54 ANiSiLS OF THE KOTAL BOTANIC QABDEH, CALCUTTA. PierreOnUS.
and closely ciliate. Spadices erect, subsessile, broadly fuaiforQi and shortly beaked
M o r e flowej-ing; outer spathe densely armed with long, very slender, flexible, brittle,
often eriniform spines; second and third spathe also more or less armed; the beak less
than half the entire length of the body. Fruit spadix with internodea not swollen at
the junctures; secondary spatbes with a very short, not acuminate limb; iuvolucrophorum
very short and thick, about as long as its corresponding spathel ; involucre almost
completely immersed in the involuerophorum ; areola of the neuter flower deprossed>
slightly tumescent. Fruit spherical, 18-20 mm. in diameter, with 18 narrow coatiuuous
longitudinal furrows. Seed globular, sliglitly longer than thick.
The leaflets gradually narrowing to a rather acute bnse easily distinguish
Sckmidtianvs from D. Pierrcanus of Cochin-China and L). Margariiae of Hong-Kong,
which, have narrow leaflets with margins parallel from a little above the base, and
the blade suddenly doubled backward at their inseition.
I t seems related to D. Jenkinsianus and D. melanochaetes, but distinguishable from
from the other forms of the group, by its comparatively shortly beaked
PLATE 7.—Daemonorops Sehmidtianus Becc.
Large male spadix, fruit-spadix and portion of a leaf with 3 leaflets (from
No. 515, Danish Siam Expedition). Portion of a cirriferous leaf, a spadix showing its
second spathe the first wanting, very small female spadix (from No. 624', Danish
ijiam Expedition.)
'7. DAEMONOROPS PIEBREANUS Becc. in Rec. Bot. Surv. Ind. ii, 220.
DEsCRlFfiON.—Scandent ? Stem . . . Leaves . . . Fruit-spadix 20-30 cm.
long, rigid, panicled thyrsoid, glabrous ("when bearing mature fruit"» on its axial parts,
•with 4-5 strict partial inflorescences ; the internodes 3-4 cm. long, rigid and thick,
«omewhat swollen in their lower part; partial inflorescences 8-10 cm. long, carrying
ahout 10 spikelets; third spathe braceiform, aaiplectent, extended at one side irjto
a broadly triangular acute limb ; spikelets 3-6 cm. long, the lower ones, the
largest, with 3—7 distichous, rather remote flowers on each side ; their axis
strongly zig-zag sinuous, glabrous, rather thick and more or less angular ; spathels
very short, with an annular truncate limb extended at one side into a very short
triangular acute point ; involuerophorum distinctly pedicelliform and comparatively
elongate -^-5 mm. in length), obsoletely angular, sub-oboonic, slightly callous at its
axilla, with an obliquely and shallowly cupular and unilaterally acute limb, much
longer than its own spathel ; involucre slightly exceeding the involuerophorum, not
very deeply cupular, truncate, entire or very obsoletely 3-denticulate ; areola of the
neuter flower very distinct, with a strongly swollen, semi-circular ujjper margin.
Neuter flowers 5 mm. long, sleader; the calyx cylindrical, superficially 3-toothed;
the corolla twice as long as the calyx. Fruiting perianth explanate. Fruit spherical,
16-17 mm. in diameter, tipped by a rather thick mucro ; scales in 18 series, finely
channelled along the centre, brown, yellowish or of a light cinnamon-brown
or hazel-nut colour, rather glossy, with a slightly dai'ker, sometimes obliterate intramarginal
line and a light, distinctly erosely-ciliate margin, the apex subacute.
Bometimes darkish. Seed globular, slightly broader than long or sub-reniform,, and
also very slightly laterally compressed; albumen deeply ruminated; embryo basal.
D. Pierreams.'] BECCART. THE SPECIES OF DABMONOEOPS, 55
HABITAT.—Lower Cochin-China {Pierre), Native name " L e X o m ."
OBSERVATIONS.—Under the same No. 4859 M. L. Pierre has given to me two
sheets of the Daemonorops which was described by me as D. Pierreanus (I. c.).
On examining again these specimens, it seems to me possible that they may be
parts of two different species. The label on one. sheet is as follows:—"No. 4859.
Truncus erectus I 15—20 m. diam. {sic). , Folia ultra 2 metr. longa. Fructus
edulis. Kmer: Le Xom. Habitat in montibus Kuang Repen, Prov. Ipong.
Cambodgia; alt. 600 metr. Coll. L. P.-5-1870." The other sheet has on the label:—
" Hab. ad Toikuyen in prov. Bieu hoa, austro Cochin-Chinae. Coll. L. P.-1.1873,"^
Evidently No. 4859 of Pierre's Herbarium is composed o£ specimens of two different
collectings. Therefore to avoid confusion I have based the species only on
the fruiting spadix which is on the same sheet with a portion of a non-cirriferous
leaf (hereafter described) aud which bears the first-mentioned label with the
note " truncus erectus." This spadix however seems to me to belong to a scandent
species, while the leaf may equally well be that of an erect or of a climbing plant.
Therefore it is possible that und'ir No. 4859 of Pierre may be mingled portions of
two species of which one is scandent and the other erect ; ur perhaps these portions
belong to one species, but were collected at different stages of development.
A fruiting spadix preserved in the Paris Herbarium and labelled: " No. 929, Cochin
Chine—M. le. Dr. TLorol, 1862—1866," apparently belongs to D. Pierreanus, or to a.
closely allied species, and differs from the type specimens in the fruit, which has thescales
almost dull-looking and more strongly and narrowly sulcate, and in the spadix,.
which is more elongate with tho basilar internodes very long and the others'not
swollen at the base. Another specimen from Dr. Tborel bearing al^o the No. 929, has
an unopened spadix, which is almost sessile, elongate-fusiform, 50 cm. long, gradually
narrowing into a rather long beak that measures about one-third of the wholelength
of th« spadix; the outer spathe is armed with rather broadly laminar, subulate,
scattered spines. The leaf, which is united to the fruit-epadix described above, is
not cirriferous and is certainly a radical one; the petiole is elongate, subterete, armed
lower down with laminar, acicular, confluent, seriate and comb-like spines, which become
solitary and scattered upwards; nichis in the intermediate portion convex and smooth
on the lower surface, and with a salient acuta and smooth angle and two flat side
faces on the upper; leaflets numerous, equidistant, about 3 cm. apart, linear-ensiform,
slightly narrowing towards the base, where suddenly backwardly plicate, gradually
and subulately acuminate to a bristly tip, sub-concolorjus on both surfaces j the
upper surface almost glossy with the mid-costa sparsely bristly towards the apex ;
•the secondary nerves slender, one on each side of tlie mid-costa furnished with
long spadiceous bristles about I cm. long; underneath the superficial mid-costa
bears only a fow bristles near its apex; the margins deciduously bristly-ciliate •
transverse voinlets very slender, not very approximate.
From what I can judge by the fragmentary specimens at my disposal, D.
Pierreanus is related more to D. Jenkinsianus than to any other species, and appears
to be very variable or if it be not, then two or three closely related
species
are growing in Cochin-Cbina.
PLATE S.Daemonorops Pierreanus Becc. Portion of tbe leaf and spadix witb 4
fruits on the left hand side of the plate (from Pierre's No. 4859 in Herb. Beocari)