148 ANNALS OF THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN, CALCUTTA. — [Q. Griffithianus 
Often but not always spinulous on the upper angle, more or less armed below, chiefly 
in its lower portion, with solitary aggregate or pectinate straight spines; leaflets 
arranged in alternate groups of many, being in each group equidistant and not 
clustered, elongate-ensiform and glossy, 45-65 cm. long and 15-35 mm. broad, 
green above, paler underneath where—at least when young—covered with a very 
thin  mealy-violaceous coating; mid-costa prominent above, bristly towards the 
apex on both surfaces; secondary nerves rather distinct, one on each side of the 
mid-costa naked above and conspicuously covered beneath with rather long bristles; 
transverse veinlets fine, much interrupted; margins appressedly and finely spinulous. 
Male spadiz 0°8-1m. long, ultradecompound, not flagelliferous, with many partial 
inflorescences or primary branches, variously spreading or nodding, inserted inside 
their own spathe and pedicellate; each branch also pedicellate and inserted inside 
its own spathe, divided again into 6-10 secondary branchlets or compound spikes 
which are 8-15 cm. long and bear distichously 2-5 recurved or scorpioid spikelets and 
decrease in length from the base of the branchlet towards its apex; the apical spikelet, 
which is the continuation of the axis is much longer and larger than the side ones 
and has larger spathels and flowers; primary spathes relatively short, tubular at the 
base, enlarged and somewhat inflated upwards, with an auriculiform often longitudinally 
split limb, half-decayed upwards where usually sharply defined from the still living 
basal portion by a transverse slightly prominent line; secondary spathes (spathes 
of the compound spikes) short, broadly and asymmetrically infundibuliform, truncate, 
with the poirt somewhat decayed and split; side spikelets 2-6 cm. long, curved 
or scorpioid, flattened, about 1 cm, broad (including the flowers), their spathels 
very closely packed, shallow, nearly boat-shaped, prolonged on one side under 
the flower into a broadly triangular acute point; involucre cupular, half- 
immersed in its own spathel and attached to its base, aeutely two-keeled, deeply 
emarginate and  two-toothed on the side next to the axis, anticously obliquely 
truncate or more often split and apparently formed by two connate bracts, 
Male flowers slender, 5-55 mm. long; calyx tubular, slightly angular from 
pressure, with three rather acute finely striate lobes, ultimately cleft down to the 
base; corolla a little longer than the calyx, deeply divided into three linear-lance- 
olate segments; stamens with filaments united to the base of the corolla, rather thick, 
subulate with inflexed apex; anthers sagittate, acute; rudimentary ovary composed of 
three elongate subulate bodies. Female spadiz short, erect, 40-50 cm. long, panicled, 
not flagelliferous or appendiculate, with a flattened peduncular part, 20-25 cm. long, 
closely sheathed with short obliquely truncate spathes, unarmed or nearly so; partial 
inflorescences few (2-4), each bearing subdistichously or somewhat irregularly 5-6 
spreading flexuose spikelets, 8-12 cm. long, inserted inside their own spathe and 
pedicellate; spathels broadly and asymmetrically infundibuliform or obconic, occasionally 
more or less split, prolonged on one side under the flowers into a triangular ultimate- 
ly decayed point; involucrophorum inserted inside its own spathel and shortly 
pedicellate, spathaceous, unilaterally auriculiform, anticously split and opened, acutely 
keeled on the side next the axis; involucre included in the inyolucrophorum, 
subcupuliform, truncate, ultimately radiately split, the areola of the neuter flower 
vertically lanceolate-ovate, acute and sharply bordered. Female flowers elongate 
conical, finely striate; their calyx divided almost to the base into three ovate- 
lanceolate acute lobes; corolla very similar to the calyx and almost as long but 
