€. luridus. ] BECOARI. THE SPECIES OF CALAMUS.—SUPPLEMENT. 33 
concolorous, subtricostulate or with the mid-costa acute and a secondary nerve on 
each side of it stronger than a few other secondary nerves, quite smooth on both 
surfaces; transverse veinlets very sharp; margins smooth or nearly so; the largest 
leaflets seen by me, apparently those of the intermediate portion, 38 em. lung, 22-24 
mm. broad; the upper ones gradually smaller; those of the terminal pair free from 
the base, 20 em. long. 10-12 mm. broad. Mave spadiz elongate, very slender, about 
l'5 m. long (in one specimen) with very few, very lax and distant partial inflores- 
ceuces; the terminal portion bears a few, remote, compound spikelets, not differing 
from those of the partial inflorescences; the extreme apex is represented by a 
short (3 mm, long) very slender, unarmed tail.like appendage; the axial basal part is 
elongate, much flattened, two-edged, armed feebly with slender, horizontal, needle-like 
spines, the axis between 2 partial inflorescences is filiform, armed with very few, 
small ciaws or smooth; primary spathes very long, very narrow, very closely sheathing, 
strongly flattened and acutely two-edged, especially the lowest, split longitudinally in 
their npper part and terminating in a narrow acuminate point; they are sprinkled 
with small, punctiform, brown scales, otherwise are glabrescent like the axial parts; the 
partial inflorescences are elongate, the largest 40 cm. long, with only 4 compound 
spikelets on each side and a tail-like very slender appendage at the end as already 
described ; secondary spathes elongate-tubular, very slightly infundibuliform in their 
upper part, flattened and very slender lower down, prodnced at the summit into a 
membranous triangular acuminate point, which subtends its own spikelet ; compound 
spikelets 4-5 cm. apart, inserted just at the mouth of their own spathes, subtended 
by the point of these and kept horizontal by a distinet axillary eallas; they are very 
slender, 7-11 em. long and have 15-15 very small, few-flowered, secondary  spikelets 
on each side; primary spathels infundibuliform, puberulous, truncate and ciliate at 
the mouth; secondary spikelets very short, with only 2-3 very closely packed flowers 
on each side; spathels inconspicuous, bracteiform; involucre very shallowly cupulay 
bidentate. Male flowers subtereto, 3°5-4 mm. long, obscurely apiculate; the calyx 
cylindrical, shortly 3-dentate, not or obsoletely striately veined ; the corolla polished 
externally, about twice as long as the calyx. Other parts not seen by me. 
Habitat.—The Malayan Peninsula: Pahan, Tahan River, Ridley, (Herb. Beccari). 
Opservations.— I have seen of this a specimen kindly given to me by Mr. Ridley. 
Ir belongs to the group V, and is apparently rather closely related to 0. nemato- 
spadiz, but it is very easily recognizable by its remote, exactly opposite leaflets 
kept divaricate, and at times even deflexed, by an axillary callus; and by the very 
lax, elongate, almost unarmed male spadix with elongate, slender compound spikelets, 
which bear many secondary, very small, very few-flowered, secondary spikelets, 
" Ridley describes the lowest spathe as being 9 inches long with a lanceolate, thin 
limb, and its mouth armed with erect, slender processes an inch long. 
17. Supp. PLAT: 17.—Calamus laxissimus &idley. Upper end of a leaf ; an almost 
entire male spadix. From the specimen in Herb. Beccari. 
64. CALAMUS LURIDUS Bece, Add:—Ridley, Mal. FI. Mal. Penins. ii, 198. 
Ridley gives several localities for this species, but some of these, apparently 
belong to allied species. S 
Ann. Roy. Bor. Garp. Catcutra Vor. XI. 
