2 8 2 ANNALS OP THE EOYAL BOTANIC GARDEN, CALCDTTA. TETRADACTYLUS'
denstjly armed with fine, often irregularly confluent claws. Leavea not ciniferous,
rather short, about 45 cm. loug; petiole very short, flat above, smooth or with
a few prickles at the* side or even almost obsolete ; ruchis trigonous, bifaeed
and smooth above, armed beneath with a few scattered, rather strong and
sometimes long-tipped claws; these more numerous towards the apex; leaflets
few, grouped into 3-5 subopposite, 5-10 cm. apart, fascicles of 1 {the
fascicles formed by two very approximate leaflets on each side of the rachis),
lanceolate-elliptic or oblong-lanceolate, suddenly acuminate at the apex, gradually
attenuate at the base, where callous at the insertion, papyraceous, rigidulous,
glabrous, slightly paler beneath than above, spreading or radiately divaricate,
S-costulate or with the mid-costa acute accompanied on each side with a secondary
nerve stronger than tlie others; all nerves and costae smooth on both surfaces;
transverse veink'ts very minute, crowded and much interrupted; the largest leaflets,
t h e mesial, 15-20 cm, long, 2"5 cm. broad, tho 4 of the terminal group approximate
and almost digitate, somewhat shorter and broader than the others and more
distinctly bristly-penicillate at the apex; the two of the terminal pair connate
up to the middle. Male spadiz ultradecompound, slender, longer than the leaves,
arched, inserted with a distinct tumescent callus near the mouth of the sheath;
primary spathes tubular, very narrow, closely sheathing, the lowest slightly compressed,
two-keeled, the keels spiuulous; the upper one cylindraceous, aculeolate; partial
inflorescences shovt, the lowest in one specimen 10 cm. long, rather las, arched,
with a few spreading branches, of which the lowest a good deal longer tiian the
upper ones; spikelets slender, their axis filiform; the lower ones, the largest,
1 0 - 1 2 mm. loug with 4-6 rather remote flowers on each side; spathels cylindraceous
at the base, suddenly expanded into a rather broad infundibuliform striately
veined limb, which is prolonged at one side into an acuminate point; involucre
subbracteiform, slightly concave, trilobate, the lobes striately veined, acute. Male /lowers
small, 3 mm. long, ovate, acute; the calyx flat and subcallous at the base, strongly
striately veined, divided down to about the middle into 3 triangulai" acute iobes;
corolla (_iu full-grown flowersj about twice as long as the calyx; tho segments
finely stiiolate outside, narrowed and apiculate at the apex. Female spadü simply
decompound, elongate, ending in a long slender clawed flagellum; primary spathes
closely sheathing; the lowest faintly two-keeled, glabrous, smooth or feebly armed
on the keels with very few small aculei, very obliquely truncate and acute oa
one side at the mouth; partial inflorescences few '3-4) not very large, about
15 cm. loDg, strongly arched, inserted insido the mouth of their respective spathes;
the largest oa each side with 6-7 distichous, alternate, rather distant spikelets
which decrease in length from the base of the inflorescence upwards; secondary
spathes tubular, slightly enlarged above, obliquely truncate and acute on OQO side at
the mouth; spikelets attached just at or a little above the mouth of their own
spathes, conspicuously callous at their upper axilla, spreading and arched downwards,
slender, the lower ones, the largest., 4 - 5 cm. long, with 5 - 6 remote distichous flowers
on cach side; the upper ones 15-20 mm. long and with very few flowers;
spathels tubular at the base, rather suddenly broadened into an obliquely infundibuliform
limb, this truncate, enth-e, ciliolate al. the mouth and apiculate at one side ;
involucrophorum laterally attached outside its own spathel at the base of the one
G. acanthospathus.'] BECCAEI. MONOGRAPH OP THE GENUS CALAMUS. 2 8 3
above, more or less distinctly pedicellate, callous at the axilla next to the axis,,
with a shallowly concave limb ; involucre larger and exceeding the involucrophorum,
shallowly cupular or almost flat with a large central scar and an irregularly circular
limb; areola of tho neuter flower very depressed, linear, with a punctiform scar
in the centre. Female flowers small, about 3 mm, long. Fruiting •perianth distinctly
pedicelliform; the calyx, flat at the base, the tube cylindraceous, the teeth not
distinctly veined, broadly triangular, acute; segments of the corolla slightly longer
than the lobes of the calyx and narrower than these. Frv.it globose, topped by a
very small conic acute beak, 8-10 mm. in diam.; scales in 21-23 series, faintly
and narrowly channelled along the middle, subshining, light-yellowish with a reddishbrown
rather acute t i p ; margins indistinctly erosely toothed. Seed irregularly globose,
6 mm. in diam., coarsely tubercled and grooved or broadly pitted on the back, with
a round and deep chalazal fovea in the centre of the raphal side; albumen subhomogeneous,
some of the pits sometimes penetrating into its mass; embryo basal.
HABITAT.—Hong-Kong : where it was discovered in fruit in March 1875 by
Dr. G. Dodo in the valley of Wongneichung, Sanoe No. 18979 in St, Petersb.
Herb.; it was found again in that Island also in fruit by C. Ford in 1882 (Herb.
Kew); in Hainan, Hetiry No. 8313 in Herb. Berol. (male specimen).
OBSERVATIONS.—A species very distinct by the conspicuously fascicled arrangement
of its few oblong-lanceolate leaflets; its small dimensions; the small round
fruit with pedicelliform perianth, propped up by a subpedicelliform involucrophorum.
I have described the male spadix from Henry's specimen, wlrich seems to me
t o agree perfectly with Hance's and Ford's typical fruiting specimens.
PLATE 104.—Calamus tetradactylus JIance.—Fig. A, spikelet with a fruit, enlarged
3 times; B, portion of a fruit spadix; C, summit of the leaf represented in the
following plate.
PLATE 104 A.—Calamus tetradactylus Hance.—The apical portion of a plant wit
a leaf, the summit of which is represented in the preceding plate.
87. CALAMTRS ACANTHOSPATHUS Griff, in Calo. Journ. Nat. Hist, v, 39, and Palms
Brit. Ind. 50, pi. CX'; B. (excl. pi, cxc A f. 1 which belongs to
C. erectu$); Mart. Hist. Nat. Palm, iii, 333; Walp. Ann. iii, 484 and
V, 830; Hook. f. Fl. Brit. Ind. vi, 448; Becc. in Rec. Bot. Surv
Ind. ii, 2 0 6.
0. monianus T, And. in Journ. Linn. Soc. xi, (1869), 7 ; F. v. Muell.
Select Extra-trop. PI., 69; Gamble. Man. Ind. Timb., 424.
DESCEIPTION.—Suberect with an elongate stem or subscandent (?), rather large and
robust. Sheathed stem 3-5 cm. in diam.; naked canes 2-2-5 cm, in diam. with
relatively short internodes (about 15 cm. long). Leaf-shealhs thickly coriaceous or
almost woody, cylindraceous, rather short, gibbous above, obliquely truncate and
naked at the mouth, entirely covered, chiefly in their upper pai't, with small very
short and broad-based spines, which are very approximate, solitary or subseriately
confluent and are often reduced to small pungent tubercles or sometimes have a more
ANN. EOY. BOT. GARD. CALCUITA VOL. X I. I,