C. aquatilis.] BECCARI. MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS CALAMUS. 393. 
141. Catamus aquatitis Ridley in Journ, Roy. As. Soc. Straits Branch, No. 41 
(1903), 43. 
DescripTion.—Scandent and of moderate size. Stem ..... Leaf-sheaths. 
ea ae Leaves cirriferous, large, about 2 m. iong in the pinniferous portion, 
the cirrus about one m. long, powerfully armed with %-whorls of 6 very acute 
very highly connate black-tipped claws; petiole . . . . .; rachis in its first 
portion flattish and rather strongly prickly above with rather broad side-faces where 
are inserted the leaflets, smooth and bifaced upwards, inj the lower surface roundish, 
naked near the base, then armed with solitary remote rather strong and higher 
up geminate or ternate, rather strong and finally where passing into the cirrus, 
half-whorled claws; leaflets very numerous, equidistant, 2°5-4 cm. apart, the largest, 
those a little above the base, 80-33 em. long, 18 mm. broad, the upper ones 
gradually shorter but not narrower (except those near the base of the cirrus), 
narrowly ensiform, somewhat narrowed at the base where strongly plicate and not 
callous at the axilla, inserted at an angle of about 45°, gradually acuminate into a 
subulate very slender and at the sides bristly-spinulous filamentous tip, papyraceous, 
rigidulous, brown when dry, rather opaque in the upper surface, where the mid-costa 
is very slender, barely raised and naked and the side nerves are excessively slender 
and numerous so as to give to that surface a finely striate appearance; the lower 
surface is distinctly paler than the upper one, sprinkled with very small rusty scales 
and furnished with small bristly spinules along the very superficial mid-costa and 
on one and sometimes two nerves on each side of this. Male spadix large - 
svpradecompound (not seen entire by me); primary spathes rather short (8-10 cm. 
long) tubular, subeylindraceous slightly enlarged above, very closely sheathing, concave 
at the base on the inner side and with acute margins there, truncate and entire at 
the mouth where prolonged at one side into an elongate triangular dorsally keeled 
point, rather densely armed in their upper part with small black-tipped reversed 
spines which are simple, or more often 3-fid or subpectinate ; partial inflorescences 
rather large, loosely paniculate, 49-50 cm. long, broad at the base and gradually 
narrowing towards the summit where they terminate in a very short unarmed 
caudiculum with 7-8 branchlets or compound spikes near their base and 3-4 simple 
‘spikelets upward on each side; secondary spathes tubular, cylindraceous, barely larger 
in their upper part, closely sheathing, entire, unarmed, truncate at the mouth, 
prolonged at one side into a triangular elongate point; ; the branchlets attached 
inside to the bottom of their respective spathe with a distinct slender pedicel, the 
lower ones the largest, 13-15 cm. long, somewhat flexuose with numerous (even 20} 
spikelets on each side; tertiary spathes infundibuliform truncate ; spikelets very short 
(10-15 mm. long) attached inside to the bottom of their respective spathes with a 
distinct pedicellar part, complanate, with 8-10 very closely set and perfectly flatly 
bifarious flowers on each side; spathels bracteiform very closely packed, broad, 
concave, strongly striately veined, acute at one side; involucre dimidiately cupular 
like a swallow’s nest, obliquely truncate, acutely bidentate and acutely keeled with 
the margin deeply excavate on the side next to the axis. Male flower A subtended 
by the spathels with the calyx strongly striately veined. F emal e spadiz broadly 
panicled, simply decompound, with numerous distichous partial inflorescences, which 
are inserted with a peduncular part inside to the bottom of their respective spathe 
Ann. Roy. Bor. Garp, CarcurrA Vor. XI. 
