B. phouchomvoyensis

Culture

Endangered Status

Vulnerable

Original Botanical Description or Link to

Monoecious rhizomatous herb, up to 35 cm tall. Rhizomes stout, 7–10 cm long, 5–9 mm in diam., dark green to reddish-brown, villous. Petioles 12–30 cm long, green, fleshy, villous with red hairs. Leaves lamina succulent, asymmetrical, ovate-orbiculate, 8–11 × 6.5–9 cm, base oblique cordate, apex acute, margin sinuate; adaxial surface green, strigose; abaxial surface pale green, sparsely villous, densely villous along veins; venation palmate, veins 6–8, prominent beneath. Stipules persistent, succulent, broadly triangular, 4–6 × 3–5.5 mm, reddish, apex acuminate, margin entire, both surface glabrous. Inflorescences compound cymes, axillary near the apex of the rhizomes, branched up to 4 times, bisexual, 7–18 cm long, staminate flowers distal and pistillate flowers basal, protandrous. Peduncles 6– 14 cm long, lightly green, terete, red villous. Bracts narrowly elliptic to triangular, 10–15 × 5–10 mm, pale green to reddish, apex acuminate, margin strigose, outer surface villous, inner surface glabrous. Staminate flowers: pedicels 20–25 mm long, pale green to red, erect or ascending, sparsely villous; tepals 4, white, outer pair elliptic-oblong, 20–24 × 12–15 mm, apex obtuse to rounded, outside surface sparsely villous, inner surface glabrous, inner pair narrowly elliptic, 12–15 × 2.8–4 mm, apex rounded, glabrous; stamens c. 45, bright yellow, filaments cluster, 1.8–2 mm long, free c. 0.4 mm long, anthers obovate, 1–1.2 mm long, dehiscing by longitudinal slits. Pistillate flowers: pedicels 4–10 mm long, lightly green, villous; tepals 3, white, outer 2, broadly elliptic-oblong, 14– 16 × 8–12 mm, apex rounded, outside surface sparsely villous, inner narrowly elliptic, 7–10 × 3–6 mm, apex rounded, glabrous; ovary pale pink, sparsely reddish-villous, with 3 subequal wings; 3-locular, placentation axillary, two branches per locule; styles 3, connate near the base into a short stalk, deep yellow, stigmatic band U-shaped, spiral with minutely papillose. Fruits pale green to reddish (dry brown), capsules elliptic-subglobose, 1.2–2.2 × 1.5–1.8 mm; locules subglobose, 2–3.5 × 1.9–2.2 mm, dorsal wing trigonous-globose, 4–5 mm long, lateral wings 2.6–3 mm wide at base, sparsely villous. Seeds numerous, brown, ovoid-ellipsoid, 0.1–0.2 × c. 0.1 mm, testa reticulate.