Chlorospatha croatiana Grayum

Terrestrial or rarely hemiepiphytic herb, ca. 1 m tall or less; stem elongate, with remnants of old cataphylls persisting as pale medium brown fibers along its length (all measurements made from dried material); sap milky or transparent; internodes 0.8-3.3 cm long, 1-1.3 cm diam., drying matte, dark brown; cataphylls marcescent, becoming fibrous, lanceolate, 10-32 cm long, acute to obtuse with acumen at apex, 1-ribbed abaxially, drying matte to weakly glossy, dark reddish brown. LEAVES 2-4, erect-spreading; petioles 47-74 cm long, glabrous, drying matte to weakly glossy, dark brown or reddish brown, sheathed 22-50 cm, 1/2-2/3 of total length; sheath decurrent at apex; free portion 5-7 mm diam.; blades deeply 7-9-lobed, almost pedatisect, 19-30 cm long, 20-40 cm wide, wider than or as wide as long, thin to thinly coriaceous, glabrous, moderately to prominently bicolorous; upper surface occasionally white-maculate, drying weakly gloss to matte-subvelvety, dark brown to reddish brown, rarely dark green; lower surface drying weakly glossier, occasionally with a silvery sheen, rarely gray-green; all segments ± narrowly elliptical, ovate or obovate, rarely lanceolate, weakly acuminate to ± acute at apex, markedly narrowly confluent between segments, the confluent portion 0.5-3 mm wide, narrowly attached at base; medial lobe 19-30 cm long, 4-10 cm wide, (0.3)1-3 cm wide at point of attachment, 3.6-4.8 times longer than wide, equal in length to or slightly longer than innermost lateral segments, weakly to moderately inequilateral; lateral lobes 19-25 cm long, 2-9 cm wide, 2.1-5 times longer than wide, progressively shorter and weakly to moderately narrower toward outermost segments, with sides progressively inequilateral, the inner side always narrower; outer side ca. 2 times broader than inner side midway; outer segments ± acute or truncate at base on posterior side; midrib and major veins raised on lower surface, drying raised, concolorous to weakly paler or darker than surface; posterior rib naked 4-8 cm per side; primary lateral veins 2-4 pairs, arising at 15-35°, ± straight to weakly arcuate; secondary veins occasionally drying in part raised on lower surface, otherwise visible and distinct; tertiary veins drying flat and ± obscure on lower surface; reticulate veins drying obscure on lower surface; collective veins 2-3, arising from the lowermost lateral vein at base, loop-connected with all preceding lateral veins, 0.3-2 cm from margin, markedly scalloped and remote from margin. INFLORESCENCES 4-6 per axil; peduncle held within the sheath, 20-50 cm long, 1-1.5 mm diam, drying matte, dark brown to blackish brown; spathe ± cucullate, 6.5-8 cm long, 6.5-8 cm long, 5-10 mm diam., weakly or not at all constricted between tube and blade, drying matte, dark brown; tube green or white, ca. 3.5-4 cm long; blade green or white, the same or different from tube, 3-4 cm long, marcescent, erect after anthesis; spadix 5.5-6.5 cm long, sessile, adnate to spathe ca. 1 cm at base, ca. 1-3 of the length of pistillate portion; pistillate portion 3-3.5 cm long, ca. 2-3 mm diam., drying ± dark purplish brown; fertile staminate portion white or yellow, 1.7-2.3 cm long, 2.5-3.5 mm diam., ± cylindrical, bluntly rounded at apex, drying yellowish tan to pale reddish brown; sterile staminate portion 5-10 mm long, 2-3 mm diam., drying dark brown; pistils± laxly arranged, 3-4 on the axis (viewed from above); ovaries subglobose; style disc-like, as broad as ovary apex, the margins not coherent with those of adjacent styles; stigma sessile, disc-like; synandria (2)3-4(5)-androus (mostly 3-4 or mostly 3); sterile flowers irregularly lobed, weakly coherent or ± laxly arranged, in 2-3 whorls. INFRUCTESCENCE ca. 5 cm long, 7 mm diam. BERRIES subglobose, 3 mm diam.