Rhaphidophora acuminata Merr.

Moderately robust, semipachycaul homeophyllous liane to 4 m; seedling stage and pre-adult plants not observed; LEAVES: adult shoot architecture comprised of elongated, clinging, physiognomically monopodial, leafy, non-flowering stems and shorter, clinging, sympodial, densely leafy, flowering stems; stems smooth, terete in cross-section, with briefly persistent cataphyll remains at the apices of active shoots, internodes to 6 x 1 cm on adherent shoots, usually shorter and less stout on free shoots, drying very dark brown, separated by large oblique leaf scars; flagellate foraging stems not observed; clasping roots densely arising from the nodes and internodes of stems, pubescent; feeding roots not observed; leaves distichous; cataphylls and prophylls large and conspicuous, membranous, very quickly drying and falling; petiole deeply channelled adaxially, 5-11 x 0.2-0.3 cm, smooth, apical and basal genicula weakly defined; petiolar sheath very prominent, extending to overtopping the apical geniculum, ligulate, clasping the newly emerged leaf or inflorescence, swiftly drying and soon falling whole to leave a conspicuous scar; lamina entire, oblong to oblong-lanceolate, slightly oblique, 6-23 x 2-8 cm, coriaceous to stiffly coriaceous, drying discolorous, base subacute, apex caudate-acuminate with a slightly prominent apiculate tubule; midrib raised abaxially, slightly sunken adaxially; primary venation densely pinnate, slightly raised abaxially and adaxially; interprimaries parallel to primaries and only slightly less prominent, very slightly raised abaxially and adaxially; secondary venation ± obscure in fresh material, visible as a faint reticulum in dried specimens; INFLORESCENCE solitary, subtended by a fully developed foliage leaf and several degraded cataphylls; peduncle slightly compressed-cylindric, 7-26 x 0.3-0.6 cm; spathe canoe-shaped, stoutly short-beaked, 8-14 x 1.2-5 cm, stiff-fleshy, green, falling (at female receptivity ?); spadix cylindrical, sessile, inserted obliquely on peduncle, 5-12 x 1-2 cm, white; stylar region weakly rhombohexagonal, often barely angled, 0.9-1.2 x 1-1.1 mm, weakly conical; stigma cylindrical, raised, c. 0.2 mm diam.; anthers strongly exserted at anthesis; INFRUCTESCENCE 10-17 x 2-4 cm.