2 78 A N N Í L 3 OF THE ROVAL BOT.\KIC GAEDEN, CALCÜTTA. [C. Brandisii.
OBSERVATIONS.—I haye seen of this only a small portion of a leaf with 8 cm. of
racllis and 7 leaflets, apparently detached from above the intermediate part of the
leaf. It is curious that this species, which was found in the time of Roxburgh, has
not been collected again by modern botanists. It seems to me that the Calami in
Lower India are more scarce DOW than in past times, perhaps on account of the greater
extension given to cultivation and owing to the destruction of the forests.
C. Delesseriianus seems related to C. Brandisii, bat it differs from this, as
from any other South Indian species known to me, by its numerous equidistant ensiform
sub-o-costulate leaflets; the closely sheathing tubular coriaceous primary spathes, and
t h e elongate spikelets; the bracteiform involucrophorum and the numerous perfectly
bifarioua flowers.
PLATE 101.—Calamus Delessertianus Becc. Portion of a leaf probably from above
its middle; one partial inflorescence with the upper part of its spathe.—The entire
Roxburghian specimen in Herb. Deless.
84. CALAMUS BRANDISH Becc. in Hook. f. Fl. Brit. Ind. vi, 448, and
Bot. Surv. Ind. ii, 206.
Rec.
DESCEIPTION.—Scandent and slender. Sheathed stem 10-15 mm. in diam. Zea/-
sheaths flagelliferous, slightly gibbous above, densely armed with very unequal (3-15
mm. long), scattered, deflexed, schistaceous, slender needle-like spines, which rest on a
small tumescent subtuberculiform base; the mouth and the very short ocrea very
densely furnished with numerous bristly or criniform fulvous spiculae of which aorae
are even 5 cm. in length. Zeavei not cirriferous, short, in one specimen ¿5 cm.
long; the petiole 15 cm, long, flat and smooth above, convex beneath, the
margins acute and conspicuously armed with a few very long (3-4 cm.), straight,
slender, rigid, needle-like horizontal pale spines; rachis immediately above the
insertion of the first leaflets acutely trigonous, smooth ou the upper angle, armed
beneath with a few very strong, solitary, 2-3 cm. long, deflexed, light-coloured
spines; leaflets very few, ia one leaf 15 in all, very distinctly fascicled, 6 of them
radiately approximate at the summit, narrowly or elongate-lanceolate, papyraceous,
rather firm, subshining, concolorous or slightly paler beneath, somewhat attenuate at the
base, where not very acute, acuminate at the summit into a bristly-spinulous apex,
with the mid-costa acute above, where very sparingly spinulous and accompanied on
each side by two rather distinct secondary nerves of which one, that nearer the midcosta,
is usually furnished with a few spinules; beneath the mid-costa and the secondary
nerves smooth; margins rather densely ciliate with spreading short spinules; the
largest leaflets, the intermediate ones, 25-27 om. long, 20-25 nun, broad, the upper
and the lower ones somewhat shorter but not narrower, the two of the terminal pair
shortly united at the base. Male spadix Female spadiz elongate, flagelliform
(about 80 cm, in length \ terminating in a slender aculeate flagellum and with few (4)
partial inflorescences; primary spathes narrowly tubular, closely sheathing; tho lowest
flattened, acutely two-edged, smooth or sparingly spinulous, prolonged at the summit
into a lanceolate point and bristly bearded at the mouth; upper primary spathes
cylindraceous, narrowed at the base, where flat on the inner side, convex and
clawed on the back, and also but very sparingly in their upper part, with a
C. salioifolius.'] BECCAHI. MONOGEAPH OF THE GE.NU8 CALAMUS, 279
lanceolate acuminate limb at their summit; partial inflorescences (when in flower)
arising erect from inside their own spathe, rather rigid, the lower ones the largest,
15-20 cm. long, and with a very small and short caudiculum at their summit,
furnished with 5-6 spikelets on each side; the upper ones shorter, the terminal
with 3-4 spikelets in all; secondary spathes tubular-infundibuliform, 8-15 mm.
long, unarmed, finely striately veined, obliquely truncate, ciliate and entire at the
mouth, prolonged at one side into a triangular subulate point; spikelets inserted just
a t the mouth of their own spathe, rather thick and short, erecto-patent when in
flower, slightly arched, all of about the same dimensions, the largest, the lower ones
2 ' 5 - 3 cm. long, with 8-10 flowers on each side, the upper ones with rather
fewer flowers; spathels very closely packed, concave, broad, bracteiform, striately
veined and prolonged at one side into a triangular subulate deflexed point;
involucrophorum supported by the spathel, irregularly cupular, more or less unilaterally
evolute; involucre also cupuJar, sti-ongly veined, more or less irregular or unilaterally
evolute; the spathela and tho involucres moro or less ciliate at the margin; areola
of the neuter flower depresaedly lunate, somewhat concave, with very sharp and
subwinged borders. Flowers very crowded, distinctly 4-aeriate in young spikelets
on account of the conspicuous neuter flowers. Female flowers conical-ovoid and acute
when in bud, 3 mm, long; the calyx shortly cylindraceous, smooth and callous at
the base, coarsely veined on the tube, its teeth short, broad, witü thickened scarious
margins; corolla one-third longer than the calyx, the segments ovate-lflnceolate acute.
I^euier flowers almost as long as the female ones, but thinner and with the corolla
a good deal longer than the calyx. Fruit unknown.—The leaf-sheaths, the petiole
and rachis more or less covered in youth with a brown futfuraceous detachable
indumentum.
HABITAT.—Lower India. Discovered by Sir D. Brandts, in February 1882, at
1500 alt., on the Ghats near Courtallum in Travancoie.
OBSEEVATIONS.—A very distinct and remarkable species, by its short leaves with
f ew elongate-lanceolate clustered leaflets; the petiole and rachis armed with remote
straight solitary and long spines; and the mouth of the leaf-sheaths and the ocrea
furnished with long bristly spiculae.
PLATE 102.—Calamus Brandisii Bece. The summit of the stem with an entire leaftwo
detached female flowering spadices.—From Brandis's specimen in Herb. Becc,
85. CALAMUS SALICIFOLITJS Becc. in Rec. Bolt. SUIT. Ind. ii, 206.
DESCRIPTION.—Busby, very small, 1-2 m. high. Sheathed stem 6-S mm. in
diam. Leaf-sheaths (of the upper part of the fertile stem) often furnished, when not
bearing spadices, with a very rudimentary flagellum which sometimes is not more than
1 cm. in length, gibbous above, striate longitudinally, armed (sometimes very sparingly)
with scattered solitary, horizontal, rigid, subulate, straight, dark-tipped spines which are
5-10 om. long and rest on a swollen pale base; with these spines are often intermingled
other short and subtuberculiform prickles, usually more numerous near the base of the
petiole. Ocrca truncate, very short, 3-5 mm. long, bristly-hispid. Zeaves not
cirriferous, but with diminutive leaflets at the apex, small, 20-30 cm. long; petiole very