100 ANNALS OP THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN, OALCUxrA. cnStatUS
76. DAEMOSOROPS CRISTATOS Becc. nello Foreste di. Borneo, 60S, aud in Rec
Bot. SUIT. Ind. ii, 228,
D. dwersispimis Becc. in Kec. 1. c. 2^9 (only as to the s p a d i s ).
DEscfiipiios.—Scandent, rather slender. Skeaihed stem 1 3 - U mm. in dism Leaf
shcatkB rusty-brown furiuruceoua, not or very slightly gibbous above, very unequally
and i r r e g u l a r l y a r m . d , especiaUy on their lower and dorsal part, with rather
large, very thnily lamin;ir, dt^flexed, scattered spines, ami with soveral short series
of very small, crinilorm, black, asoeudont spiculae; near their aiouths and also
at the base of the petiole, on the snticous aspect, the spines grow thicker and
longer, and more slender, sometiuies criniform, point in opposite directions, up and
down, and are united by their basea so as to form a few membranous crests
which occasionally give shelter to colonies of ants. Lcauos elongate, about I IQ.'
l o n g in the pinniferous part, and terminating in a slender clawed cirrus; per.iole
about 25 cm. long, glabrous, polished, piano-coaves near the base, slightly biconvex
i n its upper part, the edges acute, and armed uear the base on the upper surface
w i t h long (up to 4 - 5 cm.) very thinly laminar, narrow, subulate, straight, rather
d e n s e l y set spines, and on the intermediate portion witu shoi't prickles the
uppermost portion being unarmed; underneath, the petiole is smooth or has
o n l y a few prickles near the base where it is armed with a line of long straight
approximate spines and small remote claws higher up; the rachia in °iis lower
p o r t i o n is convex above, and has a narrow and deep groove on each side for the
i n s e r t i o n of the leaflets; in the intermediate portion it is armed underneath
along the centre, with small solitary claws, which become teruate only towards
t h e upper end and on the cirrus; on the upper surface the rachis is smooth and
has an acute salient angle and flat side-faces; leaflets numerous, equidistant
2 - 3 cm. apart, broadly linear-lanceolate or linew-eusifonn, 37—'¿8 em. loni? and
1 3 - 1 5 mm. in width, broadest about the middle, aod theuee tape.Ting ahuost e q u a l ij
towards both ends, or gradually acuminate to a filamentous and bristly tip, ajid to
a n acute base, green on both surfaces, but paler beneath; on the upper surface
t h e mid-oosta is v e r y slender and glabrous, slightly decurreut at its base along the
salient angle of the r a c h i s ; there is also one slender secondary nerve on each
side of the mid-eosta which ia occasionally furnished with a few black bristles
but otherwise is quite smooth; underneath, the leaflets are densely bristlysprnnlouB
on o neiTes, but more closely on the mid-eosta; transrerse veinlets
Tuimerous, translucent and sharp on both s u r f a c e s ; margins not very appressedly yet
closely ciliate-spinulous. JUale s^adix before flowering erect, slender, cylindraceous
as thick as a man's little finger, acuminate; primary spathes about 6, thinly
papyraceous, exsoccous, brown and dull on both surfaces, all quite unarmed, glabrous,
finely striately veined externally, linear-lanceolate, acuminate, tubular ' before
t h e anthesis, but soon split l o n g i t u d i n a l l y on the ventral side; the outermost rather
a c u t e l y two-keeled, 25 cm. long; the inner spathes do not protrude much beyond
each other and are acutely keeled at the a p e i ; the flowering panicle is strict
c u p i e s s i f o r m , has about six partial inflorescences, is about 40 cm. lono- and is
s u p p o r t e d by a flattened podimculat part about 20 cm. long, 7 - 9 mm. broad, with
v e r y acute edges that bear a few flabby spiculae; the partial inflorescencL are
D. cristatus] BEGCAEI. THE SiJiCIlS OF DAE.MOKOEOPS.
covered by an abundant r u s t y - f u r f u r a e e o u s down, are flattened, oppressed to the main
axis, ovate in outline and divided into several gradually diminishing b r a n c h l e t s ; of
theso the lowest carry disticlially 5 - 6 s p i k d e t s on each side; secondary spathes very
small, embracing, produced at one side into a small, elongate, triangular, acute p o i n t;
t h e »pikelets are flat, 15-20 mm. long, 6-7 mm. broad, have (8-13j quilo flatly
bifarious, contignons flcwers on each side, their azes strongly and closely zig-zag
sinuous at each flesuro ; spathels extended at one side into a broad, triangular point,
which snbtonds the flower; involucre orbicular, shallowly cupular, entire, shorter than
i t s spatliel. Mak fiowers ovoid, obtuse, 5-5 mm. l o n g ; the calyx campanulate, slightly
3 - t o o l h e d , finely striately-veined. FemaU sfudix has a rather diffuse, ovate panicle
{30 cm. long in one specimen) borne by a very long (50 cm.) peduncular p a r t ; tlie
outermost spathe is long, persistent, narrowly lanceolate, 25 cm. long, 2-5 cm. broad,
smootli, except for a very few inconspicuous bristly spinules on the keels ; its peduncular
part IS fl.atteDed, plano-convex and has sharp, almost narrowly-winged edges;
It IS 8 mm. broad at the upper end and narrows slightly towards the base, wliere the
edges are armed with a few long, very slei.der spines; the axial parts are more or
less fugaciously rusty-fur-furaoeous; tho main a j i s is very rigid and straight, acutely
a n g u l a r and has four partial inflorescences; these are erect, 10-15 cm. long, approssed
to the main axis and have a very few (4-5) loose, spreading, long spikelets;
secondary spathes biacteiform v;ith a very short annular part and extended at
one side into a sn.all, triangular, finely subulate, embracing limb; the axes of
t h e inflorescences are slender (not thicker than those of the spikelets) angular
s l i g h t l y sinuous, spikelets elongate; slender, 8-10 cm. long, and with 4-6 bifarion^
ascendent flowers on each side ; spathels t h i n l y membranous with a very short tubular
p a r t , extended at one side into a triangular, very finely acuminate hmb; involucrepborum
erecto-patent, callous at ils axilla, pedicelliform, angular, 2-4 mm. long
v e r y obliquely extended at one side into an ovate very obtuse limb • involucre
v e r y shallowly concave or pa.eriform, very obliquely subtended by the involucrophornm,
produced externally into a sub-pedicelliform and callous stalk, upon which
rests the neuter flower. F,„h Jlcmr, 6 mm. long; the calyx campanulate,
b r o a d l y 3-loothed, finely striatoly-veined, membranous, with a callous base- the
corolla not quite twice a. long as tho c a l y x ; the segments rather broadly t r i a n g u l a r,
bluntish. F„„i>v, fmianth obconical. Fruit, while still young, ovoid with a conic
acute tip; scales arranged in 18 longitudinal series.
HABiiiT.—Borneo; on Mount Mattang near Knching in Sarawak (P. B.
No. 1935, male plant). Collected also by Lobb, probably also in Sarawak (female
plant in Herb. Calcutt.). Malayan name in Sarawak, " E o t a n g T a t a d a n ."
Recently it has been found again in Sarawak
flower (Herb. Kew.).
Hmiit with male spadices
OnsuilTATioKS.-It is a very peculiar species, easily distinguishable by its quite
unarmed, narrow, membranous spathes, and by the extraordinarily oblique position
of the involucre, which is laterally prolonged into a distinct callous pedicel for the
support of the neuter flower.