ARACEAE 129 
1. RAPHIDOPHORA Schott 
Coarse, climbing, suffrutescent or woody vines rooting on trees. Leaves 
long-petioled, large, entire or pinnatifid, the petioles somewhat sheathing. 
Spathes ovate, boat-shaped, acute or acuminate, deciduous. Spadix sessile, 
elongated, cylindric, the flowers crowded, perfect, the perianth none. Sta- 
mens 4; filaments linear, broad, longer than the anthers. Ovary truncate, 
sub-2-celled, with many parietal placentae, 4- to 6-angled. Berries many- 
seeded, confluent. (Greek “needle” and “to bear,” in allusion to the minute 
stinging crystals in the pulpy part of the fruit.) 
Species 61, tropical Asia to Australia and Polynesia, about 5 in the 
Philippines. 
1. R. merrillii Engl. Tibatib (Tag.); Amlong (Bic.). 
A stout vine climbing on tree-trunks, reaching a height of 5 to 6 m. 
Leaves oblong-ovate in outline, up to 60 em long, pinnately cleft nearly 
or quite to the midrib into 7 to 12 pairs of lanceolate, acuminate, falcate, 
1-nerved lobes 12 to 20.cm long, 2 to 5 cm wide. Spathes several, terminal, 
white or greenish, in flower about 15 cm long, acuminate, deciduous. Spadix 
green, dense, cylindric, nearly or quite as long as the spathe, 2 to 2.5 cm 
thick in flower, thicker in fruit. (Fl. Filip. pl. 399, Scindapsus pertusus.) 
Not uncommon in dry thickets, Pasay, Masambong, etc., also frequently 
cultivated, fl. Jan—March; widely distributed in the Philippines. Endemic. 
2. SCINDAPSUS Schott 
Climbing on trees, herbaceous or somewhat woody. Leaves long-petioled, 
the petiole geniculate at the apex, base somewhat sheathing, the blades 
ovate to oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, entire or lobed, often large and some- 
times variegated. Peduncles short. Spathes boat-shaped, deciduous. Spa- 
dix sessile or nearly so, cylindric, densely many-flowered, shorter than the 
spathe. Flowers perfect, the perianth none. Stamens 4. Ovary somewhat 
4-angled, truncate, 1-celled, 1-ovuled; style none. Fruit drupaceous, more 
or less united, often large. (Ancient Greek name for some kind of a vine.) 
Species 21, India to the Solomon Islands, 3 or 4 in the Philippines. 
*1. S. AUREUS (Lindl. & André) Engl. (Pothos aureus Lindl. & André). 
A stout vine climbing on trees by means of roots, reaching a height of 
10 m or more, often with long, pendulous branches. Petioles 25 to 40 
cm long, geniculate at the apex, base sheathing. Leaves thinly coriaceous, 
smooth and shining, pale-green, variously blotched with pale-yellow or 
nearly white spots on the upper surface, entire, or in mature specimens 
more or less incised, 30 to 75 cm long, 25 to 40 em wide, those on the pen- 
dulous branches frequently very much reduced in size. Flowers and fruits 
unknown. 
Commonly cultivated, but rarely or never flowering. A native of the 
Solomon Islands, now widely distributed in cultivation; of comparatively 
recent introduction here. : 
3. PISTIA Linnaeus 
A floating stemless herb in fresh water, the leaves obovate-cuneate, 
erect, together forming a cup-like plant. Spathe small, tubular below, 
open above. Spadix adnate to the back of the spathe, free above. Male 
inflorescence of few, sessile, connate anthers beneath the apex of the spadix. 
111555——9 
