306 ` ANNALS OF THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN, CALCUTTA. ` (ÇC. myrianthus 
easily distinguished amongst the species of the group by its few, remote, rather 
large, long and broad many-costate subconcolorous leaflets and by the very slender 
male spadix with open flat laminar spathes which are as long as the inflorescences, 
and by the very narrow cylindraceous flowers with a long corolla. The Calcutta 
specimen from Tavoy bears a small portion of the stem with a male spadix and a 
portion of a leaf, which corresponds in its general characters with Wallich’s speci- 
mens, but the leaflets are somewhat shorter (15-16 cm. long) and are whitish-mealy 
beneath. 
Prats. 117.,—Calamus platyspathus Mart, The entire Wallichian specimen No. 8610 
in the Herbarium at Kew. 
96. CALAMUS MYRIANTHUS Becc. in Hook. f. Fl. Brit, Ind. vi, 451 and in 
Rec. Bot. Surv. Ind. ii, 207. 
DescripTion.—Probably scandent and of moderate size. Stem . . . . . Leof- 
sheaths . . . . . Leaves (not seen entire); petiole . . » +> rachis in its 
intermediate portion acutely bifaced above, slightly convex Hetioatt; where armed 
along the middle with long straight spines and at the sides with small claws; 
leaflets large, rather remote (probably inequidistant), alternate or subopposite, elongate- 
lanceolate or narrowly elliptic-lanceolate, equally attenuate to both ends, acute at the 
base, inserted at an acute angle, acuminate at the summit into a somewhat bristly 
apex, 40-42 cm. long and 4-5 cm. wide, thinly papyraceous plicate longitudinaily 
closely and superficially, with 8-10 slender almost equal, costae, which are usually 
naked or more rarely furnished with a few spinules above, and are less prominent 
beneath where sprinkled, chiefly towards the summit, with small spinules, otherwise 
the upper surface of the leaflets is opaque except for one or two longitudinal 
shining bands, of which one is usually along the lower margin; the undersurface is 
submealy or covered with an ashy-grey or whitish very thin indumentum; the 
margins very minutely and appressedly spinulous. Male spadiz very delicate, elongate, 
filiform, flagelliform, ultradecompound ; the slender axial portions between two partial 
inflorescences armed with scattered solitary or confluent claws, with many 15-25 em. 
apart partial inflorescences; primary spathes not seen entire by me, but apparently 
very narrow, lacerate and longer than the inflorescences; partial inflorescences 
panicled,  elongate-pyramidate, 15-20 cm. long, with a very slender but rigid 
straight axis and with 7-10 distichous subunilateral branchlets on each side, which 
are spreading or horizontal during the anthesis; the largest branchlets, the lower 
ones, 4-6 cm. long, with 8+10 spikelets on each side, these inserted like the 
spikelets with a distinct axillary callus; secondary spathes glabrous, unarmed, very 
narrowly tubular and closely sheathing, suddenly expanded near the summit into a 
short broadly infundibuliform membranous limb; this entire, obliquely truncate at 
the mouth and extended at one side into a triangular acute or acuminate spreading 
point; spikelets very delicate and small with a slender zig-zag sinuous axis, the 
largest, the lower ones 12-15 mm. long with 8-10 flowers on each side; the upper 
ones shorter and with fewer flowers; spathels shortly tubular at the base, suddenly 
expanded upwards into a broad bracteiform acute or acuminate patent point; 
mvolucre almost horizontally subtended by its own spathel and attached at the base 
