B. gigabracteata

Culture

Original Botanical Description or Link to

Hong-Zhe Li, Hong Ma, Zhe-Kun Zhou and Kai-Yun Guan, Bot. jnl of the Linnean Society, 157 (1): 83-90. 2008: “Description: PLANT monoecious; epipetreous; deciduous. RHIZOME tuberous, irregular globose, less than 2 cm in diameter, rooting from the base. STIPULES caducous. LEAVES 1–3, basal; petiole 4–9.2 cm long, cylindrical in cross-section, ruby-coloured or green, slightly covered with short glandular hairs; blade slightly oblique, obovate, 7.6–10.7 ¥ 4.5–8.2 cm, glabrous, adaxial surface peak green, abaxial surface white and slightly spongy, base cordate, basal lobes overlapping or not, apex acute or cuspidate, margin entire or slightly wavy or irregularly shallowserrate; venation reaching the margin, palmatepinnate, with three to four major lateral veins on each side, usually red and raised on abaxial surface. INFLORESCENCE arising from the tuber, thyrsoid, peduncle somewhat zigzagged, 10–16 cm tall, sometimes with a leaflet, base covered by two bracts, bracts greenish with a little pink, oblique triangular, 9 ¥ 3 mm, margin ciliate; peduncle gradually elongating during anthesis, ruby-coloured or greenish, with sparse glandular hairs; the first branch c. 5 cm long, secondary degree branches c. 2 cm long, third degree branches 0.5–1 cm long. BRACTS caducous, paired at each pedicel node, white to greenish, margin ciliate, oblique triangular, c. 1.9 ¥ 0.5 cm, gradually becoming smaller in size up the inflorescence; cymose lateral branches wrapped by pairs of gigantic bracts, oblong, 2.2–2.4 ¥ 1.1–1.9 cm, apex bilateral curly backward, margin entire. MALE FLOWERS: tepals 4, pink, glabrous, outer 2, ovate to broad ovate, 12–15 ¥ 9–11 mm, inner 2, narrowly obovate, slightly pendulous, 9–11 ¥ 1–2 mm; pedicel white, pink to greenish, c. 2.2 cm long, scabrous; filament about 10–25, fused at base, c. 1 mm long; stamen hemispherical, yellow, about 1 mm long, dehiscing through slits along the sides of the anther. FEMALE FLOWERS: tepals 5, pink, glabrous, outer 2, ovate, 12–13 ¥ 8–9 mm, inner 3, one narrowly obovate, c. 9 ¥ 2 mm, the other two oblique ovate, 10–11 ¥ 3.5–4 mm; pedicel white, pink to greenish, c. 1.7 cm long, scabrous; styles 3, fused at base, with U-shaped branches; stigmatic papillae in a spiral arrangement; ovary pink with greenish, glabrous, broad triangular, c. 7¥ 10 mm (wings included), unequal three-winged, lateral wings nearly equal, crescent-shaped, c. 1 mm broad, abaxial wing 7 ¥ 10 mm. FRUIT white to brownish. SEEDS many, brown, ellipsoid.”