. melanoloma) BECCARI. MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS CALAMUS. 469 
Ann. iii, 489 and v, 831; Miq. Fl. Ind. Bat, iii, 129; Teysm, Cat. 
Hort. Bog. 75; H. Wendl. in Kerch. Les Palm., 237; Becc. in Ree, ` 
Bot. Surv. Ind. 5, 213. 
C. anceps Bl. Cent, Plant, Nov. (ined.) and Rumphia, iii, 65, t, 149. 
C. calolepis Miq. Pl. Jungh., 159 and Fl. Ind. Bat. iii, 130, and De Palmis, 
28. 
Description.—Slender, scandent. Sheathed stem 7-19 mm. in diam. Leaf-sheaths not 
flagelliferous, obliquely truncate at the mouth, green (though dry), more or less fur- 
furaceous, ultimately glabrous, gibbous above, armed with solitary, scattered, horizontal 
or slightly deflexed, straight, usually 2-5 more rarely 10 mm. long, broad-based, 
subulate spines. crea short, glabrous, smooth, liguliform, eaves small, 30-50 cm. 
long in the pinniferous portion; the cirrus about as long, slender, filiform, irregularly 
armed with solitary, more or less aggregate and more rarely half-whorled claws; 
petiole very short, 10 mm. long at most, 3-5 mm. broad, flat above, rounded beneath, 
where armed with a line of solitary claws along the middle; the margins acute, smooth 
or sparingly aculeolate; rachis rounded below where armed as usual at first with 
solitary and higher up with geminate and then ternate claws, flattish in its first portion 
above, where speedily becoming bifaced with an acute and smooth salient angle; 
leaflets few, 10-20 in all, incquidistant, usually in remote pairs on each side of the 
rachis (the pairs alternate or subopposite), all about of the same size or the medial 
a little larger than the others, 10-12 cm. long, 1:5-2:5 cm. broad, papyraceous, 
rather firm, green even when dry, paler beneath, lanceolate or oblanceolate, tapering 
towards and acute at the base, acuminate from above the middle into a rather long 
narrow bristly-spinulous tip, 3- or sub-5-costulate, the mid-costa acute, the side 
costae very slender, all naked on both surfaces and less distinct beneath; transverse 
 veinlets fine, not very crowded, continuous; margins minutely and adpressedly spinulous, 
more spreadingly at the summit. Male and female spadices very similar, very simple, 
erect, inserted far below the mouth of the sheath and bearing simple, or the male 
sometimes branched, spikelets at each primary spathe. Male spadiz 30-40 cm. long, 
with 5-6 spikelets on each side, of which the lower ones sometimes branched or 
furnished on each side at their base with 1-3 secondary spikelets; primary spathes 
more or less rusty-furfuruceous, almost unarmed or sparsely aculeolate, otherwise 
smooth, tubular, slightly enlarged above, entire, obliquely truncate at the mouth, 
natrowly scarious and ciliolate at the margin and prolonged at one side into an acute 
or acuminate point; the first flattened with acute and prickly edges ; the succeeding 
one also somewhat flattened; the upper ones more cylindraceous; spikelets inserted at 
the mouth of their own spathe, horizontal, slightly arched; the lower ones, the largest, 
5-7 cm. iong., bearing 6-9 distichous very patent remote flowers on each side ; 
spathels infundibuliform, narrowed a good deal towards the base, striately veined, 
ciliate at the mouth, conspicuously prolonged at one side into a large spreading acute 
point, this subtending a flower; the secondary spikelets smaller, with more closely 
ked flowers and shorter and more crowded spathels; involucre laterally adnate 
Lm base of the spathel above its own, shallowly cupular, acutely bidentate on 
the side next to the axis. Male flowers oblong-ovoid, somewhat tapering towards 
the summit, acute, obsoletely trigonous, 6 mm. long, 3 mm. thick; calyx tubular; 
