399 ANNALS OF THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN, CALCUTTA. CC. Merrillii 
round usually obtuse point; involucre shorter than the spathels, cupular, deeply 
bidentate, two-keeled and with the margin lunately excavate on the side next to the 
axis. Male flowers . . . . . Female spadiz . . . 
Hasitat.—The Philippines at Bosoboso, prov. of Rizal in Luzon, (Merrill. No. 1893 
in Herb. Berol, collected April 1903: specimens with male spadices but without a. 
single flower left upon them), I consider also as very probably belonging to C. 
Merrill, Loher’s No. 1361 in Herb. Kew, collected in Central Luzon and consisting 
only of a partial inflorescence with mature fruit. 
OssERvATIONS,— Ü. Merrill seems very closely related to C. Zollingerii, and the leaves 
and the male spadix of the two are hardly distinguishable. ©. Zollingerii, however, 
has the leaf-sheaths armed with long robust spines, while those of ©. Merrilli are 
covered with small more or less confluent spiculae. OC, Merrillit in the leaves and in 
the male spadix is also very similar to C. andamanicus, and the leaf-sheaths of both 
are armed with spiculae but these in the first are arranged in short series, while the 
series are long and continuous in the second. The fruit of C. Merrillii is, however, 
very probably quite different from that of C. andamanicus, while it seems similar 
to that of C. Zollingerii ; and indeed I consider as belonging to €. Merrill a partial 
inflorescence of a fruiting spadix of a Calamus collected by Loher in Central Luzon 
(No. 1361 in Herb. Kew.), and the reason of this belief of mine rests on the great 
resemblance of this fruit spadix to that of C. Zollingerii, while in the male spadix 
and in the leaves of both species this resemblance is so great that it is hardly 
possible to discover any appreciable difference, The following is the description of 
. Lohers specimen: Partial inflorescence 42 em. long with 11 spikelets on each side 
and terminating in a very short unarmed tail-like appendix; secondary spathes infundi- 
buliform, short, truncate, smooth or occasionally with a very small prickle here and 
there; spikelets thick with a distinct pedicellary part arising from the bottom of 
their respective spathe; spathels very approximate, very shortly and broadly infundi- 
buliform; involucrophorum unilaterally subinfundibuliform inserted to the bottom of 
its own spathel, two-keeled and with the margin excavate on the side next to the 
axis; involucre cupular, truncate; areola ot the neuter flower very distinct, sharply 
bordered. Fruiting perianth split down to the base into 6 almost equal parts. 
and subtended by the subpediceiliform involucrophorum. Fruit sphaeric, obtusely 
mucronate-mammillate, 11-12 mm. in diam.; scales in 21 series narrowly channelled 
along the middle, light greenish-brown with a narrow paler margin and an obtuse 
inconspicuously fringed brown tip. Seed with even surface, convex on the back, 
slightly flattened on the raphal side without a distinct chalazal fovea; albumen 
equable bony; embryo basal, slightly on one side. 
Pirate 167.—Calamus Merrillii Bece. Leaf-sheath; portion of a leaf (upper 
surface) not very far above its base; portion of a male spadix (the above from 
Merril's No. 1893 in the Herb. at Berlin.  Spikelet with mature fruit; seed from 
dorsal and raphal side; one seed longitudinally cut through the embryo in two 
halves; from Loher’s No. 1361 in Herb. Kew. : 
