366 ANNALS OF THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN, CALCUTTA. (C. ornatus. 
of the adult and fertile plant very large, up to 4 m. long, sub-cirriferous, viz., with 
the summit of their rachis strongly clawed and furnished with alternate diminutive 
leaflets; petiole long and robust (up to 60-70 cm. in length and 2:5-3 cm. broad 
at the base) rounded beneath, channelled above near the base, flat upwards, more or 
less irregularly srmed with broad straight spines; rachis in the intermediate portion 
acutely bifaced above, slightly convex or flattish beneath where somewhat irregularly 
armed along the middle and at the sides with large brown-tipped solitary or binate 
claws, these becoming more numerous and ternate towards the sub-cirriform summit; 
eaflets numerous, rather remotely alternate, equidistant, firmly papyraceous, very 
large, elongate-lanceolate, acuminate and setose at the apex, plicate, 5-costate, green 
and' sparingly bristly spinulous on 1-3 or even on all the 5 costae above, 
naked and paler or subglaucescent beneath; transverse veinlets not very con- 
spicuous, but extremely numerous and approximate; margins remotely bristly; the 
largest leaflots, the intermediate ones, 50-60 and even 80 cm. long, 5-9 cm, 
broad, the upper ones gradually smaller, those at side of the cirriform termination 
small. Radical leaves with excessively ‘long and terete petioles und sparingly aculeolate 
rachis, terminated by a large bipartite leaflet, or two highly connate leaflets. Male 
spadiz very large with a very long and robust flagellum at its summit, ultradecom- 
pound, with many branched panicled partial inflorescences; primary spathes very 
long, tubular, closely sheathing, armed with seriate prickles; secondary spathes short, 
tubular-infundibuliform, rather loosely sheathing in their upper part, smooth, fugaci- 
ously furfuraceous, obliquely truncate and densely ciliate at the mouth; tertiary spathes 
shorter, more enlarged above and more attenuate at the base than the secondary 
ones, asymmetrically infundibular-cyathiform, unarmed, truncate and ciliate at the 
mouth, 10-15 mm. long, acute at one side; spikelets inserted at the mouth of their 
own spathe, 5-8 cm. long, somewhat flattened, bearin on each side 12-17 distichous 
approximate erecto-patent fiatly bifarious flowers; the spikelets of the upper part of 
the inflorescences larger and longer than those of the side branchlets; spathels 
concave, broadly bracteiform, ciliate, horizontal or almost deflexed, prolonged at one 
side into a broad point and each subtending its own flower; involucre attached at 
the base of the spathel above its own and much shorter than this, cupular, truncate, 
deeply emarginate and acutely bidentate on the side next to the axis. Male flowers 
oblong-ovoid ; the calyx obsoletely striately veined, divided down about to the middle 
into 8 broad triangular acute lobes; the corolla one-third longer than the calyx, its 
segments ovate-lanceolate acute, opaque outside. Female spadiz simply decompound with 
a very robust axial part, very large, elongate, flagelliform, up to 1:5-2 m, in length, 
not including a very robust strongly clawed flagellum about as long or longer, with 
very few (3-4) very remote partial inflorescences; primary spathes very elongate, 
tubular, closely sheathing, coriaceous, truncate at the mouth, slightly prolonged at 
one side into a short and broad point, more or less armed with short triangular flat 
deflexed confluent and seriate spines, the lowest shorter than the others, 2-4 cm. 
thick, somewhat flattened and two-keeled, the upper ones a good deal longer and 
cylindraceous, slightly and gradually narrowed to the base; partial inflorescences inserted 
at the mouth of their own spathe, ascendent and adpressed to the axis at the base, 
speedily arched and recurved, the lower ones, the largest, up to 60 em. long and 
with 15-16 spikelets on each side; secondary spathes tubular, slightly infundibuliform, 
‘short, 10-15 mm. long, closely ‘sheathing, truncate and entire at the mouth; slightly 
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