You are here
Araceae
Xanthosoma lucens E.G.Gonç.
SUMMARY
Herbs small to medium sized, growing in well-drained soils. Stems hypogeous, 2-4 cm long, 6-7 cm in diam, with few small tubercles on its top. Leaves 3-4 per plant; petioles green, 36-74 cm long, 0.6-2 in diam. at middle, sheath 9-29 long, less than half the petiole length; leaf blade sagittate to sagittate-cordate, 45-49 x 42-48 cm, 0.9-l.5; glossy medium green adaxially, drying brown, yellowish-green abaxially, drying light brown; collective vein irregular 2-11 mm from the leaf margin; anterior division 30- 36.5 x 38-42 cm, ovate, 2.2-3.9 times longer than posterior divisions, apex obtuse to shortly acuminate; primaly lateral veins 6-7 per side, arising at an angle of 45-70°, sunken adaxially, prominent abaxially, concolorous in both surfaces; secondary veins visible and sunken adaxially, visible and prominent abaxially; posterior divisions 12.5-15 x 38-4.5 cm, posterior lobes obovate to elliptic, extrorse to retrorse, rounded at apex, acroscopic veins 4-5, basioscopic 4-7, basal veins denuded for 1-2 cm. Inflorescence 2-3 per axil; peduncles green, 30-46 x 0.5-l.5 cm; spathe 8.3-14 cm long, tube elliptiC, 4-5.5 cm long, l.4-2 cm in diam., green outside, white inside, lamina usually boat-shaped at anthesis, 5-9 x 1-l.8 cm, green outside, white inside; spadix sessile, 10-13 cm long, fertile male portion 5.5-8.5 x 0.6-1 cm, white, tapering to the apex; sterile male portion 2-4 x 1.2-1.5 cm, female portion cylindrical, cream colored, 1.3-2 x 0.8-1 cm. Flowers: synandria 3-4-androus, ca. 2 x 3 mm, cylindrical; staminodes more or less monomorphic, obpyramidal to subprismatic, 1.5-2.5 x 3-4 mm; gynoecium prismatic to weakly obconical, 2-3 mm long, stigma hemispherical, cream colored, stigma 1-1.5 mm diam., style discoid and weakly coherent, 2 mm diam., whitish, ovary 4-5 locular, ovules 8--10 per locule, funicle with short trichomes at base. Infructescence: not seen.