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1 4 2 OP THE EOYAL UO'VAJSLC GAHDEK, CALCUTTA. LEPTOSPODIX
in a female spadix, bear male flowers only and are apparently fertile, but are more
slender than tliose of the male spadix.
The Calamus named by Thwaites 0. rudentum (Enum. PI. Zeyl. 330) I have
considered to be a new species (C. zeylaniuus Becc.). C. rudenlwn of Roxb. (Bl.
I n d . iii, 70) I have reduced to U. albus Fers. as lo the Ceylou plant. G. i-udentum.
of Mart. (Hist. Nat. Palm, iii, 3i0) is G. rivalis Thw.
PLATE 13.—Calamus rudentum Lour. The terminal part of a male spadix ;
portion of a female partial inflorescence with ovaries in course of development;
summit of a leaf seen from the lower surface ; another portion of a leaf seen from
above J very young fruits from Pierre's specimens in Herb. Becc.
S. CALAMU.S LEPTOSPADIS G-riff. in Gale. Journ. Nat. Hist, T, 49, and Palms.
Brit. Ind. 60, t. cxciv A. B. C.; Mart. Hist. Nat. Palm, iii, 339,
t . 175, f. ii and t. Z. xviii, f. xiii; Walp. Aim. iii, 485, and v, 830;
T. And. iu Journ. Linn. Soc. xi, 8; Gamble Man. Ind. Tim. 423;
Uook. f. Fl. Brit. Ind. vi, 441 ; Becc. in Rec. Bot. Surv. Ind.,
ii, m .
DESCRIPTIOÏI.—Scandent, long and slender. Slieathed stem 12-15 or at most 20 mm.
in diam.; naked canes 8-10 mm. tliick, with internodes 18-30 cm. long, slightly
thickened at the joints, smooth and rathor polished on the surface when freed from
t h e scurf wiih which they are covered when with the sheaths on. Leaf-skeaths
flagelliferous, ferrugineously scurfy, puckered above, armed with very variable, very
short or 15-25 cum. long, straight, flat, narrow, subulate, horizontal or slightly
deflexed, solitary or aggregate and oven subwhorled spines. Ocrea very distinct, subcoriaceous,
persistent, about 15 mm. in length, prickly-hispid especially on the
margin. Leaf-sUath flagella slender, filiform, very long, flattened and smooth in
the lower portion, in the upper part armed with weak scattered claws. Leaves rather
dolicate, from 60 cm. to 1 m. in length, more or less covered when young with a
cottonv-forruginoous deciduous scurf on the petiole and mainly on the rachis ; petiole
short ( in full-grown plants ), rounded beneath where armed with few deflexed spines,
channelled above near the base, then flat, armed on the margins with some rare
straight spines, otherwise n e a r l y smooth; in young plants the petiole is longer, spari
n g l y armed with straight, horizontal, ( 2 - 3 cm. long) spines; rachis with a very
acute and raised angle and two flat side-faccs above, rounded below in its lower
portion, flattish upwards and armed throughout along the middle with long, straight
deflexed, always solitary spines which gradually pass into claws towards the apes; this
however, occasionally smooth ; leaflets numerous, rather closely set and very regularly
equidistant, alternate or snbopposito, broadly linear or linear-ensiform, slightly attenuated
at the base, gradually acuminate into a bristly subulate apex, almost the same colour on
b o t h surfaces, distinctly 3-costate above; the mid-costa stronger than the side ones, all
t h r e e equally fuinished with closely set bristles; margins densely ciliate with muchadpressed
haii-s, which are closer and longer towards the apex; the largest leaflets,
those not very far from the base and in the largest specimens 20-SO cm. long by
10-14 mm. ; the upper gradually shorter and very often opposite, less acuminate at tho
apex, but more bristly there than the others; the terminal pair free from the base and
v e r y small. Male sjiadix simply decompound, very long, excessively slender and
c. leptospadix] BECCAEI. MOXOGEAPH OF THE GENUS CALAMUS. 14A
prolonged into a filiform clawed flagellum; partial inflorescences not many, very distant,
v e r y strict, slender, 20-40 cm. long, bearing on each side 10-20 adprcssed spikelets;
primary spathea narrow, tubular, closely sheathing, the lowest flattened, acutely
two-keeled, scarcely armed on the back with some short spines; the secondary less
flattened, very narrow and also very long, the upper cylindraccous, 30-40 cm. long,
narrowed towards the base, where flat and smooth on the inner side, rather strongly
clawed and externally produced at the apex into a lanceolate acute limb keeled
on the back: secondary spathes tubular at the base and enlarged above into
an ovate-lanceolate, long-acuminate, auricuhform, smooth limb which is keeled on
t h e back and embraces the base of the spikes and terminates in a small brushed
deciduous appendix 2 - 3 mm. long; spikelets curved or distinctly scorpioid, especially
when young, arising distichously f r om the interior of their reapective spathes, short
( 1 - 2 cm. l o n g ) , the lowest the largest, with 6-12 bifarious, closely set and
nearly liorizoutal flowers on each side; spathels very crowded, membranous, very
broad, spoon-shaped, amplectent, acute, often pcnicillate-furfuraceous at tho apex;
involucre cupular, rather deep, obliquely truncate, flat and sharply two-keeled on the
side next to the axis. MaU flowers (full-grown b u d s ) oblong, rather obtuse, 4-4-5
mm. long, about ]-5 mm. b r o a d ; calyx tubular-campanulate, striate, divided down about
t o the middle into 3 broad, finely striately veined and rather obtuse or apicalate
l o b e s ; corolla twice as long as the calyx at most, divided down to two-thirds into
• t h r e e ' o b l o n g acute segments; filaments of the stamens subulate with inflected apex
and united "by their base to the tubular part of the corolla; anthers versatile, linear,
sagittate, apiculate; rudimentary ovary formed by three subulate bodies, reaching to the
base of the anthers. Female spadix very similar to the male, the one measured 4 m.
i n length (including the slender filiform flagellum 60 cm. l o n g ) and with five partial
inflorescences; spikelets arising erect from the spathes and slightly outwardly curved,
15-20 mm. long, with the flowers when young distinctly arranged in four series, of
which two are of f e r t i l e female and two of sterile or neuter flowers, these last scarcel
y smaller than the others, each series composed of 5-8 flowers in the largest,
t h e lowest, spikelets; spathels as in the male spadix, but deeper; involucrophorum anticously
split and posticously discrete as if formed by two small bracts c< n n a t e by their
b a s e s ; involucre rather deep, obliquely truncate and laterally evolute on the side of the
neuter flower, of which the areola is broadly ovate or nearly circular with sharply
defined borders. Female flowers ovoid, about 3-3*5 mm. long, with the corolla a
little longer than the calyx. Fruiting perianth not pedicelliform, split and spreading
under the fruit. Fruit globose or globose-ovoid, about 10 mm. in diam., mammillate
apiculate; scales in 18 series, not channelled along the middle, yellowish with a conspicuous
reddish-brown marginal line, broader towards the point, of which the extreme
t ip is pale, scarious, obtuse and not fimbriate; margins unequally erose. Seed irregularly
^lobular, 8 mm. long and 6-5 mm. thick, shining, yellowish-brown when freed from
the scanty coat with which it is enveloped, convex and coarsely alveolate on the
back, marked on the ventral face with some superficial furrows radiating from the
chalazal fovea, which is central, circular, rather deep and continued down to the base
iu a channel ending at the embryo; albumen equable.
HABITAT. N. E. I n d i a : Khasia Hills in Assam {Griffith, Hooker f . & 2'Aomon).
G. Mann from Assam sent me some complete specimens gathered at about 1000 m