Aristolochia daemoninoxia
Content
Description
Woody vine; stem 2 cm diam., bark deeply ridged, fissured; branchlets glabrous; pseudostipules lacking. Leaves: petiole twining, up to 7 cm long; blade chartaceous, triangular, 8-15 x 8-18 cm, glabrous, shining above, glaucous, velvet-tomentose beneath, apex obtuse or acute (acuminate in Gillespie 830), base straight to slightly cordate; lateral veins marginal at base. Inflorescence cauliflorous, or rarely axillary (Fanshawe 1383); racemes contracted (up to 1 cm, mostly less than 5 mm), bearing few flowers with minute scaly bracts; pedicels 2-3.5 cm long. Flowers (poorly known): ovary 1-1.5 cm long; perianth tomentose outside when young, pale brownish green with darker veins; utricle ovoid, 2 x 1.3 cm; tube short, funnel-shaped; superior lobe ovate, wider than long, 3 x 5-6 cm, apex truncate and mucronate, inside verrucose. Fruit 7-10 cm long, rough, glabrous, midrib of carpels thickened, with a median groove, external wall thick, woody; seeds ovoid, 5 x 2.5 mm, apex rounded, base emarginate, with the funicle slightly winged, longitudinally protruding.