Dracontium iquitense E.C.Morgan & J.A.Sperling

Terrestrial plant; tuber hemispherical, flat above and rounded below. Light tan throughout. Top of tuber collected less than 1cm under soil. Tubercles common throughout top surface of the tuber. Cataphylls 1-2 15-20cm long, purple in color. Leaves 1-2 with the petioles 100-150cm in length and 3-5cm diameter for the primary leaf and an occasional secondary leaf usually 1/2 to 2/3 in size. Mottled brown-green and white stem with a reptilian pattern densely covered with spiny projections on the upper 1/2 of the petiole. Juvenile leaf blades sagittate, mature blades spreading horizontally to 1. Terminal division of leaf divided into two lateral segments and one terminal segment, trichotomously branched, with the terminal end ending singly and the two subdivisions dividing dichotomously once more. Main lateral segments are twice dichotomously
branched. The rachis of the terminal segment is 1.5-2 times the length of the rachis of the lateral segments. The rachises are heavily patterned in the same manner as the petiole; all leaf segments contain contrastingly small segments to 5 cm which alternate with larger segments and are roughly triangular in shape. Peduncle measuring 4·0-60 cm long with very slight
mottling and much darker, purple color. Peduncle always less than half as long as petiole at anthesis; some spiny projections
in upper half becoming more common at the apex. Spathe 25-35cm X 5-10cm and fully erect, inner surface deep maroon above with lower 1/3 to 1/4 a creamy yellow-white; margins curved inward and overlapping at the base. Spadix 4-6cm lower 2/3 hidden; near black in color. Flower tepals .4 to .2cm long. Stamens 7-10 Stigma unlobed. Infructescence 6-12cm, young berries purple turning near black when ripe, with numerous whitish bumps on the surface. Seeds .3-.4cm long, reniform with one dorsal ridge, light
brown at maturity and germination which often occurs within the fruit. Seeds are covered with a gelatinous material.