108 ANNALS OF THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEM, CALCUTTA. [/J, DRACONCEHUS.
Bogor.). Of this I have seen two entire spaclieea with (juite mature f r u i t s ; the pftnicle
i s 40-45 cm. long, and is borne on a rather sleuder peduQCular pari; (15-20 cm.
long), armed all round with contluent spines; the partial inflorescences (4 in number)
a r e short, aud bear a few spreading, very tliick, few-flowered spikelots, exactly like those
described under D. propinqtm. Tlie f r u i t , however, is in no way pyriform, but regularly
ovoid, and diminishes equally, but slightly, towards both ends, is obsoletoly beaked or
mammillate at the apex, very densely covered with red :
long, 20 ;
broad. The seed is broadly ovoid, 17 mm. long, and U
almost equally convex on both surfaces, obtuse at the apex
middle upwards; therefore, in a longitudinal section pi
oblong in outline; the chalazal £<
c e n t r e of the albumen; the f u r r ow c
im. broad, slightly flattened,
lud not lessening f r om the
ig through the raphe it is
central, pifc-like, and penetrates to the
t h e side of t h e raphe is ei'.her very superficial, or
almost obsolete; albumen bony, ruminated by narrow and deep black channels. This
Daemonorops is certainly very closely related t o the t r u e D. Draco from Palembang, but its
f r u i t is perhaps more regularly ovoid, and the pedaucalar part is prickly all round, and
not only on the margins. Prom D. propinquut it differs still more by the form of t he
f r u i t , and especially by the seed, which in D. propinqms is conoidal in longitudina
section, and has the chalazal fovea rather superficial, and in the shape of a fissure.
DAEMOSOSOPS DRACOSCELLÜR BOCC. Nelle Foreste di Bo:
and in Eec. Bot. Surv. I n d . iii, 224.
3 2 i , 590, 608,
DESCRIPTION.—High scandent. Sheathed stm about 2 cm. in diameter. Leaf-shcaths
gibbous above, covered more or less permanently with an adherent tobacco-coloured
scurf, armed all over and also at the base of the petiole, except round the mouth,
•with many interrupted series of small, very fine, blackish, shining, confluent, erect,
acicular and subsetiform spiculae, 5-10 mm. long at most; the mouth is obliquely
t r u n c a t e , and hispid on the margin. Leaves about 1 m. long in the pinniferous part,
t e r m i n a t i n g in a rather long, slender, finely clawed cirrus; the petiole is elongate,
about 50 em. long, 1 cm. broad, biconvex, and rather strongly flattened, especially
at the base, armed all over on its upper surface and on the sides with short ascendent
o f t e n divergent prickles, much less prickly, or almost smooth, on the under surface ;
t h e rachis, in its basal portion, is convex above with a narrow groove on each
side for the inserción of the leaflets, it is bifaced, and witii an acute spinous salient
angle higher up; underneath it is armed with claws, solitary just above the base,
3-nate towards the upper end, 5-nate and half-whorled on the cirrus. Leaflets numerous,
e q u i d i s t a n t , about 2 cm. apart, linear, very narrow, 20-30 cm. long, 7-10 mm. broad,
v e r y graduaUy acuminate to a subulate aud bristly tip, thinly but rather firmly
papyraceous, green and almost glossy on both surfaces; on the upper they are unicostate
and smooth ; on the lower the mid-costa is very closely and m i n u t e l y ciliate and usually a
slender nerve on each side of the mid-costa bears smull appressed bristles as well;
t r a n s v e r s e veiailets slender but d i s t i n c t ; margins v e r y m i n u t e l y , remotely, and appresaedly
Bpinulous. The miU and female spadxces are very much alike, and are borne on a slender,
flattened, 8-10 cm. long peduncular part, wliich gradually broadens into the outermost
spathe, and is armed, at least on the edges, with rigid, rather robust, deflexed,
o f t e n confluent, yet divergent p r i c k l e s ; t h e spathes are all thickly coriaceous, open and
more or less flat during the anthesis, or else the margins become revolute; they
/). Dracomellus^ BECCABI, THE S PECIES OP DAEMON'OBOPS. 1 0 9
aro narrowly lanceolate, rather obtuse, or else very slightly split or bidentate
at the apex, covered externally with a very thin adherent rusty-brown indumetum,
glabrous and finely striate inside ; the outermost spathe is two-keeled at its base
only, and is sparingly prickly on the keels, the others are unarmed. Male spadix
more elougate than the female and narrow before flowering; its outermost spathe
is 5¿0-25 cm. long and 2*5-3 cm. broad; the flowering panicle is 50 cm. long
( in one specimen), is narrow, strict and has 6-7 partial inflorescences, covered
i n every part with an abundant rusty-furiuraceous scurf ; partial inflorescenes strict,
cupressiform, 10-12 cm. long, divided into many branchlets, each 4-5 cm. long
and carrying subdistichously 4-6 spikelets on each side; the spikelets are small
a n d very few-flowered, 1 cm. long, and with 4-5 unilaterally-set flowers at
most-; the axis of the spikelets angular and with a notch at the insertion of each
fiowor ; spa1,hels very small, bracteiform, ciliate ; involucre indistinct. Male flowers
linear-oblong, obtuse, obsoletely trigonous and. o f t e n asymmetric from mutual pressure ;
t h e calyx cupi alar-obconical with rather elongate and subulate teeth, finely striately
veined; the corolla two and-a-half times as long as the calyx, also finely striately
veined. Female spadix shorter than the male, and covered in every part with an
a d h e r e a t thin ferruginous indumentum ; the flowering panicle 25-SO cm. long with 4 -5
partial infloresences, t h e lowest being the l a r g e s t ; the latter is 8 - 1 0 cm. long, and has
6 - 7 spikelets, is ercct d u r i n g the anthesis, biit s p r e a d i n g in the f r u i t i n g stage, at which
t i m e it has a distinct axillary callus ; the other partial inflorescences are shorter, and
have fewer spikelets; the terminal is reduced to a single few-flowered spikelett
h e main axis oí the spadix is rigid, and has slender, obsoletely angular internodes
; secondary spathes veiy small, scale-like ; spikelets 4 - 6 cm. long, having 8-12
flowers in all, erect when bearing flowers, horizontal, almost deflexed in the f r u i t i ng
stage and having a very distinct swollen callus at their axilla, their axis rather
t h i c k and acutely a n g u l a r ; spathels annular, very short, extended at one side into a.
t r i a n g u l a r , acute or acuminate point; involucrnphorum pedieelliform, 3-5 mm. long^
r a t h e r thick, trigonous, and slightly clávate, at first erect, horizontal or even
slightly deflexed and with a distinct and swollen callus at its axilla when bearing
f r u i t , sliiîhtly produced at one side into a very short and broad limb; involucre
thick, shortly obconic, raised about 2 mm. above the involucrophorum, terminated
b y a flat surface, bordorod by a very narrow membraneous 3-denticulate rim j
areola of tho neuter flower lateral, flottish, with a small basilar punctiform swollen
scar. Female flowers subpyramidate-trigonous and acute before the anthesis, 7-R mm.
long ; the calyx cupular, about as long as t.be tubular part of the corolla, with 3
very broad acute teeth, and finely striately veined ; t h e corolla is two and-a-half
times as long as the calyx, its segments elongate-triangular, acute, slightly longer
t h a n the stigmas ; the latter are trigonous-subulate. JÑ eater flowers very similar to
t b e male, but more slender. Fridting perianth explanate, but the calyx has a short
callous base. Fruit globose-ovoid, slightly conical in its upper part or at times ovoidellipsoidal,
crowned by the small recurved sessile stigmas, 2 cm. in diam ; scales
i n c r u s t a d with an abundant, blood-red, resinous secretion, otherwise of a uniform
s t r a w - y e l l ow colour, convex, narrowly and deeply grooved along the centre, regularly
rhomboidal, quite blunt at the apex, 5 mm. broad. Seed oblong, J?-13 mm. long,
8 mm. thick, 11 mm. broad, somewhat laterally flattened (non-depressed), deeply pitted j
chalazal fovea fissurîform and almost central; embryo basal.