C. Blancoi | BECCARI:. MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS CALAMUS. 217 
spines, which are erect or patent, pointing different ways and arising from a tubercled 
base; the spines are longer and more numerous at the mouth than elsewhere. Oerea 
very short, very densely hairy-bristly. Leaves not cirriferous, 35-40 cm. long, 
petiole very short (15-25 mm. long), flat above, more or less armed, mainly at 
the sides and beneath, with some straight long and slender or short spines ; 
rachis fugaciously furfuraceous, irregularly trigonous, slender, armed beneath along - 
the middle with slender claws and sometimes, especially at the sides of its. basal 
portion, with distant straight spines; leaflets few (14-17 in all), very conspicuously 
inequidistant, solitary or sub-geminate on each side, alternate or almost opposite, with 
long and irregular vacant spaces amongst them, linear or very narrowly linear-lan- 
ceolate, subulately acuminate to a hairy-bristly point; the two of the termi- 
nal pair shorter than the others, free or very slightly connate at the base; 
the largest, those a little above the base, 25-30 cm. long, 7-12 mm. broad; 
the basal pair scarcely shorter than the mesial ones and occasionally very 
narrow; all glabrous, green even when dry, not shining, of the same colour on both 
surfaces, thinly papyraceous, with the  mid-costa very acute above, not prominent 
beneath, more or less remotely spinulous or even smooth on both surfaces; 
secondary nerves} (2-3 on each side of the  mid-costa ) very weak and naked 
on both surfaces; margins minutely and remotely  spinulous, slightly thickened 
by a weak secondary nerve; transverse veinlets rather distant and much inter- 
rupted, Male  spadiz slender, flagelliform, 50-60 cm. long, partially . ultrade- 
compound or. simply decompound, inserted near the mouth of the leaf-shéaths 
and with 2-3 partial inflorescences only; lowest primary spathe flattened ; 
upper primary | spathes  tubular-cylindraceous, closely sheathing, very elongate, 
truncate and more cr less densely hairy-bristly at the mouth, sprinkled on the 
upper part with very small slender aculei and armed on the back of the 
attenuated basal part between two partial inflorescences with relatively strong 
claws ; partial inflorescences inserted not very far inside the mouth of their respective 
spathes, from which they issue erect with a short peduncular part; the 
largest, the lowest, 6-10 cm. long, branched near the base and with 3-5 
distichous spikelets on each side upwards; „secondary  spathes very narrowly 
tubular-infundibuliform, their mouth  ciliolate and prolonged at one side into 
an acute triangular point; spikelets'inserted just at the mouth of their respective 
spathes, callous at their upper axilla, horizontal and ultimately arched and re- 
curved; the lowest, the largest, 10-15 mm. long, with 6-10 distichous flowers 
on each side; the others gradually shorter, more approximate and with fewer 
flowers; spathels broad, concave, spoon-shaped, embracing the flowers, horizontal or 
slightly deflexed, striately veined outside, often ciliolate, acute or apiculate at 
one side; involucre cupular, two-keeled, deeply emarginate and bidentate or even 
bilobate on the side next the axis. Male flowers small, 3 mm. long, gradually 
ettenuate to the apex; calyx striately veined externally, divided down almost to 
the middle into three broad acute lobes; corolla about twice as long as the calyx, 
divided down a little past the middle into three lanceolate acuminate segments, 
polished externally; filaments of the stamens rather stout and rigid, subulate, 
inflected at the apex when in the bud, united by their bases and forming a 
fleshy body as long as the undivided portion of the corolla; anthers versatile, - 
Any. Ror. Bor. Garp. CarcurrA Vor. XI. 
