上树蜈蚣 shang shu wu gong

Lianas. Stem climbing, green, to 20 m or more, 1-2 cm in diam.; internodes 1-2 cm, rooting. Petiole green, sheathing from base to pulvinus, 14-30 cm, base ca. 3 mm in diam., at apex pulvinus incrassate, 1-1.5 cm; leaf blade pale green abaxially, green adaxially, falcate-lanceolate to ovate-oblong, rarely ovate, oblique, 25-40 × 10-13.5 cm, thickly papery, base obliquely rounded, i.e., one side obtuse, other side cuneate, usually one side of blade 7-8 cm wide, other side only 4-5.5 cm wide, margin entire, apex long acuminate; lateral veins 7 or 8 per side, ascending obliquely and arched. Inflorescences terminal on branches; cataphylls membranous, lanceolate, ca. 10 cm, caducous; peduncle green, 7-10 cm, ca. 1 cm in diam., distally recurved. Spathe initially green, inrolled and tubular with a rostrum 2-3 cm, at anthesis spreading, orange on both surfaces, light green outside at center immediately after opening (green color soon disappearing), light yellow inside at base, cymbiform in outline, ca. 12.5 × 10 cm, apex abruptly acuminate, with a long rostrum, after anthesis caducous. Spadix sessile, cylindric, ca. 7 × 1.3 cm, apex obtuse. Flowers bisexual; perigone absent. Anthers purple. Ovary yellow or pale green, tetragonal or pentagonal-cylindric; stigma sessile, longitudinally oblong, many ovuled. Infructescence incrassate, ca. 9 × 1.5-2 cm. Berry gray-green. Seeds many, yellow, cylindric, 1.5-2 mm. Fl. Oct-Nov, fr. following Oct.

Rain forests, monsoon rain forests, creeping on trees; 500-2500 m. W Guangxi, Yunnan [Bangladesh, NE India].