Alocasia micholitziana Sander

Dataset
CATE Araceae: Rank
SPECIES: Published in
Sander, Gard. Chron., III, 51(Suppl.): (1912)

Classification

family
Araceae: genus
Alocasia: species
Alocasia micholitziana

distribution

Endemic to Luzon.

general

Moderately robust herb; stem erect to decumbent, to ea. 50 cm long, ea. 4 cm diam.; leaves ea. 4-7 together, not interspersed with cataphylls; petiole to 45 cm long, sheathing in the lower ea. quarter to third, mottled brownish, reddish and/or purplish; blade rich velvety matt deep green adaxially, paler abaxially, sagittate, ea. 40 cm long x 13 cm wide, very shallowly to shallowly peltate; costae and primary veins white adaxially; anterior lobe ca. 20 cm long, rather broadly triangular, the margin very strongly to shallowly but distinctly undulate; anterior costa with 4-5 primary lateral veins on each side diverging at ea. 60-80° then curving distally to the margin; secondary venation flush on both sides, arising from the primary venation at a wide angle (ea. 90-1 00°) then curving to the margin; interprimary collective veins not or hardly differentiated; posterior lobes diverging at ea. 60-90°, narrowly triangular, the outer margins undulate, to ea. 11 cm long; inflorescences to ea. 4 together; peduncle to ea. 20 cm long; spathe ea. 14 cm long; lower spathe ovoid, ea. 3 cm long, green, separated from the limb by a rather abrupt constriction; limb ea. 11 cm long, basally somewhat reflexed and distally cucullate at anthesis, opening wide; spadix ea. Three quarters the length of the spathe, sessile, ea. 9 cm long; female zone ea. 1 cm long (dry) x ea. 7 mm; ovaries globose, ea. 2.5 mm diam.; style ea. I mm, rather abruptly differentiated from ovary; stigma subglobose, weakly lobed; sterile interstice slender, ea. 7 mm long x 2 mm diam. at narrowest, the lower ring of synandrodia paler and larger than upper ones; male zone more or less cylindric, ea. 1.2 cm long x 5 mm wide; synandria rhombohexagonal, ea. 1.2 mm diam. (dry), opening by apical pores not capped by synconnective; appendix ea. 6 cm long, tapering to a narrow blunt tip, not or faintly constricted at junction with male zone, composed of irregular low elongate staminodia; fruiting spathe ea. 4 cm x 2 cm; fruit ea. 5 m diam. Alocasia, but also found (constantly or variably) in New Guinea A. nicolsonii A. Hay, Sulawesi A. suhirmaniana Yuzami & A. Hay and A. celebica Engl., West Malesian A. puber (Hassk.) Schott and A. inornata Hallier f., Sumateran A. arifolia Hallier f. and Bornean A. sarawakensis M. Hotta the latter only in juvenile plants), A. reginae N.E. Br. and A. scabriuscula N.E. Br.. Plants from the type locality are much hairier than those from elsewhere. This species can be mistaken for A. macrorrhizos ( q.v.), which differs in being totally glabrous, having hardly prominent secondary venation that does not form interprimary collective veins, and much larger inflorescences that do not form central clusters.

habitat

In primary and secondary forest and roadsides at ea. 1200-1500 m altitude. This species is said to be common and widespread, and presumably occurs over a somewhat wider altitudinal range than the limited available data indicate.

Name

Homonyms: Alocasia micholitziana Sander

Bibliographic References

Hay, A. The genus Alocasia (Araceae-Colocasieae) in the Philippines. Gardens Bull. Singapore. 51, (1999). http://araceae.e-monocot.org/node/223