Dieffenbachia fortunensis Croat

Slender herb, 40-100 cm tall, sap lacking distinctly foul aroma, stem erect except at base, containing inconspicuous, white raphide cells, inter- nodes 1-5 cm long, 0.8-2 cm diam., unmarked, semiglossy, dark green to medium green, sometimes minutely wrinkled and glistening, drying blackened, moderately smooth (but minutely granular on magnification). LEAVES erect-spreading, ± clustered at/near stem apex, petioles 12-28 cm long (averaging 19.6 em long) sheathing for 0.37-0.83 their length (averaging 0.58 their length), sheath 6.5-14.5 cm long (averaging 10.1 cm), with margins striate, decurrent distally, dark green, drying blackened to dark brown, surface matte, striate at base, minutely granular-roughened throughout with white raphide cells; unsheathed portion 3-15.5 cm long, sharply C-shaped, flatsulcate, with margins prominently raised; blades narrowly oblong-lanceolate, rarely sometimes narrowly ovate, or narrowly oblanceolate, 15-33 cm long, (3.5)4.5-9.5(13) cm wide (averaging 21 x 6.8 cm), 2-6.3 times longer than wide, 0.38-1.48 times longer than petiole (averaging 1.1 times longer), + equilateral or weakly inequilateral, one side 5-15 mm wider than the other side, thinly coriaceous to sulgcoriaceous, drying papyraceous, usually quilted, weakly lgicolorous, ± equilaterally or sometimes inequilaterally acuminate or sometimes acute at apex (acumen sometimes briefly apiculate), equilateral to slightly inequilateral an(l attenuate to acute, rarely rounded at base; margins usually conspicuously undulate, drying crisped; upper surface glossy to semiglossy or weakly glossy, medium to dark green, sometimes mottled white or cream; lower surface matte to weakly glossy, moderately paler midrib flat or flat- raised and concolorous above, thicker than broad to convex below drying brownish matte and darker than surface to slightly paler than surface, granular-puberulent to conspicuously granular below; primary lateral veins 1() to 17 per side, departing midrib at an acute angle, then moderately curved toward the margin at 55°-90° (mostly 55° in the middle of the }lade but at more acute angles toward the apex and more obtuse angles toward the base), turning upward along the margins and forming a series of fine collective veins along the margins, some of which extend to the apex, matte, prominently sunken to narrowly or weakly sunken and concolorous above, thicker than broad or convex and darker than surface, granular-puberulent to conspicuously granular below, drying darker than surface, interprimary veins usually about as conspicuous as primary lateral veins, minor veins moderately obscure to distinct; "cross-veins" loose-connected, weakly oblique, drying minutely dark-punctate. IN- FLORESCENCES 1 per axil, peduncle 4.5-7 cm long, spathe 12-18 cm long, 2-3.7 longer than spadix, 1-1.5 cm diam. on tule when furled, gradually contracted midway, gradually long-tapered to apex, uniformly pale green on both surfaces, spadix 9- 11.5 cm long, drying 3-3.2 mm diam., free portion 1.5-2 cm long, drying 2 mm diam., pistillate portion 4.24 cm long, drying 7 mm diam. throughout, fertile staminate portion 54.5 cm long, drying 4 mm diam. throughout, mostly naked intermediate portion of spadix 1.5-2.0 em long, drying 2 mm diam., with a few sterile pistillate flowers in the lower half, pistils 35 to 38, well-spaced, rarely more than 2 dispersed across spadix width, depressed-globose, to 1.6mm long, 1,, diam, pale green; stigma yellow, about as broad as the pistil; staminodia white, 1-1.4 mm long, conspicuously thickened, drying pale orange-brown; the synandium 2-2.6 mm long, 1.6-2.0 mm wide, white, drying yellow-brown, the margins irregularly angular-subrounded. INFRUC'I'ESCENCE with spadic to 6 cm long; berries not seen.