Araceae
Anubias heterophylla Engl.
SUMMARY
Rhizome creeping, prostrate and rooting, 5-17 mm thick. LEAVES: Petiole 3-66 cm long, 0.7-1.7 x as long as the leaf-blade, glabrous or minutely puberulous. Sheath small or up to 1/2 of the petiole. Geniculum 1/2- 2 1/2 cm long. Leaf-blade 10-38 cm long, 3-13 cm broad, 2 to 6 times as long as broad, elliptic-ovate or elongate-lanceolate, obtuse, glabrous or (sometimes very sparsely) puberulous on the midrib and lateral nerves below, flat or more or less undulate, coriaceous, apex acute or acuminate, base acute, cuneate-obtuse, subtruncate, short sagittate or hastate. Basal lobes short or absent, obtusely rounded, separated by a very wide sinus. Numerous prominent lateral nerves with 2-4 less prominent lateral nerves between them, which unite mostly with the more prominent nerves before they reach the margin, at the edge anastomosing in 2-3 marginal nerves. Between the lateral nerves numerous slender, transverse veinlets. INFLORESCENCE: Peduncle one third as long as to equalling the petiole, up to 27 cm long, slender, glabrous or minutely puberulous. Spathe l.5-4.5 cm long, 0.4-1.5 cm broad, almost twice to 4.5 times as long as wide, oblong-elliptic or ovate-oblong, glabrous, at the apex minutely apiculate, green or dark purple, opening to the base when flowering, but not reflexed. Sometimes spadix more or less exserted. After anthesis closing again tightly around the spadix. Spadix cylindrical, somewhat thick, equalling to twice as long as the spathe, 1.5-4.5 cm long. female part somewhat shorter or up to 2 x as long as the male part, 0.6-2.5 cm long. Anthers 4-6. Thecae on the side of the synandrium, sometimes only in the upper part (especially when dried the thecae may seem to be placed on the edge of the synandrium, as in A. gilletii), oblong-elliptic. Between the male and female part sometimes sterile bisexual flowers. male part densely, female part somewhat less densely flowered. Ovaries depressed-globose, green. Style short, stigma discoid, green. INFRUCTESCENCE: Berries depressed-globose. Seeds small, 0.8-1.5 mm long, 0.5-1 mm broad; about 1.3-1.7 x as long as broad, yellowish, without any other coloured spots when dried.