S72 ANNAIS OF THE KOYAL BOTANIC &AEDEN. CAL0U3TA. SCIPIONUTÏI^
•cylindaeeous, with an obtuse longitudinal keel (as in the naked canes) descending
downwards from the insertion of every spadix or ilagellum ; the lower sheaths
apparently far more elongate than the upper ones, all more or less sparingly
armed with robust solitary or occasionally geminate or ternate, horizontal or more
or less deilexed spines, which are laminar, elongate triangular, subulate, 1-5-3 cm.
long, with a broad and underneath ceneaye base; the spines being erect in the
priefoliation leave a distinct impression of their outline above them on the surface
of the sheath. Oci-ea short (1 em. long at most in neai-ly expanded leaves),
glabrous, the margin scarious, brittle and ultimately deciduous. Lcaf-slieath JlageUa
excessively long, up to 4-5 m., with a very conspicuous callus at their msertion,
flattened and acutely two-edged in their basal part where usually armed at the
edges with straight horizontal spines, terete from the middle upwards and strongly
armed there with robust black-tipped and towards the summit half-whorlcd claws.
U m not oirriforous, large, l'r:-2-3 m. long; petiole very variable in length (from
10 to 50 cm.) robust 1-5-2 cm. broad, lialf-terete or Sattish and smooth above, and
rounded beneath, whore nsually smooth along the middle or sometimes sparingly
clawed there; the margins armed with straight or slightly hooked spines; raclns
in recently expanded leaves covered with a i-usty cottony scurf, later glabrous,
bifaced above in its upper part and with an acute smooth angle there, somewhat
irte.c-utaly armed beneath, chiefly along the middle, with at first solitary and
towards the summit often ternate claws; leaflets numerous, 20-30 on cach side,
ollernate or subopposite, equidistant, rather remote, usually 7-10 cm. apart and in
very stout leaves 4-5 cm. only, rigid papyraceous, subshining on both surfaces,
very slii^htly paler beneath, elongate-lanceolate or lanceolate-ensiform almost equally
narrowed to both ends, callous at their insertion, gradually acuminate at the summit
into a bristly-penicillate apex, plicate (chiefly at the base) and 3-5.eostulate, the
costa neater each margin (when 5) often evanescent from the middle upwards and
nsually naked, the 3 of the centre bristly in their upper part; the bristles 4-6 mm.
long brown and patent; beneath, all nerves fainter and only the mid-costa sometimes
sparingly bristly; transverse veinlels rather sharp, rather remote and interrupted;
margins acute naked; the lower margin in the upper surface usually bordered with
-a narrow polished shining band; the largest leaflets 60-60 cm. long and 5-5-5 cm.
broad the upper ones much reduced in size, the two of the terminal pair unequal,
free It the base, sometimes not mote than 15-20 cm. long and 1-2 cm. broad; a
few at the base also smaller than the intermediate ones. Male spadix ultradecompound,
very long, sometimes as much as 6 metres, pendulous, with 7-8 very
remote partial inflorescences, terminating with a rather long prickly flagelliform
appendix- primary spathes tubular, narrow, very long, very closely sheathing, thinly
coriaceous, entire; the lowermost about 45 cm. long flattened acutely two-edged, the
edges more or less armed with slender straight spines, the succeeding one less
flattened, the upper ones cylindraoeous, very slightly narrowed to the base, where
flat or channelled on the inner side, more or less aculeate on the back, chiefly in
their upper part, very obliquely truncate, entire and naked at the mouth and
prolon<^ed at the summit into a triangular acuminate dorsally keeled erect point;
partiaf inflorescences inserted inside near the mouth of their respective spathes; the
lower ones, the largest, slender, 60-60 cm. long with 9-10 secondary branches on
each side, the upper ones shorter; secondary spathes pergamentaceous, elongate-
C. Scipionum.'] BECCAJII. MONOGBAPH OF THE GENUS CALAMUS. 373
infundibuliform, 3-4 cm. long, rather loosely sheatWng in their upper part, poHshed,
-smooth or very sparingly prickly on the back, obliquely truncate, entire and
ciliate-paleaceous at the mouth, prolonged at one side into a triangular acute erect
point; brancMets 10-12 cm. long, with 8-10 distichous spikelets on each side, theii
spathes Ó-ÍO mm. long, asymmetrically infundibuliform, unarmed, truncate, entire
and ciliate at the mouth, prolonged at one side into a triangular point; spikelets
g, small, about 2 cm. long, with 10-12 distichous flowers on each side;
very approximate, concave, ciliolate, acuminate at one side;
involucre cupular, shallow, striately veined, obliquely truncate, deeply excavate,
bidontftte and acutely two-keeled on the side next to the axis. Male flowers seen by
me only in a too young state to be described. Female spadiz simply decompound,
excessively long (6-7 m.), with 7-9 very remote partial inflorescences and terminating
in a long clawed flagellum; primary spathes as in the male spadix, in one
specimen strongly armed with very robust solitary or even confluent and digitate
claws; partial inflorescences very long, the lower ones, the largest, as much as
1-1-8 m* long with 15-20 distichous spikelets on each side, those near the summit
40-60 cm. long with proportionally fewer spikelets; secondary spathes as in the
male spadix, uaarmed or more or -less aculeate, especially in their upper part;
spikelets inserted just outside the mouth of their own spathe with a distinct axillary
callus, deflexed, rigid, vermicular; the lower ones of the largest inflorescences 15-18
cm. long with 30-36 almost hoiizoatal flowers on each side; those of the smaller
inflorescences 8-10 cm. long with 18-20 flowers on each side; spathcls very short,
broadly asymmetrically infundibuliform, ciliate-furfuraceous at the margins, at least
when young, finely striately veined, prolonged at one side into a short spreading
point; involucrophorum subtended by its own spathel and laterally attached to the
base of the one above; involucre very shallowly cupular or almost explanate and
disciform with unequal margin, more or less acutely bidentate on the side of the
neuter flower, of which the ai-eola w very conspicuous, lunate and sharply bordered.
Female flowers about 4 mm, long. Fruiting perianth shortly but distinctly pedicelliform,
glabrous, smooth; the calyx indurated and often deprcssedly venta-icose at the
base, shortly and broadly 3-dentate; segments of the corolla narrower and slightly
longer than the teeth of the calyx; stamens with filaments connate into a short
urceolum at the base and suddenly linear from a broad base in the free part, as
long as the lobes of the corolla. Fruit small, broadly ovoid or sub-obovoid, 13-14
mm. long, 8 mm. broad, very suddenly and shortly beaked; scales in 15 series,
shining, convex, channelled along the middle, very dark brown (when dry) with
paler scarious finely erosely-toothed margins, tip short rather obtuse. Seed broadly
ovate, coarsely pitted on the back, the chalazal fovea elliptic on the raphal side;
albumen equable except for a few superficial intrusions of the integument; embryo
basal. All parts of the plant, stem, leaves and spadices, acquire a cinnamon brown
coloui- in drying.
HABITAT.—The Malayan Peninsula; district of Perak {Scortechini No. 501''); in
ihe same district on Grunong Malacca {King's collector No. 7171 in Herb. Calc.) and
near Malacca at Ching {Grifflth). I have seen no specimens from Sumatra, but Griffith
writes that the main place of export of the canes produced by this Calamus is
fiiak, a small town facing Singapore on the East coast of that Island. From