Homalomena ibanorum S.Y.Wong & P.C.Boyce

Moderately stout evergreen herbs to ca. 1.5 m tall, vegetative tissues very weakly aromatic. Stem pleionanthic, oldest portions creeping and rooting, partially subterranean, active portion erect, ca. 3 cm thick, pale green; internodes to ca. 5 mm long, obscured by overlapping petiole bases. Leaves up to 20 together, rather erect; each shoot module subtended by single prophyll, ca. 10 cm long, medium green, margin deep red, persistent; petiole 18 - 55 cm long x ca. 5 mm diam., adaxially shallowly grooved, the groove extending to the insertion of the blade, rounded abaxially, D-shaped in cross section, semi-glossy medium green; petiolar sheath open, 8 - 20 cm long, 1/3 - 1/2 length of petiole, wings long-persistent, rather membranous, pale green, the margins red; blade broadly cordate to almost deltoid, 15 - 29 cm long x 12 - 20 cm wide, coriaceous, glossy medium green adaxially, paler green and matte abaxially, with a ca. 1 - 2 mm wide red margin, apex acuminate and then mucronate for ca. 4 mm, base weakly cordate to almost truncate; midrib prominently rounded-raised abaxially, adaxially slightly impressed, up to 4 mm wide; with 6 - 8 primary lateral veins on each side, diverging at 30° (distal) to 90° (proximal) from the midrib, primary lateral veins abaxially raised, adaxially impressed; interprimary veins ca. 1/3 width of the primary lateral veins, regularly interspersed, flush with the blade adaxially, abaxially almost raised or faint; secondary venation somewhat conspicuous to weakly flush with the blade on both sides, tertiary venation invisible; all veins running into a weakly defined thickened intermarginal vein; intermarginal vein somewhat inconspicuous abaxially, adaxially almost invisible. Inflorescences up to 6 together, each subtended by a small narrowly triangular prophyll, sub-erect at anthesis, later declinate; peduncle to ca. 12 cm long x ca. 4 mm diam., medium green. Spathe stiff, somewhat fleshy, tightly furled prior to anthesis, lower spathe inflating and spathe limb gaping at pistillate anthesis, spathe limb opening wide at staminate anthesis and spadix extending and slightly protruding; spathe later closing to enclose spadix, ca. 7.5 cm long x ca. 1.75 cm wide at anthesis, exterior semi-glossy pale green, the ventral sides paler than the dorsal, and with the margins and distal-most part of the limb red-stained, interior white with red margins; lower spathe broadly ovoid, shorter than the limb, ca. 7 cm long; spathe limb narrowly ovoid with a terminal mucro 4 - 5 mm long, in all ca. 5 cm long. Spadix ca. 7 cm long x ca. 5 mm diam., stipitate; stipe ca. 1 cm long (i.e., ca. half the length of the pistillate flower zone), glossy white; pistillate zone cylindric, nearly 1/2 the length of the spadix, ca. 3.2 cm long; pistils densely arranged, globose, ca. 1.5 mm tall 3 ca. 1 mm diam., greenish white, style not differentiated; stigma convex-topped, much wider than the pistil, ca. 1 mm tall x 1.5 - 2 mm diam., mostly three-lobed, semi-translucent, glossy greenish; most pistils associated to a single interpistillar staminode, occasionally (basal-most flowers) with 2 - 3 staminodes; interpistillar staminodes with a very slender stalk and an expanded top, ca. 0.5 mm long, ivory while; suprapistillar interstice zone 1 - 2 mm long, partly naked above for ,1 mm; staminate zone narrowly conic, about half the length of the spadix, 1/4 - 1/3 held within lower spathe chamber, ca. 2.7 cm long, apex obtuse, ivory white; staminate flowers densely arranged, trapezoid to hexagonal in plan view, each flower consisting of 4 stamens, lowermost 1 - 2 rows of flowers sterile, and uppermost also sterile, each stamen over-topped by a large, flat connective. Infructescence with spathe turning green with the red margins and staining darkening. Fruits exposed by basal tearing and upward splitting of the persistent spathe; fruits oblong-ovoid, c. 5 mm long 3 3 mm wide, initially green, ripening semi-translucent dirty yellowish, fruits smelling and pulp tasting of overripe pineapple; seeds many, ellipsoid, ca. 1.5 mm long, longitudinally weakly ribbed.