63 OF THE HORAI BOTANIC GABDKN, CALCUTTA [Z?. hygrophHus.
confluent spreading spines, which cover also a good part of the beak ; second spathe
armed almost to the apex of its beak with straight, long, erect, slender spines;
8j)ikelets of the lower part of the branchlets about 3 cm. long, with about six
flowers on each side ; spathels bracttiform, conoare, rather lar^e, acute, subtending
tlie involucre ; tlio latter eupular, rather deep, shortly bidentate and obsoletely
two-keeled posticously. Male flowers oblong, 5-6 mm. long. The corolla twice
as long as the calyx.
HABITAT.—First discovered by GriffiWs collector at Malacca. Found again by
H. N. Ridley/ in 1900 on Bakit Soga in the State of Johore, No. 11209.
OBSERVATIONS.—Of D. malaccmsis I had not seen an authentic specimen, anJ
therefore it remained to me u rather doubtful species. Recently, iiowever, I have
xecDgnized it in Ridley's specimen above mentioned, which agrees perfectly
with the quoted plate of GrrifSih's work. The spadices represented in that plate
want the outermost spathe, but the acutely trigonous leaf-rachis with very approximate,
equidistant and relatively broad and large leaflets are very characteriatic
The rather numerous, erect, long spines, which cover the beak, even of the second
spathe, form a good character. It approaches IK grandia.
PiiiTii 12.—Daemonorops malsiccensis Mart. From Ridley's No. 11205 in ilcrb.
Berol.
12. DAEMONOROPS EYGEOPHILUS Mart, Hist. Nat. I'alm, iii, 204 (2nd edit.)
ana -m, pi. 177, -f. II and pi. Z VIII. f. VII—XII ; Walp.
Ann. iii, 476 and v, 8^7 ; Miq. Fi. Ind. Bat. iii, 90 ; Hook. f.
Fl. Brit. Ind. vi, 464.
Calamus lujgrophms Griff. Palms biit. India, 96, pi. COXIIl, 0. ; H. Wendl.
ill Keici). Palm., 236.
DESCEIPTIOK.—Scaiideiit (ascending, 8aortechini), robusi. Sheathed stem 4 cm. in
dinnieter. Leafsheuths strongly gibbous above, covered (when young) with a thin, brown
violaceous iudumenium and armed with unequal, flat, laminar, elongate-triangular
or comparatively short and broad [0-20 mm, in length and 4-5 mm. broad
at thii base") , deflexed or obEquely inserted, solitary, yet more or less distinctly
seriate spines ; in the newly exposed sheaths the spines leave on the tomentura
an impression of their outline, which disappears later. Leaves rather large,
2 - 2 ' o m. long in the piimiferous part ; petiole rather short (about 20 cm. long in
two leaves), 2 cm. broad, flatti^h and smooth on upper surface, convex on lower
where sparsely armed, as the first portion of the racliis, along the centre lino and at
the sides with solitary, rather robust, straight prickles; the margins acute, not or
very slightly prickly ; OQ the lower surface of the rachis the prickles soon change into
chiws which at first are solitary, then geminate or ternate and near the apex as
on the cirrus, half-whorled ; on the upper surface the rachis is smooth throughout, at
first convex and with an obtuse, salient augl« which becomes very acute with two
flat or slightly concave side faces upwards ; the cirrus is a good deal shorter than
•the pinniferous part (in two leaves). Lenflets very numerous, very close]y set,
equidistant, papyraceous, rather rigid, green on botii surface.s, narrowly linear,
f.'radually acuminate to a fiue, subulate, not bristly or at most slightly spinulous tip,
shortly and rather saddenly narrowed towards the base, where distinctly retroplicate ;
the mid-costa slender but very sharp, furnisiied as well as one costula on each side
0. hygrop/iilus.} BECCAII. THE SPECOES OP BAIMOSOBOPS. E,?
of it with long light bristles on the upper surface ; undorneath the mid-oosta
only sparsely and minutely ciliolate ; secondary nerves rather distinct on both
surfaces ; the margins apparently smooth, but under a lens very minutely and appressedly
spinulous; the intermediate leaflets 30-35 em. long, 15-17 mm. broad.
Mai, Sfaiix before flowering fusiform as usual, but not very ventricoae, axillary
in appcaranco only, erect and subsessile, with a smooth unarmed psendo-pedicellar
part, which is adnate to the shealh and decurrent along i t ; outer spathe very
firm, 30-60 cm. long, fusiform-cymbifoim, very gradually attenuate into the beak,
acutely two-keeled especially at the base, armed with laminar but rather thick
elongate-triangular, soHtary, scattered, black-tipped spines, which have a rather
-swollen and light biise and are horizontal or slightly reve.scd, but never poiut in
different directions; the beak is about a,, long us the body; second spathe unarmed, thinly
coriaceous; flowering axis densely oupressiferm, IT en,, long (in one S|.ecii»e,I) and
with SIX or seven very approximate partial inflorescences of which the axial parts are
densely covered with a pulvoruleut aucl rusty indumentum, with many small
asperities beneath; spikelots very short and few-flowcred, the largest (the lower ones)
2 cm, long, with 4-5 flowers on each side; their axis strongly zig-zag sinuous auti
distinctly scabrid when freed from the indumentum ; .spathels bracteiform, amplectent
son,ewhat extended externally into a circular limb; involucre eupular, truncate, with
two small, often bristly teeth, often scabrid at the base when divested of the rusty
indumentum by which it is covered. Jiate / . » « r s oblong, obtuse, obsoletoly trigonus
or somewhat flattened by mutual pressure, 5-6 mm. long, 2 mm. thick; the calyx
campanulate, not deeply 3-toothed, each tooth with a small tuft of rusty hairs at
its apex, strongly striately veined; the corolla usually a little more than twice as
long as the calyx. Female spaâir . . , Fridl.
HABITAT.—The Malayan Peninsula. Sent to Griffith from Malacca by K
Fenandes xmdei the name " Rotang Ayer" ( " A y e r " is water in Malay). Founii
again in the district of Perak by Faiher 8aovteehini.
OBSSBVATIOHS.—I have seen of this two good specimens with male spadice.s,
collected by Scortechini, who in his notes declares this to be "ascending;" perhaps
it is not so high scandent as other species, as the leaf cirri are not very long
though regularly armed with rather approximate half-whorls of black-tipped ' rather
strong claws. tlcortechini describes the male flowers as having the "filaments of
the stamens dilated at the base, with the anthers pondulous during the anthesis
as in grasses, and with a very small rudimentary ovary, 3-lobed at the apex.
I t is ratlier easy to distinguish this species from the allied species by the leafsheaths,
which are covered with broad, short, scattered spines; by its very numerous,
closely-set, equidistant, narrow leaflets, which are bristly on three nerves above and
sparsely ciliate on the mid-costa beneath, suddenly narrowing at the base and with
an acuminate not bristly tip; by the outer spathe armed with flat, shoit and broad
scattered spines, which have a rather swollen light base; further the axial pan
of the male spikelets is more distinctly scabrid, when divested of the dense, lusty
indumentum, than in other