3 3 INTHODUCTORY ESSAY.
f o r those found in the f o l d of the blade of the leaflets at their base in the lower
Burface may be quoted C. aritensis and C. HaUrungii.
U s u a l l y we observe axillary nectaviform callosities on the spadiees when the
p a r t i a l inflorescences are situated outside the mouth of theii- r e s p e c t i v e spathes;
a n d most commonly, where thej larger branches of the spadix arc provided with
a n axillary callus, these appear also at the successive divisions and even at the
insertions of the spikelets a n d ' o f the involucrophora.
T h e essential requisite for a nectarial structure is the secretion of sweet fluids;
t h e r e f o r e in Calamus, the transverse rima of the calluSj if this be really a nectary,
ought to be the opening for the exudation of such fluids; but in the herbarium
specimens examined b y me, I have never been able to discover the slightest sign of
their presence, nor have I seen any indication of their having been resorted to by
i n s e c t s of a n y kind, in search of nectar.
I t is only from observations on liviiig plants that wei may acquire any definite
k n o w l e d g e of the nature of the n e c t a r i f o rm surfaces of Cahmiis:
XX,—Calami undcf Cultivation.
Although the species of Calamus, the cultivation of which bas been !
t h e hot-houses of extra-tropical countries are p r e t t y numerous, the number of those
which have become p e r m a n e n t l y e s t a b l i s h e d is small,- owing to its b e i n g v e r y d i f l c u l t to
p r o v i d e them with conditions of existence like those e n j o y e d in their native countries.
T h e Calami in our hot-houses therefore g i v e but a f a i n t and poor i d e a of the elegancc
of their- f o l i a g e as it a p p e a r s at the summit of a long slender and climbing stem.
Y o u n g plants of Calami are, however, considerably appreciated by horticulturists on
account of their highly ornamental, bright green, g r a c e f u l pinnate leaves, so that they
a r e f r e q u e n t l y o f f e r e d for sale in commercial catalogues of l i v i n g plants.
B u t the names by which cultivated Calami are known to horticulturists are, with
h a r d l y an exception, i n c o r r e c t ; and since, on the other hand, horticulturists are in the
h a b i t of putting on the market small seedhngs or very young non-charactcrized plants,
t h e f o l i a g e of which usually exhibits much u n i f o r m i t y in the various species and always
d i f f e r s considerably f r om that of the adult plant, it becomes very difficult for a botanist
t o reduce the species r a s h l y proposed by horticulturists as new to their true position
i n scientific nomenclature.
I have been able, from specimens of loaves of c u l t i v a t e d plants preserved in the
H e r b a r i a at K e w and Berlin, t o e s t a b l i s h the fact that many of the supposed Calami
are species of Daemonorops, for it a p p e a r s that some species of this genus are more
e a s i l y cultivated than most species of Calainus, but I have very seldom been able f r om
specimens of this k i n d to determine the actual species to which they belong.
i n v e r y m a n y cases the exact naming of these horticultural Calami has been rendered
q u i t e impossible owing to the fact that their a p p e a r a n c e in European hot-houses has
been quite ephemeral, and that many with newly proposed names have disappeared
f o r ever f r om cultivation.
I n the French edition of Nicholson and Motetts Diciionnaire d^HortiauUure 2L
c u l t i v a t e d species of Calamus are enumerated and tnany of them bear the names of
USES AND NATIVE ííAMES. 33
v e r y well-known species, but, as it appears to me, in almost e v e r y instance misapplied.
I n the " R e p o r t on the Progress and Condition of the R o y a l ' . G a r d e n s at K e w " for the
y e a r 1883, 37 species of Calamus are recorded as under cultivation at Kew.
S o far as I know the only species that have succeeded io producing flowers in
E u r o p e aro C. ciliarí» {Gard. Chron., Feb. 6, 1837, p. 86, fig. 23) and C. javensis
of which last I bave seen a specimen from a plant that flowered at K e w under
the name of C. trinervis. At Kew also Daemonorops Jenkinsianus has reached a fair
flowering state.
T l i e plants of Calami never have deep roots, and they acquire a luxuriant habit
in the superficial layer of humus of the tropical forests, when this overlies a
BÜicious sub-soil, becauso Calami, like almost all other kinds of Palms, avoid a
calcareous sub-soil.
I n cultivation Calami thrive best in a compost of equal parts of s a n d y loam and
v e g e t a b l e soil formed by decomposed leaves. They require a warm moist atmosphere
and copious watering. I have however to observe tbat Calami grow in very different
situations, f r om marshy plains at the level of the sea up to an elevation of 2,000
metres in the mountains, so tiiat in the cultivation of Calami, as in that of any other
plant, it is n e c e s s a r y to know beforehand the natural conditions of their existence
a n d to m o d i f y their cultural conditions a c c o r d i n g l y . If t h i s be borne in mind, it may
be found that p r o b a b l y not a f ew of tho mountain species of Calamus, as for instance
those of tho H i m a l a y a and Assam, will t h r i v e better in the temperate than in a warm
hot-house, while others should receive the treatment of aquatic plants in warm
water.
S o far as my knowledge goes, no attempt has been made to cultivate any of
the economic sorts of Calatmis in their n a t i v e countries or i n countries with an analoo-ous
climate . Only C. khasianus appears to receive a primitive cultural attention in Assam
f o r the sake of its fruits, which are eaten as a substitute for those of the Areca
Palm.
XXI.—Uses of,* Trade in, and Native Names of Calamus.
T h e long and slender stems or canes of Calami when divested of their sheaths
a r e usually known by the Malay name of " R o t a n g , " commonly altered into
" R a t t a n " or " U a t a n , " and are put to various uses according to their size, length,
flexibility, elasticity and toughness.
T h e most slender canes are those produced by C. ;¡awmis and its varieties,
and by allied species. They are employed entire lor binding purposes, and in
m a k i u g chairs, blinds, mats, wicker- or basket-work, fishing implements, etc.
T h e lai-gest and more resistent canes, such as those of C. rudentum, C. ornaius
• As regards tho Economio value and domestic employmont of Calamus, besides the great works of Blnmo
(finmpAjo) and Rumpli [Herharium.Amhoinento), tbe foilowiug may be consulted; wifb, LoweTer, the caution thai the
nsmea assigned by many authors to tho economio species aro not to be relied on
J . Forbes Koylo: Tho Fibrous Plants of India, p. 92.
Brandis: Forest Flora of North-Wost and Central India, p. 658.
Gamble: A Man cal of Indian Timbers, New edit. (1902), p. 784.
HasBkarl: Aantekeningen oer het nut, door de bewoners van Jara, etc., p. &1, especially with reference to (he
specie« of Java.
De Mercado: Libro de Medicinas, in the Flora de Filipinas, Gran Edición, vol. ir, p. 80.
Aira. ROT. BOX. GARD. CiLcrotTA Vol.. X I.