Carlephyton diegoense Bogner

Perennial tuberous herb, tuber, with a period of dormancy during for several dry months during the dry season (April to October); tuber globose, flattened, 3-4 x 2-3 cm; LEAVES: 1-3 leaves (but up to 8 leaves when the plant is cultivated), appearing at the same time as or after the 2-3 inflorescences. Petiole 13-20 cm long, cylindric, a little flattened towards the top, green; sheath 3-12 cm long. Leaf blade ovatel, ± chordate and sometimes auriculate at the base, cuspidate at the apex, green, much paler on the upper surface, sometimes very sparsely mottled with red, 10-13 x 8-9.5 cm, decurrent on the petiole; venation reticulate venation; midrib thick on both sides. 4-5 primary lateral veins on each side, the 2 to 3 lowermost inferior veins borne at the base of the midrib and usually joined briefly; 2 collective veins on the edge of the leaf blade, the inner one has a distance of 0.5-1cm from the side of the leaf, and a little more marked than the second which is the outermost, a little weaker, with a distance of 1-2mm from the edge of the leaf. INFLORESCENCE: Peduncle 2-5 x 0.3 cm, green, tinted red. Spathe elliptic, ca 3.5 cm long, 1.6-2 cm wide, attenuating to a point, abruptly cuspidate, 2-3 mm long, dark greenish-red externally, purple when fresh, entirely open during anthesis and always longer than the spadix. Spadix 2.5 cm long; appendix 2-4 mm long; male zone 1.4-1.6 cm long; female zone 0.5 cm long, joined laterally with the spathe; 4-7 female flowers; male and female zones directly superimposed; male flowers little by little replaced by a short appendix, purple, terminal male flowers sterile. Male flowers composed of a flattened synandrium of (1-) 3 (-4) stamens; filaments at the apex ± free, very thick, bearing 2 thecae widely separated from each other; stamens isolated or arranged ± irregularly at the apex of the spadix; the terminallast male flowers have one stamen; the lower male interior flowers, of 1.5-2 mm diameter, yellowish to reddish; thecae globular globose to long, broadly elliptic, ca. 0.5 mm diameter, yellow, dehiscing from a long broad slit. Female flowers ca. 2 mm and 1.5-2 mm diameter; pistil surrounded by a urceolate synandrium urceolate with 3-4 incisions giving the impression of being 3-4 lobed (the synandrium is probably thus made of 3-4 staminodes); synandrium 1 mm tall, yellowish; ovary ellipticsoid ca.1 mm diameter, greenish-yellow-greenish, shortly attenuating in a very short style; the top upper part of the style is purple, coloring itself abruptly; suddenly turning yellow-greenish, like the ovary. Ovules subglobose, ca. 0.5-0.5 mm sub sessile. Stigma disc- shaped, concave in the center ca. 0.5 mm diameter, purple. INFRUCTESCENCE: Fruit unknown. Chromosome number 2n = ca. 108