| Description |
Trunk to
3 m tall, to about 15 cm thick, outer sheaths more or less suffused dull dark purplish.
Leaves to about 250 cm long and 55 cm wide, glaucous but not white,powdery
beneath, petiole and lower surface of midrib light green, petiole and base of midrib more
or less mottled with dull light purple at least when old but never fully purple. Inflorescence
horizontal near the base, apical part pendulous. Bracts deep crimson, more
or less streaked (at least in the male stage) with yellow, each bract as long as the bud.
Flowers in groups of 10 - 12. Female flowers not known.
Male flowers : ovary pale, c. 10 mm long ; outer perianth
member 3.8 cm long cream translucent with yellow lobes c. 5 mm long, depal-lobes with
subapical tip barely 1 mm long ; inner perianth member 19 - 20 mm long, 12 mm
wide, back slightly humped, apex nearly truncate with tip 1 mm long, filament 20 mm long,
anther 17 - 18 mm long ; style [and] stigma as long as anthers.
Fruits with glabrous stalk, 10 - 15 mm long, fruit with beak 10 - 12 cm
long, 2 cm diameter, distinctly but not strongly angled (convex faces between angles) beak
7 - 8 mm long and wide. This
is a common species from N. Johore to N. Perak, abundant where primary forest has been
felled. Its leaves stand more erect than those of M. truncata, or M.
malaccensis (I think) the habit being much more like that of M. violascens
but the leaves are a little wider, and distinctly glaucous beneath.
It is probable that this has been
confused with the lowland form of M. truncata (if such exists) or all lowland
"truncata" may be this species.
coll. by Holltum at Ampang
Reservoir, Kuala Lumpur, 29.10.46, fls & fruit in alcohol.
(from Holltum 1974) |