C. deerratus | BECCARI, MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS CALAMUS. 158 
involucre subdimidiately cupular, very obliquely cut off posticously, lunately emarginate, 
and acutely 2-keeled, attenuated at the base and attached to the bottom of its own 
spathel. Male flowers 5 mm. long, ovoid-oblong; calyx ovoid, submembranaceous, strongly 
striately veined, rather deeply divided into 3 acute lobes; corolla one-half longer 
than the calyx, divided down almost to the base into 3 oblong, acute, striate segments ; 
stamens all of the same length, the filaments subulate, inflexed at the apex and 
shortly united at their base; anthers lanceolate, acute, with deeply separated cells; 
rudimentary ovary rather conspicuous, formed by 3 subulate bodies which are unit- 
ed by their bases and are nearly as long as the filaments. Female spadiz very 
similar to the male; spikelets with spathels a little larger than in the male spadix; 
involucrophorum obliquely cupular, truncate, posticously 2-keeled, inserted at the 
bottom of its own spathel and entirely included in this; involucre irregularly 
cupular with the margin often split or lobate; areola of the neuter flower large and 
deep, sometimes subcupuliform, occasionally with a fully developed flower and 
therefore with two nearly equally developed flowers in one spathe. Female flowers ovoid, 
about the same size as the males; calyx ovate, thinly coriaceous,  striately 
veined, acutely 3-toothed at first, ultimately split down to the base; -corolla a 
little longer than the calyx, divided almost to the base into 3 ovate-lanceolate acute 
segments; filaments of the stamens united at the base into a not very high ring 
and in the free part elongately triangular with sterile sagittate anthers; ovary 
oblong, tapering towards the base, crowned by 3 thick, trigonous, acute stigmas 
which are strongly lamellose inside, Fruiting perianth split and explanate under the 
fruit. Fruit ovoid, 15-17 mm. long, 10 mm. in diam., rounded at the base, conically 
narrowing at the apex, crowned by the bases of the stigmas; scales in 21 
series, rather shining, somewhat convex, very faintly channelled along the middle, 
yellowish-brown, with a broad, brown-chestnut, intramarginal line; margins and 
tip broadly scarious, beautifully and finely fimbriate. Seed oblong, slightly com- 
pressed, rounded at the base, apiculate at the apex, 1 cm. long, 7 mm. thick, 
rugose or wrinkled on the back, with a shallow, elongate, chalazal fovea in the 
centre of the raphal face, from which irradiate a few superficial ridges; albumen 
equable; embryo in the centre of the base. 
Hasitat,—West Tropical Africa: on the rivers Bagroo and Cameroons (G. Mann 
Nos. 891 and 2147 in Herb, Kew). 
OBSERVATIONS.—From the accurate study of this species I am able to state that 
no remarkable character separates the African from the Asiatic Calami; C. deerratus 
is indeed strikingly related to some of the Asiatic species of the fifth group. 
The involucre of the male flowers and the involucrophorum of the female 
Ones are attached to the bottom of their own spathel by means of a very small 
basilar point, and are consequently almost stalked and not laterally adnate to the base 
of the spathel' above its own, but are completely free from it. This, however, is 
not a character peculiar to the African Calami, but it is one which they have in 
common with some Asiatic species (0.  Zollingerii, castaneus, Grifithionus, ete.); 
in these, however, when the involucre of the flowers have such a structure, the 
spikelets are stalked by a peduncular portion arising from the bottom of their 
respective spathes, In C. deerratus, on the contrary, the spikelets, though issuing 
Ans. Roy. Bor. Garp. CarcurrA Vor. XI. 
