THE FALMS; OF lilUTISH IMjIA AXD CFA'LON. 391 



piished downwards by the very conspicuous axillary callus. Fruit- 

 ing perianth callous at the base. 



Hahitat.— Probably Coroinandel Coast. 



-'0. CALA MUS DELICA TULUS, Thvv. Eiuiiu. :',;30, 431 (1864) ; Hookor 

 FI. Brit. liul. VI, 440; Trim. Fl. Ceyl. IV, 331'; Bucc. in Koc. Jiot. Surv. 

 Ind. II, 206 ; Annals Koy. Bot. Gard. Calc. XI, 86, 246. 



Name.— Nara-wel (Singli.). 



Stem slender, scandent ; internodes with a tuft of erect, white, 

 hair-like prickles 1-2^ inch long below the nodes, sheaths flagelli- 

 ferous, sparsely scurf)', beset with many, spreading, flattened, white, 

 short and long linear spines up to 4-5 inches long. Leaves 2-3 

 feet long; petiole of lower 2 feet, of upper very short, both furnished 

 with a few hooked spines ; rhachis not produced into a flagellum, 

 scurfy, and with a few straight spines ; leaflets manj'-, equidistant, 

 close-set, 8-10 inches long and i inch broad, linear-lanceolate, 

 finely acuminate or acute, and hair-pointed. 3-veined, margins and 

 veins on both surfaces with a few long black bristles. Spathes 

 tubular, truncate, unarmed, mouth ciliate ; spathels tubular, imbi"i- 

 cate, triincate ; spathellules cupular, minute. Spadix polygamo- 

 dioecious, very long, filiform, decompound, beset with small hooked 

 spines; flowering branches about 18, 1-5 inches long; spikes very 

 slender. Male flowers rather distant, about ^ inch long ; calyx 

 urceolate, 5-toothed ; petals twice as long, oblong, acute, bases 

 connate ; filaments rather long. Female flowers : petals hardly 

 longer than the calyx ; ovar}'- oblong, seated in a G-toothed cup. 

 Fruit (immature?) subglobose, ^ inch in diameter, beak conical, 

 not long ; scales about 8 in a vertical series, ochraceoua, with a 

 very dark brown border, centre not channelled. 



Habitat. — Ceylon: Moist country below 1,000 feet, rather rare, 

 Galle, Hiniduma, Pasdum Korale. — Endemic. 



Flowei's from December to May. 



21. CALAMUS HELFEIUANUS, Kurz in Journ. As. Soc. Beng. 

 XLIII, II, 213; For. Fl. II, -Wl ; Hook. f. Fl. Brit. Ind. VI, 446; Becc. 

 inRec. Bot. Surv. Ind. II, 206 ; Ann. Roy. Bot.Gard. Calc. XI, 87, 247. 



DE.SCRIPTION. — Stem slender, scandent. Leaves withoiit flagelli ; 

 leaflets many, scattered, inequidistant in series of 2-8 on a side, 

 narrowly linear, finely acuminate, 8-12 inches long, ^-f. inch broad, 

 uppermost quite free, costte 3-5, strong beneath, margins and lateral 

 costao above and median beneath setulose ; rhachis slender, trigo- 

 nous, armed with short scattered recurved spines, with naked inter- 

 vals sometimes 4 inches long. Spadix several feet long, very 

 slender, flexuous, as thick as a sparrow-quill, compound, upper 

 spikes simple, lower panicled, males shorter and more slender. 

 Lower spathe long, narrow, cornpressed, with a short erect limb 



