^ 4 8 AUNALS OF THE BOYAI BOT-IIIIC CALCOTTA. [C. Qriffithianus
often but not always spinulous on tbo upper angle, more or less armed below, cbicfly
in its lower portion, with solitary aggregate or pectinate straight spines; leaflets
arranged in alternate groups of many, being ia eacb group equidistant and not
clustered, elongate-onsiform and glossy, 45-65 cm. long and 1Ó-35 mm. broad,
green above, paler underneath where—at least when young—covered with a very
thin mealy-violaceous coating; mid-costa prominent above, bristly towards the
apex on both surfaces; secondary nerves rather distinct, one on each side of the
mid-costa naked abovo and conspicuously covered beneath with rather long bristles;
transverse veinlets fine, much interrupted; margins appressedly and finely spinulous.
Mah spadlx 0'«-lm. long, xiltradecompound, not flagelliferous, with many partial
inflorescences or primary branches, variously spreading or nodding, inserted inside
theii- own spathe and pedicellate; eacb branch also pedicellate and inserted inside
its own spathe, divided again into 6-10 secondary branchlets or compound spikes
which are 8-15 cm. long and bear distichously 2-5 recurved or scorpioid spikelcts and
decrease in length from the base of the branchlet towards its apex; the apical spikelet,
which is the continuation of the axis is much longer and larger than the side ones
and has larger spathels and flowers; primary spathes relatively short, tubular at the
base, enlarged and somewhat inflated upwards, with an auricuHform often longitudinally
spHt limb, half-decayed upwards where usually sharply defined from tho still living
basal portion by a transverse slightly prominent line; secondary spathes (spathes
of the compound spikes) short, broadly and asymmetrically infundibuliform, truncate,
with the poict somewhat decayed and split; side spikelots 2-6 cm. long, curved
or scorpioid, flattened, about 1 cm. broad (including the flowers), their spathels
very closely packed, shallow, nearly boat-shaped, prolonged on one side under
the flower into a broadly triangular acute point; involucre cupular, halfimmersed
in its own spathel and attached to its base, acutely two-keeled, deeply
emarginate and two-toothed on the side next to the axis, anticouely obliquely
truncate or more often split and apparently formed by two connate bracts.
Mah flowers slender, 5-5'5 mm. long ; calyx tubular, slightly angular from -
pressure, with three ratber acute finely striate lobes, ultimately cleft down to the
base; corolla a little longer than the calyx, deeply dii-ided into three linear-lanceolate
segments; stamens with filaments united to the base of the corolla, rather thick,
subulate with inflexed apex; aethers sagittate, acute; rudimentary ovary compuHod o£
three elongate subulate bodies. FamaU spadix short, erect, 40-59 cm. long, panicled,
not flagelliferous or appendiculate, with a flattened peduncular part, 20-3o cm. long,
closely sheathed -with short obliquely truncate spathes, unarmed or nearly so; partial
inflorescences few (3-4), each bearing subdiatichously or somewhat irregularly 6-6
spreading flexuose spikelots, 8-12 cm. long, inserted inside their own spathe and
pedicellate; spathels broadly and asymmetrically infundibuliform or obconic, occasionally
more or less split, prolonged on one side under the flowers into a triangular ultimately
decayed point; involuorophorum inserted inside its own spathel and shortly
pedicellate, spathaceous, unilaterally auriculiform, anticously split and opened, acutely
keeled on the side nest the axis; involucre included in the involncrophorum,
eubcupuliform, truncate, ultimately radiately split, the areola o£ the neuter flower
rertically lanceolate-ovate, acute and sharply bordered. Femab flutters elongate
conical, finely striate ; their calyx divided ahnost to the base into three ovatelanceolate
acute lobes; corolla very similar to the calyx and almost as long but
C. GRIMHIR" " ' i i BECCAJII. MOHOGEAPH OP THE amvs oiiAMUs. 149
with narrower segments; stamens as long as the corolla, with filaments highly
connate and forming a long campanulate m-ceolum which reaches and even surpasses
the middle of the corolla and is crownod with 6 triangular teeth; anthers broadly
sagittate ; stigmas thick, lamellose, recurved, NmUr Jlowm finely striately veined
externally, very similar to and about as long as the male ones (6 mm. long) but
a good deal thinner; the calyx at first tubular and shortly 3-toothed, then cleft
almost to the base into 3- lanceolate parts; the corolla slightly longer than the
calyx and divided down almost to the base into 3 linear-lanceolate acutc segments ;
stamens with the filaments subulate, united by their bases and shortly inflexed at
the apex, almost as long as the petals ; anthers linear, abortive, versatile ;
rudimentary ovary narrowly elongate, 3-dentate, slightly shorter than the stamens.
Fruitmj perimth not pedicolliform. Fniil ovate-oblong or subglobose-obovate, very
suddenly and conspicuously beaked or rostrate, 20-32 mm. long and 14-16 mm. in
diam. ; scales chestnut-brown, in 18-24 longitudinal series, narrowly channeUed along
the middle, dull and under a strong lens finely scabtidulous with slightly paler
finely erose margins and short obtuse poiut. Sued, when freed irom the dry (once
fleshy) coat, lenticular, 14-lo mm. long, 12-13 mm. wide, 7 mm. thick, somewhat
convex sinuately rugose and superficially pitted on the back, with a small, round,
shallow, ohalazal fovea in the centre of the flattish raphal face ; albumen equable;
embryo basilar.—All parts of the male and female spadix, including the flowers
and fruits, of a uniform brown chestnut colour when dry.
HABITAT.—The Malay Peninsula near Malacca {Qriffith: Eidlaj No. 843); near
Petak {SeortecMnt) ; at Lamt in open jungle on hilly rocky localities between 60
and 250 meties above the sea (King's ealleeior No. 3040 Herb. Hort. Calc.) ; in
Selangor ( m h y Nos. 3417 and 3478).
OnsEEVATiois.—1 have derived my description from Scortechini's
specimens and from the No. 3040 of the Calcutta Herbarium. In some of
Scortechini's specimens the spines on the petiole (probably of a leaf from a young
plant) are excessively long (7-lo cm.) and the lachis in the upper angle is not
spinulous. C. Gnjithiam differs from C. cmlmcm in its smaller dimensions, ascendent
stem, less densely and seriately armed leaf-sheaths, but chiefly in the petiole
which is nearly cylindric upwards, and in the leaflets with 3 nerves, which are
bristly underneath, while in C. ecutmm the mid-costa only bears bristles there
and the petiole is plano-convex in transverse section. The leaflets in C. Grijjiihvxms
are also distinctly disposed in large groups and probably in C. castanem are
equidistant, but of this last species I had not the opportunity of seeing an entire
leaf. The number of longitudinal series of the scales of the fruit Beems a very
vai'iable charactcr in this species as is also the more or less roundish shape of
the fruit.
Some specimens of a CaUmm from the western side of the Malayan Peninsula
sent to me by Mr. H. N. Eidley undoubtedly belong to C. anffitUmm; consequently
I suppose that the C. ».(«««a from Tahan woods quoted by that author
in his memoir on the "Flora of the Eastern Coast of the Malay Peninsula"