C. rhombuideus. | BECCARI. THE SPECIES OF CALAMUS.—SUPPLEMENT. 61 
inside their respective spathes; by the elongate, scabrid spathes bearded at the 
mouth; by the slender elongate nodding partial inflorescences with ear-like spathels 
and several short scorpioid spikelets bearing closely packed biseriate subsecund male 
flowers. ‘The spadix resembles that of C. Jlepiospadiz. 
Suret Prare 30.—Calamus benkulensis Bece. The entire type specimen in the 
Buitenzorg Herbarium. 
112. CALAMUS RHOMBOIDEUS Br. 
Descriprion.—A specimen collected by J. Hewitt in N.-W. Borneo on the Barram 
River in September 1907 (Herb. Kew.), represented by^a portion of a leaf from an 
adult plant and by the end of a branchlet (partial inflorescence) with mature 
fruits, apparently belongs to C. rhomboideus, The leaf rachis is very minutely 
and closely scabrid (perhaps tomentose at first), rather powerfully and irregularly 
clawed below; the leaflets are very rigid, aimost glossy on the upper and dull on 
the lower surface: the apex is ciliated: they are 20-25 em. long, 7:5-8 em. broad, 
narrowing to a slender and symmetrical base and are 7-costulate. The spathes 
of the branchelet (secondary spathes) are tubular, elongate-infundibuliform, 2-3 em. 
long, unarmed, with a dull minutely puberulous, papillose surface; the spikelets 
inserted just above the mouth of their respective spathes with a rather distinct 
axillary callus, spreading or recurved: the lowest of those present are 5 cm. long 
and have 7 flowers on each side; spathels short, asymmetrically infundibuliform, 
truncate and entire at the mouth, puberulous, papillose, very slightly produced and 
obtuse on the outer side; involucrophora slightly emerging from their respective 
epathels, cupular; involucre cupular, immersed in the involucrophorum, entire ; areola 
of the neuter flower not very conspicuous, lunate, almost hidden by the edge of the 
involuerophorum. Fruiting pertanth pedicelliform, Fruit relatively large, broadly ovoid- 
elliptical, conspicuously beaked, 26-28 mm, long (not including the beak and the 
perianth) and 23 mm. broad; the beak slender, terete, about 3 mm. long; the 
pericarp thin, yet rigid; scales arranged in 21 longitudinal. series, exactly rhomboidal, 
proader than long, of rather dull and uniform dirty straw colour, blunt or not 
produced at the apex, very narrowly and not deeply grooved along the centre, the 
edges very narrow, entire. Seed globose-obpyriform, narrowing towards a rather 
acute base: one is 21 mm. long by !5 mm. broad and 14 mm. thick, enveloped 
by an adherent, once fleshy integument, deeply pitted on the surface; chalazal fovea 
indistinct; albumen narrowly ruminate; embryo conspicuous, almost in the centre of 
one of the faces. 
OnSERVATION.—A specimen collected in Borneo by Teijsmann (No. 16335 in the 
Buitenzorg Herbarium) in the residency of Pontianak or Sambas, I think, as the 
precise locality is not stated—Malayan name ^ Rotang Dudoor”—probably belongs to 
a variety of C. rhomboideus. The specimen consists of the terminal part of a young 
plant with a few leaves. Sheathed stem apparently 10-12 cm. in diameter. Leaf. 
sheaths thinly tomentose ; petiole 40-45 em. long, terete but very narrowly grooved 
on the upper surface, 3-- mm. in diameter, irregularly armed with a few rather 
