AYUALS OP THE EOYA.L BOTANIC GARDEN. CALCUTTA. [/?, leptopus
turned towards tlie side opposite to tho spathes; they are straight, thickish and
rigid; the lowest of each iafiorescence is the largest, 5-8 cm. in length, and
two collateral and unilateral series of 6-8 flowers each; as usual the upper i
are shortei- and with fewer flowers; spathels obliquely infundibuliform, ac\itely angular,
extended at one side into a triangular, dorsally keeled point; inTohicrophorum
obconically calyciform, narrowing considerably towards the base, prolonged on each
side, but externally more than on the side of the neuter flower, into a triangular,
dor!»aUy-keeled, acute point; involucre very obliquely evolute aud subauriculiform;
areola of the neuter ñowar ovate ia outline, acute, sharply bordered,
the scar punctiform and not swollen. Neuter fiomen small, acute, 3-5 mm. long;
tüe calyx has a short tube, and three long linear teeth; the corolla is twice
as long as the calyx. Female floioers narrowly ovate, or ovate-oblong, o-6
mm, long, acute when iu bud ; the calyx is ureeolate-ovoid, glabrous, finely
striate externally and has three broad triangular apiculate lobes; the corolla is -i longer
tlian the calyx, ventricoae in its lower third, and has three lanceolate, acute segments;
the filaments of the stamens are united by their bases, and form an urceole,
which is connate with the undivided portion of the corolla, and has in tho free part six
broadly triangular, thickish (uectariflous ?), abruptly subulate teeth; anthers (sterile^
lanceolate-sagittate, shorter by half than the segments of the corolla; ovary
globular-ovoid; style very aliort and thick, crowned by the oblong clavatc,
strongly lamellose stigmas. Fruiting perianth almost explanate, but its calyx has a
brief caudiculate base. Fmit ovoid-elliptical, small, lt)-17 mm. long and aboat 11
mm. broad, round at the base, narrowly aud acutely beaked; scales arranged in 12-15
longitudinal series, rather dull, not resiniflous, of a cinnamon-brown colour, broader
tha.i long, nai-rowly channelled along the centre, and with a narrow, shining, finely
eiosely toothed darker margin; the point round, ^eed oblong, slightly flattened, U-12
mm. long, 9 mm. broad, 7 mm. thick, rounded at both ends, sparsely pitted;
albumen slightly ruminated by several rather shallow channels; chalazal fovea
orbicular, pit-like, not very deep, situated in the centre of the raphal side; embryo
quite basal.
HABITAT.—The Malayan Peninsula. First discovered by Gri^ih at Malacca; found
again recently by ScortecMni and Sir G. King's collectors in the district of Perak
on the bills at Laj-ut, at 100—150 m. [Herb. Hort. Calcutt. No. 4774 ( ? ) and
No 5919 (?), on the Gunong Tambung Batak, at about 1,000 m. {Scortechini]; in
Johore IRidle;/ No. 11304 ( ? ) and iNo. 11210 [ é ] in Herb. Berol.].
The Malayan name, according to Scorteohini is " R o t a n g Bachap" or "R. patapisau,"
this last ' (breali-knife)' probably on account of the hardness of its leaf-sheaths
(pata " t o break," and pisau a " k n i f e " ).
Griffith gives for 0. leptopus the Malay name of " R. Chinchín," but this name,
as far as my knowledge goes, is applied solely to the species furnished with
membranous rings around the leaf-sheaths ("chin-ching " a ring). Ridley I.e. assigns
to D leptopus the names of " R. Bakau" and " R. Muruseh," and gives the following
additional localities :-Singapore-. Baket Mandai {Ridley 1670, 3^97), Kranji, etc.;
Johore: Sungei Zelran {Ridley 11519); Malacca: Sungei Hudang, Bukit Kandong ;
Selangor: Langkat
J), oxycarpus] BECCABI. THE SPECIES OP DAEMONOHOPS'. • 131
OBSERVATIONS.—Amung the spiicies of the group of D. Draco, to which D. leptopus
evidently belongs, it is easily distinguishable by its very hard, woody, almost
polished leaf-sheaths; by the equidistant leaflets ; by the very thick woody spathes •
by the small ovoid non-resiniflous fruit; and by the oblong seed, only slightly
ruminated.
I have seen portions of Griflith's type specimens of D. leptopus, but I have
based the description mainly on Scortochini'a and. King's specimens.
Griffith (I.e.), after the description of D. lepiopus, quotes (last line, p. 82} fig.
IV, plate ccxvi, as giving representations of the analysis of its flowers, but certainly
erroneously, for this figure represents male flowers, and Griffith describes only the
female plant of the above-mentioned species.
I have reduced D. congesta of Ridley to D. Uptopus after a very careful
analysis uf a specimen kindly sent to me by its author ; it U true that (his
specimen ^which is very incomplete, and has very immature fruits) has the spikelets
with the flowers more approximate than usual ; but this specimen does not appear
to mo quite normal.
PLATE 52.—liaemonorops leptopus Beco. Two portions of the eheathed stem,
one with male spadix, the other with full grown fruits. From Scortechini's specimens
iu Herb. Beccari.
49. DAÜMONOEOPS OXYCATLPL-S Becc. Nelle Foreste di Borneo, 607, and in Rec.
Bot. Surv. Ind. ii, ¿25.
DESCBÍPTION.-Scandent. Sheathed êtm 2'5-3 cm. in diameter. Leaf-sheaths coated,
at first, with a white cottony fugacious tomentum, and later with a thin, adherent,
persistent, dark rusty-brown covering, very conspicuously and peculiarly
gibbous or swollen at the bases of the petioles, armed in a very peculiar way
with epidermal formations hardly to be called spines, (for they are not or only
very slightly pungent), InmelHform, or thinly papyraceous, exsuccous or scarious •
they are elongate (2-3 cm. long, 3-6 mm. broad), longitudinally
striately-veiued, laciniate-fimbriate, or divided into many fllamentoee strips,
deflexed, solitary, or more or less confluent ; the mouths of the sheaths are very
obliquely truncate and unarmed; the ocrea is very short, prolonged into a short
scarious liguliform axillary appendage. Leaves large, about 2 m. long in the pinniferous
part, and terminating in a comparatively slender cirrus ; petiole elongate
(about eo cm. li.)ng>, bicouvex from near the base, almost smooth on both faces
the edges obtuse and strongly armed near the base with rigid, needle-like,
subterete or slightly flattened (non-laminar), light-coloured, 4-6 cm. long spines, of
which the lower are usually geminate and divergent and the liigher gradually diminish
in thickness aud length and are more distant ; rachis in its lower portion armed
beneath first with solitary, then with 3 -nate, and finally on the cirrus,' half
whorled claws; on the upper surface the cirrus is at first obtusely convex and
then bifaced with a very acute, non-prickly, salient angle ; leaflets very
ANN. ROY. BOT. GARD., CALCUTTA, VOE, X I I .