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Araceae
Philodendron crassispathum Croat & Grayum
SUMMARY
Hemiepiphytic, sometimes terrestrial; stem appressed-climbing or scandent, creeping, becoming matte and gray, smooth when fresh, sap watery, spicy-scented, leaf scars conspicuous, 9-20 mm long, 2-3.5 cm wide; internodes drying conspicuously wrinkled, epidermis weakly glossy, 1.5-8 cm long, (1-1.8)2.5-3.5 cm diam., usually broader than long, dark green, epidermis brownish and cracking; roots dark brown, smooth upon drying, elongate, 3-50 cm long, 1-3 mm diam., few per node; cataphylls fleshy, 8.5-24 cm long, sharply 2-ribbed, green to dark green, dark green short-lineate, drying yellowish brown to pale green, persisting semi-intact at upper nodes then eventually fibrous then deciduous. LEAVES erect-spreading to spreading; petioles 20-31(48) cm long, 5-19 mm diam., subterete, somewhat spongy, sometimes tinged brown near apex, obtusely flattened with obtuse medial rib adaxially, convexly rounded abaxially; blades broadly ovate-cordate, very coriaceous, acuminate at apex (the acumen inrolled, 2-5 mm long), cordate at base, 14-29 cm long, 11-24 cm wide (1-1.56 times longer than wide), broadest at or near the middle, margins hyaline, whitish or reddish, tightly curled under when dried, upper surface dark green, glossy, drying semiglossy to matte, lower surface paler, drying greenish gray to yellowish green to brownish, drying semiglossy to matte; anterior lobe 10-25 cm long, 11-33 cm wide (1.6-2.5 times longer than than posterior lobes); posterior lobes 4.5-10 cm long, 5-16.5 cm wide, obtuse to rounded; sinus spathulate to hippocrepiform; midrib flat to very broadly convex, drying yellowish green, paler than surface above, weakly convexly raised, paler than surface below; basal veins 3-4(6) per side, with 0-1 free to base, most of the remainder coalesced 1-2.5(4.4) cm, flat above, weakly raised below; posterior rib not naked if present; primary lateral veins 4-6 per side, departing midrib at a 40-70º angle, more or less straight to the margins, flat, paler than surface, drying obsure above, raised and paler below; interprimary veins obscure above, weakly visible below; minor veins etched above, visible and darker than surface below, arising from midrib only. INFLORESCENCES shorter than leaves, 1 per axil; peduncle 3.5-7 cm long, 1-2.5 cm diam. (dried), terete, drying brown; spathe fleshy, (6.8)10-14 cm long, 4.5-10 cm diam., not at all constricted, more or less ellipsoid, bluntly acute to rounded at apex, the walls to 1 cm or more thick midway; spathe blade red outside, red to white inside; spathe tube green, sometimes yellowish to orange-red outside, violet-purple to red inside; spadix (6.5)9-14 cm long; pistillate portion grayish to golden-yellow, cylindrical to slightly ellipsoid, 1.5-7 cm long, 10-25 mm diam. throughout, with 13-15 flowers visible per spiral; staminate portion 5-9 cm long; fertile staminate portion white with orange-brown droplets, cylindrical, weakly constricted above sterile portion, tapered toward apex, 15-23 mm diam. throughout, broader than pistillate and sterile portions, 22-27 flowers per spiral; sterile staminate portion 17-24 mm diam.; pistils 4-4.5 mm long, 4-4.5 mm diam.; ovary 6-7-locular, with axile placentation; ovules 7-10 per locule, 0.6-1 mm long, 0.3 mm diam.; funicles with free portion ca. 1 mm long, the remainder loosely fused to the wall of the locule; style similar to style type D, button-like and concave on drying, 1.3-2 mm diam., the margins pale; androecium margins irregular, 0.6-1.3 mm long; sterile staminate flowers more or less globose, 1.4-2.2 mm long. INFRUCTESCENCE erect; pistillate spadix 4.5-5 cm long, 4 cm diam.; berries green becoming orange to whitish; pericarp white; mesocarp yellowish white; seeds yellow-orange, 2.9-3.5 mm long, 0.7-1 mm diam.