123 AWALS OP THE ROYAL BOTAIÍIC &AEDEN, CALCUTTA {C. erectasobtuse
and biistty hispid at the apes; tlio two of the terminal pair, the smallest, confluent
at the base and sometimes ¡probably in leaves of young plants) larger than
usual and distinctly 2 - 3-co>tato. MaU spadii nearly erect, attached laterally near the
Bumrait of the leaf-slleath, about 1 m. in length or soinetimej longer, sapradecomponnd
near the base, simply decompound upwards, rslatiToly compact, more or less scurfyfurfuraccous,
bearing many partial inBorescences, not flagellifereus, but often produced
into a caudate appendix formed by closely sheathing rodnced aculeate and lacerate
spathos ; tho attenuated axial portion of the spadix, between two partial inflorescencss,
short (8-12 cm, long), mote or less ai-med on the outer side of tho lower unsheathed
portion with short, sometimes aggregate, stl-aight deflexed and occasionally claw-sliapeJ
primary spines; spathes icnrfy-furfnraceous; the lowest at first tubular, somewhat compressed,
and rather elongated, speedily longitudinally split, much lacerated and fibrous,
move or less armed with solitary or clustered, short, straight, slender, needle-like and
deflexed spines, or nearly nnarmed; upper primary apatlies tubular, very loosely sheathing,
exsuccons, rather thinly membranous, mostly quite unarmed or sparingly aculeate,
with the limb always much lacerated and fibrous ; partial inflorescences ncdding
or spreading, the largest, the lowest, 20-30 cm. long, twice branched, the succeedinir
gradually smaller, simply branched, with O-IO simple spitelets on each
side, the uppermost with 3-4 spitelets only; secondary spothes bro wn-f urfuraceoM,
short, broadly infundibuliiorm, membranous, usually longitudinally split,
obliquely truncate at the n.outh and produced on one side into a lacerated tip;
spikelets very large, 10-20 cm. long, spreading, more or less arched or flexuose,
of their own spathe, flattened, with 15-20
ainal spLkelet of each partial inflorescence usually
iven 30-33 flowers on each side, larger than usual;
short, asymmetrically infundibuhform, truncate with
'olucre cupular, almost included in
broadly toothed on
•ather distant (2-4 mm,
.nseited at an angle of
inserted inside nearly to
flowers on each side;
longer than the others,
spathels minutely
the
ith
furfnracec
.nd fugathe
involucre, camsnbscarious
margin and lacerated marcescent tip;
its own spathelat tho base of the one above, irregularly split .
the margin. Male Jlawin very regularly bifai-ious m one plane,
apart) and relatively large (S-10 mm. long, 3 mm. thick)
ii", almost entirely oxserted from the spathels, narrowly oblong, acute, obscurely
trigonous, straight or slightly curved or somewhat asymmetric, thmly
ciously scalyfuifuraoeons; calyx nearly entirely
panulate divided down to tho middle into 3 broad, ovate, apicukte, striately vemed
lebes, narrowly scariolis at the margin; corolla (in full grown buds) a little more
than twice or two and a half times Bs long as the calyx, divided down almost to the
base into 3 lanceolate-ohlong, acute, finely striate segments; stamens with (Inttenod
subulate filaments not inflected at the apex, connate at the hase with the short undivided
portion of the corolla; anthers versatile, large, broadly hnear, not sagittate,
somewhat curved, attenuate at both ends, their cells united almost to the base;
rudimentary ovary slender, elongate, trigonous, with 3 subulate, abortive stigmas.
Female ipadh 1-1-0 m. long, erect or nodding, simply decompound, terminating
in n depauperate spikelet or in a more or less evolute, filiform, feebly
clawed or nearly unarmed appendix; axial attenuate unsheathed portion of the
spadix, between two partial inflorescences, short, flat, or nearly .
tho
inner side, mote or less armed on the back with scattered
hooked aeulei; partial inflorescences not very remote, 4-10 up to 15 cm. apart.
133
at the base
iiivoiucre ; iuthe
involucroacute
and very
1. long ; calyx
divided into 3
C. erectus.'] BEcCiisi. m o n o g r a p h of t h e genits calamus.
Ing in robust specimens S-10 spikelets on each side, but sometimes only
the upper inflorescences often reduced to a single spikelet; primary and
spatlies as in the male spadix; spikelets large, tho lowest lo-25 cm.
long, thoir axis rather thick and flexuose, with lO-lo flowers on each side; the
upper shorter with fewer flowers; the uppermost usually depauperate; spathels larger
than in the male spikelets, infundibulifovui, procluecd at one side into a subulate
point, this ultimately, in the fruiting stage, S2)lit and mai-cescent; itn-olucrophorum
laterally attached near the bottom of its own spathol, attenuate
nearly pedicellate, two-keeled next to the axis, embracing tho
volucre cupular, rather shallow, truncato, not or hardly exceedin
phorum ; areola of the neuter flower very distinctly lunate with
sharply defined borders. Female flowers broadly conical, about 6 mr
shortly and acutely S-toothed ; corolla hardly loitger than the calyx,
ovate-acuto segments; stamens with filaments highly connate at tho base, broadly
triangular and subulate at the apos in the free portion. Neuter flowers rehitively
lai'ge, similar to the male, but more slender, 6-7 mm. long, with calyx very deeply
trilobate. Fruiting perianik explanate, the calyx irregularly split, somewhat thickened
and suherous at the base. Fruit regularly ellipsoid, 28-37 mm. long, 20-22 mm. in
diiim. ; rounded and hardly caudiculate at the base, abruptly and shortly boakedmammillate
at t!ie apex, apparently not crowned by tho stigmas, these being very
small and connivent; scales in 12 longitudinal series, trapezoid, broader than long
(8-10 mm. wide) deeply and broadly channelled along the middle, rather shining,
yellowish-reddish or chestnut-brown, darker towards the apex, with a very dark or
nearly black intramarginal line, and with a narrowly scarious, pale and eroselytoothed
margin. Seed oblong or elongate-ovoid, 25-27 mm. long by 15 mm. wide
in the largest fruits, rounded to both ends, but somewhat broader at the base,
jjcarly circular in section, not costate or furrowed outside, but only rather minutely
intted and tubercled when divested of the thin dry, once fleshy integument ;
chalazal fovea superficial and indistinct ; albumen ruminate, penetrated by numerous
very narrow channels (1-4 mm. deep) which are filled with a brown resinous
material; embryo lateral near the base, obliquely penetrating nearly one-third of th-2
albumen.
HABITAT.—Tho plant originally described by Roxburgh as C. ereeius was a native
of Sylhet, and it seems very common on the not very distant Khasia Hills-
{Griffith, Hooker f . & Thom$on in Herb. Kew, and 0. Mann in Herb- Becc,); from
these hills I have also received good specimens collected by G. B. Clarke at Lakkat
(80 m.), at Monsto (760 m.), at Mahadeo (900 m.); in Upper Assam {G. collinua
Griif.) near Koreahparah, one of the Bhutan Duars; in Manipur at Kassome at an
elevation of 900 m. {Wait Nos. 5122, 5135 in Herb. Kew). Kurz writes {Journ.
As. Soc. Beng. xliii. pt. 2, 1874, p. 210) that this species is found in Pegu, but as
this author has confused G. ereeius with C. longiseius, this locality very probably
belongs to the last mentioned species. A Calumm (in Herb. Kew) gathered by
Hooker f. & Thomson at Scetakoond in Chittagong, near the seashore, does not
seem to mo to differ from the most typical specimens of C. ercctus from the hills.
Roxburgh says that in Sylhet "sun-gutta" is the vernacular name of this plant,
and that the poorer natives use the seed as a substitute for that of Areca.
Ah-N. EOY. BOI. GAKD. CALCUTTA VOL. XI.