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Araceae
Rhaphidophora koordersii Engl.
SUMMARY
Slender, leptocaul, homeophyllous (?) liane to unknown ultimate height; seedling and pre-adult plants not observed; adult shoot architecture comprised (?) of greatly elongated, clinging, physiognomically monopodial, leafy, non-flowering stems and long moderately elaborated, free, sympodial, densely leafy, flowering stems; stems smooth, flexuous, climbing stems not observed, free stems terete in cross-section, with weak prophyll, cataphyll and petiolar sheath fibre, internodes to 2 x 0.7-0.8 cm on free shoots; LEAVES weakly distichous; cataphylls and prophylls membranous, very quickly drying and degrading to weak fibres and sheets of tissue; petiole weakly canaliculate, 7-10 x 0.15-0.3 cm, smooth, with a slight apical and prominent basal geniculum; petiolar sheath very prominent, extending beyond the apical geniculum by two very small ligules, swiftly drying and degrading into weak fibre and soft strips, eventually falling to leave a continuous scar from the petiole base, around the top of the apical geniculum and back to the base; lamina entire, elliptic-lanceolate to oblong-elliptic, stiffly coriaceous, 7-20 x 3--6 cm, base cuneate, apex acuminate to attenuate with a prominent tubule; midrib raised abaxially, slightly sunken adaxially; primary venation pinnate, slightly raised on both surfaces; interprimaries subparallel to and about as prominent as primaries; secondary venation ± invisible in dried specimens; INFLORESCENCE solitary, subtended by a fully developed foliage leaf; peduncle slightly compressed-cylindric, 4-12 x 0.2-0.3 cm; spathe narrowly boat-shaped, stoutly long-beaked, c. 10 x 1.6 cm, coriaceous, falling to leave a large, straight, scar; spadix slender cylindrical, 5-6 x c. 0.7 cm, stipitate; stipe 1.1-1.3 x c. 0.15 cm; stylar region rather well developed, mostly rhombohexagonal, c. 1 x 1.2 mm, conical; stigma punctiform, c. 0.3 mm diam.; anthers exserted at anthesis; INFRUCTESCENCE oblong-cylindric, 5.5-9 x 1.5-1.7 cm.