4 3 6 ANNALS OP TUB ROYAL BOTANIC GAEDEN, CALCUTTA. [(J. INEMIS.
ovate, somewhat flattened, 18-19 mm. long, 15 mm. broad and 12 mm, thick,
•strongly pitted all over its surface, the chalazal fovea central, puiictiforcn, not very
distinct and -nitli a narrow channel descending from there down to the embryo;
albumen superficially ruminate; embryo basal. The fruit described above slightly
differs from that of 0. khasiams; it is larger, more ovoid aud with more numerous
scales; the aeed is also more flattened and larger. I am however unable to decide
whether it really belongs to the same species as the male plant upon which I
consider C. namlariensis to be based.—See observations under C. quinquenenius Roxb.
PLATE 193.—Calamus nambariensis Beca. Leaf-sheath with the base of a leaf
and of a male spadix; an intermediate portion of a leaf (uiider-surface); the
summit of a male spadix.—From Mann's specimen in Herb. Becc.
PLATE 194.—Calamus wambaiionsis Dscc, Portion of the lower part of a
fruit-spadix and summit of the same spadix; seed from dorsal and raphal side; one
seed longitudinally cut in two halves through the embryo; another seed transversely
cut.—From ilann's specimen in Herb. Becc.
CALAMUS INEKMTS T. And. in
Man. Ind. Timb. 4 2 i;
C. latifoliua (not of Roxb.) Becc.
Journ. Linn. Soc. (1869) 11; Gamble
I Hook. f. Fl. Brit. Ind. vi, 455 (partly).
DESCRIPTION.—High scandeat and very robust. Shiathgd stem 5-6 cm. in diam.
naked canes 3 cm. in diam. with internodes cm. long. Leaf-shcaths strongly
gibbous above, light-coloured when diy, unarmed, almost polished, not or indistinctly
longitudinally striate, obliquely truncate and naked at the mouth. Ocrea very short
axillary, Uguliform and narrowly bordering the mouth of the sheath, glabrous. Leaves
of the upper part of the adult plant cirriferous, very large, ii metres in length in the
pinniferous part; the cú-rus itself 2 m. long, vfiry robust, armed at almost regular
but gradually shortening intervals with half or three-fourth-whorls of very stout
light based and black-tipped claws; petiole very robust, short or very short, up to
2-5 cm. broad, quite unarmed, flat above; rachis in its first or basal portion
rounded beneath (as is the petiole), flat above and quite unarmed all round even
at the margins; in the intermediate portion very obsoletely angular above and
armed beneath along the middle with a few very robust solitary claws; in its
uppsr portion very obtusely bifacod above and armed beneath with 3-nate and
when passing into the cirrna 5-6-nate confluent claws; leaflets about 80 in all
usually in twos on each sido of the rachis, so that the loaflets of each pair aré
very close one to the other, and the pairs stand about 10 cm. apart and those of
one side usually sub-opposite to or not very distant from those of the other side •
in the lower part of the leaf sometimes the leaflets form groups of 3-4 on a side'
whilst in the upper part they are less regularly paired and are often solitary or
almost regularly alternate, 7 - 8 cm. apart; those of the summit iilways solitary and
more remote than the others; they are papyraceous, not very firm, rather sliining
above, opaque and slightly paler beneath, distinctly callous at tlieir insertion not
very strongly 3-5-costulate; the mid-costa distinct, tho other nei-ves slender, all
naked on both surfaces; transverse veinlets very slender, margins rather densely
C. inermis.'} BECCABI. MONOGHAPH OF THE GENUS CALAMOS. 437
and adpressedly spinulous, the lower margin on the upper surface often bordered
by a shining stripe, similar stripes not occurring in other parts of the blade;
the lower leaflets ensiform, somewhat narrowed towards the base and a good deal
more towards the summit, where they are gradually acuminate into a laterally
brifltly-spinulous tip; the larger ones, those a little above tho base, 40-50 cm.
long and 3 - 4 cm. broad, those nearer the petiole narrower, tho upper ones on the
contrary a good deal larger, lanceolate, those of tho summit shorter, 30—35 cm.
long and up to 6 cm. broad. Male epai^is Fmale spadix erect, short
relatively to the size of the leaves, about one metre in length, terminating in a
short tail-like, linear, usually 10 cm. long, aculeolate appendix, rather strict
subcupressiforni, not very dense, with 4-5 erecto-patent partial inflorescences on each
side; primary spathes tubular, closely sheathing, relatively short; lowest primary spathe
12-15 cm. long, strongly flattened, acutely two-edged, totally unarmed, truncate at the
mouth, where prolonged at one side into a triangular, dorsally acutely keeled point;
the other primary spathes narrowly tubular-infundibuliform, truncate at the mouth
where usually exsuccous and sometimes split and decayed, unarmed, prolonged
at the summit into a tiiangular point ; partial inflorescences not callous at their
insertion, but attached to the axis inside the mouth of their own spathe, from
which they arise erect or erectopatent; the lower ones, the largest, about 30 cm.
long, with 5-7 spikelets on each side ; the upper ones smaller with fewer spikelets;
secondary spathes tubular-infundibuliform, about 2 cm. long, almost liorizontally
truncate, often exsuccons and decayed at the mouth, prolonged at one side into a
short point, unarmed or with a few scattered spinules on the dorsal side of their
upper part; spikelets inserted without an axillary callus near but inside the mouth
of their respective spathe, from which they come forth erect and rigid, but very
distinctly and closely zig-zag-sinuous; the lower ones, the largest, 8 - 1 0 cm. long, with
8 - 1 0 flowers on each side; spathels thinly coriaceous, cyatliiferm-infundibuliform and
Bubinflated or ventricose, narrowed a good deal to the base, horizontally truncate and
entire at the mouth, where more or less apiculate at one side, involucrophorura
laterally attached at the base of the spathel above its own and kept at a distance
from that by a distinct axillary callus, rather sliallowly cupular, truncate, slightly
bidontatc and not distinctly emarginate on the side next to the axis; involucre
moulded on tl>e involucrophorum with a very short tmncate limb, obtusely
bidentate on the side of the neuter flower ; areola of the neuter flower lunate,
Female flowers ovate. Fniitinif perianth pedicelliform, 3 mm. long, subglobose
tho hardened calyx with the tube distinctly constricted at the throat, broadly
3-toothod; segments of the corolla as long as but narrower than the lobe.-? of the
calyx. Fruit regularly elliptic, shortly and very suddenly mucronate, 27-29 mm.
long including the perianth, and 13-15 mm. broad; scales in 18 series, deeply and
narrowly channelled along the middle, shiniog, yellow-straw-coloured with a narrow
black intramarginal line, the margins very narrow, finely erosely toothed ; the
point short. Seed ovoid-olivccform, 17 mm. long and 11 mm. broad, sinuously
grooved all round, with a nai-row furrow along the raphal side and parting from
the punctiform chalazal fovea which is situated above the centre.
HABITAT.—This was first found by Dr. T. Anderson in the hot and damp
valleys of the Sikkim Himalaya at an elevation from 300 to 600 m. From