ABSTRACT:

Jasarum steyermarkii was first discovered by S. and C. Tillett in the Mazaruni River Basin in Guyana on September 24, 1960, but their specimens, although very striking, long remained unidentified. In February 1972, Julian A. Steyermark found the same species in the Estado Bolivar in Venezuela; this collection became the type of the new genus and species, which George S. Bunting published in 1977. The aquatic nature of this aroid is very remarkable because no true aquatic were previously known for the subfamily Colocasioideae. It was certainly one of the most interesting discoveries in Araceae in recent decades.