Lanonia acaulis (Lanonia acaulis)

Description

Stems solitary, to 0.4 m tall, diameter not known, short and mostly subterranean. Leaf number not known; leaf sheaths not known; petiole length not known, the entire length with widely spaced, recurved, brown spines to 0.5 cm long, sometimes spines absent distally; blades to 108 cm wide, split into 22-32 segments, without minute, reddish-brown scales abaxially, with straight sides; costas 3.5-7.5 cm long; middle segment split almost to the base of the blade (to costa apex) into 2 lobes, these only slightly wider than the other segments, 50-59 cm long, 4-5 cm wide at the apices; segments scarcely indented at the apices; indentations leading to adaxial folds 0.3-0.7 cm deep, those leading to abaxial folds 0.1-0.2 cm deep, indentations deeper on lateral segments. Inflorescences to 50 cm long, becoming recurved below the leaves at or after anthesis; prophylls to 25 cm long; peduncles to 30 cm long; rachis 6-25 cm long with 1-2 partial inflorescences, these branched to 2 orders, subtended by broad, flattened, densely brown tomentose, plicate rachis bracts, these splitting laterally; staminate rachillae 10-21 on each partial inflorescence, 20-30 cm long, 1.5-2.5 mm in diameter, densely covered with brown, felty hairs; floral stalks scarcely developed, borne in groups of 2-3, each subtended by small bracteoles; staminate flower buds 5-6 mm long, bullet-shaped; calyces about 2.5 mm long, tubular, gibbous, 3-lobed at the apices, glabrous or with a few, scattered, brown hairs; corollas about 4.5 mm long, split for two thirds their length into 3 petals, glabrous; staminal rings scarcely developed; filaments free for about 1.6 mm, alternately long and short; anthers about 0.5 mm long; pistillate rachillae 9�16 on each partial inflorescence, 8-13 cm long, 2.5-3 mm in diameter, hairy as the staminate rachillae; floral stalks scarcely developed, solitary, each subtended by small bracteoles; pistillate flower buds 8-10 mm long, ellipsoid; calyces 4-4.5 mm long, cupular, briefly 6-lobed distally at anthesis (by early splitting of 3-lobed calyx), glabrous or scarcely hairy; corollas 6-8 mm long, split for about two thirds their length into 3 petals, glabrous; staminal rings scarcely developed, with vestigial filaments; pistils 3-3.5 mm long including a 1 mm long style, glabrous. Fruits not known at maturity, immature fruits globose, epicarp warty.