Schismatoglottis venusta A.Hay

Herb 15–30 cm tall. Stem condensed in leafy part (sometimes etiolated below) hypogeal, hapaxanthic, clump-forming, c. 1 cm diam. Leaves c. 4 together; petiole c. 12–21 cm long, very minutely (strong lens required) and densely papillate, sheathing in the lower ¼–⅓; wings of sheath tapering, fully attached; blade (oblong-)ovatosagittate, somewhat coriaceous, adaxially very dark matt green, concolorous or variegated with a central silver stripe or three stripes (one about the midrib and one on each side c. half-way between the midrib and margin), or irregularly spattered silver-grey throughout or spattered and striped, abaxially much paler, 13–17 cm long × 7–9 cm wide, the base rather broadly cordate with more or less rounded spreading to sometimes overlapping posterior lobes to 2.5 cm long, the apex acute to broadly acute and acuminate for c. 1 cm; midrib prominent (fresh; not so when dry); primary lateral veins c. 7 on each side of midrib, not prominent, alternating with fine interprimaries, diverging at 60–90° and gradually up-curved before joining the margin; secondary venation adaxially obscure, arising mostly from the midrib, some from the bases of the primary veins; tertiary venation forming a rather indistinct tessellate reticulum abaxially. Inflorescence solitary to 2(–3) together; peduncle to c. 3.5 cm long, subtended by short oblong cataphylls c. 2 cm long. Spathe 6–7 cm long; lower spathe ovoid, 2–2.5 cm long, dark green; limb ovate, c. 4–4.5 cm long, white, caducous, inflated over the appendix, apically acuminate for 1 cm. Spadix sessile, 3.5–4.5 cm long, more or less hourglass-shaped; female zone 1.3–2 cm long, adnate to the spathe for about half its length, c. 5 mm diam. in the middle, distally very attenuate; pistils subglobose, basally somewhat lax and distally very lax, c. 1 mm diam.; stigma subsessile, button-like, c. 0.25 mm diam.; interpistillar staminodes few to many, scattered among the pistils, rather more crowded along the spathe/spadix adnation, flat-topped, slightly stipitate, lower than to about the same height as the ovary, to 0.5 mm diam., (sometimes drying black); sterile interstice ill-defined, the apex of the female zone being attenuate and partly naked, sometimes with a few abortive ovaries and reduced interpistillar staminodes contiguous with the base of the male zone; male zone obconic, c. 1 cm long, c. 1.5 mm diam. at base, 4 mm diam. at top; stamens crowded, truncate, connective not or hardly exceeding the thecae, dumbbell-shaped, c. 0.75 mm diam., with the rim of the pores broken by a slit on the outer side; appendix 1.2–1.7 cm long, subcylindric to lozenge-shaped, the base hardly wider than the top of the male zone, apically obtuse, c. 6 mm diam.; staminodes of appendix flat-topped, irregularly polygonal with rounded angles, c. 1 mm diam. Fruiting spathe narrowly urceolate, c. 3 cm long.