980 ANNALS OF THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN, CALCUTTA. (C, salicifolius. 
short or obsolete; rachis flat near the base and bifaced upwards above, where 
throughout its length more or less furnished along the middle with a line of small, 
remote, rigid, straight, black-tipped slender spines, convex underneath, where armed 
with black-tipped, solitary, comparatively strong and rather long claws; leaflets small 
and few, pointing in different directions, distinctly grouped into 5-6 remote fascicles 
of 4-6, these formed by 2-3 leaflets on each side of the rachis which are 
divergent and almost in contact by their bases; the fascicles of one side 5-6 cm. apart 
and subopposite to those of the other side; the largest leaflets, those of the basal 
groups, 5-10 cm. long, 8-15 mm. broad, the others gradually smaller, the two of 
the terminal pair only 2-3 cm, in length, free at the base; all very rigid, thinly 
coriaceous, dull, light-green and _ sub-glaucescent on both surfaces, finely grey- 
furfuraceous beneath, lanceolate, equally narrowed to both ends, acute and plicate 
at the base, where more or less callous at their insertion, the apex acute or subobtuse, 
the mid-costa acute and furnished above with 1-5 erect, needle-like, black, rigid spines, 
smooth and not prominent beneath; side-nerves very slender, naked on both surfaces; 
margins ciliate, chiefly near the apex, with rigid patent spinules;, transverse veinlets 
rather sharp and much interrupted in the upper surface, indistinct beneath. Male 
spadiz simply decompound, about as long as the leaves, rigid, erect, not cirriferous, 
with few (4 in one specimen) partial inflorescences; primary spathes tubular, narrow 
closely sheathing and sparingly prickly in their lower portion, somewhat enlarged 
and loose above, where open longitudinally on the ventral side and terminating in 
an elongate, lanceolate, subaurieuliform, acute, exsuccous, reddish-brown (not lacerated) 
limb; the lowest primary  spathe not differing from the, others, only larger 
and with a flattened spinous acutely two-edged base; partial inflorescences 
short, rather dense, pyramidate, issuing erect from and _ hali-embraced by their 
respective spathes; the lower ones, the largest, 4-5 cm. long with very few 
(4-5 on each side), speedily decreasing  subscorpioid spikelets; secondary  spathes 
apparently concrete with the axis of the inflorescence, free at the summit where bractei- 
form and acute at one side; spikelets subscorpioid, the lower ones, the largest, with 
two slightly unilateral series of 8-10 approximate flowers each; spathels bracteiform, 
triangular, acute, deflexed; involucre.almost horizontally subtended by its own spathel, 
almost flat, obsoletely 3-toothed. Male flowers ovoid, somewhat irregular by mutual 
pressure. Female spadiz very similar to the male, rigid, erect, about as long as’ the 
leaves, not cirriferous, with 3—4 partial inflorescences and with a small tail-like filiform 
aculeolate appendix at its apex; primary spathes exactly as in the male spadix; 
partial inflorescences short, rigid, issuing erect from their own spathe, and then 
patent, panicled-pyramidate, with 4-6 spikelets on each side, slightly unilateral 
and somewhat turned upwards, and terminated by a recurved and subscorpioid 
spikelet ; the lowest spikelets usually branched at their base and the upper cnes speedily 
decreasing in length and number of flowers; the axis of the inflorescences relatively 
thick, more or less angular; secondary spathes concrete with the axis, bracteiform at 
their summit and acute at one side; spikelets inserted above the mouth of their own 
spathels with a distinct swollen axillary callus, arched-subscorpioid, the lower ones 15-20 
mm. long with 10-14 flowers in all, those of the summit with 4-6 flowers only; spathels 
broad, bracteiform, acute at one side, pushed down by the flowers; involucrophorum and 
involucrum subconform, flat; involuere with a large round scar in the centre and a 
narrow subeireula- obscurely-toothed limb; areola of the neuter (or male and fertile Py 
