284 ANNALS OF THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN, CALCUTTA. [(, acanthospathus. 
or less elongate acicular point. crea very short, liguliform, axillary, triangular, 
exsuccous, glabrous. eaves large, up to 1:5 m. long, not cirriferous; petiole (of 
the upper part of the adult plant) 8-10 cm. long or almost obsolete; and, like 
the first portion of the rachis, robust, up to 15-2 cm. in width, flattish above 
where more or less covered with small scattered very short (1-3 mm. long) spines, its 
margins subobtuse, more or less armed with small straight spines, convex and smooth 
beneath ; the rachis in the intermediate portion rigid, robust, obsoletely angulate 
and furnished here and there with a few prickles; in the upper portion trigonous, 
acutely bifaced and smooth above and more or less partially armed beneath at a 
distance of 3-4 cm. witb black-tipped and stout claws; leaflets relatively not very 
numerous, inequidistant, solitary, not grouped and never in pairs on a side, the 
lower ones usaally opposite or nearly so; the pairs 8-10 cm. apart, from the 
middle upwards alternate and less distant than the lower ones; 3-5 approximate at 
the summit; the two of the terminal pair quite free at the base, somewhat shorter 
than the other; all more or less narrowly lanceolate-elliptic, almost equally narrowed 
to both ends, acute and many-plicate at the base, gradually acuminate at the summit 
into a bristly-penicillate tip, concolorous and green on both surfaces even when dry, 
papyraceous, rather thin in texture, usually with six, more rarely 5-7 acute but 
rather slender costae, the mid-costa slightly the strongest and not quite central, all 
sprinkled with a few short bristly spinules or quite smooth ; beneath all nerves fainter 
and naked; transverse veinlets very sharp; margins finely ciliate at the summit, 
otherwise very minutely spinulous or almost smooth; the largest leaflets, the inter- 
mediate ones, up to 45 cm, long and 5-6 em, broad in vigorous. specimens, but 
usually 25-30 cm. by 4-5 cm. Maule spadiz ultradecompound, attached laterally near 
the mouth of the sheath with a more or less distinct callus, very long (3 m. and 
even more), rigid, erect and stout in its basal portion, slender flagelliform and 
nodding upwards, terminating in a very long thong; this loosely sheathed with 
tubular flattened often split spathes which are smooth or very scantily armed with 
small scattered claws; primary spathes elongate, tubular, terminating in an acutely 
carinate triangular point, the lowest thickly coriaceous, somewhat flattened, with the 
edges acute and armed with straight horizontal short spines, otherwise smooth, its 
apex triangular and acutely keeled on the back; the upp2r spathes more cylindraceous, 
somewhat enlarged above, usually split longitudinally on the inner side, smooth or 
sparingly prickly and with a broad triangular apex ; partial inflorescences relatively to 
the length of the spadix few (5-6), attached inside the mouth of their own spathes, 
gradually smaller from the base of the spadix upwards, the lowest 50-60 cm. in 
length, forming large loose pyramidate-cupressiform panicles with numerous branchlets 
or compound spikelets in their lower portion and simple spikelets towards the summit, 
which terminates in a spikelet longer than the side ones; secondary spathes tubular- 
infundibuliform, rather short, unarmed, obliquely truncate, naked and entire at the 
mouth, prolonged at one side into a triangular distinctly apiculate point; the branchlets 
and spikelets inserted at or above the mouth of the spathes with a distinct axillary 
callus; lower branchlets elongate with many rudimentary or few-flowered spikelets at 
their base; spikelets of very unequal length, 6-7 cm. long at most, and with 8-10 
rather remote, horizontally inserted flowers on each side; spathels with a suddenly 
expanded bracteiform, broad, concave, patent or deflexed limb; involucre laterally 
attached to the axis of the spikelet between two spathels, shortly but neatly cupular, 
