152 ANNALS OF THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN, CALCUTTA.  {[(. deerratus 
very conspicuous, produced laterally at the base of the petiole into two papyraceous 
or dry membranous, ultimately lacerated auricles, which are 4-5 cm. long and 
entirely covered with some spines similar to those of the sheaths, mixed with 
others which are more slender or bristle-like. Leaves rather large, the one seen 
entire 1 metre in length, not cirriferous; petiole very short (5-6 cm.), rather 
robust, flattish above and armed at the margins with some straight, needle-like, 
ascending spines, 1-2 cm. long, rounded beneath where more or less armed, at 
east along the middle, with some straight spines passing into claws; rachis flat 
above in the first portion and channelled laterally where the leaflets are attached, 
acutely bifaced above and trigonous in cross-section upwards, rounded near the base 
and flat upwards beneath, where armed throughout along the middle and occasionally 
at the sides with dark-tipped solitary claws; leaflets rather numerous, subequidistant 
2-3 cm. apart (aggregated in young plants, according to Mann and Wendland), 
rigidulous, papyraceous, linear-lanceolate, or lanceolate-ensiform, attenuated towards the 
base, where deeply plicate, gradually acuminate into a subulate and caudate spinulous 
tip, glabrous and subshining above, rather distinctly paler beneath, where dotted or 
more or less sprinkled with brown scales, and under the lens finely striate ; mid-costa 
acute and prominent above, accompanied on each side by 2-3 secondary nerves, 
of which one is a little stronger than the others, but not so much so as to 
render the surface distinctly 3-costate; all the nerves in the upper surface smooth, 
or sometimes the mid-costa spinulous (as exceptionally and very sparingly are the 
side-nerves); on the under surface the mid-costa and 2-3 slender nerves on 
each side of it occasionally are furnished with few, small, short, spreading, spinulous 
bristles, which rest on a sub-bulbous base; oftener, however, the bristles are 
closer and stronger along 3 of the 5 nerves, but chiefly on the mid-costa, while 
on the side ones they are small, very scarce or wanting; margins slightly 
thickened by a weak secondary nerve and rather densely aculeolate-serrate; trans- 
verse veinlets slender, very interrupted; the largest leaflets, those a little above 
the base, 35-38 cm. long and 15-3 cm, broad; the upper rather abruptly 
shorter, but not narrower, and with a less acuminate tip, which is indented or 
notched on the lower margin, but in a lesser degree than in the basal ones; the 
two of the apical pair 15-16 cm. long and almost entirely free at the. base. 
Male and Female spadices simply decompound, elongate, flagelliform, 70-80 cm. long 
with very few partial inflorescences (1-3) and besides lengthened out into a clawed 
flagellum of equal iength; primary spathes very narrow, tubular, elongate, closely 
sheathing; the lowest usually split longitudinally (as the upper ones), somewhat 
flattened, with not very acute and smooth or slightly spinous edges; the upper 
cylindraceous, unarmed or nearly so, obliquely trurcate at the mouth and 
produced at one side into a short triangular point; male partial inflorescences 
15-20 cm. long, attached inside their respective spathes with a rather elongate 
peduncular portion and furnished with 7-9 distichous approximate spikelets on 
each side; secondary spathes tubular-infundibuliform, unarmed, obliquely truncate and 
ciliate at the mouth, produced at one side into a short point; spikelets inserted just 
below the mouth of their own spathe and not callous at their axilla, 4-5 cm. long, 
bearing 8-12 distichous flowers on each side, the upper spikelets shorter and with 
fewer flowers; spathels very crowded, brown, strongly striately-veined, obliquely and 
very broadly infundibulifbéns, extended at one side into an acute — point ; 
