FRUIT OF MELOCANNA BAMBUSOIDES. 403 
with a mere fragment of the seutellum, of course without any trace of differentiation, a 
figure which if compared with the ordinary grass fruit is unintelligible and necessarily 
misleading. No botanist since Kurz seems to have examined the Melocanna fruit, and 
even Bentham and Gamble had to fall baek on Kurz's description, imperfect as it is. 
Melocalamus is a monotypic genus. The only species, M. compactiflorus, Benth., is 
fouud in Eastern Bengal and Burma. Although common enough at certain altitudes, it 
was until lately collected only once in fruit, namely by S. Kurz, who described it in 
Journ. As. Soc. Beng. xlii. (1873) pt. 1r. p. 252, and in his ‘Forest Flora of Burmah, ii. 
p. 967, and figured it in the * Indian Forester, i. (1875) p. 266, tab. ii. fig. 13. He says 
of the fruit in the ‘Indian Forester, l. c.: “ Pseudostachyum compactiflorum (Kurz's 
synonym for Melocalamus compactiflorus) has irregularly globose fruits, the size of a 
small woodapple, which germinate already while still attached to the mother plant. This 
has the largest seed of all bamboos, the pericarp being thin and coriaceous.” The 
description in the ‘Forest Flora of Burmah' amounts to the same; but he adds that 
the seed is “ mealy-fleshy " or “fleshy.” The figure quoted above represents two fruits 
still attached to the branch, and corresponding to the description, no analyses being 
given. One of the fruits of Kurz's plate has been reproduced by Gamble, ‘ Indian 
Bambuser, tab. 84. This is all that is on record with regard to the fruit of Melocalamus. 
Ochlandra, the last of the three genera mentioned, is represented by severa! species in 
the south-west of the Deccan Peninsula, one in Ceylon, and one in the Malay Peninsula. 
It was already known to Van Rheede, who described and figured a species of it in his 
‘Hortus Malabaricus,’ v. p. 119, tab. 60 (1685), as Beesha, adding that the fruit was 
unknown. Curiously enough, there are, however, two crude figures in the lower left-hand 
corner of his plate which undoubtedly represent an entire fruit and another in cross-section. 
‘The first to describe the genus technically was Thwaites, in his * Enumeratio Plantarum 
Zeylaniv,’ p. 376 (1864). He called it Ochlandra, and says of the fruit: “ Caryopsis 
maiuscula ovoidea, stylo persistente indurato acuminata, paleis squamisque spiculze tecta.” 
Munro, in his * Monograph of the Bambuse:e," had nothing to add to this extremely 
meagre description. Beddome also hardly advanced our knowledge when describing 
the fruits of three distinct species of Beesha (Munrosname for Ochlandra) in his * Flora 
Sylvatica,’ vol. ii. p. cexxxiv, except in so far as we learn from him that the pericarp of 
O. travancorica is fleshy; but he gave an excellent habit figure of an Ochlandra fruit, 
the largest and the most peculiar in the genus (/. c. tab. 324. fig. 11). It is the fruit of 
O. travancorica, and he describes it thus: ** Fruit oblong or ovate, fleshy, embraced by 
the palea, about 14 in. in diam. and 2} in. long, with a hard beak about 2 in. long.” 
To this figure Gamble added (7. c. tabb. 108 & 109) equally faithful habit figures of the 
fruits of 0. Rheedii var. sivagiriana, Gamble, and 0. stridula, Thw., but no dissections. 
This coneludes the summary of our knowledge of these very singular emm fruits. It 
is very fragmentary and entirely confined to some of the most conspicuous external 
characters. In these circumstances I consider it my particularly good fortune that 
I was, through the kindness of Sir Dietrich Brandis, enabled to examine a number of 
excellently preserved fruits of Melocanna. The first set of fruits was Jg to him 
3M 
