and these partially clothed with ascurfy deciduous powder. Leaves 
a foot or more long, broad, oblong, subovate, finely acuminated, 
margined with red, the base cordate (the sides unequal) ; the 
upper surface full and rather bright green, beneath paler and 
white with a more or less deciduous powdery substance ; the 
petiole, when cut through transversely, exhibits several large 
air-cells. From the sheathing base of an upper leaf the zxfores- 
cence appears, consisting of a stout zigzag rachis clothed with the 
sheathing bases of three (or four, including the longer lowermost 
flowerless one) long, stout, subulate, conduplicate, very acuminated 
bracts or spathas, sheathing at the base. From the axils of these 
a cluster of rather small, whitish-green flowers appear, not much 
protruded beyond the sheathing portion of the spatha. Their 
structure is as in the rest of the genus. The sixth very diminu- 
tive sepal is very small, a mere oblong scale, mucronate at the 
point. 
Fig. 1. Flower, from which the five larger sepals have been removed :—mag- 
nified. 
