Phymatarum M.Hotta

Small herbs. Stem creeping to decumbent. Leaves several; petiolar sheath fairly short with long marcescent ligule; blade narrowly elliptic, somewhat coriaceous, apex with tubular mucro; primary lateral veins pinnate, running into conspicuous marginal vein, alternating with interprimary and secondary venation; higher order venation inconspicuously transverse-reticulate. Inflorescence solitary; peduncle erect, shorter or subequal to petiole. Spathe constricted between tube and blade, tube convolute, persistent, green, blade longer, boat-shaped and gaping at anthesis, whitish, cuspidate, caducous after anthesis. Spadix at extreme base bearing a few neuter organs or not; female zone conoid to subcylindric, basally adnate to spathe; pistils depressed-globose; ovary 1-locular; ovules many, hemiorthotropous, funicle long; placenta basal; stigma sessile, slightly concave centrally, narrower than ovary, very thinly discoid; sterile interstice a cylindric to ellipsoid zone of staminodes; staminodes sub-prismatic, tuberculate, flattened or excavated, lowermost either with or without central, short, subulate projection, uppermost more slender, relatively longer, otherwise similar but never with projections; male zone very short and slightly narrower than the interstice; stamens not arranged in male flowers, free, filament short, connective inconspicuous, thecae tuberculate, each ending in a curved horn dehiscing by apical pore; pollen inaperturate, ellipsoid, small (mean 19 µm (Grayum: 1992: 21)) exine psilate; terminal appendix elongate-conoid, bearing sterile male flowers. Fruit a many-seeded, depressed-obovoid, slightly furrowed, greenish-white berry; seed ellipsoid, with long micropylar appendage; testa costate; embryo elongate, straight; endosperm copious.