vC brachystachys] BECCARI. MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS CALAMUS. 485 
190, Catamus sRACHYSTACHYs Becc. in Rec. Bot. Surv. Ind. ii, 215. 
DESCRIPTION. — Stem e . . . . Leaves. . . . .- Female spadiz short, with only 
one very compact oblong (when in fruit) partial inflorescence, this borne by a short 
and robust flattened two-edged peduncular part, which broadens into a comparatively 
large spathe and terminates with a small taillike appendix; this 10-15 em. long 
and formed by diminutive prickly spathes; the solitary primary spathe lanceolate- 
auriculiform, open on the ventral side, somewhat flattened, keeled on the back, suddenly 
narrowed at the summit into a short point, thinly coriaceous, very tough, armed with 
scattered solitary short, straight, horizontal spines; the inflorescence when in fruit 
oblong, compact, 15 cm. long, formed by many very closely and irregularly packed 
spikelets; secondary spathes very shortly tubular, closely sheathing, truncate, obsoletely 
angular; spikelets very short, scorpioid, with very few approximate and irregularly 
biseriate flowers; spathels bracteiform, very short and very closely packed; involucro- 
phorum cupular, immersed in its own spathel; involucre exactly cupular, entire; 
areola of the neuter flower distinct, lunate, not very sharply bordered. Female flowers 
comparatively large, almost 1 em. long. Fruiting períanth campanulate, the calyx thinly 
coriaceous, split down past the middle or almost to the base into 3 broad, ovate, acute 
parts; segments of the corolla as long as the lobes of the calyx and a good deal 
narrower than these. Fruit comparatively large, 3:5 cm. long, 1°5 cm, broad, closely 
and irregularly packed, black and shining, elongate-ovoid, ventricose in the middle, 
somewhat narrowing towards the base and gradually tapering towards the summit into 
a very conspicuous conic. beak; this crowned by the persistent recurved stigmas; scales 
in 15 longitudinal series, slightly convex, not channelled along the middle, totally 
black, shining, the tip rounded and at the margin coarsely erosely toothed. Seed 
ovoid-elliptic, subacute at both ends, finely tubercled and pitted all round, 17 mm. 
long, 10 mm. broad; chalazal fovea indistinct; albumen deeply and finely ruminated ; 
embryo basal. 
Hasrrar.—Borneo, near Kuching in Sarawak, Beccari P. B. No. 1101. 
OssERVATIONS.—A very characteristic species, closely related to C. conirosiris, from 
which it differs in the very short not cirriferous spadix. The specimen upon which 
this species is founded is only a spadix with mature fruit which was brought to 
me by a native, and nothing is known of the plant from which this spadix was 
detached. I have however collected on Mt. Mattang a leaf of a Calamus, which sọ 
closely resembles those of C. conirostris that I have little doubt of its belong- 
ing to C. brachystachys. This leaf is about 3 metres long, with diminutive leaflets 
in its subcirriferous termination as in C. conirostris Fy the sheath is gibbous above, 
almost woody, light-coloured, armed on the surface with straight spines and at the 
mouth with numerous erect, very straight, very long (as much as 20 cm.) rigid 
narrowly subulate spines; a rudimentary é flagellum attached near the mouth of the 
sheath is filiform about as long as the spines, slightly spinulous at the summit; petiole 
40 em. long, slightly channelled above, rounded beneath, where armed along the 
middle with rather robust, short, straight prickles, the margins armed with short straight 
and often divergent spines; the rachis in its upper part is acutely bifaced above, and 
powerfully clawed beneath; leaflets numerous, equidistant, about 4 cm, apart on each 
