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Araceae
Schismatoglottis viridissima A.Hay
SUMMARY
Herb to 25 cm tall. Stem hypogeal, hapaxanthic, clump-forming, c. 0.5 cm diam. Leaves c. 3 together; petiole to 20 cm long, sheathing in the lower third; wings of sheath fully attached, tapering but apically truncate; blade narrowly ovate, brilliant green with a rubbery thinly subsucculent texture, c. 16 cm long × 7 cm wide, the base cordate with rounded posterior lobes to 1.5 cm long, the tip acute; midrib not prominent (dry), with c. 7 primary lateral veins on each side, irregularly alternating with lesser interprimaries and diverging at 60–80°; secondary venation mostly arising from the midrib, some from the bases of the primary veins; tertiary venation forming an indistinct tessellate reticulum on both surfaces (dry). Inflorescences 2–3 together; peduncle fleshy, c. 4 cm long, mostly hidden by sheaths of subtending leaves. Spathe 9 cm long; lower spathe narrowly ovoid, 4 cm long, differentiated from the limb by an abrupt constriction; limb 5 cm long, very broadly ovate, inflated over the male zone and appendix and then acute, finally acuminate for c. 1 cm, greenish, caducous. Spadix 5–6 cm long, sessile, more or less hourglass-shaped; female zone about half the length of the spadix, c. 3 cm long, adnate to the spathe in the lower ⅔, 7 mm diam. in the middle, then somewhat conic and attenuate to 5 mm diam.; pistils somewhat lax, more so in the distal part of the female zone, bottle-shaped, bright green, c. 1 mm diam. in the lower part of the zone, c. 2 mm diam. higher up; interpistillar staminodes scattered among the pistils, more or less mushroom-shaped, equalling the ovaries in height, c. 0.5 mm diam.; sterile interstice ill-defined, the upper 4 mm of the female zone thickly attenuate and occupied by mixed staminodes, stamens and ?abortive pistils; male zone 1.4 cm long, subcylindric and 5 mm diam. in the lower 5 mm (held within the lower spathe chamber), the rest abruptly obconic, to 9 mm diam. and exserted from the lower spathe chamber; stamens crowded, truncate, hourglass-shaped, with the connective thin and not at all elevated above the thecae, c. 1 mm across; appendix shortly bullet-shaped, the base slightly but abruptly wider than the top of the male zone, c. 1 cm wide at the base, 1.3 cm long; staminodes of appendix flat-topped, centrally impressed, irregularly polygonal, 0.5–0.7 mm diam. Fruit unknown.