Alocasia longiloba

Small to usually robust, evergreen to sometimes seasonally dormant, terrestrial (occasionally lithophytic) herbs to 150 cm tall. Stem rhizomatous, generally elongate, erect to decumbent, often completely exposed, sometimes swollen and subtuberous, ca 8–60 × 2–8 cm, usually bearing remains of old leaf bases and cataphylls. Leaves often solitary, occasionally up to 3 together, each subtended by conspicuous lanceolate papery-membranaceous often purplish-tessellate cataphylls degrading to papery fibres; petioles terete, ca 30–120 cm long, sheathing in the lower ca ¼ or less, glabrous, purple-brown to pink to green, often strikingly obliquely mottled chocolate brown; leaf blade pendent, hastate-sagittate, rather narrowly triangular, 27–85 × 14–ca 40 cm, dark to very dark green, usually with the major venation grey-green adaxially, and abaxial surface either green or flushed purple, posterior lobes peltate for (5–)10–30% of their length, acute; anterior costa with 4–8 primary lateral veins on each side, the proximal ones diverging at ca 60–100°; axillary glands conspicuous; secondary venation initially widely spreading, then deflected towards the margin; interprimary collective veins weakly formed and zig-zagging at widely obtuse angles. Inflorescences solitary to paired, up to 4 pairs in succession without interspersed foliage leaves; peduncle 8–18 cm long, resembling petioles, erect at first, then declinate, elongating and then erect in advanced fruit, subtended by a series of progressively larger cataphylls; spathe 7–17 cm long, abruptly constricted ca 1.5–3.5 cm from the base; lower spathe ovoid to subcylindrical, green; spathe limb lanceolate, canoe-shaped and longitudinally incurved, 5.5–7.5 cm, eventually reflexing after staminate anthesis, membranous, pale green; spadix somewhat shorter than to subequalling the spathe, ca 6–13 cm long, stipitate, stipe conical, to 5 mm long, whitish; pistillate flower zone 1–1.5 cm; ovaries subglobose, ca 1.5–2 mm diam., green; stigma subsessile or on a slender style to ca 0.5 mm long, acutely and conspicuously 3–4-lobed, the lobes pointed, more or less spreading, white; sterile interstice 7–10 mm, narrower than the fertile zones, corresponding with the spathe constriction; lower synandrodia often with incompletely connate staminodes, the rest elongate rhombo-hexagonal, flat-topped; staminate flower zone subcylindrical, somewhat tapered at the base, 1.2–2.5 × 4.5–8 mm, ivory white; synandria 4–6–merous, more or less hexagonal, ca 2 mm diam.; appendix 3.5–9 cm long, about the same thickness as the staminate zone, demarcated from it by a faint constriction, subcylindrical, distally gradually tapering to a point, very pale orange to bright yellow. Fruiting spathe ovoid, ca 4–7 cm long, glossy green initially but papery-marcescent as fruits reach full size, shed by rotting prior to fruit ripeness; fruits globose-ellipsoid, ca 1.5 × 0.75 cm, green, ripening orange-red.

Alocasia longiloba is a species of flowering plant in the family Araceae. It is the namesake of a species complex. The complex has a widespread distribution; Guangdong, Hainan, and southern Yunnan in China, mainland Southeast Asia, and western and central Malesia.

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None recorded.

Rainforest and regrowth understory, in swampy areas and well drained slopes, occasionally on rocks. 0–500 m asl.