ANNALS OP THE HOTAL BOTANIC GARDEN, CALCUTTA. C- [ouoideus.
longitudinally cut through the embryo (froui 0 . P. No. 2874 iu Herb. Boiss.). The
intermediate pox-tiou of the leaf (upper surface) is supposed to belong to C. ovoideus,
but was united to the portioa of spadix of C. zeylaJiicus with immature fruit in the
Hei'h, de Candollo.
PLATE 1(30.—Calamus zeylanicus Becc. An entire partial inflorescence of a female
spadix iu flower, with the upper part of a primary spathe (C. P. No. 287-4 in the
Herb. Del ess.) ; an intermediate portion of a leaf from underneath (on the uppk' left
corncr, from C. P. No, 2874 in the Herb, de Cand) ; an intermediate portion of a
leaf from above (on the lower right-hand corner, from G. P. No, 2874 in Ilerb.
Boiss.).
136. CALAMUS OVOIDEUS Thw. ex Trimen in Journ. of Bot. 1885, 269; Hook«
f . Fl. Brit. Ind. vi, 4 5 7 ; Becc. in Rec. Bot. Surv. Ind, ii, 211.
DRSCKIPTION.—High scandont and robust. Leaf-sheaths (seemingly not fiagelliferous)
with many appro.T.imato rings formed with broad laminar black, often laccratc spines
{Trimen). Leaves large, d m. long {Trimen) including the terminal cirrus, this armed
at regular intervals with half-whorls of strong black-tippod claws ; petiole . . .
. ; rachis robust, iJattish or broadly and shallowly channelled on the upper
surface of its basal portion, its margins strongly armed with small ascendent spinules,
deeply furrowed at the sides where are inserted the leaflets, beneath armed at first
with solitary claws, which become 3-5-nat6 upwards ; leaflets numerous equidistant
alternate, papyraceous, eloiigate-ensiform, slightly narrowed to the base, where not
very acute and suddenly plicate at their insertion, very gradually acuminate towards
the apex and lengthened out into a subulate setose tip, this more or less deeply
indented on the lower margin 2 - 6 cm. from the apex, 3-or sub 5-costulate, 3 costae
bearing long spadiceous bristles on the lower surface especially towards the apex and a
few also on the upper one, papyraceous, green and subconcolorous on both suiiaces;
transverse veinlets very fine, approximate, sinuous, much interrapted; margins very
remotely adpressedly and inconspicuously spinulous; the largest leaflets seen by
me, ai>parently belonging to the intermediate portion of the leaf, 55 cm.
long 23 mm. broad. Male spadix Female spadix not fiagelliferous
at its summit, large and diffuse, decompound, brown in every part when dry;
primary spathes coriaceous, tubular, somewhat enlarged above, sparsely armed with
very short scattered deflexcd spines; partial inflorescences robust, the one seen by
me 60 cm. long, with distichous spikelets oa each side and terminating in a short
smooth tail-like appendix; secondaiy spathes about 2 cm. long, tubular, slightly
infundibuliform, unarmed, thinly coriaceous, often longitudinally split, rather loosely
sheathing, truncate and entire at the mouth, where extended at one side iuto a short
broad triangular point; spikelets robust, slightly arched, spreading, attached inside
and at the bottom of their own spathe, stalked by a narrow flattened pedicelliform
part, this therefore about as long as the respective spathe, terminating in a
very short diminutive caudiculum (8-10 cm. long) with 14-16 distichous flowers on
each side; spathels broadly and shortly infundibuliform, horizontally truncate, thinly
coriaceous, not or obsoletely striately veined, very slightly extended and acute
at one side (that of the flower) where usually split; involucrophorum calyciform,
narrowed, at the base and inserted at the bottom of its own spathel and therefore
0. polystachys.'} BECCABI. MONOGKAPH OF THE GENDS CALAMUS. 383
subpedicellate, irregularly lobulate at the margin and obsoletely 2-keeled on the
side next to the axis; involucre irregularly or somewhat unilaterally cupular, slightly
exceeding the involucrophorum; areola of the neuter flower hidden between the
involucra, small, vertically evolute, elliptic-acute, sharply boidered. ^^cuicr flowers
small, often persistent. Female flowers ovoid, about 5 mm. long. Fruiting ferianth
explanate hut subtended by the subpedicelliform involucrophorum; the calyx split to
the base into three ovate lobes; the segments of the corolla slightly narrower and as
long. Fruit obovoid, oblong, somewhat tapering towards the base, rounded at the
summit where topped by a small conic beak, 15-16 mm. long and about 1 cm.
broad; scales in 18 series, deeply channelled along the middle, subshining, light
browu, very slightly prolonged into a rather obtuse point, with a very narrow rustybrown
intramarginal line, their margin narrowly scarious, finely erosely-toothed. Seed
ovoid, rounded at both ends, 11 mm. long, 8 mm. broad, 6 ram. thick, slightly
fiattened and with an elongate chalazal fovea on the raphal side, not veiy deeply
and irregulariy grooved on the back; albumen equable as the depressions of the
sui-face are too shallow for a permanent intrusion of the integument; embryo basal.
HABITAT.—Ceylon. The western provinces in the district of SafEragam, Thwaiies
C, P. No. 3925.
OBSERVATIONS.-AS I have already pointed out when speaking of C. seylameus,
the specimens of the leaves distributed by Thwaites of this have been apparently
mixed with those of C. ovoideus. These two species are certainly related and have
many characters in common, but the seed of C. zeylanicus is deeply ruminated,
whereas that of C. ovoideus has only some slight depressions on its surface where
the intrusions of the integument are very superficial, and consequently the seed
cannot be called ruminate. Of the type-specimens I have seen a few female partial
inflorescences with mature fruit and different fragments of the leaves, but not
the leaf-sheaths which are described after Trimen. In the Calcutta Herbarium the
specimen of a portion of the fruit-spadix is accompanied by the summit of a noucirriferous
leaf with the leaflets as described above; this leaf seemingly is from a
young plant or from the lower part of the stem.
The main characters of C. ovoideus are the leaves with rachis spinous at the
sides in the lower portion and on the angle upwards in the upper surface ; the
numerous equidistant eosiform very acuminate leaflets with long bristles on 3
nerves beneath and in the- upper surface usually bristly on the two side-nerves;
the large not cirriferous spadix with stout stalked inflorescences, the oblong obovate
beaked fruit; the slightly irregularly furrowed seed and the non-ruminate albumen.
PLATE 161.—Calamus ovoideus Thw. Portion of the upper part of a leaf
probably a radical one or of the lower part of the stem, seen from the upper
surface- an entire partial inflorescence with mature fruit; two detached fruits; seed,
side and front view; one seed longitudinally cut in two halves.—From C. P.
No. 3925 in Herb. Kew.
1 3 7 . CALAMUS POLYSTACHYS B e c c . sp, n.
Dmiv-^io^.Sheathed stem 3-5-4 cm. in diam. Leaf-sheaths coriaceous, covered
when young with a rusty cottony indumentum and ornamented in their upper