Piptospatha pileata S. Y. Wong & P. C. Boyce

Clumping rheophytic herb to 20 cm tall. Roots strong, c. 2 mm in diameter. Stem short, to 10 mm in diameter, but obscured by leaf bases. Leaves many together, arching, forming a dense rosette; petiole bases clasping stem; petiole 5 – 8 cm long, up to 2 mm in diameter, strongly D-shaped in cross section with the dorsal margins crispulate-hyaline, entire petiole minutely but distinctly scabrous, reddish dark green; petiolar sheath with free ligular portion, 2 – 4 cm long, marcescent and ultimately deciduous, persistent part of ligular sheath with hyaline margin, somewhat dark reddish brown; leaf blades narrowly elliptic, 8 – 10 cm long × 2 – 3.5 cm wide, base cuneate, somewhat obtuse, apex acute with stout tubule, c. 5 mm long, in life deep glossy green adaxially, much paler abaxially, drying dull reddish brown with abaxial venation slightly darker; midrib bluntly raised adaxially, rounded-raised and minutely scabrous abaxially; primary lateral veins c. 6 per side, parallel pinnate, impressed adaxially, very slightly raised abaxially; interprimary lateral veins weaker than primary laterals although still conspicuous, irregularly visible as semitranslucent broken lines running parallel to the primary laterals and joining a weakly defined submarginal collecting vein. Inflorescence solitary, erect; peduncle 8 – 11 cm long at anthesis and c. 16 cm at fruiting, c. 2.5 – 3 mm in diameter, minutely but distinctly scabrous, reddish brown. Spathe initially erect, later held at c. 90° to peduncle, during fruiting once again erect, not constricted, dark pink in bud, opening with spathe limb dark magentapurple pink shading to medium pink and then reddish brown basally; spathe limb inflated-pileate at anthesis, shedding during staminate anthesis, c. 4 cm long, the base c. 1.5 cm wide, midway inflated to c. 2 cm, then ventrally constricted and terminating in a tubule c. 4 mm long. Spadix 2 – 2.5 cm long × c. 0.5 mm in diameter, base slightly obliquely inserted onto the very short stipe; pistillate flower zone fertile to the base or with one or two rhomboidal pink staminodes inserted basally, cylindric, base rather abruptly obtuse and overhanging the stipe, c. 5.5 mm long × c. 5 mm in diameter, pistils cylindrical, truncate, very congested, c. 0.6 mm diameter; stigma with a slight central depression, papillate, as wide as ovary, pinkish grey; zone of paired staminodes of circa four whorls separating pistillate and staminate zone; staminodes rhomboidal-polygonal, upper sides tapering basally, white; staminate zone equalling the pistillate zone in width, c. 15 mm long × 5 mm in diameter, slightly tapering, apex blunt, pale cream; staminate flowers congested, comprised of paired stamens, irregularly oblong and weakly butterfly shaped in plan view, c. 0.5 mm wide × c. 1 mm long, truncate, glabrous; thecae lateral, c. 0.3 mm, ellipsoid with a wide rim, the opposite stamens linked by a transverse sulcus. Fruiting spathe funnel-shaped, 1 cm long × 1.5 cm wide. Fruits in a semiglobose head with a central depression resulting from shedding of the spent parts of the spadix, individual berries very tightly appressed, very pale yellow with minute reddish speckles, stigma reddish brown. Seeds not observed.