174 ANNALS OP THE ROTAI. BOTANIC GARDEN, CALCUTTA. [G. radulosus
OBSERTATIONB.—My specimen No. 1921 is sterile. The Calcutta specimen does
not easentially differ from i t ; only the annular ribs or ridges of the leaf-sheaths
a r e a little mora prominent and bear here and there some rudimentary spines in
the shape of conical pungent warts; furthermore the leaflets are quite smooth in
the upper surface, and no hairs or spinules are visible on the mid-costa. It is
very closely allied to C. muricaius, but is more slender and delicate in everv part
and has the leaf-sheaths spineless or almost so.
PLATIJ 34.—Calamus zonatus Beeo. The Calcutta specimen with a male spadis
deyoid of flowers.
28. CALAMDS RADDLOSUS Beec., in Hook. f. FL. Brit. Ind. vi, 443, and in
Rec. Bot. Surv. Ind. it, 303.
DESCEIPTION.—High scandent, of moderate size. Sheathd s(em 2-5-3 em. in diam.
Leaf-sheaths obliquely truncate and naked at the mouth, very densely armed with
very short and broad (4-6 mm. long), sab-triangular, scattered spines, which are
obliquely inserted and ascendent (never deflesed), conspicuously swollen above and
flat beneath. Leaf-sheath flagelln as long as the leaves. Leaves rather large, 1-2-I-5
m. long; petiole obsolete ; rachis bifaced above, armed below with black-tipped
always solitary claws, which are numerous and pluriseriate lower down and on
a single line in the upper portion j leaflets numerous, equidistant, rather closely set
(2-3 cm. apart), papyraceous, green, glabrous, rather shining and almost of the same
colour on both surfaces, under the lens finely longitudinally striately veined on the
lower one, ensiform, finely acuminate at the apex, gradually narrowing at the base^,
furnished with 3 acute but not very strong cost« and with another faint secondary
nerve near the margin, the mid-costa alone sometimes bristly, the 3 costse rather
closely bristly beneath towards the apex, but fainter than above ; transverse
Teinlets very sharp, much interrupted; margins apparently naked, but under the
lens very adpressedly, minutely and remotely spinulous ; the largest leaflets, the mesial,
45 cm. long and 25 mm. broad at most, the lowermost a good deal narrower than
the mesial, the upper gradually decreasing in length and breadth; the two of
the terminal pair the smallest, 13-15 cm. long and 8-12 mm. broad, shortly
connate at the base. Male spadiz ultradecompound. Female ipadix very long
(3'5-4*5 m., Scortechini) and robust, with many remote partial inflorescences, subflagelliform
at the apex and terminating in a slender, tail-like, unsheathed appendix
about 20 cm. long; primaiy spathes very elongate, closely sheathing, thinly
coriaceous; the basal one about 50 cm. long, somewhat flattened, about 15 mm.
broad, acutely two-edged, obliquely truncate at the mouth, ai'med, mainly on the
outer side, with small scattered hooked spines; the upper spathes cylindraceous, often
split longitudinally in the upper part, where usually decayed and falling to pieces,
but not fibrous, aculeate throughout, but not scabrid; unsheathed axial portions of
the spadix, between two partial inflorescences, elongate, flat on the inner and convex
on the outer side where armed with small scattered claws j partial infloresccnces
very long, the lowest as much as 1 m., the uppermost 30 cm. in length, bearing
distichously many (10-15 en each side) spikelots ; secondary spathes tubularinfundibuliform,
somewhat enlarged above, where later usually split longitudinally
on the inner side, obliquely truncate, scarious and lacerated at the mouth, apiculate
G. rugosus] BECCARI. MONOGRAPH OF THE GENTTS CALAMUS. 175
at one side, strongly scabrid throughout and occasionally more or less aculeolate;
spikelets vermicular, inserted just above the mouth of their own spathe, arched
and deflexed, the largest, the lowest of each inflorescence, 8-9 cm. long with 20-23
distichous flowers on each side, tlie upper shorter and with fewer flowers; spathels
short, bracteiform, concave or broadly boat-shaped, strongly striately veined, apiculnt©
at one side, very scabrid-papillose; involucrophorum shallow, subcupular, almost
exserted from its own spathel and attached to the base of the one above; involucre
more or less asymetrically cupular, scarious at the margin ; areola of the neuter
flower large, ovate, with acute scarious borders. female flowers closely packed,
small (about 3 mm. long). Fruiting perianth explanate (not pcdicelliform); the
calyx deeply striately veined, broadly 3-lobate; the corolla with lanceolate segments,
smooth outside, one-third longer than the calyx. Fruit (when still very young) very
small, pisiform, globose, rather long-beaked; scales not channelled along the middle,
yellowish-brown with a reddish line across the base of the scarious lacerated tip.
HABITAT.—Malayan Peninsula; Perak {Scortechini No. 468" in Herb. Beec.);
Goping {King's Collector No. 8171 in Herb. Calc.)—Malay name 'Rotang Kikier.'
OBSERVATIONS.—A very distinct species, remarkable for the armature of the
sheaths and the scabridity of the secondary spathes, spathels and involucres,
sharing, however, this last peculiarity with G. rmidus and C. saahridulus. It differs
from both in the leaves with the leaflets gradually decreasing in length from
the middle towards the apex, the two apical leaflets being the shortest and the
narrowest. It difEers besides from C. ruvidus in its long spadices with very long
partial inflorescences. The female spadix of C. radulosus seems very much the same
as that of C. scabridulus, but in this the partial inflorescences and the spikelets are
much more slender. Amongst Seortechini's specimens of C. radulosus there is a male
spadix with very young flowers. It does not differ from the female one, and bears
a partial inflorescence (the lowest) 1'2 m. in length, with many very long compound
spikes on each side, which again bear distichously) many simple spikelets;
t h e apex of the inflorescence bears only simple spikelets; the secondary spathes,
the spathels and the involucres are scabrid as in the female spadix. The fruit
has been described from No. 8171 of the Calcutta Herbarium.
PLATE 35.—Calamus radulosus Becc. Part of the sheathed stem with the base
of two leaves and the basal portion of a spadix; an entire partial female
inflorescence ; the apex of a leaf seen from the lower surface; two detached leaflets
with a portion of the rachis, seen from the under surface and taken from near the
base of the leaf.—From Seortechini's specimen No. 468*" in Herb. Beccari.
Hook. : Fl . Brit. Ind. vi, 443, and in Re c .
ii, 203.
29. CALAMUS KDGOSUS Becc. ii
Bot. Surv. of Ind.
DESCRIPTION.—Very slender, scandent. Sheathed stem 8-10 mm. in diam. Leafsheaths
flageiliferous, gibbous above, obliquely truncate at the mouth, armed with
confluent, sub-whorled, triangular, short (4-5 mm. long at most), laminar, sub-horizontal
(not deflexed) spines, and further ornamented with many small, more or less
interrupted annular ridges or wrinkles, which are fringed on the crest with very
small confluent spinules. Ocrea inconspicuous. Leaves about 70 cm. long; petiole