-Calamus?^ PahieCB. 329 



8. CAIiAlVEUS, Linn. 

 Perennial armed palms, rarely erect, usually climbing by 

 means of hooked spines on the rhachis of the 1., or by whip- 

 like spinous prolongations (flagella) of the rhachis, or of the 

 spadix, or of the 1. sheath ; stem simple, cylindric, ringed 

 at the nodes, upper internodes clothed with spinous 1. sheaths; 

 1. pinnatisect, rarely digitate, leaflets few or many, lanceolate, 

 rarely broad ; spadices axillary, elongate, much branched, 

 armed, sometimes produced into a spinous flagellum; spathes 

 tubular or open, sheathing the ped. and branches of the 

 spadix, and passing into bracts and bracteoles (spathels and 

 spathellules); fl. small, usually polygamo - dioecious, often 

 secund or distichous, forming scorpioid spikes or spikelets ; 

 fl. small, perianth coriaceous ; male fl. : — cal. tubular, 3-lobed 

 or- toothed, coriaceous; pet. 3, acute, coriaceous, valvate, some- 

 times combined at the base into a stipes; stam. 6, fil. short, 

 anth. dorsifixed, versatile; fem. fl. slightly accrescent, cal. of 

 the male; pet. 3, valvate; staminodes connate in a cup; ov. 

 incompletely 3-celled, clothed with retrorse scales, style short 

 or long, stigmas 3, ovule basilar, erect ; fr. globose or ellipsoid, 

 usually strongly beaked, style terminal, pericarp thin, clothed 

 with appressed, closely imbricate, deflexed, polished scales; 

 seed smooth or pitted, endosperm equable or ruminate, embryo 

 ventral or basal. — Sp. 160-170; 72 in Fl. B. Ind. 



It is not possible to describe the species of Gz/«wz/j satisfactorily from 

 Herbarium specimens. This can be done only from living materials. I 

 know of no genus of flowering plants presenting such great variety in 

 infl. and floral organs, to which is to be added in armature of sheath, 

 petiole, rhachis, spathes, spadix, and flagella. To describe all these 

 organs even briefly for any one species would take much space, and 

 materials do not exist in the Kew and Peradeniya Herbaria for even 

 . attempting this for a single Ceylon species. I am therefore obliged to 

 confine the following account of them to the more conspicuous characters 

 of the leading organs, availing myself of the labours of Dr. Beccari (in 

 the Flora of British India), and some MS. notes on a i&\\ species found 

 amongst Dr. Trimen's papers. 

 Rachis of 1. not flagelliferous. 



Stem erect i. C. Thwaitesii. 



Stem climbing. 

 Leaflets many. 



Male pet. connate in a stipes . . . 2. C. Pseudo-tenuis. 

 Male pet. not stipitate. 



Stem short 3. C. Rotang. 



Stem slender, 



Fr. with a large beak . . . 4. C. RIVALIS. 



