Z. edulis. | ZALACCA. 78 
Descriprion.—Cespitose, almost stemless. Leaves interruptedly pinnate; rhachis 
armed along the dorsum with a line of large flattened spines, and spinous 
also at the sides in its basal part. Leaflets bifarious, all in one plane, often 
several one after the other equidistant, but at times leaving long vacant spaces 
of rhachis interposed, narrowly lanceolate, slightly sigmoid or falcately acuminate, 
terminating in a filamentose tip, green, almost glossy above, and ashy gray beneath. 
Male spadices (or their primary divisions?) 40—55 cm. long, forming lax, nodding 
(or trailing?) subsecund panicles, composed of few (5—6) slender, alternate, super- 
posed branches, 10—20 cm. long, each supporting a single spike. The primary 
spathes are lanceolate-acuminate, of a soft structure, thinly rusty-tomentose, split- 
ting longitudinally and finally decomposed into long fibres; the spike-bearing branches 
are tomentose, each furnished with two special spathes, one placed midway, the 
other just at the base of the spikes. The spikes are flexuose, 12—15 em. long, 
10—12 mm. in diameter, entirely exserted from the spathes. The spathels are 
rusty-furfuraceous outside, and at first, when the flowers are very young, united 
together so as to form very regularly superposed, approximate rings, having only 
the rim slightly interrupted by obtuse but distinct points corresponding to every 
insertion of flowers; in this stage the spikes are vermiform and almost smooth, but 
when the flowers appear. the spikes assume a squarrose and toothed appearance, 
owing to the rings becoming slightly gaping and more or less split into as many 
parts as theoretically there ought to be spathels, and each part being terminatéd 
by a triangular point. ‘The male flowers, just before opening, are narrow, 6—7 mm. 
long, 2'5 mm. broad, and slightly protrude above the spathels; the calyx is as 
long as the undivided part of the corolla and is parted nearly to the base into 
3 linear, hyaline segments; the corolla is parted in its upper third into 3 trian- 
gular acute segments, spreading during the anthesis, and is fleshy and tapering 
below; the stamens are all equal, have the filaments subulate and spreading during 
the anthesis, and the anthers lanceolate-sagittate; the rudimentary ovary is ex- 
tremely minute and placed only a little above the base of the corolla; the special 
floral bracts are very narrow, shorter than the flowers and slightly hairy-paleaceous. 
The female spadix is probably very much like that of Æ Blumeana. 
Hansrrar.—Native of the Malay Islands, but the precise place of origin not 
known. Frequently cultivated. 
OpsERVATIONS.—Reinwardt assigned the name of edulis to that species of the 
genus Zalacca, known to the ancient authors (Clusius, Rumphius, and Gaertner) in 
the belef that all those writers had in mind the same species, characterized by 
the spinuliferous fruits; but this kind of fruit occurs in several distinct, although 
allied species, dispersed throughout the various Malay islands. It happened therefore 
that under Reinwardt's name of Z. edulis (and that of Zalacca of Rumphius) more 
than one species was- included. 
The first notice of a Zalacca is found in the works of Clusius (l. c. 1605). 
who deseribes and figures, under the name of Fructus squamosus pyriformis, certain 
fruits that in his time had reached Europe from Bali, preserved in brine. These 
fruits from Bali ought to be considered as representing the typical F. edulis, and if 
they could be now obtained, accompanied by spadices and leaves, the question as 
^ 
ANN. Roy. Bor. GARD.. CALCUTTA, VOL. XII. 
