The Palms of British East India. 79 



Descr.* — Spadix unarmed, about two feet in length ; pedun- 

 cle flat and two-edged ; internodes long, compressed, not two-edged, 

 pitted from pressure of the flowers in bud. Branches the length of 

 the internodes of the spadix, lowest about nine inches long, spread- 

 ing, extremely divided ; largest branchlets of lowest panicle about four 

 inches long. The uppermost spathe two inches long, membranous, 

 acute, smooth, boat-shaped. Spikes about an inch long, very slender, 

 very flexuose with a scale- shaped bracte at each flexure : rachis 

 triangular. Flowers extremely numerous, suffulted by the above bracte, 

 and surrounded by a very shallow, oblique, oblong-ovate, cup, emar- 

 ginate behind. Calyx oblong, with three very short rounded teeth. 

 Corolla not quite twice the length of the calyx, divided nearly to 

 the base ; segments oblong, rather obtuse. Stamina 6, united to 

 the corolla as far as the base of its segments ; filaments (free) long, 

 subulate, flat ; anthers (included) obtusely sagittate. Rudiments of 

 the Pistillum very long, nearly equalling the stamina, composed of 3 

 subulate distinct bodies. 



This species approaches closely to C. Jenkinsianus from 

 which it appears to be distinguished by the comparatively 

 long internodes of the spadix, the lowest being distinctly 2- 

 edged, by the very slender spikes, the obsolete cup, and ra- 

 ther longer calyx. It is one of those which establishes some 

 degree of affinity, at least in inflorescence, with certain Gra- 

 minese. The male flowers, moreover, of this and many 

 others are not altogether unlike the flowers of such grasses 

 as Oryza and Blepharochloa. 



Sect. IV.— (CYMBOSPATHLE.) 



D^SMONOROPS AUCTORUM. 



* Gymnospathce ; spathis inermibus (semi-apertis et se- 

 cundis.) 



37. (27) C. nutantiflorus, (n. sp.) spinis — , pinnis linearibus 

 equidistantibus supra carina centrali et venis lateralibus 



* Specimen: a male spadix (entire?) with very few flowers, and one terminal 

 spathe. 



