B. tabonensis

Culture

Comments

The specific epithet refers to Tabon Cave where the new species was discovered.

Endangered Status

Least Concern

Original Botanical Description or Link to

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0194877: Monoecious rhizomatous herb. Rhizome creeping, 3−7 cm or longer, 3−5 mm thick, internodes to 15 mm long. Stipules persistent, reddish, triangular, 5–8 mm long, 3–5 mm wide, herbaceous, strongly keeled, abaxially sparsely velutinous, densely velutinous along midrib, margin entire, apex aristate, arista 2–3 mm long. Leaves alternate, petiole terete, reddish, 3.5−10 cm long, 2−2.5 mm thick, villous; leaf blade asymmetric, oblique, widely ovate, 4−8 cm long, 4–6.4 cm wide, broad side 2.5–3.5 cm wide, basal lobes cordate, 0.9–1.5 cm long, apex acuminate or acute, margin subentire or inconspicuously denticulate, ciliate, hairs white; leaves thickly chartaceous, adaxially grey green, glabrous; abaxially pale green, appressed velutinous on all veins; venation basally ca. 7 palmate, midrib distinct, ca. 2 secondary veins on each side, other primary veins branching dichotomously or nearly so, tertiary veins reticulate. Inflorescences a axillary, bisexual, cymosely branching panicle 9–24 cm long with dichasial cymes, peduncle 6–15 cm long, arising directly from rhizome, inflorescence branched 3–4 times, erect or ascending, crimson, glabrous; cymes glabrous or very sparsely minutely glandular; protandrous. Bracts pale yellowish-green to pinkish, hyaline, chartaceous, very sparsely glandular or glabrous, deciduous, those at basal node of inflorescence very widely ovate, ca. 5–6 mm across, apex mucronate apiculate or slightly retuse, margin entire; bracts at summit of inflorescence elliptic or ovate, 3–6 mm long, 1.5–3.5 mm wide, apex acute to retuse, margin entire. Staminate flower: pedicel 0.7–1.7 cm long, very sparsely glandular or glabrous, tepals 4, white to pinkish, outer 2 ovate or obovate to suborbicular, 0.7–1.1 cm long, 0.7–1 cm wide, abaxially glandular, inner 2 oblanceolate, 0.9–1 cm long, 0.4–0.6 cm wide, apex obtuse to retuse; androecium actinomorphic, ca. 3 mm across; stamens yellow, 60–80; filaments fused on a short stalk; anthers obovate, ca. 0.7 mm long, 2-locular, apex rounded to truncate, subequal to filaments. Pistillate flower: pedicel 1–1.5 cm long, glabrous or sparsely glandular; ovary pale green to pinkish, body trigonous-ellipsoid, 4–6 mm long, 3–4 mm thick (wings excluded), sparsely glandular; 3-winged, wings sub-equal, ca. 8 mm long, crescent-shaped, occasionally slightly pointed at summit; lateral wings 3–4 mm wide, abaxial wing 2–3 mm wide, margin entire; ovary 3-locular, bilamellate; tepals 4, white to pinkish, outer 2 obovate or suborbicular, 6.5–8 mm long, 6–7 mm wide, abaxially sparsely glandular, inner 2 oblanceolate, 6.5–8 mm long, ca. 3 mm wide, apex obtuse or retuse; styles 3, shortly fused at base, yellow, ca. 4 mm long, stigma spirally twisted. Capsule pendent, pedicel 10–16 mm long, tepals deciduous; body trigonous-ellipsoid, ca. 6 mm long, 5 mm thick (wings excluded), greenish or pinkish when fresh; wings subequal, ca. 10 mm long, 3–5 mm wide.