€. mucronatus. | BECCARI. MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS CALAMUS. 421 
very inequidistant and remote one from the other, irregularly alternate or subopposite, 
never fascicled, thinly papyraceous, rigidulous, glabrous, opaque, green even when 
dry, slightly paler beneath, oblanceolate, gradually tapering lower down from above 
the middle towards an acute base, suddenly narrowed at the summit into a rather 
long narrow acuminate muero or tip, this quite naked or with 1-2 subspiny bristles 
at its summit, plicately 5-costulate, the costae very slender und smooth on both 
surfaces; transverse veinlets very fine, rather numerous, much interrupted; margins 
perfectly smooth; the largest leaflets, those a little above the base, 6-12 cm. long, 
12-16 mm. broad; the two of the basal pair and sometimes the two next much 
smaller than the others, strongly deflexed and distinctly” callous at their insertion. 
Male spadiz slender erect, shorter than the leaves, inserted about midway of the 
sheaths, not flagelliferous at its summit, simply decompound, with very few (5-6) 
partial inflorescences; primary spathes 2-3 cm. long, tubular, slightly infundibuliform 
or somewhat enlarged and rather loosely sheathing in their upper part, narrowed to 
the base into a short unarmed axial part, fugaciously furfuraceous, very obliquely 
truncate and densely ciliate-bearded at the mouth, prolonged at one side into a 
rather long lanceolate acuminate erect point, unarmed, longitudinally striately veined ; 
partial inflorescences inserted at the mouth of their own spathe, spreading and 
arched, very small, the lower ones, the largest, 4-5 cm. long with 6-8 spikelets on 
each side, which however have a unilateral tendency; upper inflorescences gradually 
smaller; secondary spathes infundibuliform, striately veined, not scabrid, rather 
densely covered with chaffy-furfuraceous greyish small scales, a good deal narrowed 
to the base, very obliquely truncate and ciliate at the mouth, prolonged at one side 
into à rather acute tip; spikelets very short, circinnato-scorpioid, 5-10 mm. long, 
with very closely packed flowers; spathels very approximate, bracteiform, concave, 
broadly ovate, acute or acuminate, strongly deflexed and subtending their flower; 
involucre transversely evolute, almost explanate and apparently formed by two tri- 
angular divaricate acute bracts connate by their bases; spathels and involucres 
membranous, reddish-brown, strongly striately veined and ciliate, Male flowers small, 
2 mm. long, ovoid-subtrigonous; the calyx subcampanulate, strongly striately veined, 
parted midway down into 3 very broad acute lobes; the corolla about twice as 
long as the calyx, opaque outside. Female spadiz . . . . . 
Hamrar.—Borneo; in Sarawak, at Kuching, Beccari P. B. No. 829; on Mount 
Mattang, Beccari P. B. No. 1904. It was also collected by Lobb in 1853, probably 
also in Sarawak (H. Kew.). | | 
OnsrRvATIONS.—I have gathered two specimens with male spadices of this very 
distinct small Calamus. The one No. 1904 has quite unarmed leaf-sheaths ; in the 
other these bear a few small straight spines. 
: The “nearest ally of this species is perhaps C. asperrimus, having the male 
spikelets almost identical, but in this the male spadix is a good deal more elongate 
and besides €. mucronatus is not scabrid in any of its parts. | 
| It resembles also C. dielánoloma with which it agrees, as with C, asperrimus, in 
£he small leaves with a few lanceolate leaflets, and in tbe green colour they keep 
in drying. ( | 
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