190 ANNALS OF THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN, CALCUTTA. (Ç. gonospermus 
spathes; by the very short few-flowered spikelets and by the conie or obturbi- 
nate fruit. , | 
Prate 45.— Calamus filipendulus Bece. Leaf-sheath with the lower portion of & 
leaf and a male spadix; terminal portion of a leaf, portion of a female spadix with 
unripe fruits, from Scortechini’s specimens No. 232^ in Herb. Beccari; two full 
grown fruits from the Calcutta Herbarium. 
86  CaraMUs GoNOSPERMUS Bece. in Rec. Bot. Surv. Ind. ii, 202, 
DzscRiPTION.— Seandent.  Sheathed stem about 15 mm. in diam. Leaf-sheaths 
flagelliferous, armed with straight, horizontal or slightly deflexed spines, which arise 
from a very broad base (concave beneath) and are 5-15 mm. long.  Leaf-sheath 
flagella very | slender, finely armed with half-whorls of very sharp  black-tipped 
claws. Leaves about 50 cm. long; petiole flattish above, rounded beneath, 17 cm. 
long, rather powerfully armed at the margins and on the back with unequal claws 
intermingled with very small ascendent or horizontal spines; rachis acutely 
bifaced above and furnished beneath with many irregularly set rather stout claws; 
leaflets very few, 6 in all, the two terminal connate about two-thirds up, 
two others very approximate to these and the two lowermost opposite and 
remote from the upper pairs; they are all about of the same size and shape (20-22 
em, in length, by 45-56 cm. . in width), oblong or spathulate-oblong, some- 
what concaye or spoon-shaped, gradually narrowed to the base, suddenly contracted 
from near the apex into a caudate, linear, bristly-spinuloas tip (2 cm, long); 
green and of about the same colour on both surfaces, glabrous, rigidulous, 
‘chartaceous, with 5 acute coste which are quite naked on both surfaces; margins 
smooth, except at the sides of the tip, the lower one bordered on the upper surface 
with a polished band; transverse veinlets numerous and rather distinct. Male spadiz 
. . . s ., Female spadiz short, comparatively robust, with very few short partial 
inflorescences, each with few, very short subscorpioid spikelets; primary spathes tubular, 
closely sheathing, thinly coriaceous, aculeolate, truncate and entire at the mouth; the 
lowest elongate, -flattish on the inner side, dorsally convex, where irregularly armed 
with small, straight, unequal spines; secondary spathes tubular, cylindrical, closely 
sheathing, truncate at the mouth, aculeolate; spikelets (or abbreviated partial inflores- 
ences ?) 3-5 cm. long, very dense, with 3-5 glomerules (abbreviate spikelets ?) 
of flowers on each side at each spathel, with the flowers pointing upwards er 
with a secund arrangement; spathels shortly tubular, subtrigonous, truncate at the 
mouth; involucrophorum and involucre almost explanate with an irregularly lobate 
limb. Fruiting  perianih explanate, with the calyx divided into 3 broad acute 
lobes, and the corolla with the segments much narrower than these but as long; the 
calyx and corolla, as well as all the imvolucres, bard in texture, deeply and very 
sharply striately veined, of a rusty colour and with a broad shining, quite black, 
scarious margin. Fruit rather large, 20-23 mm. long, 15-17 mm. in’ diam., very 
closely packed, globose, ventricose, somewhat tapering towards the base, where 
obsoletely angular by mutual pressure, with a conical and acute top; scales in 16 series, 
broad, shining, very. adpressedly imbricate, convex and not channelled along the middle, 
brown-yellowish near, the base, broadly bordered with dark chestnut-brown, very obtuse 
