16 IHTEODUCTOKY ESail".
I n O. ereetm the oorea is exeeptionally large; it is tubular and entire while still
onclosod in tlie terminal nnexpanded shoot, but afterwards it is split along the ventral
Bide into two halves, one on each sido of the petiole, resembling two large auricles
which are as much as 7 cm. in length, ohartaceous and densely clad with hispid
b a i l s .
A small group of spccie» from New Guinea have a stSl more striking forni
0, ocrea resembling that of some species of K o M i a ; in fact the ocrea of
C. macrochhms, and C. mhmenA attain the e r f r a o r d i n a i y length o£ 30-35 cm. and
are i r m and thin in texture or chartaceous, olongate-comcal or almost the shape of
asses' ears, in other cases the ocrea is at first membranous and tightly embraces the
sheath above its own and nltimately becomes disintegrated into filaments or fibres.
I do not know any Calmun in which the ocrea is transferred into a receptacle
for harbouring ants, as is the caso in some spocies of Korthahia.
rill.—Jhe Petiole,
As we have ah-eady seen, the basal portion of the raehi. of the leaf which
d P, iLt bear leafiets is treated as the petiole. In therefore the petiole
, t the mouth of the sheath aud terminates at the point of attachment of the
leaflets The petiole is usually rounded or convex beneath and flat or chann
e l e d above • it is frequently armed with prickles, usually longer along the margins
elsewhere. The petiole of the radical leaves and of the young plants is generl
u v . ieal longer and more cylindric than that of the adult plant, aud m
these the petiole of the upper leaves is shorter than that of the lower ones.
IX—The ñachis.
The rachis represents the backbone or axis of the leaves in Calami just as in
othei Palms and bears, right and left, a number of leaflets varying according to
t h e species In the description of the species the term raehis is applied only o
L t S r t of the axis of the leaves which bears leaflets, it having been decided to
Z the basal naked portion of the leaf-axis the petiole and the prolongation of
t h r a x i s beyond the distal leaflets, when this occurs, the cii-rus.
The raehi. is not uniform throughout its length; being a continuation of the
« , t t is more or less convex beneath towards the base and flattish towards the
where in all scandent species it is more or less armed with hooked pnekles or
T " ' fte e usually s i i t a r y lower down and become binate and then ternate
daws these ^^^^^^ ^^^ species even
; j n l and half-whorled and of increased si.c and strength where the rachrs begins
to assume the essential features of a cm-ns.
On the upper surface immediately above the petiole, the rachis is usually very
— 4 or almost flat, and shows on each side of the centra par a
W t a d i n a l farrow withm which the leaflets are inserted; higher up the two f™ ow,
r a d n t t vanish, the central part becomes narrower and rs transformed into a
S n angle with two converging sides or facets. There
J r triangular in section, bi-faeetted with a salient angle above and flattish beneath.
T h i s s T a ^ iB almost i n v a k a b l y assumed b y the rachis from t h e middle onward to the apex.
THE CIKEI AND SPADIOES. 17
X.-The Cirri.
I n fipeaktag of the difforeat kinds of spines and nf the leaves I have already
t h e appendage of the leaf-rachis termed the cirrus, and have now very little
t o add. To recapitulate what has already been said; the cirrus is always more or
less aimed with solitary digitate, aggregate or more or less incompletely and dimidiately
whorled claws. Every Calamus possessing cirriferous leaves is scandent with,
as we have seen, the exception perhaps of 0. Oxleijanux.
When a Calamus has hooked prickles or claws on the leaf-rachis, on the primary
spathes and the axial parts of the spadix, the plant is nevertheless scandent even i£
there be DO cirrus at the end of the leaf, since the clawed leaf-rachis, together with,
the leaf-sheath flagella with which in tliis case the plant is provided, take the place
of the cirri and perform the functions of climbing organs. On the other band, when
the booked prickles characteristic of cirri and flagelli are absent from all its organsthe
species is most certainly bushy or has an erect stem.
To avoid confusion I have employed the term " c i r r u s " for the prolongation of
the leaf-rachis, and have restricted the term " f l a g e l l u m " to the appendage resulting
from a metamorphosis of the spadix.
XI.—The Spadicvs.
As a general rule the species of Calamus are dioecious. The spadiccs spring
always from the leaf-sheath and most commonly from its mouth laterally to
the petiole.
The leaf-sheath in Calamus being almost always considerably elongated and the
leaves being far apart from each other, the point of insertion of the spadices is
exposed and visible, and it is only in species with a short erect stem and with
t h e leaves grouped at its apex that the spadices at times simulate an axillary
insertion. C. axillaris and C. adspersus among the climbins species are the only ones
known to me where the spadices seem at first sight axillary.
As in most Palms the spadices emerge from the axils of leaves or from rings
of the stem where once a leaf was situated, it ought to be worth while investigating
by what morphological modifications and through what intermediate conditions
t h e species of Calamus have arrived at a ]3oint of origin for their spadices so
unlike that of other Palms and so unusual.
The point of insertion of the spadices, as of the flagella, ou the leaf-sheaths
is frequently mai'ked by a distinct swelling or callosity, and, as we have already
seen in discussing the leaf-sheaths, a slightly raised ridge, which marks the coui'se
of the fibro-vascular bundles that pass from the stem into the spadices, often also
runs downward along the whole length of tlie sheath.
The axial part of the spadices of Calami, usually much elongated and very slender,
is armed towards its slender filiform cxtrecuity with claws like those of a flagellum;
besides therefore fulfilling its main function of bearing flowering branches, it is very
often made use of as a subsidiary climbing organ. This is just the reverse of
•what obtains among the species of Daemonorops, where the spadices are always,
-devoid of hooked spines and never are utilized as organs of climbing.
The spadices of Calamus belong to two principal categories. In the majority
of the species they are much elongated or flagelliform, like those just referred to.
ANK. ROY. UOX. GAUD. CALCUTTA YOL. X I .