.976 ANNALS OF THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN, CALCUTTA. [0. densiflorus» 
Prate 155.—Calamus Scipionum Zour. Portion of the sheathed stem with the 
base of a leaf and an entire flagellum; an intermediate portion of the leaf (under 
surface); the summit of a leaf (upper surface); portion of tbe male spadix with an 
entire primary spathe and an entire partial inflorescence.— From Scortechini’s specimen 
No. 501^ in Herb. Becc. 
Pirate 1506.—Calamus Scipionum our. Upper part of a leaf-sheath with the 
base of a leaf; an intermediate portion of a leaf (under surface); an entire partial 
inflorescence with almost mature fruit.—Specimen in Herb. Becc. from a plant 
cultivated at Buitenzorg. | 
183, CALAMUS DENSIFLORUS Becc. in Hook. fil Fl. Brit. Ind. vi, 445 and in 
Rec. Bot, Surv. Ind. ii, 205, ! 
Description.—Scandent. Sheathed stem 3-4 em. in diam. Leaf-sheaths thick, 
subligneous, gibbous above, truncate and naked at the mouth, strongly armed with 
flattened, horizontal, short spines, which have a swollen and broad base. Leaf- 
sheath flagella very robust and long, strongly clawed. Ocrea very short, annular. 
Leaves not cirriferous, large, 2-2:6 m. long (King’s collector); petiole almost reduced 
to nothing, as the lowest leaflets are attached very near the mouth of the sheath; 
first portion of the rachis slightly biconvex with narrow flat (not channelled) sides 
where are inserted the leaflets, prickly above and armed beneath at the sides and 
along the middle with scattered claws; the upper portion of the rachis bifaced and 
smooth above and rather densely armed beneath with stout solitary or irregularly 
approximate broad-based claws; leaflets numerous, closely equidistant, greenish even 
when dry, subshiniug above, slightly paler beneath, linear-ensiform (the lowermost 
remarkably narrower, but not much shorter than the others), rigidulous, attenuate at 
the base, gradually acuminate into a very subulate apex, the mesial and still more 
the uppermost less acuminate; these last distinctly indented on the lower margin near 
the apex; the larger ones (the mesial) 34 cm. long and 14-16 mm. broad, rather 
suddenly decreasing in length towards the summit; the two of the terminal pair very 
small, 5-7 cm. long, 2-5 mm. broad, quite free at the base—all rather distinctly 
3-costate, the broad mid-costa very acute and prominent above where spinulous only, 
near the summit the side costae more slender and remotely spinulous throughout, 
very finely longitudinally striately veined under the lens beneath, where the mid- 
costa only is sparsely bristly-spinulous; margins slightly thickened by a secondary 
nerve, furnished with small remote and adpressed spinules, these more spreading near 
the apex. Male spadiz supradecompound, apparently very similar to the female one, 
very elongate with closely sheathing cylindraceous prickly primary spathes, and with 
very remote partial inflorescences ; these (only one seen by me) inserted outside and 
coming forth erect from their own spathe, loosely pyramidate, 25 cm. long, exactly 
like the female ones, but with 2-3 compound spikes or spicigerous branches on 
each side in their basal part and 4-5 gradually diminishing simple spikelets at 
the summit; secondary spathes unarmed, tubular-infundibuliform, closely sheathing, 
obsoletely angular ; branchlets arched, the lower ones 7-8 cm. long, with 7-8 spikelets 
on each side; tertiary spathes infundibuliform ; spikelets arched, the larger ones, the 
lowest of every branchlet, about 2 em, long with 13-15 almost horizontal very closely 
