Arisaema maxwellii Hett. & Gusman

Seasonally dormant herb. Tuber depressed globose, 5-6 cm in diam., to 4 cm high, producing a few small, subglobose offsets annually when mature. Shoot monophyllous or diphyllous and with pseudostem when flowering, inflorescence and leaf simultaneous, flowering before full leaf expansion. Petiole (entire) 14-53 cm long, 0.3-1.2 cm in diam. at the base, smooth, uniformly reddish brown or grey to greenish grey, with or without pinkish-reddish striations, sheathing part (pseudostem) 7-17 cm long; lamina trifoliolate, 11-40 cm long, 10-40 cm in diam.; anterior leaflet petiolulate (petiolule 0.3-3.5 cm long), elliptic, 6.5-30 cm long, 3-13 cm in diam., leathery, top acuminate then aristate; posterior segments petiolulate (petiolule 0.3-1.5 cm long), obliquely elliptic-ovate, 6-32 cm long, 2.5-16 cm wide. Peduncle 12-36 cm long, free part 5-20 cm long, 0.5-0.9 cm in diam., uniformly dark reddish brown or greyish to greenish grey, with or without pinkish-reddish striations; spathe elongate triangular, 11.5-14 cm long, 4-7 cm in diam., basal part slightly convolute, cylindric, 3.5-5.5 cm long, 2-2.2 cm in diam., outside whitish to pale greenish yellowish or whitish flushed green, inside glossy whitish with a faint greenish flush, limb hooded, ovate, apex long acuminate (3-4 cm) or aristate, outside bright yellow with green flushes near the top or basal part white and rest green, inside as outside but slightly brighter. Female spadix sessile, shorter than spathe, 6.5-8.5 cm long; female part elongate conical, 2-3.5 cm long, 0.7-1 cm in diam. at the base, 0.5-0.6 cm in diam. at the top, flowers congested; appendix 4.5-5.7 cm long, lower 1 cm with short bristle-like staminodes, remaining part with long bristle-like staminodes, top filiform, acute, 1 mm in diam., whitish yellow flushed with pale green or all pale green. Lowermost staminodes urcinate or almost straight, 4-8 mm long, green with or without purple tips, upper staminodes aristate, 1-1.7 cm long, almost parallel to the spadix axis, whitish yellow with greenish top or uniformly green, acute. Ovaries depressed, 3 mm in diam., 2 mm high, subangulate, bright green, top with grooves radiating from the centre, unilocular, 5-7 basal ovules; style short, conical, 0.2 mm long, 0.3 mm in diam. at the base, green; stigma subhemispheric, penicillate, ca. 0.3 mm high, ca. 0.4 mm in diam., white. Male spadix (only one seen) 6.5 cm long, short stipitate; male part 2.5 cm long, 0.9 cm in diam. (incl. anthers), axis quite thick (5 mm, pale green), flowers distant; appendix 3.5 cm long, lower and upper staminodes not very different, furthermore as female appendix. Stamens consisting of 2-3 anthers; filaments fused to a column, 2-3 mm long, 0.3 mm in diam., pale green; thecae irregularly clustered at the top, globose to reniform, sometimes laterally fused, white, maturing pale orange, opening by a long, lateral pore.