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Araceae
Schismatoglottis ulusarikeiensis S.Y.Wong
SUMMARY
Leaves few together (to ca 5), innovations yellowish green, the lamina sometimes rotting and leaving behind portion of petiole, with this rotting away at a later stage; petioles terete, channelled slightly canaliculate adaxially in cross section, sometimes D-shaped in cross section, strongly longitudinally ridged, very minutely (strong lens required) and densely verruculate, 13-20 cm long, sheathing in the lower 1/3 to ½ with the sheaths tapering, fully attached, wide open persistent; lamina always oblongo-ovate, sometimes ovate, softly coriaceous, 13-21 cm long × 5-9 cm wide (ratio up to ca 3:1), the base broadly rounded to sub-truncate, slightly retuse to cuneate, the apex acute to ca 1 cm, adaxial surface semi-glossy mid green, abaxial surface paler green, always slightly bullate, glaucous, drying strongly discolourous; midrib adaxially flush with the lamina but centrally channelled at the leaf base, abaxially very prominent, raised canaliculate in cross section; primary venation prominent but flushed on adaxial surface, sometimes slightly impressed, strongly raised abaxially, numerous, 10-15 on each side of the midrib, alternating with lesser interprimaries or these occasionally arising from the bases of the primary veins but only occur at the leaf bases, diverging at 60o- 80o and gradually curving towards the tip before reaching the intermarginal collecting vein; secondary veins mostly arising from the midrib, occasionally from near the bases of the primary veins, obscure adaxially and abaxially; tessellate tertiary venation, obscure adaxially and prominent abaxially. Inflorescences up to three together, erect, white, 6.5 to 7 cm long, peduncle 1.5 to 2.5 cm, slightly exserted during fruiting; spathe, interior glossy, exterior semi-glossy, thickly coriaceous, ca 9 cm long; lower spathe broadly ovoid, ca 1.5cm diam. × 3.5 cm long, white when fresh, differentiated from the limb by a faint constriction coinciding with the upper part of interstice; limb lanceolate, thickly coriaceous, caducous by melting at or just after male anthesis, upper part of the limb green prior to anthesis; spadix, sessile, isodiametrically attached to the spathe in the lower 1/4 of female zone, cylindric, 5.5-6 cm long; female zone, cylindric, green when fresh but yellow in alcohol, 1.5-2.2 cm long × 7-10 mm diam., 1/4 of spadix length; pistils numerous, tightly arranged, elongate-ovoid to subcylindric, ca 0.50 mm diam.; stigma sessile, large bun-shaped, ca 0.40 mm diam., overtopping ovary, raised, papillate; interpistillar staminodes confined to more or less a single ring at the base of the female zone, but sometimes in robust inflorescence, a few scattering towards the distal part of the female tzone, irregularly polygonal from above, twice the size of ovaries, flat-topped, shorter than pistils; sterile interstice presence, 0.6-1 cm long × 0.7-1 cm wide, pistillodes that are c. half to two times larger than pistil, irregularly round, white when fresh and in alcohol, ca 7 mm long, sharp constriction in between pistillode and staminode zones; staminodes, larger than stamens, irregular polygonal, flat-topped, white when fresh and turning yellow in alcohol, ca 5 mm long; male zone, cylindric, ca 1.8-2.2 cm long × 7 mm diam., 1/3 of spadix length; stamens close-packed, irregularly butterfly-shaped from above and neighbouring anthers with their lobes interdigitating, 0.5 mm diam., anthers truncate, connective narrow and thecae large, pores large accounting of the entire top of the thecae and shallow, C-shaped, the rims narrowly alate; appendix cylindric, 2.1-2.3 cm long × 7 mm diam., 1/3 of spadix length, white when fresh and in alcohol, blunt point at distall, basally contiguous with the male zone; staminodes of appendix tightly arranged, large staminode, flat-topped, 0.7-1.2 mm across, squat-columnar, staminodes at the distal portion, sometimes forms slit. Fruits immature during observation.