44 The Palms of British East India. 



sessile, linear- lanceolate, armed in the margins with minute bristles 

 pointing forward, and a few distinct, long, erect bristles on the upper 

 surface, from six to twelve inches long. Sheaths cylindric, armed 

 with numerous, strong, straight, compressed thorns. Petioles sheath- 

 ing, the leaflet-bearing portion compressed, channelled, and armed 

 with both straight and recurved thorns on the under side. Flagelli, 

 one from the sheath of each leaf near its mouth, they are very long, 

 slender, drooping or waving, and well armed, resembling the slender 

 lash of a whip ; many of Rumphius's figures of these plants have 

 such terminating the rib or rachis of the leaves. Male. Calyx 

 universal ; spathe none ; partial many scattered. Spadix supra- de- 

 compound, drooping, being the above-mentioned flagellus much en- 

 larged, with numerous, partial, truncate spathes, with alternate, de- 

 compound, bifarious, recurved spikes therefrom, the ramifications 

 thereof recurved, bearing in two rows on their convex sides nu- 

 merous minute greenish flowers. Perianth 3 -parted, smaller than 

 the corol, permanent. Corol 1-petalled. Tube imperforated. Border 

 3-parted ; divisions oval, permanent. Filaments six, thick at the 

 base, tapering, nearly as long as the corol and inserted on the mouth 

 of its tube. Anthers incumbent. Germ none, but there is the rudi- 

 ment of a 3-cleft stigma. Female. Sheaths as in the male. 

 Spadix decompound, perianth and corol as in the male. Filaments 

 six, united at the base round the germ. Anthers arrow-shaped, 

 abortive. Germ round. Style short, 3-cleft, divisions or stigmas re- 

 curved. Berries round, of the size of a small gooseberry, imbricated 

 backward with barky scales, 1 -celled, 1 -seeded, between the bark 

 and the seed there is a considerable portion of whitish juicy pulp 

 of a sharp acid taste. Seed solitary, marked with many irregular 

 depressions and elevations, and on one side there is a large, deep, 

 roundish pit, a little below it near the base is lodged the monocotyle- 

 donous embryo. " Roxburgh. 



As none of the synonyms assigned usually to this species 

 appear to have sufficient reference to it*, and as the figures 



* Thus Calamus petraeus. Loureiro, is considered by Martius to be a distinct spe- 

 cies : Tsjeru Tsjurel of Kheede is the C. gracilis of Roxburgh, Palmijuncus cal- 

 apparius. Rumph, is the Calamus calapparius of Martius, and the Pheeniscorpiurus, 

 etc. of Plukenet is referred by Hamilton to his C. Heliotropium. 



