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Araceae
Homalomena ardua P.C.Boyce & S.Y.Wong
SUMMARY
Medium to robust herbs, strongly aromatic (mango peel), evergreen, glabrous, to ca 80 cm tall. Stem pleionanthic, erect to ascending, ca 3 cm thick, dark red to green, internodes to ca 1 cm long. Leaves up to ca 20 together; petiole terete, erect to decumbent with the terminal portion ascending, the laminad held flat, up to 50 cm long, petiole bases clasping, petioles dark reddish to green, reddish forms with the 2/3 lower part of petiole ageing to dark green, matte, drying dark brown, petiolar sheath to ca 31 cm long, near to 1/2 of petiole length, unequal, broader side rounded at apex, narrower side, weakly decurrent at apex, sheath initially long persistent with the marginal 1.5 mm soon drying paler, eventually the whole sheath marcescent; lamina broadly ovato-sagittate, 40-50 cm long x 28-34 cm wide, thinly leathery, glossy dark green adaxially (fresh), drying pale olive green, abaxially dark red (fresh), drying pale brown, base cordate, posterior lobes spreading, subtriangular 6-11 cm long, lamina tip obtuse, short-acuminate for ca 1 cm, thence, apiculate for ca 3.5 mm, sometimes red; midrib raised abaxially (fresh and dry), dark red when fresh, drying reddish brown, adaxially flush with lamina (fresh and dry), ca 3 mm wide, with ca 10 primary lateral veins on each side, diverging at 50º-90º from the midrib, adaxially impressed (fresh), flush with lamina when dry, abaxially raised (fresh and dry), curved sharply towards the apex when near the margin, interprimary veins ca 1/2 width of the primary lateral veins, alternating irregularly with primaries, posterior lobes each with 3-4 primary lateral veins; secondary venation rather obscure, striate; tertiary venation not visible, all veins running into a thickened intermarginal vein, this particularly conspicuous at the leaf tip, drying paler than the lamina.
Inflorescences 1-5 together, erect at anthesis, later declinate, peduncle to ca 10 cm long x ca 3 mm diam, white, matte. Spathe 9-15 cm long, tightly furled prior to anthesis, lower spathe inflating at female anthesis, spathe limb loosening at female anthesis, thence, inflating and then opening wide, lower spathe pale green, stained red at insertion of peduncle, white above, spathe limb white at anthesis, with apex and mucro shading to dark pink during anthesis; lower spathe ovoid-ellipsoid, ca 5.3-6.5 cm long, moderately constricted at the junction of the spathe limb, the constriction coinciding with the lower-most fertile male flowers, spathe limb narrowly elliptic, ca 8.5 cm long x 2.3 cm wide (at male anthesis), prominently keeled along the exterior midline, spathe limb margins with the middle ca 2/3 reflexing slightly at male anthesis, apex mucronate to ca 3.5 mm long. Spadix equalling the spathe, ca 13 cm long, elongate cylindrical-fusiform, narrowing in the lower part male zone coinciding with the constriction of the spathe and there intergrading with staminodes, stipitate; stipe ca 8.5 mm long x 4.5 mm diam., strongly dorso-ventrally flattened, female zone ca 3.6 cm long x ca 1 cm wide, ca 1/4 length of spadix, weakly fusiform, the surface adjacent to the spathe limb flattened, female flowers ca 1.5 mm x 0.75 mm, laxly arranged, squat-cylindrical, stigma as broad or slightly smaller than ovary, impressed and weakly trisulcate, stained light brown, interpistillar staminodes truncate on a very slender stipe, ca 0.3 mm diameter, equalling or slightly overtopping the associated female flower, stained greyish in alcohol, lower-most female flowers ca twice the size of fertile females, mostly associated with two or more interpistillar staminodes and seemingly sterile, suprapistillar staminodes each comprising a single anther; male zone ca 8 cm long, ca 2/3 length of spadix, lower part weakly constricted, clothed with fertile male flowers intergrading into a single row of staminodes., distal- and proximal-most flowers apparently sterile; male flowers, ca 3 mm x 2 mm trapezoid, comprising 3-7 truncate stamens, each overtopped by a large, slightly raised connective. Infructescence declinate, spathe entirely persistent, pale green stained reddish pink, peduncle dark red, matte. Fruits and seeds not observed.