472
t he
ANNALS o r THE NOYAL BOTANIC GARDEN, CALCUTTA. \C. SIPHOMSPATHUS
mit but
appendix
ishing
primary
ones 25-35 cm. long, 10-15 mm. broad, the upper ones shorter ;
3 or sub 0-costuhte, the raid-costa acute and the side coatulae slender,
usually all or sometimes 3 only furnished on the upper surface with fulvous
moro or loss ligid or subspinescent bristles; beneath the mid-costa alone bristly
spinoxis ; transverse veinlets rather proiuuient, not very appi'oximato ; short oi'
much interrupted ; margins ratlmr closely spiuiilous^serrate. Male spadix supradecompound,
elongate (60-85 cm. long), very strict, noncirriferous at its sumgraduaily
nan-owing into a subulate tail-like sheathed unarmed
its axis almost totally sheathed by tho gradually diminwith
6-7 also gradually diaiinishing partial inflorcsoencea ;
pergamentaceous or very thinly coriaceous, ultimately glabrous,
finely longitudinally striate, broadly tubular and very loosely sheathing, or
subinflate in their upper part, the summit of one almost reacliing the base of
that imoiodiately above, rather suddenly and shortly narrowing towards the base,
slightly keeled on the back, where more or less finely prickly or even smooth,
prolonged at the summit into a broadly triangular acute joint ; partial inflorescences
shortly and rather densely panicled, attached far inside their respective spatbes
with a rather long pcduncular part, the lower ones about 12 cm. long with
4 - 5 brauchlets on each side (the lower ones of these branched again) and with
a few simple gradually shorter spikelets at its summit ; the succeeding
inflorescences gradually smaller; the branchlets inserted above the mouth
of their own spathe ; secondary spathes infundibuliform, loose, unarmed,
thin in texture, moro or less obliquely truncate at the mouth, prolonged at one
side into a triangular acute or acuminate point ; spikelets veiy slender, their axis
filiform, the lower ones, the largest, 10-15 mm. long, inserted far above the
mouth of their own apathe with 5-6 flatly bifarlous, rather loose flowers on each
side ; spathels narrowly tubular at the base, suddenly expanded into a braeteiform
scarious ciliate, and at one side acute limb ; involucre sessile, laterally attached outside
its own spathel at the base of the one above, apparently formed by two very
small scarious and basally eonnato bracteoles. 3£ale flowers totally exsert from
their involucres, oblong, often somewhat asymmetric and obsoletely angular, about
4 mm. long ; the calyx shortly campanulate deeply striately veined, divided about
midway down into 3 broad triangular acute lobes ; corolla (when fully developed)
almost 3 times as long as the calyx, parted down almost to the base into 3
lanceolate, narrowly oblong, acuto, finely striate segments. Female spadix similar
to the male, also ultra-decompound 0'50-l'00 m. long, with 6-8 approximate,
gradually diminishing partial inflorescences and terminating in a sheathed smooth
or aculeolate tail-like appendix; lowest primary spathe with a flattened smooth base
and not bearing an iiiftorescence ; upper primary spathes like those of the male
spadix, but often more inflate and subauriculiform and shortly cleft on the ventral
side, the summit of one covering the base of that immediately above, terminating
in a broadly triangular acute or rather obtuse point, sometimes rather densely
armed on the back with very short prickles or almost smooth, or the lower spathes
prickly and the upper ones smooth or even all smooth ; partial inflorescences
panicled, broadly ovate, dense; the lower ones, the largest, 10-15 cm, long, inserted
by means of an elongate pedicelliform part almost to the bottom of their rc-spective '
0. i\phomspathus\ BECCAEI. MONOSEAPH OF THE GENUS CALAMUS. 473
spathe, branched at the base and with simple approximate spikelets upwards; secondary
end ternary spathes very small, closely slieathing, tubulai-cylindraceous, truncate, slightly
apiculate at one side, finely striately veined ; spikelets small, 2-3 cm. long with 6-10
flatly bifarioud flowers on each side, spreading, attached above the mouth of their
own spathe with a distinct axillary callus, their axis slender, slightly sinuous; spathels
tubular and cylindraceoas at the base, suddenly expanded in their upper part, finely
striately veined, horizontally truncate, extended at one side into a broadly triangular
acuto point; involucrophorum laterally attached outside its own spathel at the base
of the one above, sessile, explanate, scale-like, inconspicuous; involucre also scalelike,
irregular, with a flat broad circular area for the insertion of the flower; areola
of the neuter flower depressed, inconspicuous. Female flowers small, 2'5 mm. long,
short and broad, ovoid or subclavate, almost horizontally inserted ; calyx campanulate,
the base flat, striately veined, divided midway down into 3 triangular acute
t e e t h ; the segments of the corolla narrower but as long as the teeth of tho calyx.
Fruiting perianth distinctly pedicelliibrm. Fruit very small, broadly ovoid or subobovoid,
very shortly apiculate, 8 mm. lorg (including the perianth), 5 mm.
broad ; scales in 12-18 longitudinal series, straw or light-grey coloured with a
paler rather coarsely toothed margin, shining, not channelled along the middle.
Seed very small, globular, 3 mm. in diam., coarsely and deeply pitted in the
centre of the raphal side; albumen equable (not taking into account the superficial
intrusion of the integument); embryo basal.
HABITAT.—The Philippines, where apparently a common plant in Luzon.
OBSERVATIONS.—The description above is a comprehensive one, C. siphonospatlma
being a very variable plant ; it is, however, easily distinguishable by its spadices
sheathed by gradually diminishing subimbricate loosely tubular subinfiatod spathes and
by their dense and short supradecompound female inflorescences and by the very small
f r u i t . It approaches very closely only C, dimorphoeantlms and C. mcrocarpus. Martius
assigned the name of C. siphonospailms to a specimen of a male spadix only, collected
by Perrottet at Manilla in 1819 and preserved in Dolessert's Herbarium at
Geneva. This spiidix alone, however, would be insufficient for recognizing and fixing
the type of the species, but as it has been collected in the neighbourhood of
Manilla and it has prickly spathes, we may consider as typical of those spcchnens
that have this peculiarity and come from the provinces nearer the capital. Inside
the spathes of Perrottet's male spadix I have found the remains of a few ants and
therefore the inflated spathes are probably to a certain extent and occasionally biologically
connected with these insects.
CALAMUS SIPHONOSPATHTIS Mart. (Forma typica).
DESCBIPTION.—ZEA/SAEAIAS more or less densely spinous. Leaves with the petiole
and first portion of the ]:achis prickly on bo'th surfaces; leafleta narrow with 3 bristly
costulao above ; primary spathes prickly ; partial inflorescences dense and mucli
branched ; fruit scales in 15 longitudinal series.
HABITAT. Manila {Perrottet in Herb. Deless.) ; Bosoboso, prov. of Rizal (Merrill
No. 1891 in Herb. ManilL); Central Luzon {Loher No. 1364 in Herb. Kew).
ANN. EOY. BOT. GABD. CALCUTTA VOX, X I .