1 2 6 ANNALS OF THE EOTAL BOTANIC GAEDEN, CALCUTTA.
"of the mountains often to the entire exclusion of all other vegetation; in open
" mountain tracts it generally grows to 6 to 8 ft. in height, but most close and
"impenetrable, elephants even not attempting to get through it; inside sholas and on
" t h e i r outskirts it g i w s to 15 ft. high, and is much more straggling. It is called Irúl
" b y the natives and by Europeans the elephant grass." .Air. F. "W. Jiourdillon, Conservator
of Forests in the Travanoore State, who has kindly sont specimens of tlie leaves, culms,
cubi-sheaths and fruit, says also of it, " the Eetta or irúl reed is common up to 4,000
" f t . and also in the low country. The culms attain a height of 2Ü ft. in favourable
"circumstances, with a cii-eumference of 7 inches. The intcmoJos are sometimes 5 ft.
"long. It flowers almost every 7 years and dies down. It makos a splendid paper, and we
"have a paper mill which uses it almost exclusively. The fibre has been pronounced
"superior to 'Espai-to.' Oin* only difficulty in connection with it is the groat cost of
" the chemicals required."
Brandis, writing of it under the name IrakuUi, says " it covers immense areas on
" t h e top of the ghats above Courtallum at 2,500 ft." Ho speaks of it agr.in as climbing.
Beddome expresses a doubt whether, consideiing the monadelphous stamens and tho
twisted stigmas, it should not form a new genus JruUa. As i égards the stigmas, 0.
Hriduh lxa.s them also twisted, and as regards the monadelphous stamens tho authors of
the Genera Flantarimi have not considered a new gemis necessary, and note, what I
find perfectly true, that the tube is '/acillime fisma.' It is a very remarkable bamboo
in respect of its long culm-internodes, and large flowers and fruit. Of stamens I have
counted up to 120 in one spikelet I
Var. hirsuta. The spikelets thickly clothcd with light brown velvety
pubescence ; leaves thicker, their edges more cartilaginous ; leafsheaths
with appressed hairs with bulbous bases. Collected in
1869 by Beddome in tlie Travancore Hills.
P l a t e No. IW.—Ochlandra travancorica, Bth. and Hook. fil. 1, leaf- and flowerbranch;
2, culm-sheath—0/ natural size-, 3, spikelet with bracts; 4, spikelets showing
exserted stamens; 5, 6 & 7, empty glumes; 8, palea; 9, lodicules; 10, stamen; 11, ovary
with style and stigma; 12 & 13, sligmas twisted and unrolled; 14, f i a i i t — m o r e or less
enlarged. (No. 2 from my own siDccimens; Nos. 12, 13, 14, from Beddorae's figures;
the rest from the sheet of Beddome's type in the Madras Museum Herbarium.)
P l a t e No 112.—Var./¿¿mtia. 1, leaf-and flower-branch; 2, flower-branch—o/wfiîtra/
size (from Beddome's specimens in the Madras Museum Herbarium).
5. OcHLANDiiA Brandish, n. sp. Gamble.
CuJm and culm-sheaths not known. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, thick; 10
to 20 in. long, I'o to 3 in. broad; attenuated at the base into a short -2 to '3
in. broad petiole, which is wrhiklcd beneath; ending at the apox in a long, twisted
subulate point; glabrous on both surfaces, whitish beneath, margins cartilaginous, suiooth;
main vein thick, prominent, secoudaiy veins 10 to 13 pairs, thick, intermediate 5 to 7,
no regular transverse veinlets, but pellucid glands which give the appearance of transverse
veinlets on the lower surface; leaf-sheaths striate, ending in a smooth, rounded callus and
produced at the mouth into short auricles fringed with a few stiff deciduous bristles;
INDL\N BAMBUSE^; GAMBLE,
vory tag, 1 i„. or more, membraBacio™, acuto. h j l o r e s ^ a vorUdllate, terminal
spiko witl thick raohis, »pikolet. »voral in verticil, in t r e axjs of ovate, glabr -
bract,. SriM.U glabrous, 1 to l-o in. long, -3 to in. broad, corneal, stnato snppo ted
at the base by 3 to 4 small chafly scales; up to 4, the two onter tlneke
ovate trnncati, „ i t h a sabnlate point; tho other thinner, ovate acnte, — ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ "J
many-veined and glabrous; thin, membranaceous -8 rn. long s m la, to
last empty glume, many-veinod and transversely veined; f , ! « s.mdar agam but smaller
LodkuU I large -6 to -6 in. long, -1 to -2 in. broad, many-norved, runcato and
rotuse at tho tip. many, up to 60; f.l.«ent, short at first,^ afterwards elongated ;
anther, narrw, long-apioulate. Omr,j glabrous, perigynium thrckoned, and errclosrng
,tyU which is sru-mountod by 5 plumose >U.jma,. O a , „ m not known. Bajibusa
WiGHTii, Mimro in Tram. Linn. Soe. xxvi. 111. „ „ , , ,
Tinnevelly Ghats in South India at Courtallum, up to 3,000 feet. Collected by
Wight in 1885 (No. 1000) and by lirandis in Sower in 18.33.
I have no hesitation in considering I W s Bamius« 1%«», o£ which the Ca cutta
Herbarium has a specimen with Munro's identification, to be this, and not, as Beddome
supposed, Wishta. The very long membranaceous l.gules M-e mentioned
with oreat stress by Mum-o, and arc most characteristic. I am not quite sure about
the lodicules, tho material at my disposal being insufficient; but I bolievo I am ngh m
thinking that there is only one, and that very large. The bamboos of Courtallum
require further investigation very badly, and I feel sure that that place, probably one
of tho most interesting of the special botanical collecting grounds of India, if thoroughly
studied, will give some important information regarding South Indian bamboos, especially
of the genera Ochlandra and Oxytemnthera.
P l a t e Ko. n?,.— Odihmha Brandidi, Gamble. 1, leaf-branch; 3, part of flower-spiko
—of natural ¿ e ; 3, spikelet; i & o, empty glumes; 6, flowering glume (palea similar
but smaller); T, lodicule; 8, andro-gyncecinm; 0, author; 10, stylo and stigmas before
opening; 11, stigmas opened mt-mlargcd. {All from Brandis' specimens.)
6. OcEiLflKDRA Kidleyi, n. sp. Gambia.
Apparently a small spccies. Culm and cnlm-nheath not known. Zeaves 9 to 10
in long by 1 to l-o in. broad, oblong.lanceolate ; rounded at the base into a broad,
s ' in Ion» petiole ; cuspidate acuminate at the tip, which is terminated by a
subulate, setaceous, scabrous point ; smooth above, except the scabrous points on
the marginal veins, pale and slightly scabrous beneath, edges not, or only slightly,
scabrous; main vein narrow, ineonspicuons, secondary veins 10 to 13 pairs, intermediate
4 to 5 ; lmf-,hmths short, smooth, striate, ending in a narrow callus and
bearin.' at the margins rounded or falcate, long-ciliato auricles; ligule short. In-
Bore»«»™ a short (3 to 4 in.) teminal spike or spicato panicle on loafy branclilets,
the flowers in somewhat distichous, braetoate heads, upper rachis very short; Iraets
ovate, truncate, fimbriate, with an ovate-acuminate imperfect blade. SpikeUti several
sterile, few fertile, about 1 in. long, bearing 1 to 2 empty glumes, then 1 to 3 fertile
flowers and a short teminal rachilla; empty spumes ovate, truncate, long-mucronate, striate,
covered with appressed hairs above ; flowering glume similar but longer ; palem two, not
keeled: outer narrow, convolute, bi-mueronate, hairy near the tip; inner shorter, rounded