AMORPHOPHALLUS LONGISPATHACEUS
PROTOLOGUE: Amorphophallus longispathaceus Engl. & Gehrm., published in Pflanzenr., IV, 23C: 91 (1911). The protologue is reproduced below.
SYNONYMS:
HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS: Amorphophallus dactylifer Hett. in Blumea 39: 252 (1994)
DISTRIBUTION: Philippines (Luzon, Mindanao): Philippines, Ilocos Norte.
DISTRIBUTION NOTE: Philippines: widespread across Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao — among the most frequently recorded Amorphophallus species of the archipelago⁶; iNaturalist: Laguna.
SPECIES DESCRIPTION:
As Amorphophallus dactylifer: Tuber depressed globose, at least 7 cm in diam. and c. 3 cm high. Leaf solitary; petiole incompletely known; leaflets elliptic or elliptic-lanceolate, up to c. 16 cm long and c. 5 cm in diam., long acuminate (acumen up to 3 cm long).⁵
INFLORESCENCE:
As Amorphophallus dactylifer: Inflorescence solitary, long peduncled; peduncle up to 65 cm long, 1-2 cm in diam., 'violet'; spathe campanulate, 30-38 cm long, 12-20 cm in diam., elongate triangular, acute, base strongly convolute, limb probably arching over, outside 'brown with white spots', base inside dark purple with pale upper part, densely clothed with long, simple or branched, fleshy warts, especially near the base of the spadix. Spadix sessile, longer than spathe, 42-60 cm long; female zone cylindric, 4-8.5 cm long, c. 2 cm in diam., flowers slightly distant; male zone elongate obconic, 4.5-6 cm long, 1.5-2.5 cm in diam. at the top, flowers congested; appendix elongate conic, acute, 31-46 cm long, 2-3 cm in diam. at the base, smooth, probably dark brownish purple. Ovaries subglobose, 2-3 mm in diam., c. 2 mm high, unilocular; style 2-5 mm long, c. 0.8 mm in diam.; stigma large, 2 mm in diam., 1-1.5 mm high, oval in cross section, shallowly or deeply 2- or 3-lobed, lobes rounded or conic.⁵
ECOLOGY:
Found in limestone forest and dry lowland areas⁶
DISTRIBUTION MAPS:
ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin longus and spatha, for the long spathe. Engler and Gehrmann described the species in 1911 from Philippine material; the epithet's aptness could only be confirmed a century later, when the long-lost type was rediscovered.⁴
NOTES:
1. The identity of Amorphophallus longispathaceus was a mystery for over a century: the species was incompletely described in 1911, and its types were assumed destroyed during the Second World War. The discovery of a fertile isotype at New York, designated the lectotype in 2020, finally fixed the name — and showed that Amorphophallus dactylifer, described in 1994, is the same species, with the 1911 name taking priority.⁴
2. As Amorphophallus dactylifer, the species was diagnosed against Amorphophallus konjac by its much longer styles, unilocular ovaries and the long, simple or branched, digitiform fleshy warts in the spathe base.⁵
3. In the current Philippine checklist the species ranks among the most frequently recorded members of the genus, thriving across a wide range of biogeographical settings, and a preliminary conservation status of Least Concern has been proposed.⁶
REFERENCES:
1. Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew — Amorphophallus longispathaceus Engl. & Gehrm.
2. Pflanzenr., IV, 23C: 91 (1911) — protologue.