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 ovjite, 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. merrlllli Engl. Tibatib (Tag.); Amiong (Bic). 



A stout vine climbing on tree-trunks, reaching a height of 5 to 6 m. 

 Leaves oblong-ovate in outline, up to 60 cm 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 IS^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. pi. 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. JB'iowers 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. & Andre) Engl. (Pothos aureus Lindl. & Andre). 



A stout vine climbing on trees by means of rpots, reaching a height ot 

 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 spfeeimens 

 more or less incised, 30 to 75 cm long, 25 to 40 cm wide, those on the pen- 

 dulous branches frequently very mnch 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. PI ST I A 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. 



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