AMORPHOPHALLUS GALLOWAYI

PROTOLOGUE: Amorphophallus gallowayi Hett., published in Aroideana 29: 57 (2006).

Amorphophallus gallowayi Hett. sp. nov.

Type: from a plant cultivated by A. Galloway (orig. coll.: LAOS, Khammouane Province, A. Galloway), 26 June 2005, Galloway AGA-1569-01-T (holotype, WAG, spirit collection.). Figures 7–9.

Amorphophallus gallowayi species in genere singularis baccis maturescentibus e albis ad purpureos ad azureos mutantibus. Appendix zona mascula relative brevissima solo in Amorphophallus koratensi et Amorphophallus napigero occurrit. Amorphophallus koratensis tuberem globosum gaudet dum Amorphophallus napiger tuberem longissimum folia lanceolata cinereovariegata habet.

DISTRIBUTION: Laos: Laos.

DISTRIBUTION NOTE: Khammouane Province.

SPECIES DESCRIPTION:

Tuber more or less globose, 3 cm long, 3 cm in diam., pale brown, no offset development. Leaf solitary; petiole 25 cm long, 6 mm in diam., uniformly deep rich burgundy red, longitudinally ridged, ridges with shallow elevations making the petiole feel slightly rough; lamina moderately dissected, 32 cm across, rachises winged from the basal branchings; leaflets elliptic to elongate elliptic, 2–14 cm long, 1.4–4 cm wide, acuminate, slightly leathery, upper surface dark green to blackish green, glossy, lower surface paler.

INFLORESCENCE:

Peduncle as petiole, 25–30 cm long, 3–8 mm in diam.; spathe triangular-ovate, 7.5–9 cm long, 3.5–4 cm wide, erect, acute, outside basal part purplish with darker venation, upper part whitish with purplish venation, inside base pale green with a distal purple zone or entirely dark purple, limb whitish, base inside moderately to strongly verrucate, warts shallowly elevated. Spadix shorter than spathe, sessile, 4.8–6.5 cm long; female zone cylindric, 1–1.5 cm long, 0.7–0.8 cm in diam., flowers congested; male zone subcylindric, slightly widening to the apex, 2.7–3.4 cm long, 0.7–0.9 cm in diam., flowers congested; appendix short-conical, 1.4–1.9 cm long, 0.7–0.8 cm in diam., smooth, obtuse, white. Ovary obconical, depressed, upper part strongly truncate, 2 mm in diam., 1.5 mm high, green or pale green, unilocular; style nearly absent, 0.5 mm long, 1 mm in diam., pale green or pale purple; stigma depressed, entire, 1.5 mm in diam., 1 mm high, verrucate. Male flowers consisting of 4–5 stamens; stamens 1 mm long; filaments 0.1–0.2 mm long, connate; anthers 0.8 mm long, 1 mm in diam., pores apical, fusing to form a common large pore per theca at male anthesis. Fruiting part short-elongate, berries congested; berry ovate, truncate, white, then turning pinkish purple and finally blue. Pollen striate.

ETYMOLOGY:

The species is named after the late Alan Galloway (USA) who amassed a lot of observations on Amorphophallus plants in the field as well as on plants in his own long-standing collection. The observations made on Galloway’s material have greatly improved the quality of the revision work done by the author.

NOTES:

The relatively short appendix compared to the male zone is a feature found in Amorphophallus only in Amorphophallus koratensis Gagn. and Amorphophallus napiger Gagn. The differences, however, with those species are numerous and the similarity is obviously homoplasious. At this point there is no sound argument to suggest any alliance of Amorphophallus gallowayi with known species groups in Amorphophallus.

REFERENCES:

1. Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew — Amorphophallus gallowayi Hett.

2. Aroideana 29: 57 (2006) — protologue.

3. Alan Galloway — Amorphophallus gallowayi, alangallowaybotanicals.com.