Spathicarpa gardneri Schott, Bonplandia

Freitas, Rafaelle Neves, Silva, Maria Francilene Souza, Paiva, Jousimar Silva, Mayo, Simon Joseph & de Andrade, Ivanilza Moreira, 2017, Taxonomic survey of the Araceae Juss. in the coastal region of Piauí state, northeast Brazil, including the Rio Parnaíba Delta, Iheringia, Série Botânica 72 (3), pp. 341-350 : 346-347

5. Spathicarpa gardneri Schott, Bonplandia (Hannover) 6: 124, 1858.

( Figs. 3 A-C, 4A)

Small geophyte, 10-23 cm tall, stem tuberous, globular or elongated, 0.6-1.3 × 0.5-2.1 cm. Leaves 1-4, usually erect; petiole 7.2-14 cm long, upper part green, lower part white, canaliculate to cylindrical; sheath winged, 1-2 cm long; leaf blade 3.3-11 × 2.8-6.3 cm, simple, general outline ovate, elliptic, narrow elliptic, or lanceolate, adaxial surface dark green with silvery green patches, abaxial surface shiny, chartaceous to membranaceous, apex short, acuminate to cuspidate, base truncate, cordate to subcordate or slightly hastate, rarely asymmetric, margin entire, primary lateral veins 3-6 per side, prominent on abaxial surface.Inflorescence solitary, peduncle 15-22 cm long. Spathe 3.6-5.2 × 0.8-1 cm, erect, elliptic to lanceolate, persistent, not constricted, pale green on adaxial surface, darker green on abaxial surface. Spadix 2.2-3.5 cm long, green, entirely adnate to the spathe. Flowers unisexual, perigone absent; male flower consisting of a stipitate synandrium, anthers subglobose, pale yellow, in a subapical whorl, apex of synandrium pale green, shallowly lobed; female flower consisting of a single flask-shaped gynoecium surrounded by several fungiform staminodes, ovary unilocular; Fruit a berry, 5-7 × 1-4 mm, dark green, utricle, ovoid. Seed 3-4 mm long, light green when fresh, ovoid with longitudinal ridges.

Phenology: Flowers from June to January.

Selected material: Cajueiro da Praia: Canto Grande, 05.IV.2013, fl. and fr., Freitas 98, 99, 100, 101, 102 ( HDELTA).

Comments: Spathicarpa gardneri occurs in areas of caatinga, cerrado, mesophytic forests, on limestone outcrops and in the restinga habitat, together with Taccarum ulei , and the density of individuals can be fairly high. The species has ovoid seeds with conspicuously verrucose testa (Gonçalves 2002).

It is endemic to tropical Brazil, distributed in the North (Tocantins), Northeast (Bahia, Ceará, Maranhão, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte), Midwest (Distrito Federal, Goiás), and Southeast (Minas Gerais) ( Coelho et al. 2015) .

Figures

Figs. 3A-J. Araceae from the coastal region of Piauí. A-C. Spathicarpa gardneri Schott. A. Habit; B. Inflorescence; C. Detail of male (left) and female (right) flowers: D, E. Taccarum ulei Engl. & K. Krause. D. Habit, showing single leaf and inflorescence; E. Inflorescence; F-H. Wolffiella lingulata (Hegelm). Hegelm. F. Habit, side view of plant with two united fronds; G. Morphological variation of two-fronded plants; H. Plant with two fronds, seen from above; I, J. Wolffiella oblonga (Phil.) Hegelm. I. Plant with three united fronds seen from above; J. Habit in relation to the water surface, side view of three-fronded plant.