SCINDAPSUS PERAKENSIS
PROTOLOGUE: Scindapsus perakensis , published in The Flora of British India 6(19): 542 (1893).
Scindapsus perakensis Hook.f., sp. nov. Branches stout terete smooth, leaves 8–12 by 2–3 in. oblong-lanceolate or falcately lanceolate acuminate thinly coriaceous, base acute or rounded, primary nerves distinct beneath, petiole 4–7 in. broadly winged up to the knee, peduncle 3–6 in. very stout, spadix (after flowering) 3–5 in. cylindric or subclavate. Type: Perak; Scortechini, King's Collector.
SYNONYMS:
HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS: Scindapsus longipetiolatus Ridl.
DISTRIBUTION: Bangladesh to W. Malesia: Bangladesh, Borneo, Java, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Thailand.
DISTRIBUTION NOTE: Malaysia: Melaka, Perak, Sarawak, Selangor Brunei: Belait.
SPECIES DESCRIPTION:
Branches stout terete smooth, leaves 8–12 by 2–3 in. oblong-lanceolate or falcately lanceolate acuminate thinly coriaceous, base acute or rounded, primary nerves distinct beneath, petiole 4–7 in. broadly winged up to the knee. Stem 30–40 ft., 2–3 in. diam. (King's Coll.), pale when dry. Leaves coriaceous, costa rather slender; primary and secondary nerves undistinguishable above, nervules trabeculate; petiole sometimes 1 in. across the opened sheath.²
INFLORESCENCE:
Peduncle 3–6 in. very stout, spadix (after flowering) 3–5 in. cylindric or subclavate. Peduncle 3–4 in. Spathe not seen. Fruiting spadix nearly 1¼ in. diam.; carpels slatey blue, ⅛ in. diam. across the crown. Seeds lenticular, ⅛ in. diam., black.²
ECOLOGY:
Found in the plain of Perak and climbing high on tree trunks at Larut, Perak, at about 100 m; at Batu Tiga near Malacca at 130–200 m; and at the Batu Caves near Kuala Lumpur.⁴ altitude: 100–200 m
ETYMOLOGY:
Of Perak, the Malaysian state where Scortechini and King's Collector gathered the type material.²
NOTES:
1. Hooker keyed the species among those with obliquely ovate, elliptic or lanceolate leaves and separated it from Scindapsus hederaceus by the stout branches, the larger oblong-lanceolate to falcate leaves 8–12 inches long with primary nerves distinct beneath, the broadly winged petiole 4–7 inches long and the very stout peduncle 3–6 inches long.²
2. In the key to the Peninsular Malaysian species Scindapsus perakensis is separated from Scindapsus hederaceus, which shares its oblong-lanceolate blade with impressed primary veins and its broadly open-winged petiole, by the spadix 10–15 cm long at anthesis against about 3.5 cm.³
3. Engler and Krause gave the fullest account, with figure 32 A–D: a stout terete stem 8–13 m long and 5–7 cm thick with internodes 2–3.5 cm long, petioles 12–18 cm long with a leathery persistent sheath reaching the geniculum, thinly leathery obliquely oblong or subfalcate-oblong blades 18–25 cm long and 6–8 cm wide with 7–8 primary lateral veins on each side clearly thicker than the parallel secondaries, a stout peduncle 10–14 cm long, a pale green spathe, a sessile cylindric or subclavate spadix 7–8 cm long and about 2 cm thick in flower and 10–12.5 cm long and nearly 3 cm thick in fruit, finally blue-green, prismatic pistils 5–6 mm long with a small oblong slightly sunken stigma, and black lenticular seeds about 4 mm across. Besides Perak, Malacca and Selangor they cited Kampong Taal near Baralä in Borneo (Grabowski) and Sisepan in Java, records that extend the range of Hooker's Perak species.⁴
4. Hotta recorded the species from Borneo along the Sungai Latai in the Ulu Sungai Kakus, Bintulu district, Sarawak, in November 1963, and near Kampong Mendaram in the Seria district of Brunei in December 1963.⁵
5. Furtado reduced Scindapsus longistipitatus Merr. to this species in 1935, publishing the synonymy as new. Aroidpedia does not follow the reduction. Plants of the World Online accepts both names, and the reduction is an old judgement that no later worker has tested; the two are kept apart here.⁶
6. Ridley gave the fullest early accounts of the species, in 1907 and again in 1925: a very stout stem 30 to 40 feet long, oblong-lanceolate acuminate leathery leaves 9 to 10 inches long and 2.5 to 3 inches wide on petioles 4 to 6 inches long broadly winged to the base, a stout peduncle 4 inches long, a spadix 4 to 6 inches long in fruit, linear stigmas, slaty blue fruit and a black lenticular seed, from rocky hill woods in Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Selangor and Perak, under the native name Akar Surundang. The editions differ in several details, including the spathe. In 1907 he could write only ‘Spathe green (not seen)’; by 1925 it was described as creamy white, ovate and cuspidate, leathery, 3 inches long and as wide with a cusp an inch long. He called the species endemic to the Peninsula in 1907.⁷,⁸
REFERENCES:
1. Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew — Scindapsus perakensis
2. The Flora of British India 6(19): 542 (1893) — protologue.
4. Engler & Krause 1908. Araceae-Monsteroideae. Das Pflanzenreich IV.23B (Heft 37): 4–139
5. Hotta 1966. Notes on Bornean plants I. Acta Phytotaxonomica et Geobotanica 22(1–2): 1–10
6. Furtado 1935. Araceae Malesicae. The Gardens' Bulletin, Straits Settlements 8: 145–158
7. Ridley 1907. Araceae. Materials for a Flora of the Malayan Peninsula, Part III: 1–53
8. Ridley 1925. Araceae. The Flora of the Malay Peninsula 5: 84–131
Additional photos from iNaturalist by Samuel Lee, pbsg, Pandu Ilmi Prastyanto, Michael, Kuan-Chieh (Chuck) Hung, Haryadi, Bridelia and Hussain Sajad
Additional photo by Ahmad Fuad Bin Morad
Additional photos of a cultivated plant by Nakayama Plants