Furtadoa M.Hotta

HABIT : small evergreen herbs, stem repent. LEAVES : several to many. PETIOLE : sheath to half as long as petiole or more. BLADE : elliptic; primary lateral veins pinnate, running into margin, higher order venation parallel-pinnate. INFLORESCENCE : 1-3 in each floral sympodium. PEDUNCLE : shorter than or subequal to petiole. SPATHE : green, ellipsoid, not constricted, boat-shaped, persistent. SPADIX : subcylindric, tapering apically, female zone a third to nearly half spadix length, male zone contiguous with female, tapering to apex. FLOWERS : unisexual, perigone absent; each male and female flower with stamen or staminode situated basally to pistillode or gynoecium respectively. MALE FLOWER : consisting of a single free stamen overtopped by single flask-shaped pistillode with subglobose stigmatoid apex, pistillodes absent from apical flowers, stamen apex truncate, connective thick, thecae ovoid, dehiscing by short, longitudinal slit. POLLEN : inaperturate, ellipsoid-oblong, small (mean 17 µm.), exine virtually psilate. FEMALE FLOWER : consisting of gynoecium with single, shorter, obovoid, apically truncate staminode, lowermost flowers sometimes apparently with more than one staminode, gynoecium ovoid, ovary 1-locular, ovules many, hemianatropous, placenta basal to intrusive basal, style short and attenuate to absent, stigma discoid-subcapitate. BERRY : subcylindric, light green, bearing old style and stigma remains. SEED : ellipsoid to ovoid, testa smooth, thin, cream-coloured to very light green, embryo straight, endosperm copious.