Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Tubers depressed-globose or broadly ellipsoid, thin-skinned and smooth, 1.5–5 cm long, 1–8 cm in diameter, growing near the surface or up to 0.5 m below the surface, tubers replaced during the year by new ones that arise from a thick, downward-growing rhizome and remain dormant after senescence of the aerial parts, leaves arising from an apical cavity, the base of the leaves and inflorescences at least in young plants surrounded by linear–lanceolate cataphylls 8–21 cm long.

Stems: Rhizomatous, tuberous.

Roots: Fibrous root system.

Leaves: Leaves simple. Alternate. Blades broadly obovate, ovate, or oblong–ovate in outline, blades 3–7 dm long, up to 120 dm wide. Surfaces glabrous. Margins palmately divided, the lobes deeply pinnately divided at base, deeply 3–cleft above, each lobe pinnately divided, ultimate segments basically lanceolate. Veins parallel or palmate. Petioles hollow, 1.7–15 dm long, the sheath 0.2–2.5 dm long. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers 20–40 on green, hollow scapes 2–17 dm long, involucral bracts 4–12, pale to dark green, occasionally with purplish margins, variable in size, outer ones 2.5–10 cm long, usually somewhat drooping, inner ones essentially similar in shape, slightly smaller, spreading to erect, the floral bracts 20–N, dark purple or dark blackish brown, filiform, up to 25 cm long, each flower drooping, on pedicels up to 5 cm long, elongating up to 8 cm long in fruit; tepals yellowish green or purplish green, the perianth tube 1.5–5 mm long, the lobes somewhat fleshy with membranous margins, the outer 3 elliptic or ovate, (1.5–)4–7 mm long, the inner 3 ovate or oblong–ovate, 5–7.5 mm long; stamens white or dull yellow to brown or purple; ovary with numerous pellucid glandular hairs 1.5–3 mm long, with a ribbed annular disk. Flowers sometimes subtended by filiform bracts, pedicels 6–ribbed. Flowers bisexual (perfect), actinomorphic. Flowers sometimes subtended by filiform bracts, pedicels 6–ribbed. Tepals 6, dark colored, basically petaloid, usually connate toward base into a short tube, the lobes in 2 alternate whorls. Stamens 6, in 2 whorls, inserted on perianth tube or at base of tepals; filaments short, flattened and somewhat petaloid, together with the broad connective forming a hood-like structure over the inflexed anther; anthers dithecal, opening by longitudinal slits. Ovary inferior, 3-carpellate, 1-celled, obpyramidal, 6–ribbed; ovules numerous, anatropous, placentation basically parietal, each placenta with numerous ovules; style 1, apex with 3 obcordate lobes, each one with a stigmatic canal.

Fruit: Fruit rarely formed (at least in Hawai'i); pale to dark green; maturing pale orange; globose to occasionally ellipsoid or ovoid; 1.5–2.5(–3.5) cm in diameter. Seeds numerous; yellowish brown; ovoid to ellipsoid; 5.5–8 mm long; seed coat spongy; white; 15–19–ribbed.

Ploidy:

Habitat: Uncommon; in disturbed areas such as grassy slopes and mesic valley floors.

Elevation Range: 3–330 m.