Hydrostachys insignis Mildbr. & Reimers

Base ± woody, subglobose; roots short, stiff, dark brown.. Leaves trailing in the water, pinnate, 30–60 cm. long; petioles pink at base, 10–20 cm. long, verrucose for at least two-thirds of its length, with small emergences on the upper third, elliptic on the faces, filiform and branched on the margins; limb 20–40 cm. long, narrowly elliptic-oblong or lanceolate in outline, the rhachis bearing emergences on its faces, the basal elliptic, the upper progressively narrower, the uppermost being subulate or filiform; and on its margins the emergences elliptic, divided into narrowly triangular to filiform segments 3–4 mm. long.. Pinnules in 50–70 pairs, subopposite, densely covered with emergences 3–5 mm. long several times divided into filiform segments.. Inflorescences grouped on the rhizome, narrowly cone-like when young.. ♀ 20–30 cm. long including verrucose peduncle 10–15 cm. long, the spike proper with 200–300 flowers. Bracts distally ± feebly 3-lobed, the spur bearing at its summit numerous elliptic emergences 0.2–0.3 mm. long. Ovary flanked by 2 bundles of hairs.. ♂ spikes pink, pendulous in bud, similar to ♀; with dark reddish peduncle to 20 cm. long, the bracts pink with dark purple apex, distally triangular with spur bearing numerous emergences 0.1–0.2 mm. long.. Fig. 1/12–14.