AMORPHOPHALLUS PERAKENSIS

PROTOLOGUE: Amorphophallus perakensis Engl., published in Pflanzenr., IV, 23C: 90 (1911). The protologue is reproduced below.

DISTRIBUTION: Pen. Malaysia: Peninsular Malaysia.

DISTRIBUTION NOTE: Peninsular Malaysia: Perak, at about 100 m, where Wray gathered the type in flower in May 1889 (Herb. Perak no. 3474, Herb. Hort. Calcutta).².

SPECIES DESCRIPTION:

Translated from protologue: Tuber small. Petiole of the leaf 4 dm long, 3 mm thick below; lamina glaucescent beneath, trisect, the primary segments bipartite, the secondary pinnatipartite, the ultimate segments oblong-lanceolate, long acuminate, gradually longer upwards, the lowest about 3 cm and the highest about 6 cm long, contracted into an acumen 1 cm long, the lateral veins of the first order numerous and 2 mm apart, joining a collective vein 2 mm from the margin.²

INFLORESCENCE:

Translated from protologue: Peduncle 3.5 dm long. Spathe 8 cm long, 2.5 cm wide. Female inflorescence of the spadix short, the male five times longer, 5 cm long, 6 mm thick below and a little thinner upwards; appendix 3 cm long, strongly tapering. Male flowers 2-3-androus, densely congested. Anthers of the stamens subsessile, obovoid, compressed. Ovary of the pistils subglobose, contracted into a style of equal length crowned by a 2-3-lobed stigma.²

ECOLOGY:

Found at about 100 m²

ETYMOLOGY:

Named for Perak, the Malaysian state where Wray collected the type, with the suffix-ensis, “from.” It is the only place the species is known from.²

NOTES:

1. Engler describes the leaf as glaucescent beneath - a bluish-grey bloom on the underside that is not common in the genus.²

2. The male zone of the spadix is five times the length of the female zone, and the appendix, at 3 cm, is shorter than the male zone that carries it.²

3. The species is known from Wray's single flowering gathering of May 1889.²

REFERENCES:

1. Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew — Amorphophallus perakensis Engl.

2. Pflanzenr., IV, 23C: 90 (1911) — protologue.