Arisaema psittacus E.Barnes

Arisaema psittacus E.Barnes View in CoL , Hooker’s Icon. Pl. 35: t. 3405. 1940; Chatterjee, Bull. Bot. Soc. Bengal 8: 131. 1955; Gusman & L.Gusman, Gen. Arisaema , ed. 2. 397. 2006. Type: INDIA , Kerala, Idukki district, Mannavan Shola, 1937, E. Barnes 1576 (K000499328 digital image!) Fig. 23 View Figure 23

Deciduous, dioecious, succulent, perennial herbs, c. 1 m tall. Subterranean stem a tuberous corm, 2.5–5 cm diam., 2–2.5 cm tall, stoloniferous, greenish yellow inside. Roots many, from the upper side of the corm, white to pale pink. Cataphylls 2 or 3 rarely 4, obtuse-orbicular at apex; outer c. 1–2 cm long, pale to white; middle 3–28 cm long, purplish to greenish brown, dark brown mottled with longitudinal streaks, sometimes pale white without any mottling; inner 7–69 cm long, enclosing the pseudostem, purplish to greenish brown, dark brown mottled with longitudinal streaks, sometimes pale white without any mottling, cylindric below. Leaf solitary, radiatisect, usually unfolds with the emergence of inflorescence; petiole 22–56 cm long, 0.3–1.2 cm wide, dark green, brownish green, dark brown mottled with longitudinal streaks, sometimes pale white to green without any mottling; leaflets 7–13, sessile, obovate, 7–35 cm long, 2–8 cm wide, base cuneate, acute at apex, margins serrulate, often wavy or undulate, dark green ventrally, pale dorsally. Pseudostem 8–77.5 cm long, 1–2.5 cm thick, wrapped by cataphylls, mottled as in petiole. Inflorescence held below the leaf; peduncle 21–92 cm long, mottled as in petiole, exserted by 12-14 cm from the sheathing pseudostem. Spathe 13–28 cm long; tube of the spathe funnel-shaped, 3-angled, 5.5–9 cm long, 1.2–3 cm, green, pale green or brownish green with white stripes along the veins; mouth margins staright or slightly recurved; limb cucullate, 7.5– 19 cm long, 2.5–5.5 cm wide, green or brownish green with c. 5 wide, translucent or white stripes, gradually acuminate apex ending in a tail 4–10 cm long, drooping downward and curved like a parrot beak. Female spadix sessile, 8–10.5 cm long, 0.9–1.5 cm thick; female fertile region 2.2–2.7 cm long, followed by few neuters; pistils many, sessile, compactly arranged, bottle-shaped, green; stigma papillose and white with black neck; neuters few, subulate, 0.5–1 cm long, upcurved, green; appendix cylindric, slightly longer than the tube, inserted inside the spathe, 8–8.5 cm long, 0.5–1 cm thick, greenish-yellow, constricted in the middle, ending in a knobby ovoid, verruculose, and yellow apex. Male spadix sessile, similar to female, slender, 6.5–8 cm long; fertile region narrow, 2–2.5 cm long, green-yellow; male flowers scattered over or crowded at the base and distant above, shortly stipitate with 3–4-androus; anthers purplish, deshisce by an elliptic pore; neuters absent. Fruiting spike cylindric to conical, c. 13.5 cm long, 3.5–5 cm wide, borne on an upright peduncle; berries orange-red, compactly arranged, 3–6-seeded.

Flowering & frtuiting: May–September.

Habitat: Grows under shades in wet evergreen forests, in moist humus rich soil.

Distribution: India (southern Western Ghats), endemic.

Specimens examined: INDIA , Kerala, Idukki district, Mannavan Shola, 05.1937, E. Barnes 1579, 1680 (MH!); ibid., 23.05.2015, Manudev & Syam Radh 138963 (CALI!); ibid., towards Kanthallur, 23.05.2015, Manudev & Syam Radh 138966 (CALI!).

Notes: This species is is close to A. leschenaultii from which it can be easily distinguished by its cucullate spathe with a curved tail, dialated ovoid, verruculose spadix appendix with a constriction in the middle.