m A:SNÍXS OP THE ROYAL BOTANIC GAKDEN, OALCUTTA. [C. paspalanthus.
Zeavis aot cirriferous, rather large, in one specimen I T m. in length including the
petiole; this 45 cm. long, rather robust, 1 cm. thick, deeply and hroadly
channelled above, rounded and except towards the summit smooth beneath, closely
armed on the acute margins with very short straight spines, which are solitary
and horizontal upwards, longer, geminate or ternate and pointing in different directions
near the base; rachis covered with a permanent woolly-furfuraceous (in youth brownsmooth
purplish) indumentum,
lower surfaco with series, of small
very loug (in <
and except near its base bifaced above, armed on the
a
central series and in its first portioa sometimes with S
;tary or towards the summit 2-3-fid claws. Leaf-sheath Jlagella
specimen 2-5 m. in lengthj with a long flattened and twoedged
base, the edges more or less armed with delicate straight ascendent spines,
Bubtereto upwards, very closely sheathed by long spathes, these split longitudinally
and lacerated in their upper part, and armed with half-whorls of small claws;
leaflets very numerous, very regularly and very closely inserted at an angle of 45°
(about 15 mm. apart and towards the summit even closer), thin and subhorbaeeous
in texture, narrowly linear, very slightly attenuate to and suddenly plicate at the
base, very gradually acuminate into a very slender setaceous tip, this bristly-ciliate
at the sides, green even when dry and concolerous on both surfaces, very finely sfcriolate
longitudinally beneath, with -i acute and almost equally strong costae, which
are bristly-spinulous above (the mesial only near its summit), leas prominent
beneath, where the 3 are very minutely and very closely covered with small very
light cilia; transverse veinlets rather sharp, much interrupted and not very
fii
crowded
margins appressedly and minutely spinulous; all leaflets, except those
towards thi
8-9 mm. broad; th(
very long, flagellifori
cences, one of thesi
witli many branchlets in
20 cm. long and with
the axis of the branchli
ruaty-furfuraceoiis adherent scurf, narrow, closely sheathing, elongate-infundibulifor
unarmed, thin, obliquely truncate at the mouth, whei-e usually split and prolonged at
one side into a triangalar subscarious lacerate point; spikelets inserted a little inside
th'i mouth of their respective spath-is, complanate, very regularly pectinate-, the lower
ones, the largest, 15-20 mm. long (the upper ones somewhat smaller), with 10-15
perfectly and closely bifarious subhorizontal flowers on each side; spathols very short,
very closely packed, bracteiform, concave, very broad, with an acute ascendent point
which subtends the involucre; this regularly cupular, deep, with entire truncate margin.
Female spadix very different from the male one, very elongat« and very lax, in ono
specimen 3'5 m. long including a rather robust flagellum, with 6 very remote partial
inflorescences; the flagellum closely armed with half-whorled claws; the peduncular
portion excessively long, compressed, flat on the inner side, slightly couvex on the
back, its margins acute, armed with short irregular prickles; the axial portions between
two partial inflorescences very long, subterete or slightly compressed, strongly armed
with half-whorls of sharp dark-tipped claws which extend also on the back of the
base of the spathes ; primary spathes as in the male spadix, lacerated and as long aa
or longer than their respective inflorescences, the lowest very long, flattened, coalescing
which are suddenly shorter, of the same size, 30 cm. long.
two of the terminal pair quite free at the base. Male spadix
I, ultradecompound with large long and diffuse partial inflores-
! 50 cm. long with some simple spikelets at the summit and
Lt3 lower portion ; of these bniucblets the lower ones up to
many (9-10) regularly distichous spikelets on each side;
3 Straight and rigid; secondary spathes covered with u
C. paspalanthus.'] BECCAJII. MOKOG-EAPH OP THE GENUS CALAMUS. 297
•with the peduncle in its lowest portion; partial inflorescences kept spreading or almost
horizontal by a very large axillary calks (this with a distinct transverse rima) and
inserted very far inside their respective spathes, but apparently free from these, which
are in their upper part almost destroyed and reduced to filamentous strips, very lax,
all of about the same size, 20-25 cm. long with 5-6 spikelets on each side, their axis
straight, slender, but rather rigid; secondary spathes narrowly tubular-infundibuliform,
membranous, closely sheathing, prolonged at the summit into a long lacerate scarious
decayed point, often armed about to their middle on the back with very small claws;
spikelets considerably thicker than the axis of the inflorescence, straight or sinuous,
horizontal or slightly deflexed, inserted inside the mouth of their respective spathes
with a distinct axillary callus, 10-12 era. long (the upper ones slightly shorter), with
15-20 flowers on each side; spathels infundibuliform, finely striately vcired, narrow
and gibbous at the base, with thin subscarious often decayed margin ; involucrophorum
irregularly cupulai-, half immersed in its own spathel and attached at the base of the
one above which is there slightly hollowed to receive it; involucre exactly cupular,
rather deep, truncate; areola of the neuter flower very distinct, broadly ovate or
fiuborbicnlar, callous, very sharply bordered and slightly projecting from the involucres.
Fi'uiting perianth explanate, split into 6 almost equal parts. Fruit veiy broadly ovate,
mucrennli ite, about 18 mm. long; scales in 18 series, opaque or only partially
subshining, dark reddish-brown, slightly darker near the margins, convex and not
channelled along the middle, slightly prolonged into a not fimbriate rather obtuse
point. Seed very anomalous, flattened, suborbicular in outline, about 1 cm. in diam.,
with a sharp border, emarginate at the base where slightly thickened and with 2
or 3 more or less distinct conic teeth; the surfaco smooth but not polished, flat and
with a round superficial central chalazal fovea on the raphal side, slightly convex
on the back; albumen equable, bony; embryo basal.
HABITAT.—-Borneo : on Mt. Mattang near Kuching in Sarawak, Beceari P. B. No.
1922, in fruit.—The male plant was also collected by Lobb in Sarawak, according
to a specimen preserved in Herb. Kew.
OBSIIBVATIONS.—After very careful examination I have found some slight differences
between the Bornean type-specimens of C. paspalanthus, and those of the Malayan
Peninsula, which have induced me to consider these last as belonging to a local or
geographical variety (see observations on the variety).
The male flowers in Lobb's male specimen are not fully developed ; they are ovate,
with the calyx superficially urceolate and broadly three-toothed and distinctly striately
veined, as also very conspicuously are the spathels and the sides of the involucres
whilst in the fully developed spikelets of the Malayan specimens the flowers are
cylindraceous and the spathels not or very indistinctly striate. G. paspalanthus is a
very remarkable and easily recognizable species by its leaf-sheaths conspicuously swollen
in their upper part at the base of the petiole; the numerous equidistant approximate
narrowly linear leaflets with 3 acute costae, which are sparsely bristly above and
very minutely and closely ciliate beneath ; the very elongate spadices with the spathes
as long as or longer than their respective inflorescences, tubular at the base and
reduced into long strips in their upper part ; the male spadix with numerous smalj
ANN. ROY. BOT. GARD. CALCUTTA VOL. X I.