3 8 6 ANNALS OF THE ROTAL BOL'ANIC GARDEN, CALCDTTA. FEANUSHooker
f . , Gamble, Prain; Bhutau, Gamhle-, Eastern Nepal, 1,600 m., Hooker f. in
Herb. Kew.—Native names; "Gouri-bet" (Nepal), " R u e " or " R h u " (Lepchas).
OBSERVATIONS.—This seems very variable ia size and in the armature of the sheaths
and spathes. I have described the male plant from a large Sikkim specimen kindlysent
to me by Lieut.-Coloui;l Praiu, aud consisting of the upper portion of an entire
plant, with the leaves fortniug a large crown as in some species of Pimnga ; the
sheaths are 5 cm. in diam. and are all without flagelhi, every one bearing n spadix.
This specimen was certainly not scandeut. The sheaths are covered with small
tubercles; the petiole is 2 cm. in width, aud the entire leaf measures I'o m. in
length End the spadices more than 3 metres; the spathes are almost unarmed. The
fruiting specimens oi the Calcutta Herbarium have the sheaths armed with better
conformed spines, of which some have straight acicular points ; the spathes also are
much more densely prickly than in the Sikkim specimen mentioned above. 0. montanus
T. And., of which I have seen the fruit in the Herbarium at Kew, seems to me
exactly the same species as C. acanthospathus.
The adult plant seems devoid of
its juvenile period.
f-sheath flagella, but these may be present i
The chief characteristics of C. acanthospathus are its non-scandent suberect habit;
the short tubercled spinous leaf-sheaths ; the large leaves with large many-costate
and plicate lanccolate inequidistant remote leaflets, which are always solitary and never
paired on each side of the rachis ; the very long spadices, the female inflorescences
with subscorpioid spibelets where the flowers are in two collateral series and somewhat
"nilateral ; the fruit with scales of an unifornj cinnamon-brown colour, subshining
aud channelled along the middle.—Allied to the following.
PLATE lOô.—Calamus acanthospathus Grif. Upper portion of a leaf-sheath with
the base of a spadix ; lower portion of a spadix with mature fniit ; terminal portion
of a female spadix with ovaries in course of development ; two leaflets as seen
from the lower surface ; one leaflet from the upper surface ; two seeds, one showing
the back and the other the raphal side ; one seed longitudinally cut through the
embryo.—(All figures from a specimen in the Cfllcutta Herb.).
88. CALAMUS FEAHUS Becc.
Surv. Ind. ii, 206.
Hook, f. Fl. Brit. Ind. vi, 448, and in Ree. Hot.
DESCEIPTIOK.—Scandent, of moderate size. Skeaihed stem 16-22 cm. in diam. ;
canes 1 cm. thick, with rather short internodes. Leaf-sheaths cylindraceous, rather
thick and almost woody, distinctly marbled with dark-gi'een and lighter furfuraceous
spots, rather powerfully armed with solitary and scattered stout subdinidiate-cooic
spines, which are broad at the base, where further they are rather swollen above
and flat or slightly convex beneath, horizontal or deflexed, 6-12 mm. long, leaving
an elongate triangular impression above them and accompanied by very short and
tuberculiform prickles. Ocrea very short, truncate, entire, glabrous, spinulous. Leaf
sheath flagella very long, callous at their xnaertifin, flattened and with prickly very
acute edges in their lower portion, irregularly armed upwards with solitary or 2-3
C. Feanus.'] BECCARI. MONOGRAPH OP THE GENUS CALAMUS. 287
nate rather robust claws, which have a swollen light base and a black tip. Leaves
not cirriferous, about 1 m. in length; petiole very short, 3-7 cm. long (or almost
obsolete), fiat and smooth or with a spinule here and there above, armed at
the sides as in the first portion of the rachis with short straight or slightly curved
spines, convex beneath, where also, as on the rachis, armed along the middle with
solitary stout claws; upper part of the rachis bifaced and smooth above; leaflets
few (6-8 on each side), inequidistant but not fascicled, rather remote, alternate or
sub-opposite, rigidulously papyraceous, dark-green when dry, somewhat convex, glabrous,
almost concolorous, elliptic-lanceolate or oblauceolate, attached to the rachis by a narrow
and many-plicate base, suddenly narrowed at the summit into a rather short penicillate
point, which is longer and more gradually acuminate in the lower leaflets, furnished
with 7-9 primary nerves or costae, which are rather slender, all of about the same
strength and almost equally raised on both surfaces, inconspicuously and very sparingly
spinulous above, naked beneath; the mid-costa usually non-central and scarcely stronger
than the others; transverse veinlets rather distinct and approximate; margins closely
ciliate with spreading spinules, these shorter, appressed and more distant towards the
base; the largest leaflets, those of the lower third-part of the rachis, 20-32 cm.
in length and 5-7 cm. in width ; those near the base narrower; the upper ones
shorter (16-20 cm.); the leaf usually terminated by two leaflets perfectly free at the
base and accompanied by a smaller or rudimentary leaflet between them; iu other
cases this terminal leaflet is fully developed and not different from the two next.
Male spadix Female spadh decompound, elongate-flagelliform (I'o m
long) erect, rather rigid, with many (7 in one specimen) partial inflorescences; primary
spathes tubular, elongate, closely sheathing, coriaceous, green, glabrous, finely longi,
tudinally striate, the lowest about 30 cm. long, truncate and entii-e at the mouthsomewhat
flattened with the edges acute and armed with short strong prickles, of
which some are also scattered on the faces; the upper primary spathes cylindraceous,
somewhat enlarged above, but always strictly sheathing, clawed on the back, chiefly
at the base, which is narrow subterete or slightly compressed with very obtuse angles
(not as usual flat on the inner side), the mouth truncate or very shortly split and
prolonged on one side into a very short triangular point; partial inflorescences
sliort, rigidj panicled, subscorpioid, rather remotely inserted at or a little above the
mouth of their own spathe, at first ascendent, then strongly arched downwards, decreasing
in size from the base of tho spadix upwards: the largest ones, the lowest, 10-14
cm. long with 3-4 spikelets on each side and with a terminal one longer than the
side ones; secondary spathes tubular-infundibuliform, very closely sheathing, rather short,
smooth, exactly truncate and entire at the mouth and shortly apiculate at one side;
spikelets spreading, strongly arched downwards, inserted above the mouth of their
own spathes sligl.tly callous at their axilla, rigid, rather stout and short: the larger
ones, the lowest, 3-5 cm. long with 10-12 flowers in all, these not in one plane but
subunilater.il and arranged in two collateral series, and turned upwards; spathels
shortly tubular-infundibuliform, truncate, entire and acute at one side; involucrophorum
exsert from its own spathel and laterally attached to the base of the one above,
very shallowly cupular or subdiscoid with an inconspicuous axillary callus next to the
axis; involucre regularly cupular, rather deop, with entire truncate margin; areola of
the neuter flower sublunate «btuselv bordered. Female flowers ovate, rather distant