124 ANNALS OP THE KOTAL BOTANIC GARDEN, CALCUTTA, [/?. c/idymophyllus
with a Tery tbin, adherent, rubiginous, furfuraceous indumentum, transversely armed
with many horizontal or slightly reversed series of short, rigid, comb-like, confluent
spines; the inner spathes are 5-6 iu number (not taking into account 2-3 of the
apex and rudimentary) and gradually proti-ude ono above the other; they are
b)unt or split-bidontate at the upper end, and are armed with the usual comb-like
spines ou their upper and exposed dorsal parts; the flowering panicle is strict, narnnv,
and with 6-7 partial inflorescences that are appressed, cupressiform, and have many
branchlets; the spikelets are about 2 cm. long, aad carry on the whole 10-14 not very
regularly bi-seriate flowers ; their axes fiaoly ruaty-furfumceoas, very slender, acutely
angular and sinuous; spathels very small, bracteiform, triangular, acute; involucre of
2 opposite, triangular, acute bracts connate by their bases, similar to the spathels
and about as long. Male flowers slender, almost linear, liuear-oblong, obtuse, obsoletely
angular and asymmetric by mutual pressure, t mm. loQg ; the calyx shortly eupular,
broadly 3-toothed; the corolla three times as long as the calyx. Female spadix nodding
or recurved or at times erect, a good deal shorter than the male, ellipsoid-oblong
before flowering, 1-5-30 cm. long, not including a more or less elongate, slender
pedicellar part; the spathes are imbricate; the inner very slightly protruding beyond
the outermost, all thinly coriaceous and of a rigid texture, oblong, concave-cvmbiform
or spoou-lxke, terminating iu a short triangular and obtuse point, prickly like
those of the male spadix ; the outermost spathe is deeper, broader and more strongly arm.ed
than the inner ; the peduncular part is 2-10 cm. long, slender, fJattened, 2 edged,
almost smooth, or at times strongly armed with short, robust, digitate, divergent,
prickles ; the main axis rather thick, ooverod by a very thin, adherent, rustyfurfuraceous
indumentum, and carrying 5 - 6 partial inflorescences of which only the lowest
(2-3) are branched or divided into 6-T spikelets, while the upper ones are composed of
only 1-3 small few-flowered spikelets; secondary spathes very shortly infundibuliform,
extended at one side into a broadly triangular, acute point; spikelets sijort, the
largest 3-4 cm. long with 5-6 flowers in all; their axes thickish, strongly sinuous,
acutely 3-gonous; spathels with a short annular limb extended at one side into
very broad and short, acute point ; involucrophorum short and thick, obconical, more
or less angular, extended at one side at the apex into a triangular acute point ;
the involucre has a short thick base, is slightly raised above the involucrophorum
and is flat and discoid above; the disc or floral torus is edged by a narrow,
usually unilaterally evolute, annular limb; areola of the neater flower concave, niche,
like, the scar not tumescent. Female flowers conical, flat at the base, acute, 7 mm.
long, their calyx cupular-obconical, with 3 very broad, superficial, apiculate lobes on
the margin, rusty-furfuraoeous, and finely striately-veined; the corolla a little
more than twice as long as the calyx, parted down almost to the base into 3
triangular, acuminate segments ; stigmas thickly trigonous-subulate, not surpassing the
segments during anthesis. Neuter (lowers 5-6. 5 mm. long, slender, similar to the male
ones. Fruiting perianth quite explauate. Fruit broadly ovoid, with a very sHghtly
conical top, very minutely mucronulate, when quite mature 17-18 mm. broad, 20-21
mm. long; scales regularly rhomboiclal, obtuse, arranged iu 15 longitudinal series
narrowly and rather deeply grooved along the centre, of a deep yellow-straw colour,
but more or less t i n p d blood-red by a thin resinous covering. Seed irregularly
globular, gibbous-ventricose on the raphal side, about 13 mm. long and about 1 mm
less in breadth and thickness, minutely pitted : embryo basal.
D. d/dymophyllus] HECCAEL THE SPBCIES 01' DAEMONOBÜPS. 125
HáBirAT.—The Malayau Peninsula, in the district of Perak {Soortechini in Herb.
Beccari.) and iu the same district at Larut, from 100—1,000 m. above the level of
the sea {_Eing's collector No. 2593, (? sp.} 5104 (? sp,), 631-J (tj specimen; in Horb.
Calcutt.]. In Singapore at Chan Chu Kang [Ridley No. 347Ö, Herb. Beccari.), at Büket
Timah {Ridley No. 5875, Herb. Beccari.), at Selitar {Ridley No. 6277, Herb. Beccari.), at
Ohangt (Ridley No. 6273 ?, $ specimen in Herb. Beccari.). Specimeus apparently from a
young plant with sheathed stem, 12-15 mm. in diam., were collected by Scortechini at
about 1,000 m. on Gunong (Mount), Tambang Batak in Perak, and bear the No. eSl*"
4ind the vernacular name of " li. Pracia". Ridley gives the Malay an name of "R.
Ucdang" in Singapore. D. didymophyllus yields a small quantity of Dragon's blood.
D. didjjmophyllus grows also in E. Sumatra, as I consider as belonging to it a
small fruit spad ix preserved in the Herb. Horti Bot. Bogor. and collected by
Teijamann at Batu Radja in the Residency of Palembang; vernacular name " Rotang
Djernang ketchil ".
Obsekvations.—A very peculiar species easily distinguishable by its geminate leaflets,
and short female spadix with oblong, very concave-cymbiform and obtuse epathes,
and by its fruits slightly covered with dragon's blood resin. It is related to D,
Motleyi of Borneo only (see observation on this species). Like almost all the other sjjecies
of Daemomrops, it presents a great variability in its different organs, and specially
in the length and armature of the pedicellar part. In specimens from Perak this part
is almost spineless and very long, with the spadix therefore nodding or occasionally
recurved; in others it is not more than 2-3 cm. in length, and the spadix is therefore
erect; in specimens from Singapore the peduncular part is 3-5 cm. long, and more
or less strongly armed with digitate, divergent spines.
D. cochleatus Teijsm. & Bion. (Rotang Buwar) which is only a synonym of
J), didymophyllus, was indicated by name only in the "Catalogus Plantarum Horti
Bogoriensis", without a word of description or any note as to its origin. I received
good specimens of it from the Buitenzorg garden, but I did not recognize in it
my D. didymophyllus, of which a description was published in the Flora of British
India, otherwise I should have adopted the specific name of Z>. cookleaius, as this
well defines the form of the characteristic spathes of its female spo.dix. The spathe
of the female spadix of the " Rotang Buwar", cultivated at Buitenzorg, are morg
deeply concave than those of the specimens from Singapore, or in those from the Malayan
Peninsula. Its native country I suppose to be >^outh*Hast coast of Sumatra,
probably Palembang.
P l a t k 49.—Daemonorops didymophyllus Beco. An intermediate portion of a leaf
{upper surface); a female spadix not yet expanded (in the right lower central part of
the plate) from Ridley's No. 6277 in Herb. Beccari.; female spadix with young fruit
(quite in centre of the plate, from Ridley's No. 5875 in Herb. Beccari.); male spadix
before the anthesis, on the right-hand side (from Ridley's No. 6273 in Herb. Beccari.)
Pi.iTG 50.—Daemonorops didymophyllus Becc. An intermediate portion of a leaf
(under surface); portion of the sheathed stem with a male spadix before the anthesis;