short, solitary acicular horizontal spines which rest on a
swollen base; other spines larger than the above, reddish-brown, 10-15 mm. long,
somethues oonEuent by their bases and aiiso disposed in short horizontal series, occur
on the lower part of the back, while near the mouth and along the margins the
spines are more crowded, longer and horizontal and of different nature, some of
them being criniform and needle-like and others laminar and 2 cm. in length.
Leaves lai-ge, uon-cirriferous, the only one seen by me 2-5 metres in length; the
petiole robust, 60 cm. long and 13-13 mm. broad at the base, channelled ' very
superficially and smooth above, convex beneath and armed only at the sidea with very
C. myriaeanthus^ BECCAKI. MONOGEAPII OF THE GEKUS CAL.4MU3. 251
stout claws; rachis robust and armed closely at the margins like tho petiole, and
along the middle beneath with very robust at first solitary and, from the middle
upwards, ternate claws; leaflets few '27 in all) usually subopposite in the first
portion, with the pairs rather distant, irregularly alternate upwards and speedily
decreasing in size towards the summit, large, broadly oblanceolate, somewhat concavoconvex,
gradually narrowed to an acute base, broadest above the middle and thence
tapering to a bristly tip, firmly papyraceous, conspicuously discolerous, dull-green and
glabrous above, whitish beneath but without a detachable indumentum, with 7-8
main costae which ate naked on both auriacea but much more acute and prominent
beneath than above; tho mid-coata not stronger than the side ones; transverse
veinlets extremely numerous and approximate but not very conspicuous; margins
smooth, often bordered, especially on the lower surface, with a polished band; the
largest leaflets, tho lower ones, 40 cm. long, 7-Ti, cm. broad; the two of the
terminal pau- slightly decurrent and tree at tlie base, 18-20 cm. long, 2 cm. broad.
Male spada Femiue ijmdie simply decompound, iiagelliform, nodding,'
2'60 m. long in one specimen (including the peduncular part), with few (3) partial inflorescences
and with a terminal slender filiform slightly aculeolato appendix; the pedunoular
part, the primary and secondary apathes covered with very small appresaed
rusty scales, excessively long (1-5 m.), flattened, plano-convex, with acute margins feebly
amicd with very slender acicular scattered spines, gradually passing into the very
elongiite basal spathe; this also somewhat flattened-tubnlar, closely sheathing, acutely
two-edged, prolonged at the summit into an elongate lanceolate dorsally keeled
point, furnished near the mouth with a few acicular long flat very weak spines;
upper primary spathes also very elongate, cylindraceou.s very narrow, also prolonged
at the summit into a lanceolate point and equally furnished near the mouth with the
peculiar spines which cover tho first spathe and farthermore more or less prickly on
ils sm-face; the naked axial portions between two partial inflorescences flat or
slightly concave on the inner side, and armed with slender small straight scattered
spines (n i with claws) on tho back; partial inflorescences very long, tho lowest,
and largest, 80 cm. in length with 11 alternately distichous spikelets on each aide;-
t h e upper ones shorter; secondary spathes tubnlar.infandibuliform, minutely spinuloul
especially near the base, obliqaely truncate and ciliate-bearded at the mouth, prolonged
at one side into a long triangular subulate dorsally keeled point; spikeletshorizontally
attached above the mouth of their re.spective spathe with a distinct axillarv
callus, slenderly vermicular, rather brittle, elongate; the lower ones, the largest. Idcm.
long with 2S-30 bifarious flowers on each side; the upper ones gradually
shorter; the terminal 7-S cm. only; spathels hairy-fm-furaeeous, Ijractoiform, very
approximate, concave, very broad, prolonged into a strongly deflexed striately veined
acuminate point; involuerophorum indistinct, represented by a very small scalo-hke
appendix on the Bide of the neuter flower; involucre laterally attached almost outside
its own spathel at the base of tho one above, explauate, formed by two triangular
strongly veined bracts, which are united by their bases; areola of the neuter flower
depressed, very small, indistinct. Female flowers conic, small, 3-5-1 mm. long, the
calyx flat, callous and somewhat broadened at the base, strongly striately v°eined,
with 3 very short acute teeth; tho corolla slightly longer than the calyx, not
striate, and shining outside. Neuter flmeers very acute, narrower, but as long as the
female ones and with a compsratively longer corolla. Fruit unknown.
A S H . EOY. Bor. GABD. CALCUTTA VOL. X I .