Biarum carduchorum (Schott) Engl.

Tuber dorsoventrally compressed-discoid, 4–7 cm × 1.5–2.5 cm, sparsely offsetting. Leaves 3–5, hysteranthous, long- petiolate, bases encased by 3–5, 6–14( – 24) × 1–2 cm sub-fleshy, later papery, cataphylls, these pale whitish green, pale straw- yellow on drying; petiole slender, 5–9( – 26) × 2–4 mm wide, expanded proximally into a membranous wing, dull green, wing paler; leaf lamina elliptic to spathulate-elliptic, 5–12 × 2.5–5 cm, apex subacute to rather obtuse, base briefly decurrent, 5–7 primary lateral veins per side, margins smooth, dull mid-green. Inflorescence appearing in late autumn. Peduncle 4–13(– 24) cm × 2–4 mm, dirty white, clothed with several 3–11(23) × 1–2 cm sub-fleshy, later papery, cataphylls, these whitish green, pale straw-yellow on drying. Spathe 12–18( – 31) cm long; spathe limb lanceolate to lanceolate-elliptic, 8–14( – 25) × 2–3( – 4.5) cm wide, apex acute to attenuate, exterior pale green to whitish yellow usually ± speckled with dull purple, interior deep brown purple, becoming paler and eventually green distally; spathe tube slender, 4–6 × 0.75–1.5( – 2.5) cm wide, margins connate for c. ¾ of their length, exterior dirty white where buried, purple where exposed, interior white, stained purple especially basally and towards the opening. Spadix sub-equal to but rarely exceeding the spathe limb, 13–18( – 32) cm long, spadix appendix slender cylindric, 9–12( – 28) cm × 2–4 mm, deep purple. Staminate flowers in a zone 15–25 × 2–3.5 mm, anthers cream ± stained deep purple. Interstice 2–3 cm × 2–3 mm, deep purple, occasionally somewhat paler than the appendix. Staminodes densly arranged at the base of the interstice directly above the pistillate fl owers and usually extending c. half way up the insterstice; filaments directed upwards, 3–7 mm long, those higher up the interstice shorter than those lower down, purple. Pistillate flowers in a hemispherical cluster c. 7 × 7 mm; ovaries squatly bottle-shaped, 1.5–2 × 0.75 mm, pale cream, style c. 0.33 mm long, purple, stigma subcapitate, c. 0.25 mm in diam, purple. Infructescence not seen. 2N = 24 (Marchant 1972 as B . platyspathum ).