Pothos dzui P.C.Boyce

Pothos dzui is a robust, root-climbing aroid native to central Vietnam, noted for its elliptic to ovate leaves and stout, cylindrical spadix presented above the foliage during flowering. This rare species thrives in perhumid evergreen forests and remains little known outside botanical circles.

Introduction & Overview

Common and Scientific Names

Scientific Name: Pothos dzui P.C.Boyce
Common Name: No common name

Quick Facts

Origin: Central Vietnam, especially perhumid evergreen forests of Bach Ma region
Features: Robust root-climbing liana with broadly winged petioles and an ovoid-clavate, mid-yellow fertile spadix held on a stout stipe above the shoot

Taxonomy & Classification

Genus: Pothos
Botanical Background: Named by P.C. Boyce based on a type collection (Nguyen Thi Nhan 532) from Gia Lai province. The specific epithet honors the collector’s surname.

Natural Habitat & Distribution

Geographical Range: Endemic to central Vietnam, recorded in wet tropical biomes such as Bach Ma National Park.
Environment: Occurs as a bole-climbing liane or occasional lithophyte in low to mid-elevation (200–800 m) seasonal to perhumid evergreen forests with high humidity and stable moisture.

Morphological Characteristics

Leaves

Petiole 10–55 × 2–10 mm, broadly winged
lamina 30–70 × 90–170 mm, elliptic to ovate with 2–4 intramarginal veins per side, base rounded to acute, apex attenuate-mucronate
Veins prominent, especially when dried

Inflorescence (Spadix & Spathe)

Inflorescence solitary; peduncle 40–55 × 1.5–2 mm, stout, erect, twisting at base
Spathe reflexed and small (greenish), protecting the spadix until anthesis
Spadix stipe 27.5–40 × 2–2.5 mm; fertile portion 12.5–15 × 10–12 mm, ovoid-clavate, mid-yellow
Flowers ~1–2 mm diam.; tepals oblong-cymbiform, stamens yellow; ovary trilocular, yellow

Growth Habit

Robust root-climbing liane of unknown ultimate height, occasionally behaving as a secondary hemi-epiphyte
Stem of fertile shoots terete to angled, ~5 mm diam