404 ANNALS OF THE ROYAL BOTANIC “GARDEN, CALCUTTA. ' (C. palustris. 
approach the summit; some of the segments are up to 50 cm. long and 9 cm. broad, 
elliptic-lanceolate, inequidistant and often inserted in pairs on each side of the rachis. 
Another specimen of Kurz (No, 3319), also from Pegu (Herb. Calc.) seems to 
have been detached from a very robust plant. A leaf has a petiole 10 cm. long 
and 2 em. broad, flat and with a few short straight prickles in ifs upper surface; 
the marginal prickles are also small; the leaflets are inequidistant, narrower than in 
No. 1473, 6-7 em, broad. A portion of a female spadix with very young fruit hus 
the primary spathes very sparingly prickly; the lowest 12 cm. long, flattened and 
two.edged, the edges acute and sparingly aculeate; the lowest partial inflorescence is 
40 em. long and bears 8 spikelets on each side. 
I have observed no differences between the specimens from the Andamans and 
those of the Nicobars, In one specimen from these last islands the leaflets are 
sometimes geminate on each side, but not always so and are very broad, the 
largest measures 50 by 11 cm.; the primary spathes are rather densely armed 
with deflexed prickles, the secondary spathes are also prickly. In Liebig’s specimen 
from the Andamans the leaf-sheaths are armed with the very large spines described 
above, solitary or 2-3 confluent together or even disposed in small series, or some- 
times almost smooth. 
Puare 173.—Calamus palustris Grif. Base of a leaf (under surface); an inter- 
mediate portion of a leaf (under surface); summit of a male spadix; portion of the 
cane (all the above from a specimen collected by Man in the Andamans); detached 
mature fruits and seed from a specimen in the Calcutta Herbarium. 
CALAMUS PALUSTRIS var. AMPLISSIMUS Becc. 
Desceiption.—Very robust.  Sheathed stem 4'5 cm. and perhaps more in diam., 
armed as in the type with the usual very broad spines and furthermore with others 
many times smaller but of the same shape. Leaves very large, 3'5 m. in the pinni- 
ferous part in one specimen; petiole very robust and short, 7 em. long, 3 cem, 
broad, and like the first portion of the rachis convex and smooth beneath, flat in 
the upper surface, where densely covered with very short erect broad-based prickles; 
cirrus very robust, fearfully armed with strong half-whorled black-tipped claws; leaflets 
not very numerous, in one specimen 35 in all, subequidistant, 12-25 cm. apart on 
each side, but with a tendency to be sometimes slightly approximate in pairs, alternate 
or subopposite, inserted with a distinct axillary callus, very large, up to 50 em, long 
and 8-10:5 cm. broad, otherwise as in the type. Female spadix comparatively short 
and dense, apparently 1 m. in leugth (not seen entire); upper primary spathes barely 
aculeolate ; the largest partial inflorescences 20 cm. long with 7-8 spikelets on each 
side; secondary spathes slightly aculeolate ; spikelets rather thick, much shorter than 
in the type, 4-6 cm. long. 
Hasrrar.—Cultivated at Buitenzorg where it was introduced from the Calcutta 
Botanical Garden. 
—  OBsERVATIONS.— The very large size of the entire plant and the .Subequidistant 
leaflets distinguishes this from the other varieties of C. palusíris. 
