376 ALFNALS OF THE ROYAL BOTANIC GAUDEN, CALCUTTA. DENSIFTOKUS.
PLATE 155.—Calamus Scipionum Lour. Portion of the sheathed stem with the
0 of a leaf and an entire flagollum; an intermediate portion of the leaf (under
the summit of a leaf (upper surface); portion of the male spadix with an
entire primary spatho and an entire partial inflorescence.—From Scortechini's specimen
No. 501^ in Herb. Bccc.
PLATE 156.—Calamus Scipionum Lour. Upper part of a leaf-sheath with the
base of a leaf; an intermediate portion of a leaf (under surface); an entire partial
inflorescence witb almost mature fruit.—Specimen in Herb. Becc. from a plant
cultivated at Buitenzorg.
133. CALAMUS DEXSIFLOEUS Becc. in Hook. FLL. FL. Brit. Ind. vi, 445 and in
Rec. Bot. Surv. Ind. ii, 205.
DESCRIPTION.—Scandent. SJieatAed stem 3-4 cm. in diam. Leaf-sheaiJis thick,
subligneous, gibbous above, truncate and naked at the mouth, strongly armed witb
flattened, horizontal, short spines, which have a swollen and broad base. Leafsheath
fiagella very robust and long, strongly clawed. Ocrca very short, annular.
Leaves not cirriferous, large, 2-2'6 m. long (King's collector); petiole almost reduced
to nothing, as the lowest leaflets ai-e attached very near the mouth of the sheath;
first portion of the rachis slightly biconvex with narrow flat (not channelled) sides
where are inserted the leaflets, prickly above and armed beneath, at the aides and
along the middle with scattered claws; the upper portion oE the rachis bifaced and
smooth, above and rather densely armed beneath with stout solitary or irregulai-ly
approximate broad-based claws ; leaflets numerous, closely equidistant, greenish even
•when dry, subshiiiing above, slightly paler beneath, Unear-ensiform (the lowermost
remarkably narrower, but not much shorter than the others), rigidulous, attenuate at
the base, gradually acuminate into a very subulate apex, the mesial and still more
the uppermost less acuminate; these last distinctly indented on the lower margin near
the apex; the lai-ger ones (the mesial) 34 cm. long and 14^16 mm. broad, rather
suddenly decreasing in length towards the summit; the two of the terminal pair very
small, 5-7 cm. long, 2-5 mm. broad, q^uite free at the base—all rather distinctly
3-costate, the broad mid-costa very acute aud prominent above where spinulous only,
near the summit the side costae more slender and remotely spinulous throughout,
very finely longitudinally striately veined under the lens beneath, where the midcosta
only is sparsely bristly-spioulous; margins slightly thickened by a secondary
nerve, furnished with small remote and adpressed spinules, these more spreading near
t h e apes. Male spadix supradecompound, apparently very similar to the female one,
very elongate with closely sheathing cylindraceous prickly primary spathes, and with
very remote partial inflorescences ; these (only one seen hy me) inserted outside and
coming forth erect from their own spathe, loosely pyramidate, 25 cm. long, exactly
like the female ones, but with 2-3 compound spikes or spicigerous branches on
each side in their basp.l part and 4-5 gradually diminishing simple spikolets at
the summit; secondary spathes unarmed, tubular-infundibuiiform, closely sheathing,
obsoletely angular; branchlets 8,rched, the lower ones 7-8 cm. long, with 7-8 spikelets
on each side; tertiary spathes infundibulifovm; spikelets arched, the larger ones, the
lowest of every branchlet, about 2 cm. long with 13—15 almost horizontal very cloaely
C. densiflorus.'] BECCAIIL, MOIJOGEAPH OF THE GEHDS CALAMUS.
packed flatly bifarious flowers on each .side; spathels very approximate, bracteiform
with a broadly triangular ciliate deflexed point, this subtending its own flower;
involucre shallowly cupular, somewhat irregularly 2-3-lobed. Male flowers ovoid (when
young); the calyx distinctly striately veined; spathels, involucres, and flowers covered
with small loose rusty-furfuraceous scales. Female spadix elongate, prolonged at
the summit into a very long flagellum, this in one specimen 1-5 m. long and
stroogly armed with solitary, gcminale or cvexi ternato rlaws; partial inflorescences
remote, not numerous, broadly paniculate, rather short and dense, terminating with
a small unarmed tail-like appendix, the basal, the largest, 26 cm. long in one
specimen, and with 6 spreading spikelets on each side, the upper ones shorter and
with fewer spikelets; primary spathes very long, tubular, closely sheathing, armed
chiefly towards their summit with scattered, short, very broad-based prickles, truncate
and naked at the mouth, where acute at one side; the upper ones cylindraceous,
the lowermost somewhat flattened and acutely two-edged; unsheathed axial portions
between two pirtial infloresceuees very long and very powerfully clawed; secondary
spathes unarmed, very strictly sheathing, tnbnlar, slighlly infundibaliform or somewhat
narrowed at the base, obsoletely angular, truncate, entire and furfuraceous-cjliolato at
the mouth; spikelets inserted above the mouth of their own spotlio with a distinct
asillary callus, spreading, arched, thick, somewhat flattened, the lower ones the
largest, 7-9 cm. long, with 10-16 tlowers on each side, the uppermost somewhat
shorter; spathels very elosely packed, deeply concave, subbractciform or almost boatshaped,
furfuraeoous like the other parts of the spikelet, acute at one side, striately
veined; involucrophorum cupular, almost exsert from its own Hpathel, which is slightly
pushed down by it; involucrc deeply and regularly eupnlar, inserted into the involucre
end not longer t h m this, with the margin almost entire or supertieially undulate;
areola of the neuter flower lunate, not very sharply defined. Fanah f.mers bifarious,
very closely packed, rather large, about a mm. long. FmtUg ftrianih shortly
pedicelliform, the calyx companulate, smooth at the base (in the portion snolosed ui
the involucre), sharply and deeply striately veined and scabrid.furfutaceous upwards,
divided down about to the middle into three broad lobes; the corolla with the
segments not polished outside, as long as but narrower than the lobes of the calyx.
Init closely packed, ni.t regularly bifarious, obovate, suddenly and stoutly beaked,
15-17 mm. long including the beak, 1 cm. in diam., somewhat tapering towards
the base, sometimes deformed by mutual pressure; scales in 18 series, shining,
slightly channelled along the middle, straw-yellowish with a rather broad reddishbrown"
intramarginal line, somewhat prolonged into an acute point, the margins
scarious, very finely fringed, chiefly at the point. Bud ovoid-elliptic, round to both
ends, about 1 cm. long and 7 mm. thick, deeply pitted and deeply ruminated, with
a narrow and deep circular chalazal ifovea on the centre of the raphal side and
with the embryo almost on the centre of the opposite face.
HIBIIAT.—Singapore on Bukit Handai {Ridlmj No. 6280 ( S ) in Herb. Beec.);
ond in the garden jungle {RiiUy No. 10861 ( J ) in Herb. Kow). The Malayan
Peninsula in the district of Perak at Thaiping, No. 8434, and at Larut, No. 5037
{Sir. G. Jiinff's collectors in Herb. Gale.).
OBSEBVATOSS.—By its ruminated seed with lateral embryo this enters into the
group with C. graoilk and C. mdmacantim, though somewhat departing from these m
. EOY. B o r . (JAED. CALCUTTA VOL. X I .