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Araceae
Homalomena stella P.C. Boyce & S.Y. Wong
Nomenclature
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Family: AraceaeGenus: Homalomena
SUMMARY
Medium, solitary, aromatic (reminiscent of mango resin) rheophytic herbs to 45 cm tall. Stem epigeal, erect, congested, all but the oldest portions obscured by densely overlapping leaf bases, rooting from the older exposed nodes and through the petiole bases. Leaves ca. 10 per module, ca. 12–20 together, spiral; modules subtended by a small conspicuously 2-keeled prophyll up to 3 cm long; petioles up to 23 cm long, sheathing for ca. 1/3 their length, spreading, flexing upwards at the 2–3 cm long pulvinus occurring ca. 2/3 along the petiole length, with 1/3 of the petiole lying distal to the pulvinus, petiole above the petiolar sheath terete in cross section, petiole matte pale to medium green with a faint mottled and broken striate pattern; petiolar sheath persistent, 7–8 cm long, margins incurved, sheath coloured as for petiole, the margins narrowly marcescent; blade 17–25 x 4–6 cm; narrowly lanceolate to very narrowly elliptic, apex acuminate and tubular mucronate for ca. 4 mm, matte medium olive green adaxially, abaxially matte pale green with darker pellucid striate interprimary venation; midrib moderately conspicuous, creamy yellow and somewhat impressed adaxially, rounded-raised abaxially; primary lateral veins about 4 per side, arising more ao less equally spaced, impressed adaxially, slightly raised abaxially; interprimary veins much finer than primary laterals, comprising very numerous conspicuous darker pellucid veins, sometimes branching just after they exit the midrib; secondary and tertiary venation 6 invisible. Inflorescences up to 10 together, produced sequentially in a simple synflorescence; peduncle slender, about 10 cm, ca. 3 mm diam., except at the wider insertion of the spathe, pale matte green with darker broken striae, spreading with the spathe erect at anthesis, later pendent, spathe opening ventrally relative to the peduncle; spathe ca. 6 cm long; lower part ca. 2 cm long, 1.4–2 cm wide, ellipsoid at pistillate anthesis, becoming globose at staminate anthesis, exterior medium green with darker veins, interior very pale greenish white; limb ca. 4 cm long, ca. 1.5 cm wide. spreading at pistillate anthesis, narrowly ovate-ellipsoid, somewhat constricted at the junction with the convolute lower part, exterior pale green with darker longitudinal veins, interior greenish white with darker veining, tipped with a rostrate mucro 5 mm long. Spadix straight and shorter than spathe during development, extending and flexing forwards at pistillate anthesis, ca. 5.5 cm long at pistillate anthesis; stipe oblong-globose, oblique, ca. 4 mm long on its longest side, ca. 3 mm diam., waxy white; pistillate flower zone ca. 1/3 the length of the spadix, ca. 1.5 cm x 5 mm; pistils congested, cylindrical-globose, ca. 1 x 0.6 mm, bright medium green; style absent; stigma narrower than the ovary, umbonate-capitate and impressed into the ovary, bright green, producing a conspicuous stigmatic droplet at pistillate anthesis; interpistillar staminodes on a slender stalk, the tops expanded and triangular, equalling the height of the associated pistil, waxy white; staminate flower zone slightly narrower than the pistillate flower zone, with a single row of staminodes below the first row of pistillate flowers, ca. 3.5 x 0.4 cm, cylindrical-fusiform, ivory white; staminate flowers very densely packed, with individual flowers difficult to differentiate in fresh material, 4-staminate, stamens each with two anthers, rarely 3; stamens elongate-globose, connective forming a slightly impressed synconnective ca. .75 mm diam.; thecae opening by a tiny lateral slit. Infructescence not observed.