INTRODUCTOEY ESSAY.
XXV.~Note on Bumph's species of Calamus and Daemonorops.
Subjoined is a conspectus of the speciea of Calamus and Daemonorops figured
the fifth Tolume of Rumph's Serharium Ar,
• Pi,ATE 51. PalmijuT.
53.
54-1.
54-2.
05-1.
55-2A.B.
56.
57-i.
58-1.
58-2.
Assam
s Calapparius = Daemonorops Calapparius Dl.
nigsr = Daemonorops niger BL.
albus = Calantus albus Pera.
vtrus = A young piaat of a species of tke group of
Ci'lamus palustris or perhaps of G.
pisicarpus ?
verus angustifulius = Calamus Rumphii BI. (Daemonorops Eumphii
MttTii.)
angustifoUus — Cafamvs pisicarpus Bl.
= Calamvs viininalis Willd.
= Cahwius egut'siris "Willd.
= Calamus Caiea Bl.
= Daemoiwrops Draco Hart.
= Calamus aoidukis Beoc.
fay Blume to C. barbatus,
viminalis
„ eguesMs
„ egueslris
„ Draco
„ Rolang Assam
The Rotang has been referred fay Blume to C. barbatus, but to me
it appears to be quite distinct not only from this species, but from any other
hitherto known. The species distinguished by an asterisk (*; havo been definitely
recognised. The others represent, I believe, very woll-marked species -which will be
recognised at some future time because, considering the period at which they were
made, Rumph's figures are very good and the descriptions, if properly understood,
are quite reliable. I have therefore no doubt that these species will be found again
in the Moluccas when these islands are better explored.
This belief cannot be certainly entertained regarding the species which are
incidentally meDtioned or imperfectly described by Rumph. These are as follows:—
Calamus Buroensi^^ Mart.; C. viminalis rar. repeits Bl, ; C. grnminosus Bl.; 0. mariiiimis Bl.
For information regarding these, reference should bo made to the detailed
account of them giren in the section that deals with doubtful species.
XXVI'—N^ote on the date of puhlication of the sjyecies of Calamus and
Daenionorojts named by 3Iartius, Griffith and Blume.
The fact that Martius, Griffith and Blume were at work contemporaneously
on the genera Calamus and Daemonorops has led to great confusion in the synonymy
of these genera.
The great work of Martius, "Historia Naturalis Palraarura," and the " Rumphia''
of Blume were published in parts at long intervals, and I have not been able in
all cases to ascertain the precise date of publication of each part. Moreover, some
of the pages of the third volume of the "Iliatoria Naturalis Palmarum," those numbered
179 to 230, were originally printed on paper of a different colour from the
rest. These pages were, after an interval of many years, reprinted and the reprint
substituted for the original. But the reprint of these pages waa in reality a new
edition—very different from the original, for the author took advantage of their
publication to entirely change the text and to make numerous additions.t
I n the first edition of these pages (179—230) the generic characters of Calamus
are giren at page 203, and in the pages that follow sis species of this genus, of
t With reference to this subject, the note by Martins himself in the Errata at the end of vol. ui may be consalted.
SPECIES OP MAETIDS, GRIFFITH AND BLOMK. 41
which in all 46 species are recorded, are fully described. The genus Daemonorops
is entirely omitted in the pages above mentioned, and there is no citation in them
of the second volume of Blume's " Rumphià," which bears on the title-page the
dato 1836. It may be observed with regard to this volume of Blume's work that
it contains the figures of several species of Daemonorops tho descriptions of which
appeared many years later in the third volume of the snmo work. From these data we
may concludo that the first edition of pages 179-230 of tho " Historia Naturalis
Palmarum " was published before 1836, the more so because in these pages there is
no reference to tho first edition of Blanco's " Flora do Filipinas, " which bears
t h e date 1837.
Tiiere is little or no doubt that the portion of the second volumo of "Rumpliia,"
containing plates 171-173, where the species of Daemonorops, the descriptions
of which first appeared in tho third volume, were figured, was not available to tho
public before tho year 1843, although the title-page of the second volume is dated
1836. For this reason I believe that the first edition of pages 179-230 of the
" Historia Naturalis Palmarum " should be cited before the plates 71-137, as this
first edition in all probability made its appearance in 1836 and the plates in 1843.
In the second editioji of pages 179-230 there are descriptions of 13 species of
Daemonorops and of only six species of Calamus. As regards tiiese pages, we might
suppose that they were not published later than 1846, because there is no reference
in them to Griffith's paper on Indian Palms which appeared in 1845 in the
" Calcutta Journal of Natural History." It seems, however, that the true date of
these pages is tho year 1849, because there is a notice in Hooker's " Journal of
Botany ," 1, page 221 (1849), in which mention is made of the publication of one
of the later parts of Martius' work, containing also 49 pages, belonging to part
7, which were presented to subscribers in substitution of others, tho paper of wliich
had changed colour.
That the enumeration of tlio Calami in the third volume of tiie "Historia
Naturalis Palmarum" was completed in the year 1849 was explained by the
illustrious author himself in a note appended to page 328 of that volume. It;
is also stated there that though the Introduction in Volume iii bears the date
1847, the volume was not availablo to the public before 1849. This circumstance
may possibly account for the fact that in the second edition of pages 179-230 of
the "Historia Naturalis Palmamm " there is no reference to the text of tho
third volume of " Rumphia. "
The dates of publication of the species of Calamus and Daemonorops, which arc
mentioned or described in tiie Works of Martius, Blume and Griffith, so far as 1 can
make out, are as follows :—
1842 ? Martina ; Uist. Nat. Palm, iii, Brst edition of pp. 179-230.
1843 Bhmo ; Rumpiiia Ü, pp. 93-173 and pi. 71-137.
1845 Griffith ; Palm. Brit. Ind. in Calcutta Journal of Natural History, v.
1845 ? Blume ; Ihimphia, iii, pi. 134-154, ivitliout dsBciiptions.
1849 ? Martius : Hist. Nat. Palm, iii, 2nd edition of the pp. 179-2SÜ.
1849 Martius; The enumeratiua of Calamus at the end of vol. iii of the Hist. Nat. Palmarum.
1849 Blumo ; Eiimphia, iii, with the descriptions of Calamus, which bears on the title-page tbe
date 1837.
«
1850 GriiBth ; The Paltos of British East India : op. post. AM«. EOY. BOT. GABD. CALCUTTA VOL. X I.