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Araceae
Homalomena expedita A.Hay & Hersc.
SUMMARY
Colony-forming stoloniferous strongly aromatic (terpenoids – anethol?) helophyticherbs to c. 75 cm tall. Stem an erect to creeping rhizome to c. 30 cm long, c. 4 cm thick, spongy, emitting cataphylliferous stolons to c. 40 cm long, 1 cm thick, these eventually upturned, becoming rhizomatous, leafy, and thence emitting further stolons from the base of the rhizomatous portion. Leaves clustered, up to c. 10 together; petiole to c. 45 cm long, spongy within, pale mid-green with broken darker green longitudinal striations, sheathing in the lower 1/3; petiolar sheath margins mainly in-rolled except at the base, sheath thus closed; lamina mid-green on both sides, initially glossy, later becoming matt, very broadly ovato-sagittate, leathery, c. 15–20 cm long and wide, the apex broadly obtuse, very abruptly and shortly acuminate for c. 1 cm, finally stiffly apiculate for c. 3 mm, the base shallowly cordate to almost truncate, usually distinctly asymmetric, with widely spreading rounded to subtriangular posterior lobes 7–10 cm long; midrib adaxially flat, abaxially slightly prominent, with c. 5 adaxially impressed abaxially slightly prominent primary lateral veins on each side (plus a cluster of 2 or 3 on each side running to the posterior lobes), alternating with fainter interprimaries and diverging at c. 60º. Inflorescence solitary; peduncle 7–20 cm long, rather thick and spongy, c. 8 mm diam., erect. Spathe green, c. 5 cm long, 1.5 cm across and in bud slightly inflated at level of female zone, thence subcylindric-tapering, but not constricted, later very narrowly ovoid, apiculate for c. 4 mm. Spadix 4.5 cm long, stipitate; stipe c. 6 mm; female flower zone more-or-less cylindric, 0.8–1.2 cm long (irregular length around circumference of spadix), 1.2 cm wide; pistils subglobose, 1–2 mm diam.; stigmas subsessile, discoid or very weakly lobed, slightly narrower than the ovary, papillate; infrapistillar staminodes absent, sterile interstice conspicuous, 1.5 cm long, naked, pale green and c. 6 mm diam. in the lower 1 cm, with more or less regular spirals of low domed warts c. 0.5 mm diam., the upper part (comprising the base of the male zone) 9 mm diam., ivory and clothed in irregular sterile stamens: fertile male zone elongate-bullet-shaped, 1.5 cm long, tapering to a blunt acute tip, ivory; male flowers irregular (1–)2–4-staminate; stamens truncate, irregular in size, 1–1.5 mm across, irregularly polygonal, slightly sinuous on the abaxial side, the thecae overtopped by a synconnective. Fruit unknown.