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Araceae
Philodendron venezuelense G.S.Bunting
SUMMARY
STEM: erect, short, stout, c. 8 cm thick, obscured by petiole bases and prophylls. LEAF: prophyll 30-84 cm long, 6-8 cm wide at base, yellow-green, drying to brown, rigid and hard when young, persistent; petiole 60-124 cm long, apex 1-1.3 cm diam., densely verruculose-regulose, ± ridged centrally on upper surface, margins angled, sheath 14-18 cm long,sheath margins eventually deciduous; leaf blade sagittate, margins entire to somewhat repand, overall length 80- 110 cm long, overall width 56-66 cm, upper surface dark glossy green with yellow-green primary lateral veins; anterior division 56-67 cm long, 56-66 cm wide, apex subacute to obtuse with acuminate to cuspidate tip, primary lateral veins (5-)6-7 per side, arising at an angle of 45-85°, cross veinlets between finest parallel veins very distinct throughout blade on upper side in dried material; posterior divisions often somewhat introrse, (15-)23-30 cm long, 0.3 x overall blade length, 25-30 cm wide, basal ribs denuded for 4-8.5 cm, tip rectilinear to obtuse and rounded at extremity, primary acroscopic veins 3-4, primary basiscopic veins 3-6, basiscopic lamina areas well-developed, sometimes overlapping. INFLORESCENCE: l(-2) per leaf, innermost inflorescence (when in pairs) subtended by prophyll; peduncle 4-12 cm long, c. 1.5 cm diam. at apex; spathe 14-23 cm long, (2.5-)3 - 4.5 cm diam. at middle, decurrent for 2-3 cm, outer surface glossy green to whitish-yellow, red-maculate, reddish towards apex, inner surface ivory white; spadix 13-17(-21) cm long overall, fertile male zone 3.5-6.5 cm long, (1.1-)1.5-2.7 cm diam., subcylindric to ellipsoid, acute, sterile male zone 6-8.5 cm long, 1.5-3.3 cm diam., subcylindric, tapering slightly towards apex, female zone 4-5 cm long, 1.7-2.5 cm diam., tapering towards apex. FLOWERS: stamens 3.5-4.8 mm long, 0.6-1 mm diam. at apex; staminodes c. 7 per flower, 3.3-6 mm long, 0.8-1.5 mm diam. at apex, shorter in apical portion of sterile zone, clavate, truncate at apex, prismatic in section, tapering gradually to base; gynoecium 5.5-14.5 mm long, ovary ± cylindric, 3-8.5 mm long, 3-5 mm diam., raphides frequent to common in axis, locules 17-22 per ovary, ovules 2(-3) per locule, chalaza prominent, hemispheric, darker coloured, raphe produced as an appendage overtopping micropyle, integuments containing raphides, ovules well-spaced from one another and inserted on basal half to two thirds of ovary axis, style body much narrower than ovary and greatly elongated, 2.5-7 mm long including crown, becoming toughened and tanniniferous in lower region, softer and lacking tannin apically, scattered raphide cells present, compitum shallow, not penetrating ovary, as deep as style lobes, style crown 2.5-4 mm diam., distinctly lobed, non-tanniniferous, with conspicuous layer of druse cells immediately bordering stigmatic epidermis, central dome present, lobed, broad, equalling or overtopping style lobes, usually somewhat excavated centrally, stylar canals very long, probably entering locules just above insertion of uppermost ovule in each locule, stigma not seen in well-preserved state. INFRUCTESCENCE: submature berry 1.2-1.4 cm long, 0.7-1.1 cm diam., whitish-yellow, suffused and spotted with dark salmon red, bright red when mature with pineapple odour, style persistent, dark brown; seed 2.4-3 mm long, 1-1.2 mm diam., cylindric-ellipsoid. Fig. 17B, Map 4D.