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Araceae
Chlorospatha betancurii Croat & L.P.Hannon
SUMMARY
Terrestrial herb, ca. 1 m tall; stem elongate, remnants of old cataphylls persisting in part as short fibers, the fibers pale to dark brown (all measurements made from dried material); internodes (of juvenile plants) 9-10 mm long, 8-11 mm diam., drying weakly glossy, dark greenish brown; cataphylls ca. 37 cm long, acuminate at apex, drying semi-glossy, medium tan or brown. LEAVES 1; petioles 77 cm long, drying glabrous, weakly glossy to semi-glossy, dark reddish brown, with epidermis much paler and in part separated ± intact, semi-transparent, sheathed ca. 38 cm, ca. 1/2 of total length; sheath decurrent at apex; free portion 5-7 mm diam. midway; blades deeply 3-10bed, 30 cm long, 29 cm wide, about as long as wide, drying thin, weakly bicolorous; upper surface green, sparsely, irregularly whitish-maculate, drying weakly glossy, dark green, the maculations pale-medium green; lower surface drying semi-glossy to glossy, the maculations pale yellow-green; medial lobe 28 cm long, 10 cm wide, 2.7 times longer than wide, acuminate at apex, broadest below middle, weakly shorter than to weakly longer than lateral lobes, weakly inequilateral, briefly attenuate toward base, broadly attached, ca. 3.5 cm wide at point of attachment; lateral lobes directed toward the apex, 26.5-28.5 cm long, 8-8.5 cm wide, 3.4-3.6 times longer than wide, gradually acuminate to long acuminate at apex, broadest near base, markedly inequilateral, the inner side always narrower, long-attenuate toward base and moderately confluent with medial lobe, the confluent portion ca. 1.5 cm wide; outer side ca. 2.2 times wider than inner side midway, ± rounded or obliquely attached at base; midrib round-raised on lower surface, drying ± flattened, darker than surface; posterior rib naked 1.3-1.5 cm per side; primary lateral veins (of medial lobe) 6 pairs, arising at 30-45°, straight to weakly arcuate, round-raised on lower surface, drying raised at base, otherwise ± flattened, darker than surface; primary lateral veins (of lateral lobes) 7-8 pairs, the basal pair briefly fused toward the base, straight to weakly arcuate; secondary veins drying weakly raised on lower surface, weakly darker than surface; tertiary veins drying in part weakly prominulous, otherwise flat, mostly concolorous on lower surface, in part weakly darker than surface; reticulate veins drying obscure; collective veins 3, the innermost arising from the lowermost lateral vein at base, loop-connected with all preceding lateral veins, moderately scalloped, 3-10 mm from margin. INFLORESCENCES erect, to 5 per axil; peduncle held within the sheath, 37-44 cm long, ca. 2 mm diam., drying matte to weakly glossy, dark brown; spathe erect, total length not known; spathe tube green, 2.5-3 cm long, 3.5 mm diam., drying matte to weakly glossy, dark reddish brown on outer surface, weakly glossy on inner surface and densely pale tan-punctiform (speckles regularly rounded, appearing as subepidermal cellular inclusions); spathe blade white, length not known; spadix erect, 6 cm long, sessile, adnate to spathe ca. 1 cm at base, ca. lh of the length of pistillate portion; pistillate portion ca. 2.2 cm long, ca. 2 mm diam., drying brown; fertile staminate portion brown, ca. 2.8 cm long, 1.5-3 mm diam., clavate, bluntly rounded at apex, drying dark reddish brown; sterile staminate portion ca. 1 cm long, 1-1.5 mm diam., broadest at base, drying medium yellow-brown; pistils weakly coherent (laxly arranged in basal whorls), 2-4 across the axis (viewed from above), ca. 1 mm long; ovaries subglobose, ca. 0.8 mm long, 1-1.5 mm diam., drying medium brown; style disc-like, 0.8-1 mm diam., the margins not coherent with those of adjacent styles; stigma 0.2-0.3 mm diam., sessile; synandria ca. 1 mm long, ca. 1 mm diam., coherent, truncate, deeply (2)3-4-lobed, 3-4-androus (mostly 3); sterile flowers ca. 0.5 mm long, 1.7-2 mm X 1 mm diam., ± elongated in direction of axis, ± coherent, truncate, irregularly subprismatic, arranged in 6 whorls. INFRUCTESCENCE 4-6.3 cm long, 0.9-1.4 cm diam., drying matte to weakly glossy, dark reddish brown. BERRIES 3-4 mm diam., drying dark brown; seeds not known.