Entada spiralis Ridl., J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Pt. 2, Nat. Hist. 67: 305. 1898.

O'Donnell, Shawn A., Ringelberg, Jens J. & Lewis, Gwilym P., 2022, Re-circumscription of the mimosoid genus Entada including new combinations for all species of the phylogenetically nested Elephantorrhiza (Leguminosae, Caesalpinioideae, mimosoid clade), PhytoKeys 205, pp. 99-145 : 99

Entada spiralis Ridl., J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Pt. 2, Nat. Hist. 67: 305. 1898.

Type.

Not specified, though Ridley’s description appears to be based upon plants that are "very common in Singapore … [and] very conspicuous here from its very remarkable fruit." ( Ridley 1898, p. 305).

Description.

Liana more than 25 m long, stem flattened and spirally twisted, 7.5 cm wide × 2.5-5 cm thick. Leaves: rachis 5-9 cm long, tomentose, terminating in a bifurcating tendril; pinnae 2-3 pairs per leaf, 3.6-9.3 cm long with 2-4 pairs of opposite leaflets; leaflets 1.8-6.5 × 0.9-3 cm, obovate to narrowly obovate-elliptic, unequal-sided, apex rounded-truncate, retuse, base rounded to cuneate, asymmetrical, lamina chartaceous, glabrous (Fig. 22A, B ). Inflorescence: a spike 15-20 cm long, axillary, solitary, tomentose (Fig. 22A, B ). Flowers: sessile to sub-sessile, staminate or bisexual; calyx cupular, 0.5-1 mm long, glabrous to puberulous; petals white, 2.5-3 mm long; stamen filaments 5-8 mm long, white turning yellow (Fig. 22C ). Fruit: a large, torulose, spirally coiled craspedium, 120-180 × 6 cm, with transverse septa between seeds dividing the fruit into one-seeded segments which, upon ripening, fall from the persistent replum; segments irregularly triangular; epicarp woody, endocarp chartaceous (Fig. 22D, E ). Seeds: irregularly compressed and mirroring the fruit segment shape, 6-6.5 × 5 cm × 1.5-1.8 cm, hard, brown, pleurogram lacking.

Distribution.

Peninsular Thailand, peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra.

Habitat and ecology.

Primary and secondary rainforest; 0-540 m alt.

Figures

Figure 22. Entada spiralis vegetative and reproductive structures. A climbing shoot bearing leaves and flower spikes, Singapore (photo: C Ng CC BY-NC-SA 2.0, Ng (2021)) B leaf and axillary flower spike, Singapore (photo: C Ng CC BY-NC-SA 2.0, Ng (2021)) C spike with open, subsessile flowers, Singapore (photo: C Ng CC BY-NC-SA 2.0, Ng (2021)) D immature, spirally coiled pod, Singapore (photo: C Ng CC BY-NC-SA 2.0, Ng (2021)) E mature, spirally coiled pod, Singapore (photo: B-C Ho).