338 ANHAIS OF THE ROTAL BOTANIC GAUDEN, CAICTJTTA. \Q, tomentOSUS.
T h e var. fi rigida has beea made by me the type of 0. Blamei. The female
flpadix and fruit described by Blume as belonging to C. rhomboideua very p r o b a b ly
a r e parts of a quite difiereiit species, a p p a r e n t l y of C. Scipionum or of a very
n e a r l y allied species. The leaf I have seen t e r m i n a t e s with two leaflets without
a n y vestige of a cirrus between, but very probably somotimes the rachis is s l i g h t ly
p r o l o n g e d beyond the two terminal leaflets as in C. tomentosus.
C. rhoiuboideus is very remarkable amongst all the congeners by its large
rhomboid radiately many costate leaflets, it is only very closely related to and
p e r h a p s not specifically distinct f r om 0. tomentosus Becc.
PLATE 134.—Calamus vliomboideus Bl. The summit of a male spadix ; t h e summit
-of a leaf (under-sui-face).—b'rom Blame's a u t h e n t i c specimen in the Leyden Herb.
CALAMUS RHOMBOIDEUS, var. XJBERRIMUS Miq. in J o u r n . Bot. Neerl. i, 23 and Prodr.
F l . Sum. 595 t^rhomhoidalis).
I have seen no specimen of this v a r i e t y , of which Miquel says that the male
spadix has very long partial infloi'escences with the lowest spikelets bearing
21 secondary spikelots at their base i.ameatis inferiovibus ternia biniave) 3 inches
(7-5 cm.) long.
HABiTAT.-Sumatra: near Muara-duwa in the Prov. of Palembang, Miquel
113. CALAMUS TOMENTOSDS Becc. in Hook. f. F l . Brit. Ind. vi, 455 and in Rec.
Bot. Surv. Ind. ii, 209.
DESCIUPTION.—Scan d e n t , of moderate size, 10-12 met. long (Scortechini). Sheathed
stem about 2 cm. in diam. Lmf-sUaths apjiressedly and densely covered like the
petioles, rachises, flagella and spadices, with a white and somctimos also fuscescent
a d h e r e n t soft almost flocculent tomentum, slightly gibbous above, thick in texture
a n d almost woody, f a i n t l y l o n g i t u d i n a l l y costato under the i o s e n i o n of the flagellum
or of the spadix, more or less armed, chiefly in their upper part, with veiy
short spinas, which have a very broad swollen mammxllate base covered by the
i n d u a i o n t nm and a very small pungent ascendent point. Leaf-sheath flagella very
l o n g , in one specimen 3-0 m. in length, plano-convex in its basal portion, cylindraceous
upwards, where ai-med with black-tipped usually t e r n a t e claws. Oorea large,
4 - 5 cm. long, membranous, tomentose, unarmed, prolonged exteiJially (not in the
axilla of the petiole) i n t o a b r o a d l y t r i a n g u l a r limb, this o f t e n bilobcd at the summit,
u l t i m a t e l y marcescent and deciduous. Leaves r e l a t i v e l y short and robust and with f ew
leaflets, not cirriferous or t o r m i n a t i u g in a very short rigid unarmed or aculcoJate
p r o l o n g a t i o n of t h e rachis which protrudes about 1 cm. beyond the terminal pair of
leaflets"; petiole subtercte or slightly compressed, with very obtuse angles, but always
. c o n r e x above, of very variable length ( f r om 12 to 40 cm.), armed with a f ew
s c a t t e r e d short broad-based, black-tipped claws; rachis subtercte in its first portion,
•obsoletely angular upwards where not d i s t i n c t l y bifaced above, and rather s t r o n g ly
a r m e d b e n e a t h with solitary, t e r n a t e or half-whorled and even scattered clawbj leaflets
a l t e r n a t e or subopposite, erecto-patent, rather remote, 8-12 cm, apart, papyraceous.
C. tomentosus.'] beccajii. m o n o g e a p h of tiee g e n u s CALAiitrs. 333
r a t h e r firm, opaque, green above, s l i g h t l y paler beneath, glabrous, broadly ovate-rhomboidal,
almost equally narrowed to both ends, c u n e a t e l y a t t e n u a t e d , acute and sometimes
s l i g h t l y a s y m m e t r i c but not ansate at the base, s-iddenly contracted at the spox into
a bristly-ciliate, linear, 10-15 mm. long tip, flabellate or r a d i a t e l y plicate with 7-9
m a i n co.stae, almost equally prominent on both surfaces and r a d i a t e l y divergent from
t h e bases of which only the central reaching the summit, and the side ones arching
n e a r the margins and evanescent at different levels; secondary nerves slender
a n d like the primary ones naked on both surfaces; transverse veinlets numerous
crowded, parallel and continuous across the blade; margins slightly undulate iron)
above the middle where usually closely ciliated with spreading subspiny bristles;,
t h e middle-sized leaflets 25 cm. long, 10 cm. broad, the upper sliglitly smaller; the
two of the terminal pair divaricate, in one specimen 18 cm. long and 7 cm.
b r o a d ; the largest leaflets seen by me 35 cm. long, 11 cm. broad. Male spadist
Female spadix flagelliform, very e l o n g a t e ; in one specimen 2-3 m. in
l e n g t h , including a terminal fliigellum; partial inflorescences only two; the flagellum
itself 70 cm. long, s t r o n g l y and somewhat i r r e g u l a r l y armed with t e r n a t e or lialf-whorled
c l a w s ; p r i m a r y spathes tubular very elongate, v e r y closely sheathing, more or less
armed, especially on the outer side, with -solitary and scattered or slightly confluent
small claws, entire, not ciliate, and obliquely t r a u c a t o at the mouth, prolonged at one
s i d e into a broadly t r i a n g u l a r acute or acuminata p o i n t ; the lowest spathe very slightly
compressed, obsoletely edged, the upper ones cylindraceous very slightly narrowed to
t h e base; partial, inflorescences rigid, ereoto-patent, 20-25 em. long, with 6-7
distichous spikclets on each side; secondary spathes t u b u l a r - i n f u n d i b u l i f o r m , unarmed,
almost i o r i z o n t a l l y t r u n c a t e and entire at the mouth, slightly prolonged at one side
i n t o a short ciliolate point; spikelcts attached just outside the mouth of tlieir own
spathes, s l i g h t l y callous at their axilla, arched, horizontal or deflexod, r i g i d and r a t h er
t h i c k ; the lowest, the largest, 5 cm. long with 8 - 9 flowers on each side, the others
g r a d u a l l y smaller; the uppermost 2-2'o cm. long with 4-5 flowers on each side;
spathels shortly asymmetrically i n f u n d i b u l i f o r m , truncate, entire and ciliolate at the
m a r g i n , slightly apiculate at one side, white-tomentose like tlie spathes; involucre
s l i g h t l y pushing down the point of its own spathel and attached at the base of the
one above, very shortly c n p i i l a r ; involucre cupular, slightly exceeding the involucrop
h o r um ; areola of the neuter flower distinctly lunate, sharply bordered. Female
flozvers ovnte, obtuse (when not quite full g r o w n ) ; the calyx shortly B-toothed, glabrous,
s t r i a t e l y veined. Frvit unknown.
HABITAT.—The J l a l a y a n P e n i n s u l a : in the District of Perak, Scortechini No. 431";
a t Larut, alt. 760-900 m. Eur,sikr No. 6993 in Herb. Calc.; and at 100m. in the
same locality ( H e r b . Calc. No. .^332).
OBSERVATIONS.—A very remarkable species very nearly allied to C. rhomioideue
w i t h which a precise comparison is difBcult as the female spadix of this is unknown
a n d in tomcniosus it is the male one that is not known. From the materials at my
disposiil C. tomentosus apparently differs from C. rhomboideus in the more distinctly
c o t t o n y tomentum which covers the different parts of the plant (except the leaflets
and the flowers) and in the leaflets with fewer costae, 7-9 instead of 9 - 1 2 and, if
t h e statement of Blume be correct, in the petiole which is channelled above in
C. rhomboideus and roundish in C. iomeniosus.
AMN. HOY. BOT. G.UID. CALCUTTA VOL. X I .