70 ANNALS OF THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN, CALCUTTA. (C. Elmerianus. 
nearly so; rachis armed underneath, towards its upper end, with usually solitary 
claws along the centre, and with others much smaller at the sides, all having 
a light-coloured base, and a black tip; on the upper surface the rachis has a 
salient angle, spinulous on its lower portion; the terminal cirrus is slender and very 
densely armed with small, single ‘not in half-whorls), very sharp claws. Leaflets 
alternate or more or less approximate in pairs on each side of the rachis, 
papyraceous, rigidulous, dark green on the upper, and very slightly lighter on the 
lower surface, more or less concavo-convex, oblong-lanceolate or elliptical-lanceolate, or 
oblanceolate, 15-25 em. long. 3-6:5 em. broad: the lower smaller, the basal pair 
being much the smallest: they are usually broadest above their middle and gradually 
narrow thence towards an acute base: near the apex they are more or less con- 
tracted into a more or less elongate, triangular and acuminate spinulous-ciliate or 
else quite smooth tip: they have usually 5 slender costae, which are usually 
smooth on both surfaces, but occasionally the mid-costa is spinulous above ; trans- 
verse veinlets extremely | numerous and approximate, very slender but very sharp 
on both surfaces; margins almost smooth or at times furnished especially near the 
base with a few, frequently rather elongate, rigid, slender spinules. Male spadiv...... 
Female spadiz arising a little below the mouth of the leaf-sheaths, subflagelliform, 
1 m. long or thereabout and extended into a rather elongate slender tip, which 
is sheathed by 3-4 elongate, narrow, slightly prickly spathes; it has only 2-4 remote 
partial inflorescences; primary spathes elongate, the lowest strongly flattened ; the 
upper ones cylindraceous, rather closely sheathing, finely striate longitudinally, 
thinly coriaceous, green, narrowing a good deal in their lower portion to a 
very slender axial part, more or less armed with small scattered prickles, obliquely 
truncate and glabrous at the mouth, and prolonged at one side into a triangular 
acuminate point; partial inflorescences inserted near or somewhat above the mouth 
` of their respective spathes, arched subscorpioid, small, 8-12 cm. long, with 6-8 
slightly assurgent spikelets on each side; secondary spathes narrowly tubular-infundi- 
buliform, horizontally truncate, entire and smooth at the mouth; spikelets inserted 
at or a little above the mouth of their respective spathes, small, slender, the lowest 
(largest) are 2:5-3 cm. long, have 10-11 flowers on each side; the others shorten 
gradually and have fewer flowers; spathels suddenly broadening into an open 
infundibuliform limb, at first slightly furfuraceous, later glabrous, obscurely produced 
at one side into an obtuse poiut; the involucrophorum is not pedicelliform, but has 
a very short neck, which suddenly expands into a narrow suborbicular limb; involucre 
very slightly concave with the conspicuous orbicular scar left by the fallen flower 
bordered by a circular or obsoletely angular limb; the areola of the neuter flower 
is represented by a small tubercle. Female flowers very small, 3 mm, long, ovoid; 
the calyx parted down to about the middle into 3 semi-ovate, acute, strongly striately 
veined lobes; the segments of the corolla as long as the calyx. Fruiting perianth 
short, but distinctly pedicelliform. Fruit globose-ovoid,* about 13 mm. broad, very 
suddenly and distinctly surmounted by an obtuse cylindrical beak; pericarp very 
thin and brittle; scales very small, arranged in 21 longitudinal series, squarrose, 
flattish, not grooved along the centre, of a dirty straw colour with lighter margins 
and with a reddish-brown erosely toothed point. Seed globular-ovoid, 7 mm. long 
slightly rugose-pitted and with a central, orbicular, rather deep chalazal fovea on the. 
slightly flattened raphal side; albumen equable ; embryo basal, 
