Pleuranthodium (K. Schum.) R.M. Sm.
Edinb. J. Bot. 48: 63-68 (1991)
Description:
Inflorescence unbranched, often at first enclosed by a large sheath, sometimes pendulous, sometimes pushed out laterally from the uppermost leaf sheath. Bracts and/or bracteoles, absent or very soon deciduous (rarely seen). Flowers borne singly; calyx short, bell-shapped, occasionally circumscissile, the top half falling before anthesis, or sheath-like; labellum cup-shaped, usually broader than long, the side lobes curving behind the filament or adnate (sometimes only partially so) to it, fleshy pads (?staminodes) almost always present at the base; filament cymbiform and subapically dentate or narrower and without teeth; anther thecae often divergent, not embracing the style, ecristate; stigma clavate, geniculate with a small terminal orifice; epigynous glands massive, splitting irregularly. Capsule ellipsoid to almost spherical, splitting to the base into three equal valves. (From Smith, R.M. Edinb. J. Bot. 48: 63 (1991))
Geographical Distribution:
Found in New Guinea, the Bismarck archipelago and Australia.
Taxonomic Diversity:
Comprises about 25 species.
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