THE PALMS OF BlUTISH INDIA AND CEYLON. 681 



Spadices arising from between the leaves, solitary, first oblique, 

 then declinate, elongate, cjdindrical, spic83forra, rigid, virescent, 

 much longer than the spathe ; peduncle 1^-2 feet long, compressed- 

 terete, arcuate with scattered ferruginous scales ; rhachis reaching 

 5-7 feet, about one inch thick, attenuate towards the base, sub- 

 angular. Spathe almost as long as the peduncle, narrrowly lanceolate, 

 above longitudinally split, coriaceous, rigid, glabrous on the inner 

 side, on the outer striate, obsoletely ferrugineo-punctate. 



Flowers monoecious, unisexual, 3 together in cavities (2 male 

 and 1 female). First, one lateral male flower develops; when this 

 has fallen, a second male flower on the other side of the central 

 female flower opens, and when the second male flower has dis- 

 appeared, the female flower begins to open. There are, therefore, 

 never 3 open flowers in one glomerule at the same time. 



Calyx : Sepals 3, excavate, galeseform, slightly unequal, narrowly 

 imbricate. Corolla turbinate, obsoletely triquetrous, deeply tripar- 

 tite, slightly fleshj^ at the base, segments ovate, subacute, sometimes 

 .somewhat oblique, plano-convex on the outer side, on the inner 

 concave and striate by the pressure of the stamens. 



Male flowers : fertile stamens about 160, not much shorter than 

 the corolla, glabrous, unequal, the outermost and innermost ones 

 being shorter than those between them, all inserted at the base of 

 the corolla on a nectariferous disc ; filaments straight, subulate ; 

 anthers linear, as long as the filaments, attached on the middle of 

 the back, slightly refuse at the apex, at the base deeply 

 bifid ; rudimentary ovary i- inch long with 3 patent stigmatic 

 points. Female flowers : ovary ovoid or subconical, slightly 

 attenuate at the apex, usually oblique at the base, subtriquetrous or 

 variouslj^ flattened, strigose, at the base incompletely trilocular, 

 uniovulate ; stigma sessile, terminal, simple, obsolete. Rudi- 

 mentary stamens present. 



Fruit mucronate at the apex ; endocarp thick-fibrous, crustaceous, 

 orange coloured or red, 1 -seeded. Seed free, oval or almost round. 



Distribution. — Amboina (Rumphius, Zippel) ; Ternate, Halma- 

 heira (Miquel). 



Illustration. — Plate LXI 11. Three specimens of Calyptrocalya? 

 spicatus, photographed by Mr. Macmillan in the Botanic Gardens 

 of Peradeniya. The rings on the stems, otherwise distinctly visible, 

 are covered in our specimens by a thick growth of lichens. 



( To he continued. ) 



