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Araceae
Schismatoglottis multiflora Ridl.
SUMMARY
Rheophytic herb c. 30–60 cm tall, often forming vigorous clumping tufts. Stem condensed, c. 2 cm thick, pleionanthic. Leaves several together; petiole 7–25 cm long, sheathing only at the extreme base, but sheath extended into a papery brown tapering ligular portion 4–10 cm long; blade elliptic to (ob)lanceolate, 14–27 cm long, 2–9 cm wide, the base cuneate, the tip more or less acuminate; midrib abaxially prominent, often but not always with scattered bulbils on the sides; primary lateral veins (6–)10–16 on each side, diverging at 30–45°, more or less regularly alternating with lesser interprimary veins, abaxially prominent (not very well-defined in smallest specimens); secondary venation dense, arising from the midrib. Inflorescences large, in clusters of 2–5 subtended by narrow papery brown cataphylls similar to the ligular sheath extensions; peduncle 6–11 cm long, about half the length of the petioles in robust plants to exceeding the petioles in small plants. Spathe 8–11 cm long; lower spathe subcylindric, green, 2–2.5 cm long, differentiated from the limb by a constriction; limb more or less lanceolate, white, opening at first incompletely, then caducous. Spadix about ⅔ the length of the spathe, 4–7 cm long, subcylindric; female zone c. 2 cm long, most adnate to the spathe; pistils very numerous and crowded, cylindric to bottle-shaped, c. 0.4 mm diam.; stigma sessile, button-like, about the same diameter as the ovary; clavate interpistillar staminodes irregularly and sparsely scattered among the pistils, usually more crowded at the junction of the female zone and sterile interstice, and forming a basal row on each side along the adnation of the spathe and spadix; sterile interstice c. 3 mm long, a few whorls of staminodes
resembling sterile stamens (i.e. different from interpistillar staminodes); male zone about twice the thickness of the female zone and interstice, c. 5 mm diam. (dry), extending throughout the rest of the spadix though apically with somewhat smaller thecae and sometimes forming a small terminal cluster of sterile stamens; stamens more or less rectangular, c. 0.5–1 mm across, truncate, with marginal thecae reaching the top of the stamen on the two ends. Fruiting spathe narrowly urceolate, c. 3.5 cm long.