B. culasiensis

Culture

Endangered Status

Vulnerable D2

Original Botanical Description or Link to

Monoecious rhizomatous herb. Rhizome creeping, 10 cm or longer, 5–8 mm thick, internodes congested. Stipules persistent, pale yellowish-green, widely or very widely triangular, 5–8 mm long, 7–12 mm wide, herbaceous, strongly keeled, very sparsely velutinous on outside midrib or glabrous, apex aristate, arista 5–8 mm long. Leaves alternate, petiole terete, pale yellowish-green to reddish, 6.5–19 cm long, 3.5–6 mm thick, sparsely white or pale magenta velutinous, densely hirsute at the joint with leaf blade, fleshy hairs fused into a ring at petiole base; leaf blade asymmetric, oblique, widely ovate to suborbicular, 7.5–14.5 cm long, 5.8–13 cm wide, broad side 3.5–7.7 cm wide, basal lobes cordate, 2–3.5 cm long, apex obtuse to acuminate, sometimes rounded; margin denticulate, ciliate, hairs white or pale magenta, leaves thickly chartaceous to succulent, adaxially green or maroon to greyish–blackish, sometimes with green venation against darker background; surface glabrous; abaxially pale green or reddish, sparsely velutinous on all veins; venation palmate with ca. 7 veins, midrib distinct, with ca. 2 secondary veins on each side, other primary veins branching dichotomously or nearly so, tertiary veins reticulate. Inflorescence an axillary, bisexual and protandrous, dichasial cyme 17–39 cm long, peduncle 11–25 cm long, arising directly from rhizome, branched 5 or 6 times, erect or ascending, yellowish-green to pinkish, glabrous or subglabrous, with sparse sessile, minute glands on upper part. Bracts pale yellowish-green or reddish, hyaline, deciduous, those at basal node of inflorescence ovate, boat-shaped, 6–9 mm long, 4.5–6 mm wide, apex obtuse or acute, margin entire or repand, sparsely velutinous; bracts at the distal part of inflorescence ovate, to ca. 2 mm long, 1.5 mm wide. Staminate flower: pedicel 0.8–2 cm long, with sessile glands, tepals 4, white to pinkish, outer 2 scarlet red to pinkish outside, widely ovate or obovate to suborbicular, 0.8–1.4 cm long, 0.5–1 cm wide, outside glabrous or with sparse sessile glands; inner 2 obovate or oblanceolate, 0.8–1.2 cm long, 0.4–0.8 cm wide, apex rounded to retuse; androecium actinomorphic, ca. 0.4 cm across; stamens yellow, 27–47; filaments shortly fused at base; anthers obovate, ca. 0.8 mm long, apex truncate to retuse, subequal to filaments. Pistillate flower: pedicel 1.4–3 cm long, glabrous or with sparse sessile glands; ovary green, reddish, body trigonous-oblongoid, 5–10 mm long, 2–3.5 mm thick (wings excluded), glabrous; 3-winged, wings 7–12 mm long, lateral wings narrower, narrowly linear, 0.5–1.2 mm wide, abaxial wing much protruded, narrowly linear or oblanceolate, attenuate on both ends, 1–2.5 mm wide, margin entire; ovary 3-locular, placenta bilamellate; tepals 4, white to pinkish, outer 2 obovate, widely ovate or widely obovate, 9–1.1 cm long, 0.7–8.5 cm wide, with sparse sessile glands or glabrous outside; inner 2 oblanceolate to widely obovate, 0.7–0.9 cm long, 0.3–0.6 cm wide, apex truncate to retuse; styles 3, shortly fused at base, yellow, 2.5–4 mm long, stigma spirally twisted. Capsule pendent, pedicel 1.4–3.2 cm long, tepals deciduous; body trigonous-oblongoid, 9–14 mm long, 4–6 mm across (wings excluded), greenish or reddish when fresh; wings unequal, ca. 15–19 mm long; lateral wings ca. 2 mm wide, abaxial wing 3–4 mm wide. Somatic chromosome number, 2n = 30.