B. caryotarum

Culture

Original Botanical Description or Link to

Herb, monoecious, perennial, 20–40 cm tall. Rhizomes creeping, well-branched, hispid, 5–10 mm thick, internodes 5–22 mm long. Leaves simple, alternate; stipules persistent on rhizomes and erect flowering stems, red, sheath-like, triangular after being pressed, 7–11 × 4–5 mm, entire, adaxially glabrous, abaxially villous, apex acuminate with 5–6 mm aristate setae; petiole light green to purplish-red, fleshy, 7–22 cm long, densely villous; blade basifixed, asymmetric, ovate, papery, 11–16 × 9–14 cm, adaxially with sparse 5–6 mm aristate setae, base cordate with lobes overlapping or not, margin sinuate-crenate and ciliate, apex acute, venation palmate-pinnate, 6–8 primary veins, slightly impressed above and prominent beneath, adaxially green to brownish-red, glabrous, sometimes with silver spots and blotches, abaxially light green to purplish-red, densely villous on veins and veinlets. Inflorescences axillary on a short erect stem with one internode, dichasially cymose, 8–24 cm long; peduncles light green to reddish-green, villous, 4–21 cm long; bracts caducous, greyish-green, 8–9 × 5–6 mm, triangular, apex acuminate, margin entire, adaxially glabrous, abaxially with red short villous hairs; bractlets persistent, membranous, greyish-green, sparsely villous, oblong, 3–5 × 5–7 mm, apex acuminate, margin ciliate. Staminate flowers: pedicels light to reddish-green, 18–23 mm long, villous; tepals 4, outer pair larger, broadly-ovate, outer surface pinkish- to orange-red, protuberant in the middle with dense red villous hairs, sparsely villous elsewhere, inner surface pinkish-red, glabrous, 13–18 × 11–16 mm, apex obtuse to rounded, margin entire, inner pair elliptic, pink to light pink, glabrous, 10–16 × 5–10 mm, apex obtuse to rounded, margin entire; androecium actinomorphic, ca. 5 mm across; stamens orange-yellow, 80–120; filaments fused on a short stalk; anthers obovate, ca. 1.2 mm long, dehiscing by longitudinal slits, connectives slightly extended. Pistillate flowers: pedicels light to reddish-green, 16–22 mm long, villous; tepals 5, broadly ovate, outer 2 ovate, outer surface pinkish- to orange-red, sparsely villous, inner surface glabrous, 10–12 × 8–10 mm, apex acuminate, margin entire, inner 3 broadly elliptic, outer surface pink glabrous or sparsely villous, inner surface pink to light pink, glabrous, 10–17 × 7–10 mm, apex obtuse to rounded, margin entire; styles 2, shortly fused at base, light orangish-yellow, stigmas bilobed and once spiraled; ovary orange, villous, 13–15 × 10–12 mm, with 3 unequal wings, dorsal wing ca. 9 mm wide, lateral wings ca. 1.5 mm wide, 2-locular, placentation axile, with 2-branched placenta per locule. Fruits capsular, pendent, brownish-red, brown when dry, villous, dorsal wing triangular-rounded, ca. 16 mm long, lateral wings very short.