Araceae
Gonatopus

Gonatopus boivinii (Decne.) Engl.

First published in A.L.P.P.de Candolle & A.C.P.de Candolle, Monogr. Phan. 2: 209 (1879)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Kenya to KwaZulu-Natal. It is a tuberous geophyte and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

CATE Araceae, 17 Dec 2011. araceae.e-monocot.org

Diagnostic
Leaflets varying from lanceolate to elliptic-lanceolate, not decurrent at the base.
General Description
Tuber turnip-shaped. LEAF solitary, erect, 1 1/2-4 1/2 ft. high, tripinnatipartite, glabrous; lowest branches 10–12 in. long, about 5 in. broad; leaflets or ultimate segments 1 1/4-3 in. long, 1 1/2-4 lin. broad, probably sometimes larger, linear or linear-lanceolate, acute, more or less decurrent at the base, not articulated to the rhachis. INFLORESCENCE: Peduncle 2-3 in. long, smooth. Spathe glabrous; tube 1-1 1/4 in. long, oblong-ovoid; limb about 3 in. long, and 1 1/4 in. broad, reflexed, oblong, cuspidate. Spadix sessile, shorter than the spathe; female part 8–9 lin. long, about 1/3 in. diam. cylindric; male part about 2 1/2 in. long, cylindric, obtuse, its basal portion for about 8 lin. constricted to about half the thickness of the upper portion and covered with abortive flowers. Perianth-segments oblong, truncate at the angular apex. Ovary ovoid, narrowed into a short stout style, 2-celled; stigma rather large, peltate, exserted just beyond the perianth-segments. Stamens in the male flowers 4, connate into a tube around an abortive ovary and equalling it in length, entirely absent in the female flowers.
Distribution
Mozamb. Dist. British Central Africa: Zambesi Valley; in copses on mountains near Boruma, Menyharth, 922 bis!
[CATE]

Araceae, S.J. Mayo. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1985

Morphology General Habit
Tuber subglobose, 5–10 cm. in diameter.
Morphology Leaves Cataphylls
Shoot subtended by several cream, purple-flecked cataphylls.
Morphology Leaves
Leaf up to 150 cm. tall; petiole terete, 25-75 cm. long, 0.5–1.5 cm. in diameter, erect, green, often transversely blotched purplish green; pulvinus conspicuous, central, elliptic; blade tripinnately compound, spreading, up to ± 70 cm. broad; ultimate lobes ovate to elliptic, sometimes lanceolate, 2–14 cm. long, 0.8–7 cm. broad, dark green, paler beneath, acuminate, base subacute to obtuse, sessile to petiolulate, not decurrent (terminal lobes occasionally decurrent or partially connate basally).
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescences 1–5, appearing just before emergence of leaf.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Peduncles
Peduncle 30–75 cm. long, up to 1 cm. in diameter, erect, greenish to cream with grey or purplish mottling.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Spathe
Spathe 10–21 cm. long; tube shortly cylindric, tightly convolute around pistillate flowers, constricted slightly at apex, 1.5–3 cm. long, 1.4–2.3 cm. in diameter, outer surface greenish yellow, lined and speckled maroon or purple; limb oblong, 9.5–19 cm. long, 2.5–4.5 cm. broad, long-cuspidate, widely spreading and distally reflexed, outer surface similar to tube in colour, inner surface cream, sometimes speckled pink-brown.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spadix
Spadix 8–15 cm. long; staminate part cylindric, 6.5–12.5 cm. long, 0.8–1.4 cm. in diameter, with tepals cream to yellowish cream; intermediate sterile part constricted, short, ± 3 mm. long; pistillate part cylindric, 1.5–3 cm. long, 0.8–1.7 cm. in diameter.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Staminate flower:staminal tube overtopping tepals, with anthers fully exserted at least temporarily during anthesis (?later withdrawn). Pistillate flower:pistil ± 2.5 mm. long; ovary 2-locular; locules uniovulate, placentation axile; stigma discoid, green, about 1.5 mm. broad.
sex Male
Staminate flower:staminal tube overtopping tepals, with anthers fully exserted at least temporarily during anthesis (?later withdrawn).
sex Female
Pistillate flower:pistil ± 2.5 mm. long; ovary 2-locular; locules uniovulate, placentation axile; stigma discoid, green, about 1.5 mm. broad.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Berry somewhat compressed laterally, obovoid with pronounced septal suture, ± 1.3 cm. long, 1.4 cm. broad, 2-seeded.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds obovoid-cylindric, subterete, smooth, 1 cm. long, 0.6 cm. in diameter; rhaphe 0.8 cm. long.
Habitat
Rain-forest, Brachystegia woodland, Chlorophora-Albizia woodland, Combretum-Acacia wooded grassland; 0–1300 m.
Distribution
K4 K7 P T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 T8 Z
[FTEA]

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

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • CATE Araceae

    • Haigh, A., Clark, B., Reynolds, L., Mayo, S.J., Croat, T.B., Lay, L., Boyce, P.C., Mora, M., Bogner, J., Sellaro, M., Wong, S.Y., Kostelac, C., Grayum, M.H., Keating, R.C., Ruckert, G., Naylor, M.F. and Hay, A., CATE Araceae, 17 Dec 2011.
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images