6 6 ANNAIS OF THE EOYAL BOTANIC GAKDEN, CALCUTTA. [/). FISSUS
ensiform, papyraceous, thin but rather rigid, green on both surfaces, slightly paler beneath,
very slightly narrowing towards a not rery acute base, broadest 5-8 cm. above
the base, and thence very gradually acuminate to a very fine subulate tip; the
mid-costa and one, and sometimes two, more or less distinct nerves on each side of
it bristly on the upper surface; on the lower the mid-costa alone rather closely and
appressedly spinulous ; margins rather closely and appressedly spinulous ; the largest
leaflets, those a little above the base, 40 cm. long, 18-20 mm. broad. Male
spadiz . . . Female spadiz erect, sessile or nearly so, strongly spinous at its base,
ventricose-fusiform before flowering and rather suddenly narrowing into a beak about as
long as the body, 50-55 cm. long, including the beak, with 5-6 very approximate,
partial inflorescences ; outer spathe deeply cyuibiforin, rather distinctly two.keeled,
almost entirely covered with a blackish crustaceous indumentum and armed all over
with flat, rigid, rather broad, 1-2 cm. long, blackish, spreading, scattered or somewhat
confluent spines ; the second spathe spinous only near its apes, the others unarmed ;
axial parts of the spadix fugaciously sparingly rusty-furfuraceous ; partial inflorescences
8-9 cm. long, with 8-10 spikeleta ia all ; the largest of these, the lower
ones, 3-4 cm. long, bearing 4-5 flowers on each side and with the internodes
between two flowers very short ; spathes bracteiform, amplectent, extended at one side
into a broadly triangular acute limb ; involucrophorum slightly protruding beyond the
spathes, short, obconical, angular, slightly callous at its asilla and expanded at its apex
into an oblique shaîlowly subcupular limb which is extended externally into a
triangular acute point, the latter about as long as or exceeding the margin of the
involucre; involucre exactly cupular, truncate, entire, almost wholly immersed in the
involucrophorum ; areola of the neuter flower flat, slightly callous only at its base
which is immersed in the involucrophorum. Female flowers not very broadly ovate,
7 mm. long, acuminate ; the calyx cupular, truncate, with three superficial obtuse teeth,
not very conspicuously striately veined ; the corolla about twice as long as the calyx,
its segments lanceolate, narrow in their upper part and acute ; neuter flowers slender,
linear, 6-7 mm. long, 2 mm. thick, often curved, asymmetric, obsoletely trigonous
Or flattened by pressure; their calyx with three very short teeth, the corolla twice
8.S long as the calyx or even longer. Fruiting perianth explanate. Fruit globose, slightly
ovoid, rather disfinctly conically beaked (at least when not quite mature),
13-14 mm. in diameter; scales in 18 longitudinal series, distinctly but not very deeply
channelled along the centre, of a rather uniform cinnamon-brown or rusty-ochraceous
colour with a rather broad, darker marginal line, tip obtuse.
HABITAT,—On the River Dusson in South Borneo {Eorthals, fide Miquel),
and collected probably in the same region by SenvM (fide Blume}. In the Kew
Herbarium there is a specimen collected by Low, on which is given to it the Malay
name of "Rotang Sambirangan," but the exact locality is not stated. Teijsmann
(Z.c,) gives the name " Latong bulu."
OBSERVATIONS.—D. fims has been established by Blume on the fruit-spadix of a
Daemonorops collected by Henrici in Borneo and the leaves of Calamus Seipionum,
as I have been able to ascertain after inspection of the type-specimen. 1
have described the same fruits figured by Blume which, however, are not mature
enough for a study of the seed. My description of the plant is derived chiefly from
D. Bmnendijkii:] BECCASI. THE SPECIES OP DAEMONOEOPS, 67
some fine specimens with female spadices, sent to me by Dr. Treub, from plants
cultivated in the Botanical 'Gardens at Buitenzorg. Some of the spadices of these
specimens have the spathes wholly closed and entirely enveloping the flowering axis;'
noverthdless they curiously show amongst the flowers where the ovary does rot
project above the apex of the corolla, many other flowers with the ovary considerably
increased in bulk, twice as long as the perianth, ovoid, 6-7 mm. in
diameter, conically beaked and with the stigmas af,first connivent. As soon, however,
as the spathes split, the stigmas, which are linear-subulate and lamellose inside,
spread. Apparently only those last ovaries enlarged inside the unopened spathes
come, to perfection.
D. fissiis is easily distinguishable from the allied forms by its distinctly
conically-beaked fruit with uniformly cinnamon-brown scales; and by the involucre
of the female flower, which is almost entirely immersed in the involucrophorum,
flat on the side of the neuter flower, the areola of which is rather
sharply bordered, as in many Calami, and having the scar of the insertion
of the flower quite at its base, embraced by the involucrophorum, and only there
slightly callous. The neuter flowers are also more elongate than in the other
species of the group of D. melanoohacies.
PLATE 15.—
(Herb. Beccari).
ie. From a plant cultivated at Buitonzorg
DAEMOSOBOPS Pissus var. CIF^SAMOMEUS Becc. in Rec. Bot. Surv. lad. ii, 219.
DESCJEIPTION.—It differs from the type only in having the leaflets shorter, linearlanceolate,
30 cm. long at most and 15 mm. in width, and in the outer spathe
being almost without spines in its basal portion on the back.
HABITAT.—Cultivated in the Botanic Garden at Buitenzorg as introduced from
Borneo.
PLATE IC. Daemonorops fissus var. cinnamomeus. From a plant cultivated at
Buitenzorg (Herb. Beccari).
15. DAEMONOROPS BtsNSNDUKn Becc. sp. n.
D. marginatm (not of Mart.) Teijsm. et Binn. Cat. Hort. Bog. 881 (name
only).
DESCRIPTION.—Scandent, of moderate size. Sheathed stem 2-3 cm. in diameter. Leafsheaths
densely armed with thick, laminar, rather broad, very unequal, long and
short, blackish, usually obliquely inserted, scattered, elongate-triangular spines; near
the mouth the spines are very numerous, erect and as much as 4-5 cm. long. Leaves
about l'5-l'8m. long in the pinniferous part; petiole 20-30 cm. long, about 1
cm. broad, flattish on the upper surface, rounded on the lower, sprinkled on both
surfaces, but especially on the upper, with small tuborculifonn prickles and more or
less armed on the margins with not very robust, straight spines; the rachis on
its upper surface is sparsely spinulous in the lower portion, but higher up the
ANS. EOT. BOT. GABD. CALCUTTA YOL. X I I.