You are here
Araceae
Rhaphidophora conica Engl.
SUMMARY
Moderately robust, semi-leptocaul, homeophyllous (?) liane to 5 m; seedling and pre-adult plants not observed; LEAVES: adult shoot architecture comprised of elongated, clinging, physiognomically unbranched, leafy, non-flowering stems and elongated, free, leafy, flowering stems; stems smooth, flexuous, stems ± terete in cross-section, without prophyll, cataphyll fibre, internodes 5-10 x 0.5-1 cm, separated by weak straight leaf scars, older stems woody; flagellate foraging stems not observed; clasping roots arising singly from nodes; feeding roots solitary from nodes; leaves weakly spiro-distichous, moderately densely arranged; cataphylls and prophylls membranous, caducous; petiole grooved adaxially, 7-30 x 0.6-1 cm, smooth, with a prominent apical and basal geniculum; petiolar sheath prominent, extending to base or top of apical geniculum, soon drying chartaceous, then degrading very slightly to weak fibres before falling leaving a feeble scar; lamina entire, elliptic to elliptic-lanceolate, 10-40 x 5-12 cm, thinly coriaceous, base cuneate to acute, apex acute-acuminate, with a minute tubule; midrib raised abaxially, slightly sunken adaxially, drying conspicuously lighter than surrounding lamina; primary venation pinnate, slightly raised on both surfaces in dried material, drying lighter; interprimaries sub-parallel to primaries and only slightly less conspicuous; secondary venation reticulate, fine but conspicuous; INFLORESCENCE solitary, subtended by a fully developed foliage leaf; peduncle slightly compressed-terete, 2.5-10 x 0.2-0.35 cm; spathe broadly cone-shaped to ellipsoid, truncate basally at insertion on petiole, apex briefly to rather long-beaked, 5-12 x 2-4 cm, thinly fleshy, greenish yellow, caducous, drying pale brown, falling leaving a thin scar; spadix cylindrical, sessile, inserted level on peduncle, 2-7 x 0.7-1.2 cm, obtuse, white to yellow; stylar region rounded-rhombohexagonal, 0.9-1.1 x 0.9-1.1 mm, slightly blunt-conical; stigma punctiform, c. 0.3 mm diam., rather prominent in dried material; anthers slightly exserted at male anthesis; INFRUCTESCENCE not observed.