CALAMOSAGUS. The four species con- 

 stituting this genus of palms do not 

 possess any individual features of interest 

 beyond their technical characters. They 

 .are all natives of the forests of the Malayan 

 peninsula, and have climbing whip-like 

 stems, growing to a great length, and 

 supporting themselves hy means of their 

 hooked spines. The footstalks of their 

 pinnate leaves are likewise armed with 

 prickles and hooked spines, and terminate 

 in a long whip-like tail ; the leaflets are of 

 a green colour on the upper surface, and 

 covered with a bluish bloom underneath ; 

 their top half is broad and very much 

 I jagged, the lower half being entire and 

 wedge-shaped. One of the chief character- 

 istics of the genus is the presence of a 

 broad leafy expansion called the ligule, 

 near to and partly surrounding the base 

 of the footstalk of the leaf. They have 

 perfect flowers, arranged in branching 

 spikes resembling bunches of catkins, 

 each flower being half buried in a dense 

 mass of wool, and having a three-toothed 

 calyx, a three-parted corolla, six stamens, 

 and a three-celled ovary covered with 

 scales, and crowned by a three-toothed 

 awl-shaped style. None of the species are 

 known to possess any useful properties, 

 but as their stems bear a close resemblance 

 to some of the species of Calamus, they 

 are probably used for similar purposes. 

 One species, C. harinicefolliis, is called 

 Rotang Simote by the Malayans, and 

 another, C. ochriger, Rotang Donam. [A. S.] 



CALAMPELIS. JEccremocarpus. 



CALAMUS. The stems of several spe- 

 cies of this genus of palms are well known 

 in this country under the names of Rat- 

 tans or Canes. Upwards of eighty species 

 are described, nearly all natives of Asia, 

 abounding in the Malayan Peninsula and 

 islands, also in the eastern and north- 

 eastern provinces of India ; two are found 

 in Australia, and one in Africa. They have 

 reed-like stems, seldom more than an inch 

 or two in thickness, but often much less, 

 generally growing to a great length, climb- 

 ing over and amongst the branches of 

 trees, and supporting themselves bymeans 

 of hooked spines attached to their leaf- 

 stalks ; a few, however, form low bushes or 

 small trees. Their leaves are pinnate, and 

 in many of the species, the leafstalk is 

 prolonged beyond the termination of the 

 leaflets into a whip-like tail. The flowers 

 are small, generally of a rose or greenish 

 colour, and arranged very close together 

 upon long branching spikes, the ultimate 

 branches somewhat resembling catkins. 

 They have a three-toothed calyx, and a 

 three-parted or three-petaled corolla; the 

 males having six stamens joined together 

 at the base, and the females imperfect 

 stamens, and a three-celled ovary, more or 

 less covered with scales, andbearing three 

 stigmas (no style). The spikes are sur- 

 rounded by numerous bracts or spathes, 

 | which, however, do not completely enclose 

 them, and each branch of the spike has a 



separate bract at its base. The fruits are 

 covered with smooth shining scales, 

 which are fixed by their upper edges, and 

 overlap each other from the top down- 

 wards, like plates of mail ; they generally 

 contain a single seed, surrounded by an 

 eatable pulp. 



C. Rotang, C. rudentum, C. verus, C. vimi- 

 nalis, and probably several other species, 

 furnish the canes or rattans so commonly 

 employed in this country for the bottoms 

 of chairs, couches, sides of carriages, and 

 similar purposes ; and of which no fewer 

 than 18,625,368 were imported in 1858, and 

 valued at 38.960L In the countries where 

 these palms abound, the inhabitants make 

 use of them for a great variety of pur- 

 poses, baskets of all kinds, mats, hats, and 

 other useful articles being commonly made 

 of them. Their most important use, how- 

 ever, is for the manufacture of the ropes 

 and cables usually employed by junks and 



I other coasting vessels. In the Himalayas 

 they are used in the formation of suspen- 

 sion bridges across rivers, the construction 

 of which Dr. Hooker thus describes : ' Two 

 parallel canes, on the same horizontal 

 plane, were stretched across the stream ; 

 from these others hung in loops, and 

 along the loops were laid one or two 

 bamboo stems for flooring ; cross pieces 

 below this flooring hung from the two 

 upper canes, which they thus served to 



; keep apart. The traveller grasps one of 

 the canes in either hand, and walks along 

 the loose bamboos laid on the swinging 



! loops.' 



! C. Scipionum, the stems of which are 



; much thicker than those of the preceding, 

 furnishes the well-known Malacca canes so 

 much prized for walking-sticks. They are 

 imported from Singapore and Malacca, but 

 are chiefly produced in Sumatra. Some are 

 of a uniform rich brown colour, whilst 



, others are variously mottled or clouded as 

 it is called ; the colour, however, is said to 

 be artificially imparted to them by smoking. 

 C. Draco, the species yielding the red resi- 

 nous substance called dragon's-blood, is 



i now placed in the genus Dcemonorops, as 

 also are several other Calami. [A. S.J 



CALAMUS. A flstular stem without an 

 articulation. 



CALAMUS AROMATICUS. Acorns Ca- 

 lamus. — ODORATUS. Andropogon Schce- 

 nanthus. 



CALANDRINIA. A genus of purslanes 

 consisting of smooth fleshy plants of 

 annual or perennial duration, with entire 

 leaves, and, in the case of the species in 

 cultivation, showy purple or rose-coloured 

 flowers expanding only in sunny weather. 

 It is well distinguished among the other 

 genera of the order by its two persistent 

 sepals, which close over the seed-vessel 

 after the petals have fallen ; three to five 

 petals, mostly the latter number, numerous 

 distinct stamens, single style with its 

 stigma three-lobed, and oblons: one-celled 

 fruit, splitting when ripe into three pieces 



