139 ANNALS OF THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN, CALCUTTA. (D. oxycarpus 
numerous, alternate or opposite, especially towards the apex, almost equidistant, 
2-3 cm. apart, linear-ensiform, slightly narrowing towards the base, and gradually 
acuminate upwards to a long filiform and bristly tip, ’5-30 cm. long, 10-17 mm. 
broad, dull-green and finely longitudinally striately-veined on both surfaces; the 
mid-costa acute above, with one, sometimes two, slender nerves on each side of it, 
all carrying short spadiceous, appressed, sub-spinous bristles; beneath the mid-costa alone 
is finely and very closely bristly; transverse veinlets numerous, short, sinuous, much 
interrupted, but not very conspicuous; margins ciliate-spinulous. Male spadiz............ 
Female spadiz elongate (50-60 cm. long) before flowering, cylindraceous, slender, as 
thick as a man’s finger, axillary in appearance, but really attached on the 
ventral side not far below the mouth of its sheath; the peduncular part is 
9-15 em. long, flattened, slightly broadened in its upper part, powerfully armed with 
short, woody, confluent, fascicled, or digitate or seriate, slightly deflexed spines ; primary 
spathes thickly coriaceous, tubular before flowering and very obliquely truncate at 
the mouth; afterwards the outermost opens, is flat and oblong, has a few spines 
on two dorsal keels, and is more or less persistent; the others are deciduous and 
unarmed, with about two-thirds of their length protruding beyond that immediately 
below; fruiting spadix erect or nodding, and forming a loose, ovoid panicle, 40-45 cm. 
in length, with 5-6 partial inflorescences; axial parts more or less covered with a 
thin rusty-furfuraceous indumentum; the main axis is very irregularly angular, 
slightly flattened, marked by depressions and gibbosities which are due to the 
pressure of the adjoining parts during prefloration; the partial inflorescences are 
spreading, and have a very conspicuous axillary callus with a transversal fovea ; 
the lowest and intermediate inflorescences are 10-14 cm. long and have only 3-4 
distichous spikelets on each side; the upper ones are smaller and have very few 
spikelets; secondary spathes very short, scale-like, slightly prolonged at one side 
into a small triangular point; spikelets rather slender, very spreading, with strong 
axillary calluses and rigid, angular, and rather strongly zig-zig sinous axes, 5-7 
em. long with very few (3-5) bifarious flowers on each side; spathels very short, 
subannular, prolonged at one side into a small, triangular, acute point; imvolucro- 
phorum pedicelliform, clavate, angular, usually 1-2 mm., but at times as much as 4mm 
in length, distinctly callous at its axilla, slightly widened at its apex on one 
side into a broadly triangular point; invoiucre discoid, slightly exserted from the involu- 
crophorum, with the broad flat terminal disc bordered by a very narrow almost 
inconspicuous margin; areola of the neuter flower punctiform, slightly callous. 
Female flowers very slender, almost linear, slightly narrowing towards their upper 
ends, 5:5-6 mm. long, and only about 2 mm. broad at the base; the calyx is 
shortly obeonical, strongly striately-veined, and it has on the margin three triangular 
acuminate teeth, which terminate in a small tuft of hairs, persisting to the maturity 
of the fruit; the corolla is twice as long as the calyx, urceolate, and undivided to 
about the middle; its segments are linear, acute. Fruiting perianth non-explanate, 
pedicelliform with a flat base, due to the hardened base of the calyx and of the 
tubular part of the corolla. Fruit narrowly elliptical, almost equally narrowing towards 
both ends, gradually conically beaked above, 22-23 mm. long, 10 mm. broad; scales 
rather glossy, small, arranged in 12 longitudinal series, each series composed of at 
least 12 well-formed scales (omitting the rudimentary one of the beak) of a cinnamon- 
brown colour, with a darker undefined intramarginal band; the margin itself very 
