The Palms of British East India. 65 



This very remarkable species is evidently allied to C. mi- 

 rabilis, Reinwdt.* to which indeed I should have referred 

 it, had not Reinwardt described his plant as having the 

 long peduncle of the pendulous spathe armed with distich- 

 ous thorns. 



The armature of the sheaths is very curious, and is well 

 characterised by Martius.f It is almost equally distinct by 

 its exceedingly numerous minute flowers, and the great de- 

 gree of branching of the spadix. 



30. (20) C. Draco,% aculeis vaginarum rectis seriatis petio- 

 lorum sparsis, pinnis aequidistantibus lineari-lanceolatis (long. 

 \\ pedalibus lat. 7-8 linealibus), spadicis decompositi erecti 

 pedunculo aculeis seriatis armato, spathis coriaceis infima 

 dorso seriebus crebris aculeorum intermediis secus centrum 

 parce aculeatis summis inermibus, fructibus ovato-rotundis 

 materie resinosa incrustatis. 



C. Draco. Willd. 2. p. 203. Syst. Veget. ed. Schultes. 7. 

 pt. 2. p. 1323. Roxb. FL 2nd. 3. p. 774. Martins. Palm. 

 p. 211. Palmijuncus Draco. Rumph. Hb. Amb. 5. p. 114. 

 t. 58./. 1. 



Hab. — A native of Sumatra and the Malay Islands. 

 Flowering time March and April. Roxburgh. Penang, Mr. 

 Lewes. Jarnang of the Malays of Penang. 



Descr.§ — Young spadices imbricated with large coriaceous spathes 

 whose margins towards the apex are recurved, almost woody in 

 texture, outside they are ferruginous red, inside chesnut-red. The 

 lowermost much armed with seriate very strong deflexed spines ; 

 those next to this are slightly armed along the middle of their backs, 

 the upper ones almost unarmed. Peduncle much armed with stout 

 senate or fasciculate thorns. 



* Mart. Palm. p. 213. f Loc. cit. 



X Char. part, e Roxburghio. 



§ Specimens of young, and of fruit bearing mature spadices. 



