Pothoidium Schott

HABIT : climbing herb, stems somewhat woody, flowering branches free and hanging. LEAVES : distichous, many. PETIOLE : oblong, entirely flattened, resembling blade, venation parallel, joined to blade by constricted articulation. BLADE : much shorter than petiole, triangular-lanceolate; midrib absent, no primary veins differentiated, veins parallel, running into apex. INFLORESCENCE : several to many, borne in a terminal branching system, lower inflorescences axillary to a foliage leaf, upper ones either subtended by cataphyll-like leaf or without subtending leaf. PEDUNCLE : peduncular axis slender, composed of one to several internodes, sometimes subtended by a prophyll, sometimes also bearing a cataphyll ± halfway up. SPATHE : occurrence irregular, often absent, linear-lanceolate, widely spreading, margins usually revolute. SPADIX : apparently often functionally unisexual, cylindric, sessile to long-stipitate when subtended by spathe. FLOWERS : apparently usually unisexual, sometimes bisexual, perigoniate, male flowers with well developed anthers and apparently sterile ovary, female flowers with large fertile ovary and lacking stamens; tepals 6, fornicate, membranaceous. STAMENS : 3-6, number often varying on single spadix, filaments elongated and overtopping perigone at anthesis, oblong-triangular, flattened, connective slender, thecae short, ellipsoid, dehiscing by broad slit. POLLEN : monosulcate, ellipsoid-oblong, medium-sized (mean 26 µm.), exine reticulate with psilate muri, apertural exine shallowly fossulate or verrucate. GYNOECIUM : broadly ovoid to subglobose or obovoid, ovary 1-locular, ovule 1, anatropous, funicle short, placenta subbasal, stylar region attenuate, stigma discoid-hemispheric. BERRY : ellipsoid to ovoid, apiculate (stigma remnant), prominently exserted when mature, red. SEED : ellipsoid, testa smooth, embryo large, endosperm absent.