Chlorospatha ricaurtensis

Terrestrial herb; stem caulescent, elongate, with remnants of old leaf bases and cataphylls persisting intact; internodes 1-1.5 cm long, 1.5-2.3 cm diam., semiglossy, medium green, drying matte to weakly glossy, dark greenish brown (all measurements made from dried material); cataphylls marcescent, 20-24 cm long, ca. 1.5 cm wide, cuspidate at the apex. LEAVES 2-5, erect-spreading; petiole 36-49 cm long (averaging 45 cm), ca. 1 cm diam. near the base, medium green, purple-tinged, most prominently so toward the base; sheathed 21-31 cm, ca. 2/3 of its length, sheath free-ending at the apex; free portion ca. 3 mm diam. midway, obtusely angular; blades sagittate, weakly subhastate on drying, 24-25 cm long, 13 cm wide, 1.8-1.9 times longer than wide, 0.5-0.6 times length of the petioles, broadest at the base, 1.3-1.7 times wider at the base than across anterior lobe (measured tip to tip aeross the posterior lobes), thinly coriaceous, glabrous, moderately bicolorous; upper surface semiglossy, dark green, drying semiglossy, dark brownish green; lower surface semiglossy, drying weakly glossy, in part semiglossy, moderately paler; anterior lobe 14-14.2 cm long, 7.5-10 cm wide, 1.4-1.9 times longer than wide, 1.1-1.4 times longer than the posterior lobes, abruptly acuminate at the apex, broadest at or below the middle, moderately inequilateral, with one side 1 cm wider; posterior lobes 10-12.5 cm long, 4-4.5 em wide, 2.2-3 times longer than wide, narrowly rounded at the apex, broadest at or below the middle, symmetrical midway, the inner side broadly convex toward the base, briefly to moderately attenuate onto the posterior rib; outer side straight toward the base; midrib sunken on the upper surface, paler than the surface, round-raised on the lower surface, paler than the surface, drying raised, conspicuously darker than the surface; basal veins 4-6 pairs coalesced into a prominent posterior rib; posterior rib naked 1.0-1.2 em per side; primary lateral veins 3 pairs, ariSing irregularly at 35-50°, entirely strongly arcuate, occasionally in part irregularly ascending, narrowly sunken on the upper surface, paler than the surface toward the base, round-raised on the lower surface, paler than the surface, drying weakly raised and collapsed, prominently darker than the surface; secondary veins in part obtusely sunken on the upper surface, raised on the lower surface, drying weakly raised, weakly to moderately darker than the surface; tertiary veins visible, distinct on the lower surface, darker than the surface, drying distinct, in part weakly prominulous, otherwise flat, weakly darker than the surface; reticulate veins obscure; collective veins 3 pairs, the innermost arising from one of the lowermost lateral veins on the inner side of the posterior lobe, regular, 3-7 mm from the margin. INFLORESCENCES erect, to 3 per axil; peduncle held within the sheath, 23-31 cm long, 3-4 mm diam.; spathe erect, 12.5-13 cm long, apex not known, not constricted above the tube; spathe tube deeply purple-tinged on the outer surface, dark purple on the inner surface, 6.5-7 cm long, 7 mm diam., drying matte, dark reddish brown on the outer surface, weakly glossy on the inner surface; spathe blade greenish cream, weakly purple-tinged, narrowly and most prominently so along the outer margin toward the base, ca. 6 cm long, 7 mm diam., drying matte, dark brown on the outer surface, semiglossy on the inner surface, marcescent, erect after anthesis; spadix erect, 11.5-12 cm long, sessile, adnate to the spathe 4.5-5 cm at the base, ca. 1 cm less than the length of the pistillate portion; pistillate portion 5.5-6 cm long, ca. 4 mm diam.; fertile staminate portion ca. 5 cm long, 4-5 mm diam., narrowly rounded at the apex, broadest midway, drying dark reddish brown; sterile staminate portion ca. 1.5-1.8 cm long, 4 mm diam., cylindrical, drying dark blackish brown; pistils weakly coherent, 4 mm across the axis (viewed from above), ca. 2 mm long; ovary subglobose, ca. 1 mm long, 2-2.5 mm diam., drying tan; style mantle-like, 0.8-1 mm long, 1.5-2.5 mm diam., comprising ca. 1/3 of the length of the pistil, thin, granular, briefly narrowly attenuate medially, appressed to the ovary, the margins free, weakly broader than the ovary apex, weakly coherent with the margins of adjacent styles, drying medium-dark to dark reddish brown; stigma 0.3-0.5 mm diam., elevated and weakly wider than the narrowed portion of the style, drying medium to dark brown; synandria ca. 1 mm long, 2-2.2 mm x 1 mm diam., elongated in the direction of the axis, coherent, truncate, irregularly (4-)5-6-lobed, (4-)5-6-androus (mostly 5), drying dark reddish brown; synandrodia 1-1.5 mm long, 0.5-1 mm x 2.5-3 mm diam., markedly elongated in the direction of the axis, deeply, irregularly lobed, coherent and truncate at the apex and abruptly narrowing below in apical 2 whorls, otherwise 1-6 branched, the branches broadest and obtusely truncate at the apex, narrowing below, in 7 whorls. INFRUCTESCENCES not seen.