CERATOLOBUS si 
Bl. in Roem. et Sch. Syst. Veg. vii, 1334 and Rumphia, ti, 165, t. 137 f£. A; 
Mart. Hist. Nat. Palm ili, 196, t. 115, 1; Mig. Fl. Ind. Bat. ii. 73; Hook. f. FI. 
Brit. Ind. vi, 187 ; Ridley, Mat. Fl, Mal. Penins. i, 477.  ' 
Slender, climbing, more or less spinose or aculeate, polycarpie, dioecious palms, 
bearing lateral inflorescences. Leaves alternate, pinnate, terminating in a leaflet 
in the young plants and in a clawed cirrus in the adult ones. Leaflets commonly 
cuneately rhomboidal or cuneately oblong, their upper margin lobulate premorse, 
radiately veined (Huceratolobus), more rarely unicostate and linear or narrowly 
lanceolate and- acuminate ( Cryptocladus), never ansate, directly attached to the rhachis 
by an acute base. Stem with internodes: covered at first with sheaths, forming the 
basal portion of the leaves. Leaf-sheaths complete and cylindrical, gibbous above, 
more or less spinose, not furnished with a flagellum and not ocreate, having at the 
mouth only a membranous and at length deciduous rim, and a small axillary - 
ligula. Spadices dioecious (male and polygamous) attached to the sheaths laterally 
exactly similar externally in both! sexes. composed of a panicle enveloped by oné 
complete spathe only.  Spathes persistent, dry, papyraceous or thinly coriaceous, 
narrowly elliptical or fusiform, unarmed, beaked, strongly flattened, two-edged or 
almost two-winged, entirely closed all round, except at apex during the anthesis 
at times at length splitting alongside. Panzeles of both sexes similar, contracted 
and always completely shut into their respective spathes, also during the 
anthesis, and not lengthening out afterwards, branched; the main axis ‘and 
branches provided with short, tubular, tightly sheathing or  infundibuliform 
spathes becoming bracteiform in the ultimate branchlets. Male panicle twice 
or 3 times branched. Male flowers solitary, suffulted by a spathel shortly 
infundibuliform, and provided with an involucre shallowly cupular; the calyx 
small, 3-toothed; the corolla split nearly to the base into 3 oblong segments 
caltose at the base; stamens 6, with filaments adnate to the base of the 
corolla and. having a linear free part shortly inflected at apex; anthers linear- 
sagittate, dorsifixed ; pistillode very minute. Female (or polygamous) spadix less 
branched than the male; the branchlets bear the flowers in pairs at each flexure, 
every female flower being accompanied by a male (or neuter) and suffulted by an 
involuerophorum and an involucre, at times bracteiform; the insertion of the 
neuter flower is marked by a small punctiform areola. Female flowers ovoid, or 
ovoid-trigonous pyramidate ; the calyx cyathiform or campanulate, 3-toothed or 3-lobed ; 
the corolla is parted below the middle into 3 triangular segments and is vent- 
ricose in its lower part; the staminal filaments are connate with the undivided part 
of the corolla and carry well-formed sterile anthers; ovary globose or ovoid, covered 
with large fimbriate scales; style none; stigmas elongate-trigonous, thickish, recurved. 
Companion male (or neuter?) flowers very much the same as the fertile male ones. 
Fruit globose or ovoid, beaked, one celled, one seeded,. clothed with appressed scales. 
ANN. Roy. Bor. GARD, CALCUTTA, VOL. XII. 
