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Araceae
Homalomena succincta S.Y. Wong & P.C. Boyce
Nomenclature
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Family: AraceaeGenus: Homalomena
SUMMARY
Evergreen, glabrous strongly aromatic (celery – butylphthalide?) herbs to c.60 cm tall. Stem pleionanthic, erect to long-decumbent with the active tip ascending, up to 3 cm thick, pale brown with the exposed axillary buds green, with conspicuous adventitious roots, these often penetrating the petiole bases of the active tip, internodes to c.3.5 cm long. Leaves up to 10 together, modules starting with a conspicuous two-keeled short-duration prophyll, this pale green, glossy; petioles erect to somewhat spreading, 50–60 cm long × 7–10 mm wide at mid-point, sub-terete with the distalmost portion very shallowly channelled and very weakly D-shaped, pulvinate one-quarter to one-half of the way back from leaf blade insertion, glossy medium green with obscure and scattered longitudinal short pale green ridges; petiolar sheath c.20 cm long, about one third of petiole length, persistent, equal at both sides, wings up to 10 mm wide, semi-closed, with one side incurved, rather abruptly decurrent at apex, glossy medium green; blade narrowly triangular-ovate-cordate, c.30 cm long × 18–20 cm wide, rather stiffly rubbery-leathery, semi-glossy bright green adaxially, paler abaxially, base narrowly cordate, posterior lobes subtriangular c.6 cm long, obtuse, inner margins incurved, tip acute, ultimately mucronate for c.3 mm, mucro green; midrib raised abaxially, c.1 cm wide at base, c.6 mm wide at centre, adaxially flush with blade, and c.14 mm at the sinus, c.8 mm at the centre; primary lateral veins about eight 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 raised, c.1 mm in width, alternating somewhat irregularly with primaries, posterior lobes each with two or three primary lateral veins; secondary and tertiary venation not visible, all veins running into a thickened intermarginal vein. Inflorescences up to seven together, erect, smelling of absinthe at pistillate anthesis, declinate post-anthesis, first inflorescence subtended by foliage leaf, the next by twokeeled, soon degrading, pale green prophyll c.11 cm long × c.1.4 mm wide; peduncle c.20 cm long × 5.5–8mm wide, glossy medium green with very obscure paler longitudinal striae, terete. Spathe c.6.5 cm long, lower spathe inflating at onset of pistillate anthesis; spathe limb opening wide; lower spathe exterior pale lime-green, interior of entire spathe glossy white and appreciably slimy at anthesis; lower spathe ovoid-ellipsoid, c.4 cm long × 2.5 cm wide at pistillate anthesis, constricted at the junction of the spathe limb coinciding with the lowermost fertile staminate flowers; spathe limb c.2 cm long × 1.5 cm wide at pistillate anthesis, ovate-triangular, margins recurved, terminal mucro c.1.5 mm. Spadix stipitate, c.7 cm long (post-staminate extension), shorter than spathe before anthesis, interstice and staminate portion rapidly extending at onset of anthesis and spadix exceeding spathe limb by c.2 cm; stipe c.5 mm long × 6 mm wide, very slightly stout-fusiform, inserted obliquely on peduncle, glossy greenish white; pistillate zone c.3 cm long (long side), 2.5 cm (short side) × c.1 cm wide, about half the length of spadix, cylindrical, obliquely inserted on stipe; pistils globose-cylindrical, 1.7–2 mm in diameter, 2–3.3 mm tall, the majority densely arranged, those distal on the zone slightly laxly arranged, yellowish white; style barely differentiated; stigma umbonate-capitate, very slightly smaller than ovary diameter, centre slightly impressed, wet with a white jelly-like coating at pistillate anthesis; interpistillar staminodes, slender-stipitate, equalling the associated pistils, tip abruptly globose, c.0.7 mm in diameter, waxy white; suprapistillar interstice zone conspicuous, 5–6 mm long, naked, medium green; staminate zone c.3.5 long × 7 mm wide, about half the length of spadix, tapering cylindrical with a very slightly constricted area about one-third along from the base; yellowish resin copiously produced from between the staminate flowers after c.4 h after onset of pistillate anthesis; staminate flowers 1.7–2 mm diameter, trapezoid, each comprising three or four truncate stamens, each overtopped by a large flat connective; lowermost few staminate flowers sterile, these staminodes irregularly globose polygonal, each comprising a single sterile anther, c.0.8 mm long × c.1.5 mm wide, waxy white; pollen extruded in strings and mixing with the exuded resin, white. Infructescences up to seven together, declinate to pendent, spathe entirely persistent, medium green with conspicuous dark green longitudinal intermittent striae; peduncle green with pale green longitudinal intermittent striae, otherwise smooth; fruits and seeds not observed.