Homalomena baangongensis L.S.Tung & Y.C.Hoe

Medium to moderately robust, evergreen, glabrous, weakly aromatic (lime-oil) herbs to 1.2 m tall. Stem pleionanthic, erect to ascending, leafless portion reddish brown, with conspicuous pale yellow adventitious roots penetrating the petiole bases, 3.5-5 cm thick, internodes to ca. 2.5 cm long. Leaves up to 11 together, modules beginning with a conspicuous 2-keeled short-duration glossy pale green prophyll; petiole erect to spreading, up to ca. 82 cm long x 9-15 mm wide, weakly pulvinate ca. 1/4 way from leaf blade insertion, turgid in living state, slightly spongy when dried, smooth, subterete with the distal-most portion channelled, glossy bright green with scattered weak longitudinal medium-green ridges; petiolar sheath 30-34 cm long, slightly less than c. 1/3 of petiole length, wings equal at both side, persistent, to ca. 1 cm wide, convolute, rounded and weakly decurrent at apex, margins slightly incurved, glossy green; leaf blade broadly ovato-cordate to cordiform, occasionally ovato-sagittate, ca. 44 cm length x ca. 33 cm width, thinly leathery, conspicuously quilted between the primary lateral veins, glossy green adaxially, paler abaxially, drying uniformly pale yellow, base cordate, few sagittate, posterior lobes subtriangular to ca. 15 cm long, tip obtuse and to somewhat cuspidate for c. 1 cm, ultimately aristate green mucronate to ca. 3 mm long; midrib raised abaxially and gradually less conspicuous when near blade tip, ca. 10.5 mm wide at the base, 6 mm wide at the centre; adaxially flush with blade, ca. 1.3 cm at the base, 5 mm at the centre; ca. 9 primary lateral veins on each side, diverging at 40°-90° from the midrib, adaxially impressed, abaxially raised, curved sharply towards the apex when near the margin; interprimary veins flush with blade, ca. 1.5 mm in width, alternating irregularly with primaries, posterior lobes each with ca. 3 primary lateral veins; secondary venation and tertiary venation not visible, all veins running into a intermarginal vein. Inflorescences up to 6 together in a gorgonoid synflorescence, erect at anthesis, later declinate, at pistillate anthesis, smelling of lemon and Mangifera odorata resin at pistillate anthesis, this smell reduced during transition period, and very faint during staminate anthesis; first inflorescence subtended by foliage leaf, next by 2-keeled 7-20 cm pale green prophyll, soon degrading; peduncle ca. 18 cm long x c. 8 mm wide, terete, glossy green with obscure pale white longitudinal striate, smooth. Spathe up to 11.5 cm long, white, middle portion faintly yellowish green, spathe exterior with few drops of extra-floral nectaries, conspicuously quilted, smooth, turning green at post-anthesis, tightly furled prior to anthesis, lower spathe inflating and margin loosening, subsequently spathe limb inflating and margin gaping loosing and partially reveal the spadix, spathe limb then opening wide at the onset of pistillate anthesis, exterior with very few extrafloral nectaries; lower spathe ovoid-ellipsoid, ca. 6 cm long x ca. 3.3 cm width at pistillate anthesis; spathe limb ca. 5 cm long x ca. 3.25 cm wide at pistillate anthesis, ovato-triangular, greenmucro toca.1.5 mm, slightly furled at the onset of pistillate anthesis, tip hooded at female anthesis. Spadix stipitate, ca. 10.7 cm long, exceeding spathe ca. 1.5 cm by the time of pistillate anthesis, persistently enclosed by spathe after anthesis until the end of fruiting stages; stipe ca. 7 mm long x 5-8 mm width, fusiform-cylindrical, inserted obliquely on peduncle, glossy pale yellowish with tiny white dots, dark brown in alcohol; pistillate zone c. 3.7 cm long x ca. 1.1 cm wide, ca. 1/3 length of spadix, yellowish white, cylindrical; pistils globose-cylindrical, densely arranged when fresh, ca. 2.5 mm in diam., yellowish white, turning pale grey in alcohol, each pistil associated with 3-4 waxy white interpistillar staminodes, slender stipitate, thetop globose, ca. 1 mm in diam., waxy white; style barely differentiated; stigma globose-capitate, truncate and smaller than ovary, ca.1.2mmin diam., yellowish,staining pale grey in alcohol; suprapistillar interstice zone absent; staminate zone ca. 6.5 cm long 3 ca. 7.5 mm wide, ca. 3/5 length of spadix, with a constriction ca. 1/3 way along from the base,not coinciding with the spathe constriction; amber resin-like droplets produced on staminate zone during early pistillate anthesis, and later exudates along the whole staminate zone; staminate flowers size equal throughout staminate zone, ca. 1.9 mm long x 1.3 mm wide x 1 mm tall, hexagonal, each comprising 3-4 truncate stamens, each overtopped by a large flat connective, white, turning pale yellowish grey in alcohol; pollen extruded in strands, white, mixed with the resin to form a yellowish paste. Infructescence ca. 8 together, ultimately pendent, persistent spathe turning green, the spathe limb eventually abscising and tearing upwards to reveal mature fruit; fruit 2.8-5 mm diam., 3-4.2 mm tall, ca. 43 larger than unfertilized ovaries, globose or slightly cylindrical polygonal, green or rarely reddish before maturity, turningtranslucentyellowishwhenripe.Seed 0.4-0.6 mm in diam., ellipsoid, pale green.