3 0 4 ANITJXS OP THE KOYAL BOTANIC GARDEN, CALCUTTA. [C. platyspathus.
shallow, bracteiform, irregularly trigonous-tridentate; areola of the neuter flowiir.
punctiform, sometimes accompanied by two very small bracteolae. Female flowers
el on gate-conic, acute, 2 5 u^m. long; the calyx finely striately veined, shortly and
acutely dentate; the corolla barely longer than the calyx, its segments lanceolate,
acuminate, finely striately veined; filaments of the stamens miited by their bases
snd fonning a eup which is crowned by 6 triangular teeth; these with subulate
and inflected apex; anthers halhert-sagittate, flattened and sterile. Neuter flowers
almost as large as the female ones. FruUing perianth shortly pedioelUform. Fruit
very small (not seen perfectly ripe).
HABITAT.—Tavoy in Tenasserim, Wailich No. 86U9 in Herb. Kew.; Sel/er Nos.
6390, 6396, 6398 in Herb. Kew.; the No. 6390 also in St. Pet. Herb.
OBSERVATIONS.—Very similar to hut distinct from 0. Gxirula by its lanceolate
leaflets with 5 bristly nerves above, the mid-costa only acute and the side-nerves very
slender; from other species and mainly from C. platyspatkug, to which it is also related
and -which it much resembles in the spadices, this differs in the lanceolate closely
fet equidistant numerous concolorous leaflets and in the spathes somewhat longer than
the inflorescences. The description of the female spadix is derived frora Wallich's
specimen with immature fruit (No. 8609 in Herb. Kew.).
PLATR 116.—Calamus nitidua Mart. The summit of a leaf (lower surface); a pair
of leaflets (upper surface); two portions of male spadices.—From Heifer's specimena
in Herb. Kew.
95. CALAMUS PLATISPATECS Mart. Hist. Nat. Palm, iii, {Ist edit.) 210; GrifE.
in Calc. Journ. Nat, Hist, v, 75 and Palms Brit. Ind. 83; Kunth
Enum. PI. iii, 209; Miq. Fl. Ind. Bat. iii, 99; Kurz in Journ.
As. Soc. xliii, II, (187i), 208; H. Wendl. in Kerch. Les Palm. 237;
Hook. f. Fl. Brit. Ind. vi, 450; Becc. in Rec. Bot. Surv. Ind. ii, 207.
Mart. 1. c. 2nd edit,
i, 479; Miq. Fl. Ind. Bat. iii, 99.
and 329 ; Walp.
DKSCRIPTION.—Slender, scandent. Sàmlhed stem 7 cm. in diam. (in one specimen).
Leaf-fkeaihs armed with rather numerous, very unequal, straight flat subulate narrow
•orizontal spines. Ocrea elongate, membranous, exsuccous. Leaves ?hort, non-cirriforous ;
petiole short, rachis bifaced, very acute and smooth above, roundish beneath in its
first portion, where armed with a few long (1-2 cm.), straight, rather strong, usually
eolitaty, slightly deflexed, subulate, dark-tipped spines, which leave deep impressions on
the rachis, have a broad base and are transformed upwards into relatively robust
irregularly and remotely scattered claws; ihese with a rather long and strongly
deflexed point; leaflets very few, 8-12 cm. apart, all about of the same size and
shape, the larger ones 30 cm. long and 25-28 cm. broad; the two of the terminal
pair a few cm. shorter and quite free at the base, elongate-lanceolate or broadly
ensiform, attenuate at the base, gradually acuminate into a subulate apex, streaked
above with a few narrow longitudinal shining bands of which one is near the lower
margin; otherwise the upper surface is opaque with 5—6 not very strong but acute
C. p/pafysathus-'] BECOABI. MONOGE.VPH OP THE GENUS CALAMUS. 305
costae, of which the mesial is scarcely stronger than the side ones and naked, whereas
these last ure occasionally spinulous; the lower surface of a light-ferrugineous colour
and very faintly pulverulent or subtomentose-furfuraceous (when young?), with smooth
not prominent nerves ; transverse veinlets remote and much interrupted ; margins
inconspicuously closely appressedly spinulous, the spinules more spreading towards the
summit. Male spadix very, slender, filiform, ultra decompound, in one specimen 65 m.
long with 6 partial inflorescences, which are inserted at equal distances, and with a
short aculeolate filiform rudimentary flagellum at its summit ; primary spatlies at first
enclosing the inflorescences, then bursting longitudinally, very shortly sheathing at the
base, otherwise open flat and laminar, about as long as the inflorescences, papyraceous,
exsuccous, narrowly obiong or very broadly linear, obtuse or subtruncate at the apex,
yellowish-brown externally and fugaciously scaly-furfuraceous and paler than inside,
where perfectly glabrous, shining and closely lon^'itudinally striate ; the lowest spathe
not differing from the others, 10 cm. long and i:^ mm. broad, with a narrowly
tubulai- and flattened base, this spinous at the sides, and with two slightly spinulous
carinae; the upper spathes and inflorescences gradually shorter; axis of the spadix
filiform, suhterete, about one mm. thick, smooth in its lower portion, unilaterally
armed with delicate solitary claws upwards; partial inflorescences erecto-patent, panicled,
ovate in outline, with a somewhat unilateral arrangement in all their divisions, thé
largest the lowest, 10 cm. long, bearing on each side 6-7 branchlets ; these spreading,
inserted with a very conspicuous axillary callus, gradually diminishing, the larger
ones, the lowest, about 3 cm. long with 4-5 spikelets on each side ; secondary spathes
sparsely rusty-furfuraceous at first, later glabrous, narrowly tubular-infuudibuliform,
closely sheathing and prolonged at the summit into a small membranous aubulately
pointed limb; spikelets short, patent and like the branchlets with a very distinct
axillary callus and a transverse rima, the larger ones, the lowest, 8-10 mm. long
with only 4-5 approximate bifarious flowers on each side; the upper spikelets shorter
and very few-flowered; spathels short, asymmetrically infundibuliform, acute or
acuminate, the poiut subtending the involucre; this inserted at the base of the
spathel above its own, calyculiform, slightly concave, transversely subcymbiform,
acute right and left. Male flowers glabrous, narrow, elongate, subterete, acute or
apiculate, 2 5 mm. long, and -6 mm. thick; the calyx with a short subcampanulate
not veined tube, its teeth broad and acute; the corolla two and a half times as
long as the calyx, divided down past the middle iuto three oblong apiculate segments,
smooth outside; stumens with filameuts united by their bases, subulate in their
upper part and with inflected apices; anthers narrowly sagittate, acute; rudimentary
ovary very .small, enclosed in the tube which is formed by the united bases of the
stamens. Femah spadix and frint unknown.
HABITAT.—Tavoy in Tonasserim, Wailich No. 8610 in Herb. Kew and St.
Petersburg.—Rediscovered m 1900 in Tavoy, Nabule Eocks, Hhaik Moh^n No 300
(Herb. Calc.).
0B8ERVATi0Ns.--0f Wallich's specimens I iiave seen one male spadix and a
portion of a leaf in the Herbarium at Kew and another male spadix in that of
at. Petersburg. The leaf measures i,0 cm. in length, has only 6 leaflets in all,
and seems almost entire, apparently wanting only the base. C. flatytpathus is
ANN. EOY. BOT. GAHD. CALOUN-A VOL. XI.