CATE Araceae, 17 Dec 2011. araceae.e-monocot.org
This species appears allied to the rather widespread Bornean S. tecturata (Schott) Engl., sharing similar shoot organisation (qualified by the difficulty of interpreting this feature from the dry material), the female zone of the spadix not adnate to the spathe, the marcescent somewhat cucullate spathe limb. It differs in the larger size, the thick clavate-cylindric appendix, the extended connective of the anthers and the entirely marcescent spathe limb (the latter marcescent at the margins only in S. tecturata).
Malesia: endemic to Borneo (Brunei); known only from the type.
Lithophytic herb to 30 cm tall. Stem condensed, ?pleionanthic, c. 1.3 cm diam. (dry), rooting through and among the leaf bases. Leaves few together, alternating with tapering lanceolate dark brown cataphylls to 6 cm long; petiole c. 27 cm long, sheathing only at extreme base; blade somewhat coriaceous, glossy deep green adaxially, mid-green abaxially, elliptic, somewhat falcate, to 28 cm long 8.5 cm wide, the base narrowly rounded, the tip rather abruptly acuminate for 1.5–2 cm; midrib adaxially impressed, abaxially prominent; primary lateral veins adaxially rather obscure, distinct abaxially, not prominent, c. 15 on each side of midrib, diverging at 45–60°, alternating with lesser interprimary veins and running into a rather conspicuous intramarginal vein c. 1.5 mm from the margin; secondary venation adaxially obscure, abaxially very faint, arising from the midrib. Inflorescences 2 together, subtended by lanceolate cataphylls to 4 cm long; peduncle short, mostly obscured by cataphylls. Spathe c. 5 cm long; lower spathe pale green, squat subcylindric, 1.5 cm long 1 cm diam., oblique-based, differentiated from the limb by a slight constriction; limb marcescent, somewhat cucullate, c. 3 cm long, apically mucronate. Spadix sessile, 3.7 cm long; female zone (in early fruit) 1.2 cm long, obliquely inserted but not adnate to the spathe; pistils ovoid, crowded, c. 1.5 mm diam. (in early fruit); stigma sessile, discoid and centrally raised, narrower than the ovary, c. 0.7 mm diam.; interpistillar staminodes apparently absent (but spadix in early fruit); sterile interstice 4 mm long 5 mm diam., a few whorls of sterile stamens c. 1 mm across; male zone 2 cm long, partly within the lower spathe chamber, somewhat attenuate, c. 3–4 mm diam.; stamens dark brown (dry), crowded; anther sessile, with the narrowly pyramidal connective extended for almost 1 mm above the thecae, apically c. 0.25 mm across, flat-topped, polygonal; appendix clavate-cylindric, about twice as thick as the male zone, c. 6 mm diam., composed of columnar flat-topped, irregularly polygonal (sometimes united), ochreous (dry) staminodes c. 0.8 mm diam. Infructescence (immature) with the spathe limb marcescent and the distal parts of the spadix persistent.
Lithophytic on Belait series sandstone cliff in ridgetop kerangas/mixed dipterocarp forest transition; 180 m alt.
Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592
