80 ANNALS OF THE EOTAL BOrAXIC GAEDEX, CALCUTTA, imbelHs.
swollen, depressed. Fruiting perianih not entirely explanate or with a veiy sliort base.
Fruit spherical, 18 mm. in diameter, mamniillate or with a very broad and short
blunt beak at its apes; scales not very deoply channelled, arranged in 15 longitudinal
series, not very shining, straw-yellow, with a narrow, scarious, finely eroselytoothed
margin and a very faint, narrow, intra marginal line ; tip obtuse. Seed
globular, very slightly asymmetrical but not ventricose on the raphal side; embryo
exactly basal, very near the hilum.
HABITAT.—The Malayan Peninsula. In very rich soil in the densest jungle at
about 100 m. elevation in the district of Perak, gathered by Sir George Eing''5
Collector (No, 7975 in Herb. Calcutt.) and by Father Scoriechmi, who in his notes
says that it is "more^like 'Sepal' than any other."
OBSERVATIONS.—It seems a very distinct species, but the material upon which it
is founded is very incomplete. Scortechini's specin:en consists of two portions of the
stem, carrying old, almost rotten fruit-spadices and leaves wanting their apices.
The Calcutta specimen bears a spadix with mature fruit, but without spathes.
The principal diagnostic characters of T). fseuio-nepil are the elongate leafsheaths,
more or less distinctly pluricostulate longitudinally; the very long, flattened,
suLplano-convex jDetioles ; the not very numerous and not very closely-set linear
leaflets ; the erect, small, shortly stalked, slightly branched and few-flowered spadices,
which are inserted near the mouth of the sheath: and the spherical fruit surmounted
by a very broad, very short, blunt mucro, and witli straw-yellow scales. D,
pseudo-sepal seems, at first sight, related to D. Sepal, but on the whole it is a quite
different plant,
PLATE 25.—Daemonoropa pseudo-sepal Beac. From Scortechini's No, in Herb-
Beccari; the fruit from No. 7975 in the Calcutta Herbarium.
22. DAEMONOEOPS iMBELLis Becc. in. Rec. Bot. Surv. Ind. ii, 220 • Ridley
Mat. Fl, Malay. Pen. ii, 179.
DESCRIPTION—/S-IEW . . . Leaf-sheaths . . , Leaves: the only one seen by me is not
cirriferous, probably being one from the lower part of the plant; petiole. ,; rachis
convex beneath, with an acute, salient angle and flat side faces above, wholly unarmed
on both surfaces. Lea/leis numerous, very reguliirly set, equidistant, 15-25
mm. apart, thinly papyraceous, rigidulous, green on both surfaces, subshining above
slightly paler beneath, linear-ensiform, very long, the largest 35-38 cm. in length
and uniformly of 15-17 mm. in width through the intermediate portion, beginning
to naiTow only from their upper third to a finely subulate, capillary and bristly
t i p ; distinctly 3-costulate above, where the mid-costa is bristly and the side costae
have longer bristles than the central, often with an additional secondary nerve on
each side interposed, also more or less bristly j the upper surface has thus 5 more
or less bristly nerves; on the lower surface the mid-costa alone is finely and closely
bristl y-spinulous ; transverse veinlets rather distinct, numerous and approximate ;
margins finely and appressedly spinulous. Male spadiz . . . . Female spadix nodding
when in fruit, stalked by a distinct pedicellar part 6 cm. long, slender (5 mm.
D. Soortechinii.'] BECCARI. THE SPECIES OF DAEHONOEOPS. 81
wide) flattened, prickly at the margins and cn the back; the entire length
of the spadix including the pedicellar part is 20 cm. ; the main axis is slender,
bearing very few partial inflorescences 'three in one specimen), each about 8 cm.
long with few (3-5) loose, very, few flowered spikelets; spathels bracteiform,
amplectent, produced at one side into a triangular, acute or acuminate tip;
involucrophorum short and thick, sub-obconical, expanded at its apex into an
asymmetric subcupular and unilaterally acuto limb, callous at its axilla; involucre
cupular, truncate, entire, almost entirely immersed in the involuci'ophorum; areola of
the neuter flower depressed, very conspicuously swollen. Fruiting perianth with the
calyx broadly obconical or subpedicelliform. Fruit large, ovoid-elliptical, very
suddenly crowned by a short and slender mucro, 3 cm. long, by 2 cm. across;
scales not very shining, in 1& longitudical series, uniformly tawny-brown, with
a sharp darker marginal line, deeply channelled along the centre and with a
triangular non-produced tip. Seed globular, slightly oblong or a little longer than
broad (18 mm. high, 15 mm. thick), slightly gibbous on one side, not very deeply
ruminate; embryo basal, slightly to one side.
HABITAT. —The Malayan Peninsula. Collected by Father Scortechini in the district
of Perak (Herb, beccari).
OBSEEVATIONS.—Scortechini's specimens consist of only a non-cirriferous leaf fprobably
a radical one^i wanting the petiolar part, and of one spadix with mature fruit. The
nodding or recurved spadix supported by a long and slender pedicellar part, and the
large ellipsoid fruit, would distinguish this at cnce from D. Sepal, if these characters
are not individual peculiarities. Indeed, in typical specimens of D. Sepal the
spadix is sometimf^s almost sessile, while in other instances it is 2-3 cm. in length;
the fruit of D. Sepal is smaller and tbe scales are in IS longitudinal series (in D.
%mhellis the series are 15),
PLATE 26.—Daemonorops imbellis Becc. The type-specimen in Herb. Beccari.
23, DAEMONOEOPS SCOETKCHISII Beco n, sp.
D. Sepal var. Becc. Rec, Bot. Surv. Ind. ii, 220.
DESCRIPTIONS,—-SIEM . . . Leaf-sheaths . . . Liavcs terminating in a
slender, rather long cirrus; petiole . , . . ; rachis ;in the terminal part
of one specimen) with a very acute smooth salient angle above, armed underneath
with binate and then 3-nate, very fine and sharp claws, which become
5-nat6 and half-wliorled on the cirrus, Leafiets numerous, equidistant, 15-18 mm.
apart, thinly papyraceous, green on both surfaces, linear or very narrowly linearlanceolate,
the largest—amongst those seen by me—22 cm, in length, 11 mm. in
width, being broadest about the middle and thence slightly narrowing towards the
base and gradually acuminate to a .subulate apex; the mid-costa and one slender
nerve on each side of it carrying delicate bristles; beneath the mid-costa only
sparingly bristly spiuulous; transverse veinlets sharp; margins finely and appressedly
spinulous. Mate spadix . . . Female spadix fusiform and shortly beaked, before
flowering its entire length is 20 cm. and it supported on a slender, prickly, 15-20
AMM, KOT. BOT. GABD. CALCUTTA VOL. X I I ,