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Araceae
Homalomena imitator P.C. Boyce & S.Y. Wong
Nomenclature
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Family: AraceaeGenus: Homalomena
SUMMARY
Medium-sized, evergreen, glabrous, strongly aromatic mesophytic herbs to c.40 cm tall. Stem pleionanthic, initially erect, later creeping-elongated, c.2 cm thick, internodes to c.2.5 cm long, green to reddish; adventitious roots many, penetrating the leaf bases, and also produced from shoots arising from older, otherwise leafless portions of the stem. Leaves about six together; petiole 20–25 cm long × c.10 mm wide, sub-erect to spreading, bases weakly clasping, D-shaped in cross-section, adaxially very shallow wide-grooved, medium semi-glossy green, the lowermost part suffused dark glossy red; pulvinus very weak, one-third to one-half of petiole length from blade base; petiolar sheath to c.10 cm long, about one-third of petiole length, margins 0.5–1 cm long, equal, involute, mostly open c.1 cm apart at the base, narrowing towards the apex, weakly truncate, green, persistent; blade ovate-elliptic, 15–28 cm long × 9–11 cm wide, somewhat softly coriaceous, semi-glossy to somewhat satiny medium green adaxially (fresh), drying medium brown, abaxially paler green (fresh), drying pale brown, base cuneate, blade tip somewhat obtuse, shortacuminate for c.2.5 cm, apiculate for c.4 mm; midrib raised abaxially (fresh and dry), c.5 mm wide at the base and 3 mm wide at the centre, adaxially flush to weakly impressed (fresh and dry), c.6 mm at the base and 3 mm at the centre; primary lateral veins about seven on each side, diverging at 60°–80° from the midrib, adaxially impressed (fresh and dry), abaxially raised (fresh and dry), curved towards the apex when near the margin; interprimary veins impressed, weaker than and alternating rather regularly with primaries; secondary venation visible abaxially as conspicuous pellucid-striate vein-like glands running parallel to the primary lateral veins; tertiary venation not visible, all veins running into a slightly thickened intramarginal vein. Inflorescences up to five together in a simple sympodium, erect at anthesis, each subtended by a 2–4 cm long prophyll; peduncle 11–16 cm long × c.4 mm wide, semi-glossy medium green. Spathe c.11 cm long, white with the basal-most part of the lower spathe flushed lime green and the terminal rostrum green; lower spathe ovoid-ellipsoid, c.3 cm long × 1.5 cm wide at staminate anthesis, constricted at the junction of the spathe limb, the constriction coinciding with the lower-part of the staminate flower zone, spathe limb sub-equalling the length of the lower spathe, c.2.3 cm long × 2 cm wide at pistillate anthesis, mucro c.5 mm long. Spadix almost equal to spathe at pistillate anthesis, c.6 cm long, elongate-cylindrical-fusiform, narrowing in the lower part of staminate zone coinciding with the constriction of the spathe; stipe c.6 mm long × 3 mm wide, compressedcylindrical, glossy white; pistillate zone c.1.6 cm long × 5 mm wide, about one-third length of spadix, compressed cylindrical; ovary c.1.2 mm tall, shortly cylindrical, pale creamy white; stigma c.1 mm in diameter, capitaterounded, overtopping ovary, wet and glossy-grey when fresh, pale brown in alcohol; style barely differentiated; interstice c.6 mm long × 7 mm wide, densely clothed with irregularly polygonal-globose staminodes, these c.2 mm long, waxy white; staminate zone fusiform c.3.3 cm long × 4 mm wide (widest part), about half length of spadix; staminate flowers, white, 2.5–4 mm diameter, rather equally polygonal, comprising four or five truncate stamens, each overtopped by large and flat connective tissues, turning pale brown in alcohol. Infructescences not seen.