64 ANNALS OF THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN, CALCUTTA. M. scortechinii. 
Description or PLate II B. 
Fig. 1- 7. Myrialepis Scortechinii Bece—Fig. 1. Spikelet with female flowers 
in Lad. —Fig. 2. One of the flowers from the spikelet above.—Fig. 3. Female flower 
during the anthesis.—Fig. 4. Ovary from a flower not yet open.—Fig. 5. Ovary 
"with its sterile androecium from a flower during the anthesis—Fig. 6. Longitudinal 
section of the ovary.—Fig. 7. Transverse section of the ovary. All figures enlarged. 
MyrriaLeris ScortecHINII Becc. in Hook f. Fl. Brit. Ind. vi, 480. 
Plectocomiopsis annulatus Ridley, Mat. Fl. Mat. Penins. ii, 213 (The male plant). 
Plectocomiopsis Scortechinii Ridley l. c. (Fruit). 
DescrIPTION—A very high scandent palm of the habit of a  Plectocomia. 
Sheathed stem 5—6 cm. in diameter (and at times more), terete even in the young 
plants. Leaf-sheaths thickly coriaceous, non-gibbous above, gradually passing into 
the petiole, strongly striate longitudinally, armed in young plants with complete. 
oblique whorls of robust, flattened, pale spines, 3—4 cm. loug, confluent by their 
bases ; in the adult plant the spines form short series of 4—5 or also half rings 
on the sides; along the dorsum the spineg are in groups of 3—5 with the spino 
in the centre longer than the others; no trace of ocrea or ligula at the mouth. 
Leaves large, terminated by a robust clawed cirrus; petiole more or less elongate, 
robust, concave above, convex beneath; its margins more or less spinulous; the 
dorsum is armed, like the first portion of the rhachis, with straight, robust, deflexed 
spines, single or ternate; the rhachis in its lower portion is shallowly channelled 
‘above, but higher up becomes subterete or obsoletely angular, and is armed along 
the dorsum with robust spines, at first straight, single or digitate with the central 
spine longer than “the others, but finally transformed into half or three quarter 
whorls of very robust claws. Leaflets numerous, unequidistant, in alternate or 
opposite groups of 2—3 on each side of the rhachis, with vacant spaces of variable 
length interposed between the groups, lanceolate, almost equally narrowing towards 
‘both ends, the base acute, the tip acuminate, regular or very obsoletely indented 
2—3 cm. below the apex, papyraceous, green on both surfaces but besprinkled 
underneath with very minute pale dots (microlepidia); the mid-costa slender, almost 
equally prominent on both surfaces and accompanied by 5—6 fine secondary nerves 
on each side of it, often not much more distinct than another nerve interposed 
between each of them; along both margins runs a nerve about as strong as. the 
mid-costa ; transverse veinlets indistinct ; all nerves are without bristles or spinules ; 
the margins are slightly ciliate-spinulous from above the middle only; the largest 
leaflets are 35—40 cm. long, 3—5'5 cm. wide. The leaves of the upper part of the 
plant are gradually smaller; those immediately below the inflorescence are reduced 
to the sheath and rhachis only, bearing a few linear leaflets and terminated by 
a short clawed cirrus. Male inflorescence large and several times branched; spathes 
tubular-infundibuliform, soon perishable ; the branches of the third or fourth degree 
carry several spikelet-bearing gradually decreasing branchlets, of which the lowest 
are 6—7 cm. long and carry distichally 8—10 spikelets on each side; upper bran- 
chlets shorter with fewer spikelets; the spathels of the branchlets are infundibular, 
