3 6 8 ANNALS OP T H E ROYAL BOTANIC OARDEN, CALCTJTTA, [(?. OMATUS.
Seemingly the more the leaves belong to the higher part of the adult plant the more
they have a tendency to become cirriferous; it seems also that the 5 costae are
more prominent in the leaflets of the radical leaves than in the upper ones.
The aiTaature of the leaf-sheaths ia probably very variable according to the
age of the plant and in the Javan form the sheaths appear generally very sparingly
armed or even quite smooth.
I consider C. aureus Eeinw. the same as C. ornatus. The authentic spoeimen
of C. aureus which I have seen, is preserved in the Herbarium at Munich, and
consists in a portion of the naked stem and an entire leaf, which ia a radical one
•with a subtcrete petiole, ooi. in diam. at the base, and 1'20 m. long, armed
•with scattered straight spines. The rachis is feebly aculeate, and at the extremity is
unarmed; the leaflets are exactly like those described by Blai-tius, and in no way
difier from those of the authentic specimens of C. ornatus; the two apical leaflets
are not very large, and are shortly united at theii- bases} all are naked beneath and
sparingly spinulous on the 5 robust costae of the upper surface.
The home of Calamus aureus is said to bo Celebes, but very likely that locality
is erroneous, as I have had occasion to state with respect to other species of Calamus
collected by Rein^wardt; and indeed in the Munich Herbarium the authentic specimen
of 0. aureus is labelled from Java and the handwriting is not that of Martius.
CALAMUS OENATUS var. UORRIDUS Becc. in Hook. fil. Fl. Brit. I n d . vi, 460 and
in Rec. Hot. Sm-v. Ind., ii, 215.
C. 07-nalus Bi. Griff, in Calc. .Journ. Nat. Hist. v. 37 and Palms Brit. Ind. 46.
DESCEIPTION.—XCA/-5/2EA«S glabrescent, po-werfully armed with broad laminar lanceolate
spines, 2-3 cm. long, confluent by their bases and disposed in transversal
rows, these 3-5 cm. apart. Radical leaves -with leaflets furnished -with 5 distinct
spinulous costae; the leaflets of the upper leaves leas spinulous and less distinctly
5- or at least 3- costate.
HABITAT.—The Malayan Peninsula. Griffith's specimens were collected by E.
Fernandez near Malacca at Durian Tungul. Father Scortechini gathered the same
Palm in the district of Perak (No. 587") and Sir G. King's collector on the hills
of Larut also in Perak at an elevation of between 50-150 metres (H. II, Calc.
No. 3931). The Malay name in Perak is Rotang Mautang (Scortechini); " Ii. Ruga
Bodak" (Griftitli).
OBSERVATIONS.—Of Griffith's specimen of 0. ornatus I have seen only an intermediate
portion of a leaf with 2 leaflets in the Kew Herbarium and another similar
portion in that of Calcutta, nevertheless these specimens have been sufficient to
establish their perfect identity with the more complete ones collected by Scortechini
and by Sir G. King's collector.
In Griffith's specimens the leaf-rachis is 13 mm. tliick, triangular in section,
and bifaced above with an acute and naked angle, slightly convex below and
armed along the middle and at the sides with robust, solitary or subconfluent
C. ormius.'] BECCABI, MONOGEAPH OF TSE GENUS CALAMUS. 369'
claws; the leaflets are 60 cm. long by 6-5 cm., light coloured (when dry), paler
or subglaucescent beneath, elongate-lanceolate, attenuate and strongly plicate at tho
base, acuminate at the apex into a short point; the primary nerves are 5, of these
2 aro weaker than the others, the mid-costa is rather acute and prominent above
and bears short spinules near its summit; below all the nerves are vory faint and
naked; ti'ansverse veinlets very crowded, delicate; margins distinctly spinulous.
The Larut specimen (No. 3951) agrees pretty well with those of Griffith as to
the leaflets of the adult leaves, and both differ from those of Java only in being less
spinulose on the upper surface which appears 3-costate instead of 5-costate, two of
the primary nerves being weaker than the others and nearly of the same strength
as the secondary ones. A terminal portion of a radical leaf has the apical leaflet
flabelliform deeply partite, each lobe being fmmislied with 7 spinulous costae above,
naked beneath. Scorteebini's No. 587^ according to a note by the collector, is a very
high scandent and very robust plant, creeping on the ground in the lower portion
with internodes 45-60 cm. long and furnished with a tuft of radical leaves rather
larger than the cauline ones 2-3 metres long, their petiole O'G-I m. long; the
leaflets 5-10 cm. apart (Scortechini). The specimen mentioned has tho sheathed stem
6 cm., and the naked canes 2'5-3-5 cm. in diam., the leaf-sheaths are armed with
broad, laminar, lanceolate spines, 2-3 cm. long, confluent and arranged in series,
these 3-5 cm. apart. Some of its leaflets are distinctly S-costate, all the costae
being spinulose; others, those of the adult leaves, are 3-costate. It seems that the
leaflets of the radical leaves have 5 spinulose costae and tliat those of the upper
portion of the stem are only S-costate and less spinulous.
CALAMUS ORNATUS v a r . SUMATEAUUS Becc. in R e c . Bot. Surv. I n d . ii, 215.
C. ornatus Bl. Miq. Palm. Sum. in Journ. de Bot. Niorl. i, 21, and Prodr. Fl.
Sum. 256.
DESCRIPTION. Leaf-shcaihs furfuracoous, powerfully armed with broad lanceolate,
not confluent, but olosely and obliquely seriate spines. Leaflets in the upper cauline
leaves 3- and sub-o-costate; 3 costae only spinulous abovo. Fruit with almost black
scales when dry.
HABITAT.—Sumatra. Prov. of Padang in the very dense and damp forest near
the stream at Ayer Manchor, Beceari P. S. No. 833.
OBSERVATIONS.—Very largo. Leaf-sheaths sparsely furfuraceous, 6 cm. in diam.,
extraordinarly armed with numerous non-confluent robust laminar lanceolate spines
which have their base 10-15 mm. broad swollen above, 2-3-5 cm. long and arranged
in oblique interrupted and very approximate rows. Leaves of the upper part of
the stem subcirriferous; their rachis armed, mainly towards the summit, with 3-nate
robust, black-tippod cla-ws; leaflets pale beneath, sub-S-costato with the mid-cosla
acute and spinulous, mainly towards the point, a lateral nerve on each side is also
sparingly spinulous above, the other nerves are more slender and naked; the largest
leaflets 60 cm. long, 6 cm. broad; those of the subcirriform summit 8-10 cm. long,
1 cm. broad. Fruit ovoid-elliptic suddenly contracted into a conic beak, cro^wned by
the remains of the not very distinct stigmas, rounded at the base; but furnished
IK. BOY. BOT. GIITJ>. OALCRITA TOL. X I .