Dracontium croatii G.H.Zhu

Tuber hemispherical, 8-11cm diam., 6.5cm thick, flat above, rounded and whitish to brownish below, 4-30cm below ground level; tubercles few, rounded or cylindrically elongated, 0.5-1cm diam., 1-2.3cm long, borne around the periphery of tuber; roots whitish, 2-4mm diam.; cataphylls 3 to 5, 5-45 × 3-5cm, dark brown or pink, 5-15cm long above ground. Leaves solitary; petioles 1.4-3m long above ground, 2-4.5cm diam. at midpoint, dark green or brownish green, contrastingly mottled with dirty white or pale green blotches and forming a reptilian pattern, usually smooth in upper half and with irregular protuberances in lower half; juvenile blade sagittate, or sagittately lobed; mature blades spreading horizontally, 1-1.5m diam., thinly coriaceous, rarely fenestrate, never variegated, without raphide cells or dark markings with abundant raphide cells, semiglossy and dark green above to matte and medium green above, semiglossy and medium green below to matte and medium green below; middle division twice trichotomously branched, 0.8-1 × 0.5-0.8cm, with terminal subdivision consisting of 3 sections, with each basal subdivision consisting of many segments; lateral divisions twice dichotomously branched, 0.8-0.95 × 0.5-0.8cm, with terminal subdivision consisting of 2 sections, with basal subdivision consisting of many segments; terminal and subterminal sections confluent, each consisting of many segments; broadly oblanceolate, more than 5cm wide on each side of the major ribs, oblanceolate, mostly confluent with each other in each division or at least some of the basal segments free from each other, often with contrastingly smaller rounded or triangular segments alternating with larger segments; apices acuminate, or rarely acute; ultimate segments 20cm long, confluent with penultimate segments; other segments 3.5-15cm long; penultimate segments confluent with the subterminal sections; medial segments confluent with the basal subdivisions; basal segments present, free from each other or rarely confluent with each other; rachises patterned similar to petiole but in much paler shades, with irregular protuberances; tertiary veins prominent and conspicuous above; bracteoles 3 or 4, 20 × 2-4cm, light or dark brown, the longest one much shorter than the peduncle, confined at the base of the peduncle. Inflorescence solitary, appearing before new leaf; peduncle 80-120cm long above ground, 1.3-3.5cm diam. at midpoint, more than half as long as the petiole, mottled similar to petiole but deeper in color, brownish green, with irregular protuberances in lower half and spiny projections; spathe 23-50cm long, 8-15cm wide, cymbiform, cucullate, erect or slightly arching, apex obtuse; inter surface velvety, maroon and solid greenish white (4-6cm along the margin), with translucent area obvious, 3-7cm high, 1.5 to 3 times longer than spadix; outer surface dark yellowish green, matte; margins entire, broadly overlapping in the lower two-thirds; veins obscure inside, conspicuously darker or paler than the spathe, purple and pale green (on lower half); spadix hidden, sessile, cylindric, narrower at apex, purple, 1.8-6.5cm long, 0.7-1.5cm diam. at anthesis, never with appendages at apex. Flower tepals (6)7 or 8(9), 1.8-2.2 × 1-2mm, brown-purple or dark purple; stamens 6 to 9; filaments 1.5-2mm long; anthers 1-1.5mm long, hidden or slightly exserted; ovary bilocular, pale green; stigma 2-lobed, or rarely 3-lobed; style 1-1.2mm long above tepals, purple, persistent. Infructescence with spadix 6-12cm long, 3.4-5cm diam. in fruit; berries 2-seeded, 1-1.8cm diam., globose, apically rounded; young berry light green; mature berry orange, with or without some reddish dots or raphide cells; seeds 0.8-1cm diam., rounded, reddish brown, laterally depressed; dorsal ridges obvious, more than 3, strongly interrupted, monomorphic, more than 1 mm thick, 1-2mm high, smooth on both sides.