126 ANNAL3 OF THE ROY.IL BOTANIC G-ARDEJS^ C-ALCTOTA. [C. ereotus.
the flowers more immersed in the involucres, tlie calyx half-pr ojee ling from the
involucves and strongly veined, the corolht twice as long as the calyx. Fruit as in
t h e typo.
HABITAT.—India : Sikkim in Upper Camon and Lower Singbik and Rhu {Eookcr
/ . & Thomon in Herb. Kew); at Currssiong (Kursooug), 1,400 m. elev. (T.
Ando'son in Herb. BoissO; Sivoke on the Teesta, 1,000 m. elev. {Brandis in Herb.
Bece.); hills near Sivoke,
Gamble (1. c.) writes that this has a stem about 5 cm. in diam. with hard
wood aud closely packed fibrovascular bundles, very close, as usual, towards the edge;
the canes, however, are useless (Gamble Mss.). It called "Rong" aud "Reem"
by the Lepchas, but it is known also in Sikkim by the name of "Phokri Bet," but
probably these names aro also applied to the typical form.
OBSERVATIONS.—I had considered 0. schisospathiis quite the same as C. erectiis (Becc.
in Hook. f. Fl. Brit. Ind. 1. c.") following Hooker and Thomson who on. the labels
of the distributed specimens of the Herb. Ind. Oiient., had already united the two
species. Nevertheless T. Anderson {Joiirn. Linn. Soe. xi, p. 8j considers 0. schizospathm
as a species distinct from 0. enctus, and writes as follows: " 0. erectus of
Roxburgh from Silhet and perhaps from Chittagong is a nearly allied species; but
its ripe fruits are nearly half as large again as those of O. sclmospathus," which is
found on the steep northern slopes of the valleys of the rivers Teesta and Rungeet,
where micaceous slate abounds.
A good specimen of C. ercctits sohuospathm from Sikkim sent to me in September
1902 by Lieut.-Col. Prain has ripe fruita 38 mm. long and 20 mm. in diam., aud
consequently not smaller than those of the type with which they perfectly agree also
in shape and all other characteristics. In the leaflets of this specimen I have not been
able to find any difference from those oí the typical 0. ercetm from Khasia; the
sheathed stem 7 cm. in diam. and the naked canes cm. In the malo specimens
from Sikkim I had at my disposal, the spikelets are larger than in the specimens
coming from Khasia and Sylhet, and have more broadly infundibuliform and more
distinctly striate spathels, the flowers are more deeply enclosed in the involucres,
more ovoid or less elongate, and with the corolla relatively shorter and the calyx
more distinctly striate. I consider G. erectus sohbospathuH to be only a local form of
C. erectus, peculiar to the hot and damp sub-Himalayan region in Sikkim and
Darjeeling, while the typo abounds more to the east, mainly in Assam, Sylhet,
Khasia, Manipur, etc.
PLATE 2.—Calamus erectus Roxb. VAE. schizospathus Becc. Portions of a leaf from
an adult plant, and partial inflorescence of the lower part of a male spadix, from
a specimen collected by Dr. Brandis at Sivoke (1000 m.) on the Teesta.
CALAMUS EBECJTUS Roxb. var. BIRMASICUS Becc. in Rec. Bot. Surv. Ind. ii,
19T,
DESCRIPTION.—Female spadix more slender than in the type and produced into a
rather long (75 cm.) flagelliform aculeate appendix; also the frmt smaller (20-30 mm.
by 14-16 mm.).
HABITAT.—Burma: on the Karen mountains at an elevation of 1000-1200 m.,.
collected by Sig. L. Fea in Dec. 1887.
C. Flagellum.2 BECCAHI. MONOGRAPH OP THE GENUS CALAHUS. 127
PLATE H.—Calamus erectus Hoxh. VAR. birmanicua Becc. Portion of a leaf and
upper part of a spadix in fruit. From Sig. Fea's specimen.
2. CALAMUS FLAGELLUM Grifi, in Ttlart. Hist, Nat. J^alm, iii, 333, pi. 176, f.
i x ; Griff. Palms Brit. Ind. p. 48; Walp, Ann. iii, 484 and v,
830; T. And,, in Journ. Linn. Soc. xi (1869), 8; Gamble Man. Ind.
Timb. 423; Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. vi, 439; Becc. ia Rec. Bot. Surv.
Ind. ii, 197.
C. Jenkinsiamis Griff. Palms Brit. Ind. 40, pi. clxxxvi A. fig. iii (not p. 89j.
C. poli/garnvs \\oxb. FI. Ind. iii, 780?
DESCRIPTION.—Scandent, robust and large. Shcaihcd stem 4-5 cm. in diam.; naked
canes 2'5-3 cm. in diam. Leaf-sheaths gibbous above, flagelliferous, densely armed
with scattered or sometimes confluent, spreading or somewhat deflexed, laminar, extremely
acuminate spines, which are usually 3-4 cm. long (those near the mouth oven
6 - 7 cm.) and intermingled with innumerable others of all sizes also scattered. Ocrea
membranous, dry, cxsuccous, extending at the sides o£ the petiole into two smali
unarmed rounded auricles ultimately marcescent and deciduous. Leaf-shcaih fiagclla very
long ^5ometimes 7 m.) closely armed with half-threc-fourths whorls of dark-tipped
claws. Leaves very large not cii-riferous, petiole very stout, 2-3 cm. thick, 30-45 cm.
long, broadly channelled above, rounded beneath, where irregularly armed, mainly at
the sides and more sparingly along the middle, with variable straight spines; rachis
in its first portion ilattish or slightly concave above with the side angles acute and
spinulous and with broad side-faces where are inserted the leaflets; upwards acutely
angular and with two side faces above and armed beneath up to the summit with a
central series of solitary claws; leaflets iiumerous, equidistant or very nearly so (4-7
cm. apart), alternate or sub-opposite, rather firm, green, almost shining on both
surfaces, slightly paler beneath, broadly ensiform, alternate aud deeply plicate at the
base, gradually acuminate at the apex; the mid-costa stout, furnished on both surfaces,
but mainly above, with few subspiny bristles ; secondary nerves sometimes rather
strong, naked on both faces; transverse veinlets approximate and distinct; margins
ciliate with short spiny bristles which are rather remote lower down and approximate
at the summit; the largest leaflets €0-70 cm. long and 3'6-4 cm. broad; the upper
ones shorter ; the two of the terminal pair the Smallest and confluent at the base.
Male spadix excessively long \i-b m. and more), flagelliform, simply decompound or
slightly and partially supradecompound, proLmged at the apex into a long, stronglyclawed
flagollum and armed on the back on tlie very long unsheathed portions between
two partial inflorescences with half-whorls of very stout claws; primary spathos
tvibular, very closely sheathing, very long, coriaceous, longitudinally split, laccrated
and fibrous at the summit; tho lowest somewhat comprcssed and acutely two-edged,
more or less armed with claws on the back and with straight auricles at the edges;
upper primary spathes cylindraceous, strongly clawed on tho back; partial inflorescences
very few, very remote (even 1 m. apart), nodding, with 3-4 spikelets on each side;
secondary spathes unarmed, tubular, narrowly infundibuliform, obliquely truncate at
the mouth aud extended at one side into a triangular, speedily withered and lacerated
t i p ; spikelets 10-25 em. long, flexuose, slightly compressed, bearing 18-30 distichous and
rather remote flowers on each side; spathels fugaciously scaly furfuraceous, broadly