. 98 ANNALS OF THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN, CALCUTTA. P. griffithii. 
corolla twice as long as the calyx, smooth or slightly striately ‘veined ; stamens 
having sterile linear slightly sagittate anthers, reaching with their apices to 
midway of the segments of the corolla. Fruits 3—5 at each spathel, globular, when 
quite mature 15—16 mm. in diameter, bearing on their tops the remains of the 
bases of the stigmas, but not  beaked, very densely villous from the long 
narrow. spreading or upturned, rufous, membranous, finely laciniate-fimbriate tips of 
the scales; the latter are arranged in very numerous series, are dark chestnut- 
brown, polished and slightly depressed along the centre. Seed globular-depressed, 
11 mm. long. 9 mm. broad, 75 mm. thick. Fruiting esie broadly obeonical, 
narrowing a little to a subpedicelliform base. 
Hairar.—The Malay Peninsula and Singapore. The specimens figured by 
Griffith were obtained from the forests near the sea-shore at Kundur near Malacca. 
In the district of Perak (Scortechini in Herb. Becc.); Penang Hill at 600 m. elev. 
(Ridley No. 7098 in Herb. Cale.). In Singapore (collected in 1878 by F. Keheding— . 
Herb. Becc.); Bukit Mandai (Ridley No. 3470 in Herb. Perak); from Singapore 
Ridley gives also the following numbers which I have not seen: No. 3487—Garden 
Jungle; No. 1665—Koranji Selitar. He quotes also the locality of Mt. Ophir at 
1.000 m. elev., and Gunong Kelendang in Perak. 
OssERvATIONS.— P. Griffith is very closely related to P. elongata Bl., and may be 
considered as a geographieal or representative species of the latter. It differs from 
P. elongata in having the female spikelets composed of more numerous flowers (5—9 
instead of 3—4), and in the smaller fruit (15—16 mm., instead of 25—28 mm. in 
diameter) and smaller and apparently more flattened seed. Probably also it differs 
from P. elongata in having the male spikes with smaller spathels, smaller male 
spikelets, and fewer flowers with shorter anthers. I have not however seen male 
spadices which could be referred with certainty to JP. Griffith; probably however 
some specimens belong . to it which Mr. Ridley forwarded to me, I do not know if 
gathered from wild growing plants in the primitive Garden jungle, or from cultivated 
individuals (they bear the date March 1905). In these specimens the leaflets are 
narrowly lanceolate, 55—65 cm. long, 5 em. wide, greyish beneath, in the lower part 
of the rhachis in alternate groups of 3—4; several of the lowest leaflets are furnished 
on the upper margin and at times also on the lower with one or occasionally 
two robust conspicuous spines. The male spikes are 70—75 cm. long, have the 
main axis slender (2 mm. in diameter) and the spathels smaller than in the specimens 
of P. elongata from Java, are 3—3'5 cm. long, 2—45 cm. wide, and more 
closely set tlian in the latter, the spathels being seven in number (instead of 5) 
attached to ‘each side of the main axis for the space of 10 cm. The spikelets 
are 20—25 mm. long, have a very slender axis and carry 5—6 pairs of sessile 
flowers. The flowers are 9 mm. long and 4 mm. broad, have the anthers linear, 
3—35 mm. long reaching with their apices about midway of the spathels. 
PLare 16.—Plectocomia Griffithii Becc.—AÀn entire spike with immature fruits 
and portion , of a leaf from near base from Penang Hill (Ridley's No. 7098 in Herb. 
Caleutta). The upper part of a spike with thoroughly mature fruits and one seed; 
from. Keheding's specimen ‘collected in Singapore. 
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