B. gironellae

Culture

Endangered Status

Data deficient

Original Botanical Description or Link to

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0194877: Monoecious stemless herb. Rhizome short, creeping, 3−5 cm, 5−8 mm thick, internodes very congested. Stipules persistent, pale yellowish-green or pinkish, widely triangular, 5–6 mm long, 6–7 mm wide, herbaceous, strongly keeled, very sparsely velutinous or nearly glabrous, margin entire, apex aristate, arista 2–3 mm long. Leaves alternate, petiole terete, pale yellowish-green to reddish, (4−)8−16 cm long, (2−)3.5−5 mm thick, sparsely woolly, glabrescent, fleshy hairs fused into a ring at the base of the petiole; leaf blade asymmetric, oblique, ovate to widely ovate, occasionally polygonal, 6−11 cm long, 4.7–9.5 cm wide, broad side 2.8–6 cm wide, base cordate, 1.2–3.5 cm long, apex obtuse to acute, margin denticulate, sparsely short-velutinous, hairs white; leaves thickly chartaceous, succulent, adaxially green, dark olive green to maroon, variegated with silver grey to pale green zones along midrib and toward the end of primary veins near leaf margin, sometimes lamina uniformly dusky green to maroon or with undertint venation; surface glabrous; abaxially pale green or reddish, sparsely velutinous on all veins; venation palmate with ca. 8 veins, midrib distinct, with ca. 2 secondary veins on each side, other primary veins branching dichotomously or nearly so, tertiary veins reticulate. Inflorescences an axillary, bisexual and protandrous, cymosely branching panicle 17–41 cm long, peduncle 14.5–31 cm long, dichasial cymes, arising directly from rhizome, branched 3–6 times, erect or ascending, yellowish-green to reddish, sparsely woolly, glabrescent. Bracts pale yellowish-green, hyaline, deciduous, those at basal node of inflorescence ovate to widely ovate, boat-shaped, 6–9 mm long, ca. 4 mm wide, apex obtuse or acute to mucronate, margin entire; bracts at summit of inflorescence ovate, 2–3 mm long, 1.5–2 mm wide, apex attenuate to retuse, margin entire. Staminate flower: pedicel 0.9–2.1 cm long, glabrous, tepals 4, white to pinkish, glabrous, outer 2 widely ovate or obovate to suborbicular, 0.9–1.3 cm long, 0.7–1 cm wide, inner 2 obovate or oblanceolate, 1–1.5 cm long, 0.6–1 cm wide, apex truncate to retuse; androecium sub-zygomorphic, ca. 0.4 cm across; stamens yellow, 32–46; filaments shortly fused at base; anthers obovate, ca. 0.8 mm long, apex apiculate, subequal to filaments. Pistillate flower: pedicel 1.4–3.3 cm long, glabrous; ovary pale green to reddish, body trigonous-ellipsoid, 4–6.5 mm long, 1.5–3 mm thick (wings excluded), glabrous; 3-winged, wings 6–7.5 mm long, lateral wings narrower, narrowly crescent-shaped, 1.5–3 mm wide, abaxial wing much protruded, narrowly triangular, more or less truncate distally, rounded proximally, 7–11 mm wide, margin entire; ovary 3-locular, bilamellate, abaxial locule abortive or underdeveloped; tepals 4, white to pinkish, glabrous, outer 2 obovate, widely ovate or obovate, 1–1.3 cm long, 0.8–1 cm wide, inner 2 oblanceolate to widely obovate, 1–1.5 cm long, 0.6–1 cm wide, apex truncate to retuse; styles 3, shortly fused at base, yellow, ca. 0.4 cm long, stigma spirally twisted. Capsule pendent, pedicel 1–1.9 cm long, tepals deciduous; body trigonous-ellipsoid, 6–9 mm long, 3–4 mm thick (wings excluded), greenish or reddish when fresh; wings unequal, lateral wings 2–4 mm wide, abaxial wing 9–16 mm wide.