Lasimorpha Schott
SUMMARY
HABIT : robust to gigantic evergreen herbs forming large colonies, rhizome short, thick, hypogeal, vigorously stoloniferous. LEAVES : several. PETIOLE : very long, 4-6 angled, aculeate along angled ridges, weakly geniculate at apex, sheath short. BLADE : deeply sagittate, sometimes weakly hastate, to over 1m long, coriaceous, ± erect; basal ribs well-developed, primary lateral veins pinnate, long arcuate towards apex of each leaf division and running into marginal vein, higher order venation reticulate. INFLORESCENCE : solitary, appearing with leaves. PEDUNCLE : subequal to petiole and similar in appearance. SPATHE : erect, ovate, ± convolute in lower third, gaping at anthesis, striped purple and yellow within, persistent. SPADIX : sessile to stipitate, cylindric, obtuse, shorter than spathe, flowering sequence basipetal. FLOWERS : bisexual, perigoniate; tepals 4(-5), free, fornicate. STAMENS : 4(-5), filaments free or partially to completely connate, anthers partially exserted from tepals at anthesis, connective slender, thecae dehiscing by short apical slit. POLLEN : monosulcate, ellipsoid, small (22 µm.), exine subreticulate, apertural exine psilate. GYNOECIUM : ovoid-ellipsoid to oblong, ovary 1-locular, ovules 4-6(-8), campylotropous, placenta single, ± prominent, parietal and basal, stylar region short, somewhat narrowed, stigma discoid-hemispheric. BERRY : irregularly globose, 1-4-seeded, red. SEED : strongly curved, weakly strophiolate, testa hard, brown, warty to spiny, embryo rather large, curved, endosperm present but only as a few cell layers.