AHHALS OF THE EOYAL BOTANIC GARDEN, CALCUTTA. [C. feirugineus
HABITAT.—Soutli Gbiim; in the Island of Houg-Kong near the sources of the
Eiver Taitaintuk discovered in 1873 by Dr. G, Dods. (Herb. Hauce. No. 18373).
OBSERVATIOHS.—I have seen of this only a very fragmentary specimen in the
St. Petersburg Herbarium, and I have chiefly derived my description from Hance.
I t seems to belong to the group V, B, but in this is distinct from any other by
its erect habit, with loosely sheathing, fibrous, dilacorate spathcs and the leaves with
very conspicuously clustered, ensiform leaflets : these very approximate in each fascicle
and pointing different ways.
PL.ATB 224.—Calamus thysanolepis Emcc. An intermediate portion of the leaf
with four fascicles of leaflets (upper surface); another small portion of the same leaf
(lower surface ) ; portion of a spikelet with mature fruit ; nat. size ); fruit magnified.
From Hance's No. 10.373 in St. Petersburg Herb.
1 9 3 . CALAMUS FERHUGINEUS Be c c . Kec. Eot. Surv. I n d . ii, 216 ( escl. descript.
of leaves ).
DESCEIPTIOS.—Scandent. Shmthei stem 12 mm. in diam. LmUkiths gibbous,
plicate above, rather strongly striate-coslulate longitudinally, armed with a few scattered
or seriate, but individually distinct, Sat, horizontal, 10-13 mm. long spines and
clothed while young, as almost any other part of the plant, with a rusty fm-furaceous,
more or less sooner dcciduous, scurf composed of small chafly hairs which rest
on very minute tubercles, these tendering very finely scabrid not only the sheaths but
also the petiole, rachis, aiial parts, spathea and to a certain extent even the spines.
Lema about 1 m. long in the pinniferous part ( i n one specimen) and terminating
with a slender, 50 cm, long, cirrus; the petiole very short (6 cm. lono-) planoconvex
with not very acute margins, these sparingly armed only with a fe°w strong
long, deflcxed prickles; above the rachis is flattisll at the base, with two narrow side
faces where are inserted the lowest leaflets, then bifaccd with the salient angle al first
obtuse but speedily acute; underneath at first convei, then flattisk, armed in its basal
part along the centre of the dorsum with a few but strong solitary straight
deflexed 10-12 mm. long prickles which higher up become shorter, olaw-liko
towards the summit and ternate only in the cirrus, always remaining with a slender
very acummate and very slightly curved point; leaflets rather few ( 30 on the whole
in one specimen) opposite, the pairs equidistant, 6 cm. apart, all strongly deflexerl
attached to the rachis by means of a slightly caUous base; the callosity remaining
above in the place where normally is the axil and by its position oUigin»- the
leaflet to bend downwards; beneath, just in the point whore each leaflet sprino-s°from
the rachis, is a small spine, which points in a contrary way to the prickles" of the
rachis; the leaflets are rather firmly papyraceous, green on both surfaces, narrowly
lanceolate, all about of one size, 22-33 cm. long, 20-35 mm. broad, broadest about
the middle and thence almost equally narrowing towards both ends, but rather suddenly
narrowing at the .summit into a lo-20 mm. long and at the sides bristly tip not
very distinctly plioate.3-costulate above and here with the mid-costa alone sparingly
spinulous towards the summit, underneath quite smooth; transverse veinlets not very
conspicuous; margins with not numerous, spreading spinuliform bristles. Female spaia
0. ferrugineus} BECCAEI. MONOGBAIH OF THE SENUS CALAMUS. 459
densely coyercd with a removable rusty furfuraceons indumentum and minutely
scabrid, rather short ( 45-75 cm. long), rigid, slender, not flagelliform with fewpartial
inflorescences and terminating in a small ( 5 - 7 cm. lon=-)' aculeolate
tail-like appendix; peduncular part of the spadix not voiy long, flattened
acutcly two-edged, unarmed or nearly so; primary spathes tubular, somewhat enlarged
above, slightly flattened, keoled on the back, the keel aimed with small hooked
prickles, otherwise unarmed, obliquely truncate, entire and densely ciliato-bearded at
the mouth, prolonged at one side into a triangnlar acuminate ercct point- partial
inflorescences inserted at the mouth of their own spathe, strongly arched downwards:
the lower encs, the lai-gest, about 20 cm. long with 8-10 alternate
snbunilateral spikelets: the upper ones gradually smaller; secondary spathes tubular
slightly iutundibuliform, more or less angular by nmtual pressure, tomentose, ciliatehai
bato at the mouth and prolonged at one side into a short point; spikelets
mibscorpioid, archcd, inserted just at the mouth of their own spathe, as'surgent or
pointing upwards: the lower ones, the largest, 3-4 cm. long: the upper ones
gradually shorter, with two series of slightly nssui-gent female flowers (each'series of
t e n ) and two distinct smaller series of neuter ones; spalhels short bi-acteiform
concave, very broad, acute, strongly dcflexed, ciliate, scaly-scurfy; involuciophotum
explanate, bracteiform, laterally adnate outside its own spathel at the base of the
one above; involucre explanate, calyculiform, irregularly and acutely S-toothed; areola
of the neuter flower very depressodly Innate. Femah fotnn with a secund L-i-angement
(not flatly bifarious) ovoid, acutc, about 3 mm. long. Kmler Jlot„„ similar to
the male ones but sHghtly smaller. fro.imj fervmih shortly bnt distinctly pedicelliform;
the calyx indurated, slightly ventricose and smooth at the base, divided to the
midiUe into 3 triangular acute lobes ; segments of the corolla ovato, acute, about as
long and as large as the lobes of the calyx and lite this op.,qne outside and almost
black when dry. Fruit (wLen very young) broadly obovoid, small ( 5 - 6 mm. in
diam. slightly tapering towards the base, suddenly narrowed at the ' summit into a
rather stout beak; scales in IS series not or very indistinctly channelled alon»
the middle, subsbining, reddish-brown towards the point, yellowish at the base the
point slightly prolonged, not 'very adpressed, scarious, eroscly toothed.
HABITAT.-Borneo. Collected firstly by Loll, probably in Sarawak ( according to
a specimen in the Calcutta Herbarium ) and found again by me also in Sarawak
near Kuching ( Beccari P. 13. No. ,'i63 ).
OBSniiVATIONs.-Lobb's spechnen is of an entire leaf and of a female spadix
this 45 cm. long with 3 partial inflorescences and flowers not yet expanded. My
specimen is only of an entire female spadix 75 cm. long with ' 7 gradually
decreasing partial inflorescences and immature fruit. 'Tbe conspccifity" of this
second specimen with the first is proved by the very pcouhar rusty scurf
which after its fall leaves the surface of every organ minutely scabrid; this same
character has enabled me to discover the shifting of parts of 0. firmgmem and
Daemoitorajii eristatm ( two species collected by Lobb in Borneo 1 which had
occurred in tho Calcutta Herbarium, and which had led me to' attribute to
C. ferruf/inms the leaves of Daemonorops cnstaim and vice versa. C. ferrn^inem is a
AKN. BOY. Bor. GARD. CALCUTTA VOL. 51.