489 . ANNALS OF THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN, CALCUTTA. [C. Lobbianus 
flowers each, and further with 2 other distinct series of neuter flowers, these 
slightly smaller than the fertile ones; upper spikelets speedily decreasing in length 
and number of flowers; spathels very approximate, bracteiform, concave; involucro- 
phorum cupular, balf exsert from its own spathel; involucre large, deeply cupular 
with somewhat irregular margin; areola of the neuter flower lunate, often irregularly, 
sharply bordered. Female flowers comparatively large, about 7 mm. long. Fruiting 
perianth campanulate; the calyx smooth at the base, divided midway down into 3 
broad triangular strongly striately veined acute lobes; these often with a black 
shining margin; the corolla also divided midway down into three acute lobes which 
are narrower than but as long as the lobes of the calyx; stamens forming by their 
united bases a cupular urceolum, this reaching about to the middle of the corolla 
and crowned by 6 very short teeth. Fruit rather large, quite smooth, about 3 cm. 
long, 15 mm, broad, narrowly ovoid, somewhat tapering towards the base and gradually 
attenuated at the summit into a large conic beak, this crowned by the rather large 
recurved stigmas; scales in 15 series, slightly convex, not channelled along the middle, 
almost black, yellow in the basal covered part, shining, the point rounded and, like 
the margin, coarsely erosely toothed. Seed ovoid, rather acute at the summit, finely 
tubercled all round, 14 mm. long, 10 mm. broad; albumen very deeply ruminated ; 
embryo situated a little above the base. 
Hasirat.—The Malayan Peninsula; in the district of Perak at Goping, at an 
elevation of 100-300 metre, collected by Scortechini; and in the same district, by 
King’s collector (Nos, 5808 and 4593 in Herb. Calc.). 
OBSERVATIONS.--Àmong the specimens of this Calamus in the Calcutta Herbarium 
is a strong aculeate flagellum 2:5 m. long, which apparently belongs to it. One 
of Scortechini’s specimens has the female spadix with one and another with 
2 inflorescences. In a male spadix the inflorescences are 3. The leaf-sheaths of these 
specimens are less spinous than in those of the Calcutta Herbarium, C. conirostris is 
allied to C. Lobbianus, but easily distinguishable by its climbing habit and the 
leaflets not being chalky-white underneath. From C. brachystachys this differs in the 
more elongate spadix terminated by a long flagelliform appendix. 
The fruit of C. conirostris is of an uniform black colour with the scales not very 
easily distinguishable one from the other and forming a polished and almost even 
surface, because of their convex and not channelled dorsum; the orthostichies are 15, 
but their disposition in 8-9 oblique spiral series is more apparent. 
Prate 220.—Calamus conirostris Becc. The summit of a plant with an entire 
male spadix; portion of the sheathed stem with a fruit-spadix; basal portion of a leaf 
seen from the lower surface; mature fruit; seed entire and longitudinally cut through 
the embryo.—From Scortechini’s specimens in Herb. Becc. ! 
189. CaraMus Lossianus Becc. in Hook. fil. Fl. Brit. Ind. vi, 462, and in 
Rec, Bot. Surv. Ind. ii, 215. 
C. melanocarpus Ridley in Trans, Linn. Soc. ser, II, ii, (1893) 392. 
DescripTion,— Standing, 2-2:6 metres high from the ground to the top of the 
eaves with a short stem about 40 cm. high, 14-18 cm. in diam. Leaf-sheaths 
