Pseudohydrosme gabunensis Engl.

CATE Araceae, 17 Dec 2011. araceae.e-monocot.org

General Description

Tuber 9-12 cm in diameter, light brown and somewhat ringleted, partly with buds; roots 5-8 mm thick, brownish yellow. LEAVES: Cataphylls 5-6, the first ones the shortest, more or less triangular, membrana-ceous, soon drying, 1.5-29 cm long, at the base (1) 2-2.5 cm wide, slightly reddish and a little spotted, the veins stronger colored. Petiole 1-1.3 m long, below 1-1.4 cm in diameter, spiny, spotted (more or less dark green olive and spotted with small yellowish white points); spines 1-2 mm long. Leaf blade divided in three main parts, each segment 30-35 cm long; rhachis more or less reddish, round below and flattened on upper side, its margins prominent; venation reticulate, veins underneath reddish, otherwise dark green; leaflets (4) 8-23 cm long and (2) 3-7 (11) cm wide, upper surface dark green with a blue grey touch, more or less shiny, apex truncate ending in two (0.5) 1-3 cm long acuminate to caudate side tips; the lowest leaflets ovate and cuspidate, 4.5-8 cm long and 2-5.5 cm wide. INFRUCTESCENCE: Peduncle short, yellowish, (3) 5-9 cm long and 1-1.5 cm in diameter, spiny, green or light purplish with greenish white roundish to elongate spots, spines 1-2 mm long and greenish white; cataphylls together with the inflorescence of the same size and color as those with the leaf. Spathe (30) 40-55 cm long, below for a length of 20-25 cm involute to a tube, fleshy and to 5 mm thick, above arched over and thin, more or less mem-branaceous, broad-pointed, margin slightly undulate; spathe outside greenish yellow, above getting a slight purplish touch; veins very prominent; inside below in the center deep purple, in the middle going over in a purple especially the veins, above greenish yellow (mostly the margin parts). Spadix more or less sessile, cylindric, blunt, fertile to its apex, (6) 9-12.5 cm long and (1.5) 2-2.5 cm in diameter; female part 2-3.5 (4) cm long; male part (3.5) 6-8.5 cm long. Pistil ca. 5 mm high; ovary globular to ellipsoid, somewhat squeezed, 2-3 mm in diameter, yellowish-whitish, bilocular, seldom trilocular, with one ovule in each locule, fixed at the base of the middle septum and ascending; ovule anatropous, ellipsoid, ca. 0.7 mm long and ca. 0.4 mm in diameter, funiculus ca. 0.5 mm long; style short, 1-1.5 mm long and ca. 1.5 mm in diameter, of the same color as the ovary; stigma bilobed, seldom trilobed, papillose, depressed in the center, ca. 2 mm in diameter, reddish brown to purple. Stamens free, ca. 4 mm high and rectangular in cross section, ca. 1.8 (2) x 1.2 mm, slightly angled, yellowish and at its top purple; thecae oblong, ca. 3 mm long and opening by an apical pore; connective capitate and rising above the thecae; pollen yellow and excuded in strings, pollen grain ellipsoid, inaperturate, 100-120u x 70-100u, exine slightly scabrous. INFRUCTESCENCE: unknown. Pollination: I collected as pollinators two different flies and two different beetles of the following families: Diptera: Choridae, Sphaeroceridae and Coleoptera: Scaphidiidae, Staphylinidae. They are normally found on rotten organic matter.

Distribution

Gabon, Mundagebiet, Sibange-Farm, Wald am Maveilufer

Habitat

Pseudohydrosme gabun-ensis was found growing in the humus layer of a sandy loam in deep shade

Diagnostic

Spathe convolute, obliquely truncate at the top; ovary 2 celled; stamens free