438 ANSALS OF THE EOYAL BOTANIC GARDEN, CALCUTTA. [C. Mamnt
h e same locality Lt.-Col. D. Praia kindly forwarded to mo in 1903 the entire
u p p e t portion of a plant ^Y•ith fruit spadices. From thia specimen I have derived
t h e description aborc.
OissEavATiONS.—The specimen I hare described agrees iu ©very respect with an
a u t h e n t i c one of Anderson whicli I had received from the Calcutta Herbarium. In
t h e Flora of British India C. inermis had been considered to be the same as 0.
laU/oUus, from which, however, it is widely different, though the young specimens of
t h e one may be easily mistaken for those of the other, at least when seen in a
d r y and f r a g m e n t a r y state in lierbaria. C. ¡neí'mw has the f r u i t i n g periantli pedicellif
o rm whilst it is not so in C. laiifoHus,
The chief characters of C. inermis are the very robust stem with perfectly
smooth sheaths ; tlie very large leaves with strong and very powerfully clawed
c i r r u s ; the smooth petiole aud numerous paired large 3-5-C08tate leaflets, of these the
lowest ensiform, the intermedíale lanceolate; the Rosta; smooth on hoth sides; the
f e m a l e spadix strict; the spikelets erect or erecto-patent, not callous at their i n s e r t i o n;
t h e f r u i t i n g perianth ventricosc; the fruit large ellipsoid.—See observations under
C. khasianus. '
With the fertile spadices we sometimes meet with some in a rudimentary or
abortive state which correspond to the flagella of the non-cirrifernus species; they
a r e filiform, erect, flattened, unarmed, sheathed by numerous spathes like those of
t h e fertile spadices, but of course smaller.
PLATE 195.—•Calamus inermis T. Anders. Portion of the sheathed stem f r om the
upper part of the plant with the base of a spadix; an intermediate portion of a
leaf (under surface); portion of the cirrus; the upper part of a female spadix;
epikelet with mature f r u i t . — F r om Prain's specimen in Herb. Becc.
CALAMUS MANAN Miq. in J o u r n . de Bot. Néerl. i, 23 and Prodr. Fl. Sum.,
256 and 595 aud De Palmis, 28; Teysm. Cat. Hort. Bog. 75; H.
Wendl. in Kerch. Les Palm, ii, 236; Becc. in Rec. Bot. Surv. Ind.
211.
166.
DESCEIPTION.—Scandent, very large. Sheathed stem 7-8 cm. in diam. Leaf-sheath
v e r y thick, woody, strongly gibbous above, f e a r f u l l y armed at least in their upper
p a r t , and likewise at the base of the petiole, with very numerous short triangular,
acuminate, light-based, brown-tipped, horizontal or slightly deflesed spines. Oerea in
t h e adult leaves inconspicuous. Leaves very large, about five metres long in the
pinniferous portion; the cirrus itself 3 metres long and very robust, armed at almost
regular intervals with three-fourths whorls of 6-7 confluent very stout black-tipped
c l a w s ; petiole very short, very robust, about 4 cm. broad at its base, rounded
b e n e a t h ; flattish above; rachis in the first portion biconvex and very densely armed
all round, like the petiole, with short very rigid, straight, triangular solitary or
confluent spines, not channelled at the sides where are inserted the leaflets; in the
i n t e r m e d i a t e portion almost flat beneath and clawed there at tbo sides and not along
t h e middle; upwards very obsoletely angular above and clawed beneath at first with
C. Mamt).'] BECCARI. MONOGRAPH OP THE GENUS CALAMUS. 4 3 9
solitary and upwards with ternate very robust claws; leaflets numerous, subequidistant,
r a t h e r remote (6-10 cm. apart) very patent, with a small axillary callus at their
insertion, large, lanceolate or broadly ensiform, ahnoat equally tapering towards both
ends, acute at the base, long-acuminate at the summit, papyraceous, firm, green»
Bubshining above, opaque and slightly paler beneath, not concavo-convex, plicate,
many-nerved with only the mid-costa acute and slightly raised above, aud the side
nerves unequal, slender, all naked on both surfaces; transverse veinlets minute and
numerous not very conspicuous; margins remotely and adpressedly spinulous towards
t h e base, smooth f r om the middle upwards; the larger ones, those about the middle,
70 era. long, 5 cm. b r o a d ; those near the petiole narrower, the upper ones shorter.
Male spadix Female spadiz forming an immense largo panicle shorter than
t h e leaves, in one specimen 3-5 metres long, ita axis very robust, woody, 3 cm. in
(Ham., straight, with numerous, rather approximate (25 cm. apart) partial inflorescences;
p r i m a r y spathes coriaceous, tubular, very closely sheathing, comparatively short; the
first very slightly flattened and obsoletely two-edged; the upper ones cylindraceous,
v e r y slightly enlarged iu their upper part, marcescent at their summit, densely armed
with very sharp, broad and short, often confluent black-tioped, deflexed prickles;
partial inflorescences inserted at the mouth of their own spatbe, not callous at their
insertion, and arising erect and then spreading and nodding, the lower ones, the
largest, 80-85 cm. long, with 8 - 9 spikelets on each side, and terminating in a
s t r o n g l y clawed, about 10 em. long, tail-like a p p e n d i x ; secondary spathes coriaceous,
tubular, very slightly infundibuliform, closely sheathing, flat near the base on the
inner side, entire and truncate at the mouth, prolonged at one side into a short,
b r o a d l y triangular, ultimately decayed and marcescent point, densely armed with
short robust often confluent and sometimes irregularly whorled claws; spikelets
inserted just at the mouth of their own spathe, not very distinctly callous at
t h e i r axilla, arched, very patent, rigid, their axis cylindraceous, the lower ones,
t h e largest, even 25 cm. long with 15-16 bifarious remote flowers on each
side—the upper ones somewhat shorter ; spathels shortly tubular, slightly infundibuliform,
not or indistinctly striately veined, smooth, horizontally truncate, entire
and naked at the mouth, slightly prolonged at one side into a very short acute
point ; involucrophorum almost exsert from its own spathel and laterally adnate
to the base of the one above, shallowly cupular, bidentate and two-keeled on the
side next to axis ; involucre cupular, entire, or slightly excavate and bidentate on
t h e side of the neuter flower; of which the areola is lunate and sharply bordered.
Female flowers 5-6 mm. long, patent, 13-14 mm. apart on each side. Fruiting
perianth distinctly pedicelliform, cylindraceous, 5 mm. t h i c k ; the calyx hardened,
almost woody and polished (not striately veined), its base acute with 3 very
broad triangular lobes ; segments of the corolla thinly eoria,ceous, almost shining,
not striate outside, acute, as long aa but narrower than the lobes of the calyx;
staminal urceolum campanulate, crowned by 6 broad triangular acute lobes.
Fruit broadly ovoid-elliptic, 30-35 mm. long, 20-23 mm. broad, equally rounded
at both ends, topped with a short rather thick mucro and with a small caudiculum
at the hase enclosed in the perianth • scales in 15-18 series, shining, straw-coloured
w i t h a very dark rather broad marginant line, the largest 6 mm. broad and 4-5-5
mm. long, very slightly prolonged into an obtuse apes, superficially channelled along
t h e middle, the margins obsolotely very finely erosely toothed. /S'eed ovoid, very