ARACEAE
天南星科 tian nan xing ke
Li Heng (李恒 Li Hen)1, Zhu Guanghua (朱光华) 2; Peter C. Boyce 3, Jin Murata4, Wilbert L. A. Hetterscheid 5,
Josef Bogner 6, Niels Jacobsen7
Herbs, perennial, of diverse habit including climbers, floating aquatics, helophytes, pachycaul shrubs, and geophytes. Underground stems absent, or present and then rhizomatous or tuberous; aerial stems variously produced or not, often evergreen; bulbils
for vegetative reproduction sometimes produced, e.g., on leaf or on special shoots. Leaves alternate or apparently basal, usually
petiolate with sheathing bases, often subtended by prophylls and/or cataphylls; leaf blade various, e.g., linear, simple (base often
cordate to sagittate), sometimes peltate or variously compound (e.g., pinnate, radiate, pedate, or decompound), or still more complex
and “dracontioid” (elaborate forms of sagittate, hastate, or trisect leaves in which anterior and posterior divisions are highly dissected
and subdivided). Inflorescences (sometimes precocious) subtended by membranous prophylls and/or cataphylls, consisting of a
spadix subtended by a spathe. Spathe commonly with tubelike base (margins fused or not) persistent or with deciduous blade. Spadix
bearing bisexual or unisexual flowers, in latter case plants paradioecious or monoecious (spadix female proximally and male distally), very rarely with morphologically bisexual but functionally unisexual flowers. Bisexual flowers: tepals 0, 4, or 6; stamens 4–6(–22), filaments free, anthers with 2 thecae; ovary usually 3-loculed or more loculed or 1-loculed (pseudomonomerous). Unisexual
flowers almost always naked [rare exceptions (only 3 genera, these all from Africa, including cultivated Zamioculcas with tepalate
flowers)]: male represented by 1–6 (usually 2–4) free stamens or 2–12 (rarely up to 32) stamens connate into a synandrium overtopped by a common synconnective, anthers often subsessile, usually dehiscing apically by pores or slits (straight or horseshoeshaped); female flowers consisting of a single ovary (sometimes associated with a sterile staminode), commonly 1-loculed (sometimes with 3 or 4 locules), ovules 1 to many per locule, placentation parietal, axile, basal, or apical. Pollen grains aperturate or inaperturate, exine of various ornamentation. Most genera (Aroideae s.l.) with inaperturate pollen grains without sporopollenin. Sterile(neuter) flowers derived from male or female flowers sometimes present at apex or base of female and/or male zones of spadix.
Spadix sometimes with a sterile, terminal appendix. Fruit usually a head of 1- to several-seeded indehiscent separate berries, ordehiscent via shedding stylar plate (Monstereae excluding Amydrium) or syncarpous and apically dehiscent (Cryptocoryne) or
syncarpous and indehiscent (Syngonium, cultivated), commonly red, green, white, or yellow, rarely blue.
About 110 genera and more than 3,500 species: all parts of the world except polar regions and the driest deserts, chiefly in tropical andsubtropical regions; 26 genera and 181 species (72 endemic) in China.
There is an abundance of Araceae in the S and SW provinces of China. The NE and NW regions are poorer. About 50% of Araceae species in
China are medicinal plants; for example, Arisaema heterophyllum, Pinellia pedatisecta, and P. ternata have been used since ancient times. Tubers ofAmorphophallus and Colocasia are used for food or in industry for starch. Pistia is very valuable as feed for pigs and sometimes is cultivated as an
ornamental plant in aquatic gardens.
The following genera are not native to China but are cultivated there: Aglaonema Schott, Anthurium Schott, Caladium Ventenat, Dieffenbachia
Schott, Monstera Adanson, Philodendron Schott, Spathiphyllum Schott, Syngonium Schott, Zamioculcas Schott, and Zantedeschia Sprengel.
Li Hen. 1979. Araceae (excluding Acorus). In: Wu Cheng yih & Li Hen, eds., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 13(2): 1–242.

1a. Flowers bisexual.
2a. Flowers with perianth (“perigone”).
3a. Plants climbing.
4a. Ovary 3-loculed (but fruit monomerous); flowers functionally bisexual ......................................................... 2. Pothos
4b. Ovary 1-loculed; flowers functionally unisexual (plants dioecious) ........................................................ 3. Pothoidium
3b. Plants herbaceous, not climbing.
5a. Plants without prickles (unarmored); leaves deciduous, oblong-cordate; inflorescences carried at
ground level with most of peduncle hypogeal; plants of boreal habitats ............................................. 1. Symplocarpus
5b. Plants armored with prickles; leaves evergreen, sagittate or hastate to pinnatifid or pinnatipartite;
inflorescence carried on an erect, aerial peduncle; plants of tropical habitats ................................................... 9. Lasia
2b. Flowers without perianth (“perigone”) or reduced and not visible from above.

1 Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 132 Lanhei Road, Heilongtan, Kunming, Yunnan 650204, People’s Republic of China.
2 Missouri Botanical Garden, P.O. Box 299, Saint Louis, Missouri 63166-0299, U.S.A. (Zhu Guanghua died on 2 November 2005.)
3 Visiting Scientist, Pusat Pengajian Sains Kajihayat, [School of Biological Sciences], Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 USM, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.
4 Botanical Gardens, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 3-7-1 Hakusan, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-0001, Japan.
5 Von Gimborn Arboretum, Velperengh 13, 3941 BZ Doorn, Netherlands.
6 Augsburger Straße 43a, D-86368 Gersthofen, Germany.
7 University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Life Sciences, Department of Agriculture and Ecology, Botany Section, Rolighedsvej 21, DK-1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark.

3

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ARACEAE

6a. Plants aquatic and/or helophytic; spathe persistent; fruit red; plants of boreal habitats ......................................... 10. Calla
6b. Plants climbing, not aquatic and/or helophytic; spathe deciduous; fruit various, if red then spathe caducous;
plants of tropical habitats.
7a. Fruit each a discrete indehiscent berry.
8a. Inflorescences solitary or at most 3 held loosely together; flowers without perigone; fruit ovoid,
white at maturity ................................................................................................................................... 5. Amydrium
8b. Inflorescences several together distichously arranged; flowers with reduced inconspicuous
perigone; fruit truncate, red at maturity ............................................................................................ 4. Anadendrum
7b. Fruit not a discrete berry, dehiscent via shedding of stylar plate.
9a. Fruit each with numerous small, straight seeds ............................................................................ 6. Rhaphidophora
9b. Fruit each with 1 to few large, curved seeds.
10a. Seeds 2–4 per fruit on an intrusive parietal placenta; leaves pinnately divided withpinholes along midrib .............................................................................................................. 7. Epipremnum
10b. Seed 1 per fruit on a basal placenta; leaves always entire ......................................................... 8. Scindapsus
1b. Flowers unisexual, plants monoecious or sometimes dioecious; perigone absent.
11a. Plant a free-floating aquatic ......................................................................................................................................... 26. Pistia
11b. Plant never a free-floating aquatic, if aquatic then rooted in soil.
12a. Suffruticose herbs; fruit a red berry ........................................................................................................... 15. Aglaonema
12b. Herbaceous plants of various life forms but never suffruticose; fruit various.
13a. Rooted aquatics; female flowers connate; fruit an apically dehiscent syncarpium ..................... 13. Cryptocoryne
13b. Terrestrial herbs and/or geophytes; female flowers free; fruit separate, indehiscent.
14a. Stamens of each male flower entirely connate into distinct synandrium.
15a. Spathe not differentiated into a distal limb and proximal tube.
16a. Spathe brightly colored (inside commonly yellow or purple-red); female
flowers with staminodes (staminodes absent in S. griffithii); stem a repent or
suberect epigeal rhizome ........................................................................................ 22. Steudnera
16b. Spathe white; female flowers without staminodes; stem a hypogeal tuber or
stolon ........................................................................................................................ 14. Hapaline
15b. Spathe differentiated into a distal limb and proximal tube separated by apronounced constriction.
17a. Plant with conspicuous erect aerial stolons bearing numerous barbed bulbils .... 23. Remusatia
17b. Plant without conspicuous erect aerial stolons, if stolons present then thesedecumbent and bearing tubercles at tips.
18a. Mature infructescences declined to pendent; placentation parietal; fruit< 3 mm (to 5 mm in C. gigantea), pale yellow to brown and fruit-smellingwhen ripe; seeds small, very numerous per fruit .......................................... 24. Colocasia
18b. Mature infructescences erect; placentation basal; fruit > 4 mm, red
when ripe, odorless; seeds large, few per fruit ............................................... 25. Alocasia
14b. Stamens of each male flower free, or only filaments connate (rarely also anthers fused in
Arisaema).
19a. Spadix appendix absent (spadix fertile to apex), or if present then usually consistingof clearly defined subglobose sterile (neuter) flowers.
20a. Spathe wholly persistent into fruiting, splitting from base to apex at fruit
maturity; spathe free from spadix; spadix appendix absent; vegetative
tissues aromatic (terpenoids) when crushed ..................................................... 11. Homalomena
20b. Spathe limb deciduous during anthesis, proximal spathe persisting tofruiting and then splitting from apex to base at fruit maturity; muchof female zone of spadix adnate to spathe; spadix appendix present;
vegetative tissues not aromatic ..................................................................... 12. Schismatoglottis
19b. Spadix appendix present, ± smooth to rugulose, hairy or echinate, without
subglobose sterile (neuter) flowers, or if such sterile flowers present thenusually confined to proximal part or base.
21a. Spadix unisexual, or if bisexual then male and female zones contiguousor separated by sterile zone usually covered with staminodes.
22a. Leaves variously divided (most commonly pedate to pedatisect
but not decompound), very rarely entire; berries ripening reddish ............... 21. Arisaema
22b. Leaves commonly solitary, usually decompound, very rarely
pedate, never entire; berries ripening red or blue .............................. 16. Amorphophallus
21b. Spadix bisexual, male and female zones separated by naked sterile
axis (interstice).

ARACEAE

523a. Female zone of spadix adnate to spathe ........................................................... 20. Pinellia
23b. Female zone of spadix free.
24a. Appendix with a whorl of prominent staminodes directly above malezone; placentation parietal .......................................................................... 17. Arum
24b. Appendix with a stipelike smooth part below base or contiguouswith male zone, whorl of staminodes absent above male zone;
placentation basal.
25a. Sterile zone between female and male zones with smooth
naked distal part, base with various numbers of staminodes
or whole zone covered with staminodes but then leaves
always entire and proximal staminodes spatulate(in T. flagelliforme) ................................................................... 18. Typhonium
25b. Sterile zone between female and male zones fully covered
with staminodes, or grooved and with staminodes only atbase; leaves usually pedate, rarely entire (in S. giganteum);staminodes never spatulate ..................................................... 19. Sauromatum

1. SYMPLOCARPUS Salisbury ex W. P. C. Barton, Veg. Mater. Med. U. S. 1: 124. 1817,
nom. cons.
臭菘属 chou song shu
Li Heng (李恒 Li Hen); Peter C. Boyce, Josef Bogner
Ictodes Bigelow; Spathyema Rafinesque.
Herbs, large, glabrous, seasonally dormant. Rhizome erect, stout, with thick roots. Leaves few to several, petiolate; petiole long,with sheath; leaf blade subcordate to cordate-ovate, large, apex acute to cuspidate; midvein strong, primary lateral veins pinnate andarching toward apex, running into inconspicuous marginal vein, secondary lateral veins and higher order venation reticulate to transversely reticulate. Inflorescences 1 or 2 in a sympodium, appearing before or with leaves; peduncle long but only shortly exserted
above ground; cataphylls surrounding peduncle. Spathe convolute at base, somewhat to widely gaping at apex, thick, boat-shaped orconchiform, apex 2-keeled, rostrate, curving forward. Spadix stipitate, globose to broadly ellipsoid, much shorter than spathe andhidden within. Flowers bisexual, with perigone; tepals 4, arching and imbricate. Stamens 4, free; filaments flattened; connective
slender; thecae oblong, dehiscing by longitudinal slit; pollen grains ellipsoid, monosulcate, exine reticulate, apertural exine verrucate.
Ovary of gynoecium (pistil) somewhat immersed in spadix axis, 1-loculed; ovule 1, orthotropous; funicle very short; placentation
apical-parietal; stylar region long attenuate; stigma punctate-disciform. Infructescence globose to broadly ellipsoid, berries densely
arranged. Berry with tepals and style persistent to ripe fruiting stage, base of berry immersed in spongy spadix axis. Seed globose;
testa thin, smooth; embryo globose, large; endosperm very sparse, only a single cell layer thick. 2n = 30, 60.
Four or five species: E Asia, North America; two species in China.
The other species in the genus are Symplocarpus foetidus (Linnaeus) Salisbury ex W. P. C. Barton (the type species) in North America; S.
egorovii N. S. Pavlova & V. A. Nechaev in Russia (Far East), and S. nabekuraensis Otsuka & K. Inoue in Japan, but the latter is very close to S. renifolius and is better considered as an infraspecific taxon of it.

1a. Leaf blade orbicular-cordate, 30–40 cm long and wide or nearly so; flowering before leaves appear in early
spring; fruit ripening in summer of same year .............................................................................................................. 1. S. renifolius
1b. Leaf blade ovate to ovate-oblong, 10–20 × 7–12 cm; flowering with leaf appearance in summer (ca. Jul); fruit
ripening in spring of following year ............................................................................................................................ 2. S. nipponicus
1. Symplocarpus renifolius Schott ex Tzvelev, Novosti Sist.
Vyssh. Rast. 28: 28. 1991.
臭菘 chou song
Rhizome hypogeous, to 7 cm in diam. Leaves in a rosette;petiole to 40 × ca. 1 cm; leaf blade orbicular-cordate, 30–40 cm
long and wide or nearly so (to 33 cm wide), mid-green, basecordate, apex acute; venation reticulate, midvein very strong,
primary veins 5 on each side, ascending toward apex, lowermost ones running into basal lobes. Flowering before leaves

appear; inflorescence usually solitary; peduncle green and purplish tinged, 7–13(–20) × ca. 1 cm. Spathe plain purple toblackish purple, rarely green without any markings or with dark
purple spots, boat-shaped, 8–20 × 5–12 cm, strongly leathery,
apex acuminate. Spadix ellipsoid, 2–2.5 × ca. 1.2 cm. Flowers
densely arranged. Flower 3–3.5 mm in diam., tepals pinkish,thecae yellow. Fl. early spring, fr. summer of same year.
Wet places, forest swamps, moist mixed and coniferous forests,
swampy meadows and lands; below 300 m. Heilongjiang [Japan, Russia(Far East)].

ARACEAE

6

The plant is poisonous but sometimes is used medicinally to treatswelling.

2. Symplocarpus nipponicus Makino, J. Jap. Bot. 5: 24. 1928.
日本臭菘 ri ben chou song
Rhizome hypogeous, thinner. Leaves in a rosette; petiole
to 20 cm; leaf blade green, rarely variegated, ovate to narrowly

ovate-oblong, 10–20 × 7–12 cm, base obtuse to cordate-subcordate, apex acute; venation reticulate, midvein strong, primarylateral veins 6 or 7 on each side. Flowering with leaf appearance; peduncle purple, long. Spathe plain purple or mottled dark
purple, broadly elliptic and boat-shaped, leathery. Spadix ellipsoid, stipitate. Flowers densely arranged. Fl. summer (ca. Jul),fr. spring of following year.
Wet places; below 300 m. Heilongjiang [Japan, Korea].

2. POTHOS Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 968. 1753.
石柑属 shi gan shu
Li Heng (李恒 Li Hen); Peter C. Boyce
Tapanava Adanson.
Plants climbing against trees with aid of adhesive roots, or creeping over rocks. Primary shoots branching to produce further
adherent shoots and both types (in most species) sterile but giving rise to free, sympodial or physiognomically monopodial flowering
shoots, often highly ramified, arising from leaf axil (subg. Pothos) or beneath it [subg. Allopothos]. Leaves simple, distichous; petiole
conspicuously winged [or wingless]; petiolar sheath minute or well developed, amplexicaul; articulation distinct (pulvinus at junctionof petiole and blade); leaf blade with primary lateral veins on each side of midrib traversed by 1 or more intramarginal veins running± from base and from ca. midway along midrib to apex or first to distal margins and then to apex. Inflorescences in axils of leaves orseemingly extra-axillary, sometimes pseudoterminal, usually several along stem; peduncle partly or entirely enveloped by sheathlikeorgans (cataphylls). Spathe inconspicuous, cymbiform or elongate, not constricted, at last entirely spreading, and either spreading or
recurved. Spadix sessile or stipitate, varying in shape, with reduced flowers at very base, otherwise fertile. Flowers many, bisexual,
sometimes reduced; tepals 6, with vaulted-truncate apex. Stamens 6; filaments strap-shaped; anthers ovoid, longitudinally dehiscent.
Ovary 3-loculed; ovule 1 per locule, subbasal; stigma sessile, initially umbilicate. Berry 1–3-seeded. Seeds large, without endosperm.
About 75 species: tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Australia, Madagascar, and Polynesia; five species in China.

1a. Petiole 13–15 cm, much longer than leaf blade, leaf blade 3–4 cm; spadix cylindric, 5–6 × 0.15–0.2 cm ..................... 5. P. repens
1b. Petiole shorter than or as long as leaf blade; spadix cylindric to globose.
2a. Petiole nearly as long as to slightly exceeding blade.
3a. Peduncle at anthesis reflexed or recurved; spadix subglobose or ellipsoid, 5–6 mm ...................................... 1. P. scandens
3b. Peduncle erect; spadix cylindric, ellipsoid, ovoid, or subglobose, 4–25 mm ................................................. 2. P. chinensis
2b. Petiole much shorter than leaf blade.
4a. Petiole narrow and long, obovate-oblong or cuneate; veins inconspicuous; branchlets not 4-angled ........... 2. P. chinensis
4b. Petiole broad, small, obovate, length and width only 1/8–1/6 of blade; veins conspicuously branched;branchlets 4-angled.
5a. Peduncle and stipe short and broad, together 1.3–2 cm; peduncle stout .................................................... 3. P. pilulifer
5b. Peduncle and stipe long and narrow, together 7.5–8 cm; peduncle very slender ........................................... 4. P. kerrii
1. Pothos scandens Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 968. 1753.
螳螂跌打 tang lang die da
Batis hermaphrodita Blanco; Podospadix angustifolia
Rafinesque; Pothos angustifolius (Rafinesque) C. Presl; P.
chapelieri Schott; P. cognatus Schott; P. decipiens Schott; P.
exiguiflorus Schott; P. fallax Schott; P. hermaphroditus(Blanco) Merrill; P. horsfieldii Miquel; P. leptospadix de Vriese;
P. longifolius C. Presl; P. longipedunculatus Engler, nom. illeg.
superfl.; P. microphyllus C. Presl; P. roxburghii de Vriese; P.
scandens var. cognatus (Schott) Engler; P. scandens var.
helferianus Engler; P. scandens var. sumatranus de Vriese; P.
scandens var. zeylanicus de Vriese; P. scandens var. zollingerianus (Schott) Engler; P. zollingerianus Schott; Tapanava
indica Rafinesque; T. rheedii Hasskarl.
Lianas, medium sized to rather large, to 6 m. Stems

weakly 4-angled or subterete, to 10 mm in diam. Leaves paler
abaxially, bright to deep green adaxially; petiole obovate-oblong to linear-oblong, 20–140 × 5–20 mm, broadly winged,
base decurrent, apex truncate, rounded, or auriculate; each sidewith 2 or 3 secondary veins and numerous veinlets; leaf blade
ovate to elliptic or lanceolate, 2–10 × 3–14 cm, base rounded toacute, apex attenuate-mucronate; each side with 2 intramarginalveins arising from base and either reaching leaf tip or merging
into a prominent submarginal collecting vein, all additional
veins arising obliquely from midrib. Flowering shoot muchabbreviated, arising from most of mid- to distal leaf axils of
fertile shoots, bearing a minute prophyll and a few cataphylls
3–10 mm, sequentially longer. Inflorescence solitary; peduncle
erect to spreading, green to purple tinged, 3–15 × 0.5–2 mm,
slender. Spathe greenish to maroon, ovate, concave, 4–8 × 4–7
mm, base short or somewhat long clawed, margins variously in-

ARACEAE

rolled, apex rounded to acute with a tiny, rather stout mucro.
Spadix stipitate; stipe erect, greenish to maroon, terete in crosssection, 5–10 × ca. 1 mm, distally erect to bent through 270°;
fertile zone yellow-green to off-white, globose or ovoid to subclavate, 4–10 × 3.5–10 mm. Flowers 1–2 mm in diam. Infructescence with 1–5 berries. Fruit mid-green, ripening to deepscarlet, obclavate, 10–17.5 × 10–14 mm. Fl. and fr. throughout
year.
Rain forests, monsoon rain forests, mountain or river terraces,
creeping on trees or on rocks; 200–1000 m. SE Xizang (Mêdog), S
and SE Yunnan [Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, India, Indonesia,
Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, ?Nepal, Philippines, ?Singapore, Sri Lanka,
Thailand, Vietnam; Indian Ocean islands (Comoros), Madagascar].
This plant is used medicinally in Yunnan for treating traumatic injuries and rheumatic arthralgia. The leaves are used as tea by the Dai
ethnic minority.

2. Pothos chinensis (Rafinesque) Merrill, J. Arnold Arbor. 29:
210. 1948.
石柑子 shi gan zi
Tapanava chinensis Rafinesque, Fl. Tellur. 4: 14. 1838;
Pothos balansae Engler; P. cathcartii Schott; P. chinensis var.
lotienensis C. Y. Wu & H. Li; P. seemannii Schott; P. warburgii
Engler; P. yunnanensis Engler.
Lianas, small to very large, to 10 m, root-climbing. Stem
weakly 4-angled or terete in cross section, to 12 mm in diam.
Leaves paler abaxially, bright to mid-green adaxially; petiole
obovate-oblong to linear-oblong or narrowly triangular, 50–140
× 4–20 mm, broadly winged, base decurrent to clawed, apex
truncate, rounded, or auriculate; each side with 2 or 3 secondaryveins and numerous veinlets; leaf blade ovate to elliptic or lanceolate, 3–20.5 × 1.5–20.5 cm, apex attenuate-mucronate toacute or attenuate, minutely tubulate; each side with 2–4 intramarginal veins arising from base and either immediately diverging or remaining very close and parallel to midrib and thendiverging further along leaf blade, submarginal collecting vein
prominent. Flowering shoot much abbreviated, arising frommost of mid- to distal leaf axils of fertile shoots. Inflorescences
solitary or in pairs; peduncle erect to variously curved, green tobrown tinged, 3–25 × 1.5–2.5 mm, rather stout. Spathe greenish
white or green, occasionally faintly purple tinged, ovate, concave, 4–12 × 4–10 mm, base cordate, clasping and slightly decurrent on peduncle, margins inrolled, apex arched to recurved,
acute to subacute with a rather stout mucro. Spadix stipitate;
stipe erect, straight, green, terete, 5–10 × 1–1.25 mm; fertile
zone pale green or white, globose to ovoid, 3.5–13 × 3–10 mm.
Flowers 1–2 mm in diam. Fruit mid-green, ripening to scarlet,
obclavate to ovoid or ellipsoid, 10–17.5 × 10–14 mm. Fl. and fr.
throughout year.
Dense forests, moist mountain valleys, climbing on trees orcreeping over rocks; below 2400 m. Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou,
Hainan, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan, Taiwan, SE Xizang (Mêdog), Yunnan[Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam].
Pothos balansae, P. cathcartii, P. chinensis, and P. warburgii are7

without doubt synonymous. They might be separable when only a few
specimens of each entity are studied, but when a wide range of material
is used the four merge together as one species, for which the earliest
name is P. chinensis. See Boyce (Blumea 45: 147–204. 2000).
The whole plant is used medicinally to treat rheumatic arthralgia,
traumatic injuries, fractures, coughs, and infantile malnutrition caused
by intestinal parasites.

3. Pothos pilulifer Buchet ex P. C. Boyce, Blumea 45: 175.
2000.
地柑 di gan
Lianas, medium sized to large, to 5 m, root-climbing.
Stems rectangular in cross section, ± compressed, to 12 mm indiam., angles minutely but prominently winged. Leaves paler
abaxially, when fresh mid-green adaxially; petiole obovate-oblong to linear-oblong or narrowly triangular, 10–40 × 4–17 mm,
somewhat narrowly to rather broadly winged, base decurrent,
apex truncate, rounded, or auriculate; each side with 2–4 secondary veins and numerous veinlets, all veins, but particularly
secondary veins, prominent; leaf blade ovate to elliptic or lanceolate, 3.5–11 × 2–5 cm, base rounded to subacute, apex attenuate, somewhat prominently tubulate; each side with 2–4 intramarginal veins arising from base and either immediately
diverging or remaining very close and parallel to midrib andthen diverging further along leaf blade, either reaching leaf tip
or merging into a prominent submarginal collecting vein, additional veins arising obliquely from midrib, remaining parallel.
Flowering shoot much abbreviated, arising mostly from uppermiddle to distal leaf axils of fertile shoots. Inflorescence solitary; peduncle erect, green, stout, 0–3(–5) × ca. 1 mm. Spathegreen to greenish purple, ovate, concave, 4–5 × 2.5–4 mm, basedecurrent on peduncle, margins strongly inrolled, apex arched
to recurved, acute. Spadix stipitate; stipe erect, straight toslightly curved, green to greenish purple, terete, stout, 10–12
× 1–1.25 mm; fertile zone yellow, globose, 4–5 × 4–5 mm.
Flowers 1–2 mm in diam. Infructescence not seen. Fl. Dec–Jul.
Dense forests, on rocks; 200–1000 m. SW Guangxi, SE Yunnan[N Vietnam].
The name Pothos pilulifer was first published by Gagnepain (inLecomte et al., Fl. Indo-Chine 6: 1084. 1942) but not validly so because
no Latin description or diagnosis was provided (Vienna Code, Art.
36.1).
All parts of the plant are used medicinally for treating epilepsy.

4. Pothos kerrii Buchet ex P. C. Boyce, Blumea 45: 168. 2000.
长梗石柑 chang geng shi gan
Lianas, medium sized, to 4 m, root-climbing. Stems teretein cross section, to 6 mm in diam. Leaves when fresh midgreen; petiole oblong to oblong-triangular, 10–30(–50) × 5–10
mm, broadly winged, base decurrent to clawed, apex truncate toauriculate; each side with 2–4 secondary veins, veins prominent, especially in dried material; leaf blade lanceolate to narrowly elliptic, 7.5–13 × 1.25–2.5 cm, base rounded, apex longattenuate-mucronate to acute, minutely tubulate; each side with

ARACEAE

8

2 or 3 intramarginal veins arising from base and immediately
diverging and reaching leaf tip. Flowering shoot much abbreviated, arising from middle to distal leaf axils of fertile shoots,
bearing a minute prophyll and few cataphylls 3–10 mm,
sequentially longer. Inflorescence solitary; peduncle erect tospreading, curving to bring inflorescence upright, deep purple,
very long and slender, 25–40 × 0.5–1 mm. Spathe greenish
purple, ovate, deeply concave to almost flat, 4–6 × 3.5–7 mm,base prominently cordate, clasping and minutely decurrent on
peduncle, margins straight, apex obtuse with a small but prominent mucro. Spadix stipitate; stipe erect, straight, deep purple,
terete in cross section, 10–18 × 0.23–0.75 mm; fertile zone paleyellow, globose, 3.5–4 × 3.5–4.5 mm. Flowers 1–2 mm indiam. Infructescence with 1–7 berries. Fruit obclavate to ellipsoid, 10–15 × 7.5–10 mm. Fl. Aug.
Dense forests, on rocks. SE Guangxi (Longzhou) [Laos, Vietnam].
The name Pothos kerrii was first published by Gagnepain (inLecomte et al., Fl. Indo-Chine 6: 1085. 1942) but not validly so because
no Latin description or diagnosis was provided (Vienna Code, Art.
36.1).
Pothos kerrii is quite similar to P. pilulifer, but it differs by theelongated peduncle and stipe (7.5–8 cm together vs. 1.3–2 cm together
in P. pilulifer).
The plant is used medicinally to treat traumatic injuries.

5. Pothos repens (Loureiro) Druce, Rep. Bot. Soc. Exch. Club
Brit. Isles 4: 641. 1917.

Lianas, medium sized to very large, to 15 m, rootclimbing. Stems weakly 4-angled or slightly compressed teretein cross section, to 20 mm in diam. Leaves paler abaxially,bright to deep green adaxially; petiole oblong-obovate-lanceolate to linear-oblong, 50–200 × 5–25 mm, broadly winged, basedecurrent, apex truncate, slightly auriculate; each side with 2 or
3 barely differentiated primary veins running parallel to midrib
and numerous parallel to subparallel and reticulate veinlets,
primary and larger secondary veins reaching petiole tip andthere curving inward to merge with leaf blade/petiole junction;leaf blade ovate to elliptic or triangular-lanceolate, 20–80 × 10–
20 mm, base rounded to truncate, apex subacute to acute, briefly
tubular-mucronate; primary veins 3(–5), ± parallel, arising frombase reaching tip of leaf blade. Inflorescences solitary to several
together, congested or spaced along a leafy to naked branchingsystem to 2 m; peduncle curving to spreading, slender, 3–8 ×
0.5–2 mm; terminal part erect, green. Spathe strongly reflexedat anthesis, greenish with margins stained purple, narrowly
elliptic, 20–70 × 3–6 mm, margins recurved to reflexed, basebriefly decurrent, apex apiculate to shortly filiform. Spadix
stipitate; stipe erect, greenish to purple, terete in cross section,
10–13 × 1–1.2 mm; fertile zone yellow-green to off-white, narrowly cylindric, 40–80 × 2–4 mm, sometimes strongly obliquely
inserted on stipe. Flowers 1–2 mm in diam. Infructescence withfew berries. Fruit turbiniform to ellipsoidal, globose at maturity,
7–15 × 10–14 mm. Fl. Mar–Apr, fr. May–Jul.

百足藤 bai zu teng

Moist forests, climbing on trees or creeping over rocks; below 900
m. S Guangdong, S Guangxi, Hainan, S Yunnan [Laos, N Vietnam].

Flagellaria repens Loureiro, Fl. Cochinch. 1: 212. 1790;
Pothos loureiroi Hooker & Arnott; P. terminalis Hance.

This plant is used for treating traumatic injuries, fractures, and abscesses.

3. POTHOIDIUM Schott, Aroideae, 26. 1856–1857.
假石柑属 jia shi gan shu
Li Heng (李恒 Li Hen); Peter C. Boyce
Shrubs, climbing. Branches extra-axillary. Leaves simple, distichous, petiolate; petiole elongated, leaflike, flattened, veins parallel; leaf blade triangular-lanceolate, short, with parallel veins. Inflorescences in axil of leaves; bractlike cataphylls 1 or 2. Spathe
deciduous, short. Spadix cylindric. Flowers bisexual but plants functionally dioecious; tepals 6, with vaulted-truncate apex; stamens
3–6, anthers oval, longitudinally dehiscent; ovary obovoid, 1-loculed, ovule solitary, subbasal, stigma sessile. Berry ovoid, acute.
Seed oblong, without endosperm.
One species: China (Taiwan), Indonesia (Maluku, Sulawesi), Philippines.
Pothoidium is similar to Pothos repens but differs in being functionally dioecious, by the branching inflorescences, and by its unilocular ovary
and solitary ovule. Pothoidium has functionally unisexual spadices arranged seemingly in panicles and maturing sequentially. The structure of the fertile shoots is not yet clearly understood; however, it is possible that they are developed by the reduction of all the leaves of a leafy fertile shoot system
to minute prophylls and cataphylls and that the panicle-like synflorescence is hence to be regarded as an aggregate structure. Pothos repens andPothoidium are vegetatively almost identical. Depauperate flowering specimens of Pothoidium greatly resemble robust plants of Pothos repens.
Interpretation of Pothoidium inflorescences suggests that P. lobbianum is functionally dioecious. “Male” spadices have flowers with prominently visible anthers and an apparently sterile ovary. “Female” spadices have flowers with a large unilocular fertile ovary and no stamens. Flowers of Pothos
species are always bisexual with a 3-locular ovary.

1. Pothoidium lobbianum Schott, Oesterr. Bot. Wochenbl. 7:
70. 1857.
假石柑 jia shi gan

Climbers. Branches elongated, striate, internodes 7.5–10mm. Leaves leathery; petiole 7.5–10 × ca. 1 cm, base angustate,apex truncate; leaf blade triangular-lanceolate, much smallerand shorter than petiole, 2.5–4 × ca. 7.5 mm. Inflorescences

ARACEAE

several to many, borne in a terminal branching system, proximal inflorescences axillary to a foliage leaf, distal ones either
subtended by a cataphyll or without a subtending leaf, peduncular axis slender, consisting of 1 to several internodes, sometimes subtended by a prophyll, sometimes also bearing a cataphyll ± halfway up. Spathe occurrence irregular, often absent,
widely spreading, linear-lanceolate or broadly ovate, 5–7.5 mm,
margins usually revolute, apex acute. Spadix apparently often
functionally unisexual, cylindric, 1.5–2.5 cm, sessile to long9

stipitate when subtended by spathe. Flowers apparently usuallyunisexual, sometimes bisexual, congested, with a perigone of 6
free tepals; male flowers with well-developed anthers and apparently sterile ovary, stamens 3–6, free, number often varying
on a single spadix; female flowers with large fertile ovary andlacking stamens. Berry ca. 1.2 cm × 6 mm. Seed solitary, ovoid.
Fl. Feb–May, fr. Jul–Oct.
S Taiwan (Lan Yu) [Indonesia (Maluku, Sulawesi), Philippines].

4. ANADENDRUM Schott, Bonplandia (Hannover) 5: 45. 1857.
上树南星属 shang shu nan xing shu
Li Heng (李恒 Li Hen); Peter C. Boyce
Nothopothos Kuntze.
Plants creeping against trees or over boulders by mean of adhesive roots. Leaves distichous, petiolate, undivided, pinnately
veined; distal nodes of stem with usually 2 normal leaves with distinct sheaths, and (mostly) several strongly to entirely reduced
leaves with strongly developed sheaths; petioles of other leaves only at base moderately sheathing, pulvinus distinct; trichosclereids
and laticiferous vessels absent. Inflorescences emerging from a rhipidium carried at shoot tips (or sometimes laterally displaced),with each inflorescence subtended by a reduced leaf comprised mainly of an expanded petiolar sheath. Spathe white or green,
cymbiform, oblong-ovate, initially tubular-inrolled and beaked for ca. 1/4 spathe length, at last entirely spreading, often caducous.
Spadix cylindric, with stipe well developed. Flowers many, bisexual; perigone a single cuplike structure, membranous, truncate.
Stamens 4; filaments strap-shaped; anthers longitudinally dehiscent. Ovary 1-loculed, 1-ovuled; ovule central-basal; stigma sessile,transversely inserted. Berry subglobose, distinctly truncate apically. Seed large.
Nine species: tropical Asia, from India to Malaysia; two species in China.
One of us (Boyce) notes that the names Anadendrum latifolium and A. montanum are misapplied here. True A. latifolium is endemic toPeninsular Malaysia (type from Perak), and the type of A. montanum is from Indonesia (Java). In fact, there are three species of Anadendrum in China,
but all are as yet undescribed. Further work is needed to resolve this situation.

1a. Leaf sheath ca. 10 mm wide; leaf blade oblong-lanceolate, 15–20 × 5–8 cm; inflorescence with linear bracts
ca. 7 cm; spadix stipe 5–8 mm .................................................................................................................................... 1. A. montanum
1b. Leaf sheath 5–7 mm wide; leaf blade ovate-oblong, 25–33 × 10.5–14 cm; inflorescence without linear bracts;
spadix stipe ca. 2 cm ..................................................................................................................................................... 2. A. latifolium
1. Anadendrum montanum Schott, Bonplandia (Hannover) 5:
45. 1857.

Forests, on trees or rocks; below 500 m. Hainan, SE Yunnan[Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam].

上树南星 shang shu nan xing

2. Anadendrum latifolium J. D. Hooker, Fl. Brit. India 6: 540.
1893.

Stem 4–5 mm in diam., internodes elongated, ca. 2.5 cm,
distal one much shorter, rooting. Petiole 10–15 cm, sheathingfrom base to pulvinus, developed sheaths 9–14 × ca. 1 cm,
mostly early caducous; leaf blade oblong-lanceolate, 15–20 ×
5–8 cm, papery, oblique, base obtuse or subcordate, margin entire, apex acuminate; lateral veins 7 or 8 on each side; secondary veins 2 or 3, reticulate. Inflorescences axillary and terminalfrom bractlike reduced leaves; bractlike leaves linear, ca. 7 cm,
apex acuminate with tail 5–7 mm; peduncle 10–15 cm. Spathe
initially tubular-inrolled, at last entirely spreading, ovate-lanceolate, apex with a rostrum 10–15 mm. Spadix pale green,
ellipsoid, 3–3.5 cm; stipe 5–8 mm. Flowers dense; perigone annular, ca. 1/2 as high as ovary. Filaments 4; anthers ovoid.
Ovary obovoid, apex ca. 3 mm in diam.; stigma transversely
oblong. Berry ovoid, ca. 8 mm, apex truncate. Fl. and fr. Jun–
Oct.

宽叶上树南星 kuan ye shang shu nan xing
Stem 0.4–3 m, 4–5 mm in diam., internodes 1.5–3 cm,
rooting. Petiole 11–17 cm, narrowly sheathing; sheaths ca. 2/3
as long as petiole, 5–7 mm wide; leaf blade broadly oblong,
25–33 × 10.5–14 cm, base acute, apex cuspidate-acuminate;
lateral veins ca. 12 on each side, strong, spreading, and arched.
Inflorescences axillary, without bractlike reduced leaves;peduncle ca. 25 cm. Spathe initially fusiform and at last
spreading, lanceolate, 5–6 cm, base angustate, apex acuminate. Spadix cylindric, 3–5.8 cm (Yunnan specimens); stipe to
2 cm. Flowers very closed; perigone annular, ca. 1/2 as highas ovary. Stamens 4; anthers base divaricate, apex dehiscent.
Ovary obovoid, apex ca. 3 mm in diam.; stigma transversely
linear. Berry yellow-green, drying blackened, ovoid, ca. 10mm, apex truncate. Fl. Apr–May.
Forests; 100–300 m. SE Yunnan [Malaysia, Vietnam].

ARACEAE

105. AMYDRIUM Schott, Ann. Mus. Bot. Lugduno-Batavi 1: 127. 1863.
雷公连属 lei gong lian shu
Li Heng (李恒 Li Hen); Peter C. Boyce
Epipremnopsis Engler.
Lianas, creeping against trees and over rocks by aid of adhesive roots. Leaves long petiolate; leaf blade entire and pinnatifid or
entire with a series of rather large perforations on either side of midrib; pulvinus distinct; latex absent, trichosclereids sparsely present. Inflorescences mostly solitary at tips of primary or lateral shoots; peduncle initially for greater part enveloped by sheaths, afterward ± becoming naked, far exserted from remnants of fraying sheaths. Spathe initially tubular-inrolled, finally reflexed and entirely
spreading, early caducous. Stipe of spadix short; spadix cylindric. Flowers many, bisexual, naked. Stamens 4, free; filaments strapshaped; anthers longitudinally dehiscent. Ovary 1-loculed; ovules 2, anatropous; placentation subbasal-parietal; style conic; stigma
hemispheric, small. Berry white or orange-red, subglobose, apex truncate to domed. Seed subglobose; testa smooth; embryo curved;
endosperm present.
Five species: tropical Asia; two species in China.

1a. Leaf blade entire, unlobed; spadix obovoid, ca. 4 cm, distal part ca. 17 mm in diam.; stigma rounded ........................ 1. A. sinense
1b. Leaf blade with oblong perforations; spadix cylindric, ca. 6 × 1.3 cm; stigma oblong ........................................... 2. A. hainanense
1. Amydrium sinense (Engler) H. Li in C. Y. Wu & H. Li, Fl.
Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 13(2): 23. 1979.

L. Tseng) H. Li in C. Y. Wu & H. Li, Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin.
13(2): 24. 1979.

雷公连 lei gong lian

穿心藤 chuan xin teng

Scindapsus sinensis Engler, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 29: 234.
1900; Epipremnopsis sinensis (Engler) H. Li; Rhaphidophora
dunniana H. Léveillé.

Epipremnopsis hainanensis Ting & Wu ex H. Li, Y. Shiao& S. L. Tseng, Acta Phytotax. Sin. 15(2): 102. 1977.

Stem slender, 3–5 mm in diam.; internodes 3–5 cm. Petiole elongated, 8–15 cm, base sheathing; leaf blade light green,
after drying black-brown, falcate-lanceolate, 13–23 × 5–8 cm,
strongly asymmetric, one side usually 2 × as wide as other, basebroadly cuneate or subrounded, margin entire, apex acute; lateral veins many, diverging at 30° from midrib, contracted near
margin into a marginal vein. Peduncle pale green, ca. 5.5 cm.
Spathe initially green, inrolled fusiform, ca. 7 cm, middle partca. 2.2 cm in diam., finally spreading, yellow-green to yellow,
cymbiform, subovate, 8–9 × ca. 11.5 cm. Stipe of spadix 5–10mm; spadix obovoid, ca. 4 × 1.8 cm, angustate toward base,apex obtuse. Filaments ca. 4 mm; anthers oblong, ca. 3 mm.
Ovary 5- or 6-angular, cylindric, ca. 4 × 5 mm, apex truncate;stigma sessile, nearly circular, 1-loculed, 2-ovuled; ovules subbasal, transversely inserted. Berry green, when mature yellow
or red, and bad smelling. Seeds 1 or 2, brown, obovoid-reniform, ca. 2 mm. Fl. Jun–Jul, fr. Jul–Nov.
Evergreen forests, on trees or over rocks; 500–1100 m. Guangxi,
Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan, Yunnan [N Vietnam].
The stems and leaves are used for treating traumatic injuries, fractures, and angina pectoris.

2. Amydrium hainanense (Ting & Wu ex H. Li, Y. Shiao & S.

Stem cylindric, 3–4 mm in diam.; internodes 2–3 cm. Petiole 20–30 cm, on juvenile branch only 4–5 cm; sheath reachingbase of leaf blade, base amplexicaul, marcescent; leaf blade
green, after drying dark brown, ovate-lanceolate or falcate-lanceolate, 13–15 cm on juvenile branch, on mature branch blade
large, 28–35 × 9–12 cm, papery, base rounded or subcordate,margin entire, apex abruptly acuminate; lateral veins 5–7 pairs,
ascending and arched, each side along midrib with some large
and some small perforations; perforations ovate or oblong, 4–6
× 1.5–4 cm, sometimes reaching margin and midrib of leaf
blade. Inflorescence solitary; peduncle dark brown when dry,cylindric, 8–10 cm. Spathe yellow-red, broadly cymbiform, 8–5
× 8–9 cm, apex shortly rostrate. Stipe of spadix 8–10 mm; spadix cylindric, ca. 6 × 1.3 cm. Stamens 6, shorter than ovary
during female anthesis but filaments extending at male anthesis
to bring thecae above pistils; filaments flat; anthers longitudinally dehiscent. Ovary hexagonal-cylindric, ca. 3 × 2.5 mm,
apex truncate; stigma sessile, longitudinally oblong, 1-loculed,
2-ovuled; ovules anatropous with short funicle, inserted onlower part of placenta. Fl. Apr (Hainan), Oct (Guangxi).
Dense forests in valleys or by watersides, creeping against trees
or over rocks; below 300 m. Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hunan,
Yunnan [N Vietnam].

6. RHAPHIDOPHORA Hasskarl, Flora 25(Beibl. 2): 11. 1842.
崖角藤属 ya jiao teng shu
Li Heng (李恒 Li Hen); Peter C. Boyce
Lianas, large; raphides numerous on stem and leaf; laticiferous ducts absent. Stems thick, creeping and climbing up trees or overrocks by aid of adhesive roots. Leaves distichous, petiolate; pulvinus short or long; petiole often adaxially grooved or canaliculate,sheath extending to pulvinus; leaf blade entire or divided, or perforate, thinly to rather thickly leathery, pinnately veined. Inflorescences terminal on leafy shoots, solitary or sometimes in a fascicle (synflorescence); as synflorescence develops axis sometimes

ARACEAE

11

reiterating and overtopping synflorescence such that inflorescence cluster is displaced and appears to be produced laterally (heretermed “appearing axillary”). Spathe not constricted, initially inrolled and tubular, afterward spreading, firm, mostly early caducous,
rarely marcescent. Stalk of spadix short or absent; spadix cylindric. Flowers many, bisexual or sometimes a few male, naked.
Stamens 4; anthers much shorter than filaments, dehiscent by a slit. Ovary 1- or incompletely 2-loculed, 2- to many ovuled; ovules
basal or parietal, 1- or 2-seriate; style broadly conic; stigma circular to linear, in latter case longitudinally inserted. Fruit with stylar
plate sloughing away in groups or singularly to reveal ovary cavity with seeds embedded in pulp, many seeded. Seeds small, oblong
to reniform.
About 120 species: tropical Asia, Australia, tropical W Pacific; 12 species (two endemic) in China.

1a. Leaf blade entire.
2a. Leaf blade very large, more than 30 cm wide.
3a. Spadix obovoid-cylindric or ellipsoid, narrowing to base, 4.5–5.5 × 1.5–1.75 cm; inflorescences pendent;
innovations puberulent; leaf midrib minutely pubescent abaxially .................................................................. 3. R. hookeri
3b. Spadix cylindric, 18–25 × 2–3 cm; inflorescences erect; innovations glabrous; leaf midrib glabrous ...... 4. R. megaphylla
2b. Leaf blade smaller, usually less than 15 cm wide.
4a. Leaf blade oblong or obliquely oblong, obtuse at base, 15–24 × 5–9 cm .................................................... 2. R. liukiuensis
4b. Leaf blade falcate-lanceolate or falcate-elliptic.
5a. Leaf blade narrowly cuneate at base; spathe green outside; spadix narrowing toward apex ......... 5. R. hongkongensis
5b. Leaf blade rounded at base; spathe orange or pale yellow outside; spadix narrower andlonger, cylindric.
6a. Spathe orange on both surfaces, light yellow inside at base, light green outside at center
immediately after opening (green color soon disappearing); spadix ca. 2/3 of spathe length;leaf blade thickly papery .................................................................................................................... 1. R. lancifolia
6b. Spathe dull orange outside, dull yellow to dull orange inside; spadix more than 4/5 of spathe
length; leaf blade subleathery ................................................................................................................. 6. R. peepla
1b. Leaf blade pinnatifid.
7a. Style conspicuous; leaf blade very large, ovate-oblong, pinnae many, 6 or 7(–15) on each side.
8a. Foliage leaves scattered and interspersed with several (up to 7) cataphyll-bearing nodes; feedingroots corky and smooth; perforations absent, leaf blade 60–70 × 40–50 cm .............................................. 12. R. decursiva
8b. Leaf arrangement not as above; feeding roots densely scaly; large perforations usually present
along midrib, leaf blade 30–55 × 22–36 cm .............................................................................................. 11. R. crassicaulis
7b. Style obscure.
9a. Leaf blade less than 35 × 30 cm, with a few pinnae.
10a. Leaf blade broadly ovate, pinnatisect, ca. 35 × 25–30 cm, pinnae 3 or 4 on each side, sinuses
almost reaching midrib; spadix long and thin, 15–18 × ca. 0.5 cm when dry .................................. 8. R. laichauensis
10b. Leaf blade ovate, pinnatifid, and at least some leaf blades on mature branches entire,
17–25 × 5–12 cm, pinnae 2 or 3 on each side, or only on 1 side and other side entire,sinuses reaching to 2–3 cm from midrib; spadix shorter, 12–13 × 0.8–1 cm .................................... 7. R. luchunensis
9b. Leaf blade longer than 37 cm; pinnae with 3–5 subequal, parallel costae.
11a. Pinnae 2–5 per side; spadix shorter than 9 cm ........................................................................................... 9. R. glauca
11b. Pinnae 6–9 per side; spadix ca. 10 cm ............................................................................................. 10. R. dulongensis
1. Rhaphidophora lancifolia Schott, Bonplandia (Hannover)
5: 45. 1857.
上树蜈蚣 shang shu wu gong
Lianas. Stem climbing, green, to 20 m or more, 1–2 cm indiam.; internodes 1–2 cm, rooting. Petiole green, sheathingfrom base to pulvinus, 14–30 cm, base ca. 3 mm in diam., atapex pulvinus incrassate, 1–1.5 cm; leaf blade pale green abaxially, green adaxially, falcate-lanceolate to ovate-oblong, rarely
ovate, oblique, 25–40 × 10–13.5 cm, thickly papery, baseobliquely rounded, i.e., one side obtuse, other side cuneate,
usually one side of blade 7–8 cm wide, other side only 4–5.5
cm wide, margin entire, apex long acuminate; lateral veins 7 or
8 per side, ascending obliquely and arched. Inflorescences terminal on branches; cataphylls membranous, lanceolate, ca. 10
cm, caducous; peduncle green, 7–10 cm, ca. 1 cm in diam., distally recurved. Spathe initially green, inrolled and tubular with arostrum 2–3 cm, at anthesis spreading, orange on both surfaces,
light green outside at center immediately after opening (green
color soon disappearing), light yellow inside at base, cymbiform in outline, ca. 12.5 × 10 cm, apex abruptly acuminate,with a long rostrum, after anthesis caducous. Spadix sessile,cylindric, ca. 7 × 1.3 cm, apex obtuse. Flowers bisexual; perigone absent. Anthers purple. Ovary yellow or pale green, tetragonal or pentagonal-cylindric; stigma sessile, longitudinally oblong, many ovuled. Infructescence incrassate, ca. 9 × 1.5–2 cm.
Berry gray-green. Seeds many, yellow, cylindric, 1.5–2 mm. Fl.
Oct–Nov, fr. following Oct.
Rain forests, monsoon rain forests, creeping on trees; 500–2500
m. W Guangxi, Yunnan [Bangladesh, NE India].

2. Rhaphidophora liukiuensis Hatusima, Acta Phytotax.
Geobot. 20: 56. 1962.
针房藤 zhen fang teng

ARACEAE

12

Lianas. Leaves petiolate; leaf blade oblong or obliquelyoblong, 15–24 × 5–9 cm, leathery, base obtuse, margin entire,
apex acuminate; lateral veins 8 or 9 pairs, ascending, nearlyparallel. Peduncles 6–9 cm. Spathe convolute, ca. 8 × 2 cm.
Spadix sessile, shorter than spathe, ca. 6 cm, ca. 1 cm in diam.
Anthers ovoid, acuminate. Ovary hexagonal-cylindric, ca. 5mm.
S Taiwan (Lan Yu) [Japan (Ryukyu Islands)].
The records of Rhaphidophora perkinsiae Engler from Lan Yu (T.
S. Liu & T. C. Huang, Quart. J. Taiwan Mus. 16: 141. 1963; Fl. Taiwan
5: 813. 1978) are based on misidentifications of R. liukiuensis (see Fl.
Taiwan, ed. 2, 5: 686. 2000). True R. perkinsiae is distributed in thePhilippines.

3. Rhaphidophora hookeri Schott, Bonplandia (Hannover) 5:
45. 1857.
毛过山龙 mao guo shan long
Lianas, medium to large, to 15 m, moderately robust. Stem
mid-green, cylindric, 8–12[–20] mm in diam., internodes short,
5–10 mm. Leaves clustered at shoot tips; petiole 12–30 cm,
channeled, margins sharp; pulvini distinct, 1–2 cm; petiolar
sheath reaching to or just short of apical pulvinus; leaf blade
obliquely oblong, 27.5–45 × 15–30 cm, thinly leathery, midrib
and primary veins minutely pubescent, base rounded, truncate,or subcordate, apex with an acumen 15–20 mm; primary lateralveins diverging at 40–70° from midrib (angle smaller toward
apex of blade). Inflorescences solitary at tips of free lateralshoots; peduncle pendent, 3–5 cm, subtended by 1 or 2 cataphylls; cataphylls caducous, ovate or ovate-lanceolate, 3–6 cm.
Spathe outside green or gray-green, inside yellow, oblongovate, 5–6[–10] cm, thick, rostrum ca. 15 mm. Spadix sessile,
yellow, obovoid, cylindric, or elliptic, 4.5–5.5 × 1.5–1.75 cm, at
fruiting stage ca. 8.5 × 3.5 cm. Filaments ca. 2 mm; anthers
oblong; staminodes 4, usually around base of ovary in distal
part of spadix. Ovary hexagonal-cylindric; stigma subsessile,
yellow, drying brown, longitudinally oblong; ovules many withslender funicle. Infructescences pendent from tips of lateralshoots, broadly cylindric, 10–14 × ca. 3 cm; stigmas prominent.
Fl. Mar–Jul.
Dense forests in mountain valleys, on large trees; 300–2200 m.
Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan, SE Xizang (Mêdog), Yunnan[Bangladesh, Bhutan, NE India, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, N Vietnam].
The stems are used medicinally for treating fractures.

4. Rhaphidophora megaphylla H. Li, Acta Phytotax. Sin.
15(2): 102. 1977.
大叶崖角藤 da ye ya jiao teng
Lianas, very large to gigantic, to 40 m, very robust. Stemcylindric, very thick, 3–4 cm in diam., internodes 1–6 cm.
Leaves dense, spiro-distichous; petiole green, canaliculate, 50–
70 cm; petiolar sheath extending to ca. halfway, soon marcescent; leaf blade light green abaxially, green adaxially, ovateoblong, very large, 50–70[–90] × 28–50 cm, stiffly leathery,base cordate, margin entire, apex abruptly acuminate; primarylateral veins 10–13 on each side, diverging at 80–90° from mid-rib. Inflorescences in fascicles of up to 4 inflorescences per synflorescence at tips of primary clinging shoots, appearing axillary. Peduncle green, 15–18 × ca. 2 cm. Spathe initially inrolled, white-green, afterward spreading, light yellow, opening
deep yellow, oblong-cymbiform, 20–27 × ca. 16 cm, very thick(ca. 2 mm when dry). Spadix sessile, yellow-green, when dry
green-black, cylindric, 18–25 × ca. 2.5 cm, base oblique, apex
obtuse. Stamens 4; filaments compressed, 2–3 × 0.5–1 mm; anthers yellow, small. Ovary tetragonal- or hexagonal-cylindric,ca. 7 mm; stigma sessile, punctiform; ovules narrowly ellipsoidor cylindric; funicle long and thin, base hairy. Infructescencebroadly cylindric, up to 30 × 5 cm. Fl. Apr–Aug.
Moist rain forests in limestone areas, on large trees or on limestone; 600–1300 m. S Yunnan [N Laos, N Thailand, N Vietnam].

5. Rhaphidophora hongkongensis Schott, Bonplandia (Hannover) 5: 45. 1857.
狮子尾 shi zi wei
Lianas. Stem thick, rectangular in cross section; branches
pendulous, 5–10 mm in diam.; internodes 1–4 cm, rooting; internodes of juvenile branches elongated to 6–8 cm, often producing aerial roots opposite to petiole. Petiole 5–10 cm,
sheathing to pulvinus; pulvinus conspicuous, 4–10 mm; leaf
blade pale green abaxially, green adaxially, usually falcateelliptic, sometimes oblong-lanceolate, or oblanceolate, 20–35 ×
5–6(–14) cm, base narrowly cuneate to minutely truncate, apex
long acuminate; lateral veins many (but in fresh material almost
invisible), diverging at 45° from midrib; juvenile stems withleaf blade obliquely elliptic, base narrowly cuneate on one side,rounded on other side, apex acute. Inflorescences terminal orappearing axillary; peduncle cylindric, 4–5 cm, apex ca. 10 mm
in diam. Spathe early caducous, green to light yellow, ovate, 6–
9 cm, involute, apex acuminate. Spadix pale green or light yellow, cylindric, 5–8 × 1.5–3 cm. Ovary hexagonal-cylindric, ca.
4 × 2 mm, apex truncate; stigma black, capitate. Fruit yellowgreen. Fl. Apr–Aug.
Valley rain forests, evergreen forests, on trees or stone walls;
100–900(–2000) m. Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan,
Taiwan, Yunnan [?Indonesia, Laos, ?Malaysia, Myanmar, N Thailand,
N Vietnam].
The plant is used medicinally for treating traumatic injuries, fractures, lumbago, rheumatism, and fevers.

6. Rhaphidophora peepla (Roxburgh) Schott, Bonplandia(Hannover) 5: 45. 1857.
大叶南苏 da ye nan su
Pothos peepla Roxburgh, Fl. Ind. 1: 454. 1820; Monstera
peepla (Roxburgh) Schott; Scindapsus peepla (Roxburgh)
Schott.
Lianas, medium to large, to 15 m, moderately robust. Stempale green, terete, 8–12 mm in diam., rooting, internodes 2–5
cm, terete to weakly sulcate on opposite sides, branching usually short but abundant. Leaves tending to cluster at shoot tips;
petiole light green, 10–20 cm, shallowly channeled; pulvinus
thickened, 8–12 mm; petiolar sheath reaching pulvinus, marces-

ARACEAE

cent; leaf blade oblong, elliptic-oblong, or ovate-oblong to oblong-lanceolate, 8–25 × 4–11 cm, subleathery, base rounded tosubtruncate, margin entire, apex abruptly acuminate or acute;primary lateral veins many, parallel, diverging at 45° from midrib. Inflorescences solitary, terminal on lateral free branches;peduncle erect, distally recurved, robust, 8–10 cm; bracts
around base early caducous, linear, 6–7 cm, membranous.
Spathe gaping and thence spreading at anthesis then caducous,
dull orange outside, dull yellow to dull orange inside, ellipticoblong or oblong in outline, 7–9 cm, apex with rostrum ca. 10mm. Spadix sessile, ochraceous, pale white, or violet [or yellowish white or yellow], cylindric, 5.5–8 cm, ca. 4/5 of total
spathe, 1–1.2 cm in diam. Stamens shorter than ovary during
female anthesis; at male anthesis filaments extending to project
thecae beyond pistil; anthers elliptic. Ovary tetragonal- or hexagonal-cylindric, ca. 2 × 2 mm; stigma oblong, small. Infructescence initially green, later turning dull orange prior to stylar
plates sloughing away, broadly cylindric, 10–13 × ca. 3 cm. Fl.
Sep–Oct.
Evergreen forests, valley forests, on trees or on stone walls; 1800–
2800 m. Guizhou, Yunnan [Bangladesh, Bhutan, N Cambodia, NE India, Laos, N Myanmar, Nepal, N Thailand, N Vietnam].
The plant is used medicinally for treating fractures, traumatic
injuries, rheumatic arthralgia, angina pectoris, bronchitis, and coughs.

7. Rhaphidophora luchunensis H. Li, Acta Phytotax. Sin.
15(2): 103. 1977.
绿春崖角藤 lü chun ya jiao teng
Lianas. Juvenile stems dark green, rooting, creeping on
humus soil of forest understories or over bark mosses on trees,
back rounded, moniliform or torulose, internodes thickened,
10–20 × 5–7 mm. Petiole 20–25 cm; sheath caducous, membranous; pulvinus ca. 10 mm; leaf blade light green abaxially,green adaxially, black-brown when dry, ovate or ovate-lanceolate, 10–27 × 5–12 cm, subleathery, base obliquely rounded,
apex acuminate or caudate, unequally pinnately lobed; pinnae 2
or 3 on each side, or only on 1 side and other side entire,sinuses reaching to 2–3 cm from midrib, sometimes on mature
branches some leaf blades pinnately lobed and others entire,or all leaf blades entire; lateral veins 9 or 10 on each side of
midrib, ascending obliquely. Inflorescence nearly terminal;
peduncle erect, green, robust, 12–14 cm. Spathe early caducous,
spreading, light yellow-green, ovate, 14–16 cm. Spadix sessile,pale yellow, cylindric, 12–13 × 2–3 cm, base oblique, apex obtuse. Flowers bisexual. Stamens 4; anthers sessile. Ovary greenwhite, pentagonal-cylindric, ca. 8 × 4 mm, apex truncate;ovules oblong, with slender funicle, parietal; stigma sessile,
yellow-brown, oblong. Berry free, juicy, orange, apex yellowgreen, obconic, ca. 6 × 4 mm, 4–6-angulate. Fl. Sep–Nov, fr.
next Jun–Jul.
● Evergreen forests, mossy forests, on large trees; 1700–2500 m.
SE Xizang (Mêdog), Yunnan.

8. Rhaphidophora laichauensis Gagnepain, Notul. Syst.
(Paris) 9: 137. 1941.
莱州崖角藤 lai zhou ya jiao teng

13

Lianas. Stem 1–2 cm in diam., internodes 3–4 cm,
branched. Petiole ca. 30 cm, sheathing; pulvinus ca. 15 mm;
leaf blade broadly ovate, ca. 35 × 25–30 cm, leathery, basetruncate in outline, pinnately divided; pinnae 3 or 4 on eachside, linear-oblong, ca. 14 × 3–4 cm, apex falcate-truncate withascending falcate tip, with 1 or 2 equally parallel costae, sinuses
almost reaching midrib. Peduncle 15–18 cm × ca. 5 mm. Spatheyellow, 10–11.5 cm. Spadix sessile, cylindric, ca. 11 × 1.5–2
cm. Ovary hexagonal-cylindric, apex truncate; stigma sessile,
circular. Berry many seeded. Seeds spotted, oblong, fusiform,ca. 2 × 0.7 mm. Fl. May–Aug, mature fr. next year.
Dense forests, on trees or stone walls; below 1500 m. Hainan,
Yunnan [N Vietnam].

9. Rhaphidophora glauca (Wallich) Schott, Bonplandia(Hannover) 5: 45. 1857.
粉背崖角藤 fen bei ya jiao teng
Pothos glaucus Wallich, Pl. Asiat. Rar. 2: 45. 1831[“glauca”]; Monstera glauca (Wallich) K. Koch ex Ender; P.
wallichii Steudel, nom. illeg. superfl.; Rhaphidophora glauca
var. khasiana J. D. Hooker; Scindapsus glaucus (Wallich)
Schott.
Lianas, to 10 m, but frequently smaller, slender to rather
robust. Stems 0.7–2.5 cm in diam., terete in cross section;
climbing stems with internodes elongated and rooting; freelateral stems forming a complex series of branches eventuallypendent under their own weight. Leaves scattered, with 1 foliage leaf at each node except for proximal part of a branchwhere first few nodes possess a prophyll and 1 or more cataphylls instead of foliage leaves; petiole 9–33 cm, shallowly
channeled, apical pulvinus indistinct; petiolar sheath reachingbase of leaf blade; leaf blade pale to strikingly glaucous green
abaxially, dull mid-green adaxially, ovate in outline, ± symmetric, 11.5–42 × 7.5–24 cm, base truncate, oblique, or shallowly cordate, apex acuminate, variously pinnatifid, pinnatipartite, or pinnatisect, depending upon degree of maturity; pinnae
2–5(–8) per side, each pinna with 3 conspicuous primary lateralveins. Inflorescences erect, solitary, arising from tips of freelateral branches; peduncle spreading, apical part curved, 10–25
cm. Spathe opening wide, pale glaucous green in bud, opening
pale to mid-yellow, waxy, oblong-ovate, 4.5–8.5 × 0.8–1.3 cm,
apex acuminate. Spadix sessile, dull cream-colored, cylindric,4.5–8.5 cm, 0.8–1.3 cm in diam. at widest point, base slightly
tapering, apex truncate-rounded. Stamens 4 per flower; filaments flat, 2.7–3 × 0.8–1.5 mm, not increasing in length at anthesis; pollen simply expelled from between pistils. Pistils 3–
5.5 mm, apex 3–4 mm wide, truncate, smooth; stigma flat, circular to elliptic, 0.6–1 mm; ovules numerous, on 2 intrusive
parietal placentae. Infructescence 12–15 × 3–3.5 cm when ripe,
subtended by persistent withered spathe remains early in development; stylar tissue on ripening falling as irregular plates toexpose ovary cavities with seeds embedded in copious, paleorange pulp. Seeds numerous per ovary, narrowly ellipsoid,
1.5–2 × ca. 1 mm. Fl. Aug–Sep.
Montane broad-leaved forests, trees; below 2000 m. SE Xizang(Mêdog, Zayü) [Bangladesh, Bhutan, NE India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal,
N Thailand].

ARACEAE

14

10. Rhaphidophora dulongensis H. Li, Acta Bot. Yunnan.,
Suppl. 5: 7. 1992.

dophora affinis Schott; R. eximia Schott; R. grandis Schott; R.
insignis Schott; Scindapsus decursivus (Roxburgh) Schott.

独龙崖角藤 du long ya jiao teng

Lianas, very large, to 20 m or more, very robust. Stem
green at back, yellow at front, robust, 3–5 cm in diam., rooting,internodes 1–2 cm. Leaves scattered, each foliage leaf separated
from next by several (up to 7) cataphyll-bearing nodes; petiole
green, cylindric, 20–40 cm, shallowly canaliculate; pulvinus
indistinct; petiolar sheath extending to ca. 2/3 along petiole;juvenile leaf blade orbicular, ca. 16 × 13 cm, margin entire,
apex abruptly acute; mature leaf blade pale green abaxially,green adaxially, oblong-ovate, ovate in outline, 60–70[–100] ×
40–50 cm, base subcordate, margin irregularly and asymmetrically pinnately divided, apex acute; pinnae 9–15 per side, ca. 20
× 3–5 cm at mid-leaf, base narrowed, apex truncate with ascending falcate tip, with a strong costa. Inflorescences axillary,solitary; peduncle green, cylindric, very robust, 11–20 × 1.5–3
cm. Spathe initially involute, afterward spreading, yellow onboth sides, cymbiform, oblong-ovate, 17–20 × 10–12 cm.
Spadix sessile, gray-green, cylindric, 15–16 × 2–3 cm, baseoblique. Filaments flat, ca. 5 mm, nearly as long as ovary, baseangustate; anthers yellow, oblong, less than 1 mm. Ovary hexagonal-conic, ca. 5 × 3 mm; style distinct, ca. 1 cm; stigma
yellow, longitudinally oblong; ovules many; funicle laterally
inserted, slender. Infructescence 15–20 × 5–5.5 cm. Berrygreen-white, base white or yellow, hexagonal-obconic, ca. 18 ×
5 mm, apex with a persistent style, stylar region green-white,sloughing to reveal white or yellow pulp cavity. Fl. May–Aug,
fr. mature next Jul–Sep.

Lianas. Stem green, cylindric, 1–2 m, 2–3 cm in diam.,internodes 0.5–2.5 cm. Petiole 41–49 × ca. 1.5 cm, basal 3–4
cm sheathing; pulvinus indistinct; leaf blade pale green abaxially, green adaxially, oblong-ovate in outline, ca. 50 × 35 cm,
subleathery, base rounded or subcordate, pinnately divided; pinnae 6–9 per side, broadly linear, oblique, those at middle of leaf
4–5 cm wide, apex truncate with falcate tip; costae 3 or 4,
equally strong, parallel; sinuses nearly reaching midrib. Peduncle solitary, cylindric, 15–20 cm × 8–10 mm. Spathe unknown.
Spadix sessile, pale green, cylindric, ca. 10 × 1.8 cm. Ovary
quadrangular-cylindric or pentagonal-cylindric, apex truncate;stigma capitate. Fr. Nov–Mar.
● Valley forests; below 2500 m. Yunnan (Gongshan).

11. Rhaphidophora crassicaulis Engler & K. Krause in
Engler, Pflanzenr. 37(IV. 23B): 52. 1908.
粗茎崖角藤 cu jing ya jiao teng
Lianas. Branches dorsiventrally compressed, to 3 cm indiam., internodes short. Leaf blade ovate in outline, 30–55 ×
22–36 cm, leathery, base obtuse, apex acute, pinnately divided;
pinnae 6–10 or more per side, reaching midrib or nearly so,
linear-falcate, base decurrent, apex truncate; primary lateralveins usually 2–4, equally strong, parallel, along midrib withperforations (8–20 × 2–5 mm), pinnae at middle of leaf 15–21 ×
1–5 cm. Inflorescences terminal on lateral branches, solitary,
erect; peduncle robust, cylindric, 12–20 × 1–1.6 cm. Spathe
unknown. Spadix sessile, white, cylindric, 10–17 cm, 2–2.5 cm
in diam. at base. Ovary cylindric, 6–8 × ca. 2 mm; ovules many,
oblong, funicle long; style broadly conic; stigma circular. Fr.
Nov–Dec.
Dense tropical forests, on trees or over stones; below 1300 m.
Guangxi, Hainan, Yunnan [N Laos, N Vietnam].

12. Rhaphidophora decursiva (Roxburgh) Schott, Bonplandia(Hannover) 5: 45. 1857.
爬树龙 pa shu long
Pothos decursivus Roxburgh, Fl. Ind. 1: 456. 1820 [“decursiva”]; Monstera decursiva (Roxburgh) Schott; Rhaphi-

Monsoon rain forests, valley evergreen broad-leaved forests,
creeping on ground, over rocks, or climbing against trees; below 2200
m. Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Sichuan, Taiwan,
SE Xizang (Mêdog, Zayü), Yunnan [Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia,
NE India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, N Thailand, Vietnam].
The stems and leaves are used medicinally for treating traumatic
injuries, fractures, swellings, colds, lumbago, snake bites, coughs, andbronchitis.
There has been much confusion over Rhaphidophora decursiva
and Epipremnum pinnatum because both species have large, pinnatifid
leaves, but E. pinnatum has a leaf blade with tiny perforations (ca. 2mm) along and adjacent to the midrib, an ovary with 2 or 3 ovules, anda sessile, longitudinally linear-oblong stigma. There is also a differencein leaf arrangement: R. decursiva has foliage leaves scattered and interspersed with several (up to 7) cataphyll-bearing nodes, whereas E. pinnatum has leaves often clustered distally without such cataphyll-bearing
nodes.

7. EPIPREMNUM Schott, Bonplandia (Hannover) 5: 45. 1857.
麒麟叶属 qi lin ye shu
Li Heng (李恒 Li Hen); Peter C. Boyce
Lianas, large to very large. Stems robust, woody, branched and rooting. Leaves long petiolate; petiole with pulvinus at junction
with leaf blade, somewhat sheathing at base; leaf blade large, entire, pinnatifid, or pinnatisect, with perforations along midrib or not.
Inflorescences terminal or sometimes displaced, solitary; peduncle robust. Spathe caducous, cymbiform, ovate, acute or acuminate.
Spadix sessile. Flowers bisexual, sometimes with female ones at spadix base and these sterile, lacking perigone. Stamens 4(–6); filaments linear, flat; anthers much shorter than filaments; thecae ellipsoidal, longitudinally dehiscent. Ovary polygonal-cylindric, apex
truncate, 1-loculed; ovules 2–4, inserted at base of parietal placenta, sometimes 6–8, distichous on parietal placentae, anatropous,
with short funicle; stigma sessile, linear-oblong, longitudinal. Fruit small. Seeds reniform, usually striate.
About 20 species: tropical Asia, Australia, Pacific islands; one species in China.
Epipremnum aureum (Linden & Andre) Bunting is cultivated in gardens.

ARACEAE

1. Epipremnum pinnatum (Linnaeus) Engler, Pflanzenr.
37(IV. 23B): 60. 1908.
麒麟叶 qi lin ye
Pothos pinnatus Linnaeus, Sp. Pl., ed. 2, 2: 1324. 1763;
Epipremnum angustilobum K. Krause; E. elegans Engler; E.
formosanum Hayata; E. glaucicephalum Elmer; E. merrillii(Engler) Engler & K. Krause; E. mirabile Schott; Monstera
caudata (Roxburgh) Schott; M. dilacerata (K. Koch & Sello)
C. Koch; M. pinnata (Linnaeus) Schott; M. pinnatifida (Roxburgh) Schott; Polypodium laciniatum N. L. Burman; Pothos
caudatus Roxburgh; P. pinnatifidus Roxburgh; Rhaphidophoracaudata (Roxburgh) Schott; R. cunninghamii Schott; R. dilacerata (K. Koch & Sello) C. Koch; R. formosana Engler (1879);
R. formosana (Hayata) M. Hotta (1970); R. laciniata (N. L.
Burman) Merrill; R. lovellae F. M. Bailey; R. merrillii Engler;
R. neocaledonica Guillaumin; R. pertusa (Roxburgh) Schottvar. vitiensis (Schott) Engler; R. pinnata (Linnaeus) Schott; R.
pinnatifida (Roxburgh) Schott; R. vitiensis Schott; R. wallichii
Schott; Scindapsus caudatus (Roxburgh) Schott & Endlicher; S.
dilaceratus K. Koch & Sello; S. forsteri Endlicher; S. pinnatifidus (Roxburgh) Schott; S. pinnatus (Linnaeus) Schott;
Tornelia dilacerata (K. Koch & Sello) Schott.
Root climbers, to 15 m. Mature stem 5–40 mm in diam.,internodes separated by prominent leaf scars, obscured bysheath fibers, active stems lustrous green with prominent irregular longitudinal whitish crests. Foliage leaves often clustereddistally; petiole dark green, 19.5–60 cm × 3–13 mm, canalicu-

15late, smooth; apical pulvinus 16–70 × 3–5 mm, basal pulvinus
3–7 × 1–1.5 cm; petiolar sheath extending to halfway along
apical pulvinus, disintegrating into netted fibers; leaf blade
ovate to oblong-elliptic, 10–93 × 5–60 cm, submembranous,
base slightly cordate, regularly pinnatifid to pinnatisect, apex
acuminate; pinnae paler abaxially, adaxially dark green, 1.2–6.5
cm wide, with tiny perforations along and adjacent to midrib,
pinnae each with 1 primary lateral vein and several parallelinterprimary veins, higher order venation reticulate, midrib
prominently raised abaxially, impressed adaxially. Inflorescenceseveral together, partially obscured by netted fibers; peduncle
pale green, 5.5–21.5 cm × 4–10 mm, terete. Spathe dull yellow
to mid-green outside, dull yellow or pale green inside, canoeshaped, 7–23.5 × 3–15 cm, stoutly attenuate to 15 mm, opening
almost flat at anthesis. Spadix sessile, white, later glaucous
gray-green to yellow, cylindric, 8.5–25 × 1.1–3.5 cm, baseslightly obliquely inserted. Flowers 3–7 mm in diam. Ovary
cylindric, 4–12 × 2–7 mm, basal part slightly compressed;
ovules 2 or 3; stylar region trapezoid, 3–7 × 1.5–4 mm, rather
robust, truncate; stigma longitudinally linear-oblong, 2–6 × 0.1–
0.5 mm. Fruit mid-green. Seeds reniform, ca. 4.5 × 3.5 mm. Fl.
Apr–Jul.
Tropical rain forests, mountain forests, creeping and climbing on
trees, rocks, or stone walls; below 2000 m. Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Taiwan, Yunnan [Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan,
Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand, Vietnam; Australia (Queensland), Pacific islands].
The plants are used medicinally to treat traumatic injuries, abscesses, and rheumatic arthralgia.

8. SCINDAPSUS Schott in Schott & Endlicher, Melet. Bot. 21. 1832.
藤芋属 teng yu shu
Li Heng (李恒 Li Hen); Peter C. Boyce
Lianas, creeping and climbing against trees with aid of adhesive roots. Stem robust, branched. Leaves spiro-distichous; petiole
usually sheathing or winged throughout its length; leaf blade undivided, pinnately veined, with very numerous parallel, thin lateralveins. Inflorescences solitary, near stem apices; peduncle at last laterally protruding from petiolar sheath. Spathe not constricted,
initially involute and tubular, afterward somewhat inflated, finally expanding only by a rather narrow longitudinal slit, never entirely
or conspicuously flat-spreading, falling off as a whole leaving a thick scar on apex of peduncle. Spadix drying black, cylindric, muchthicker than peduncle. Flowers many, bisexual, naked. Stamens 4; filaments strap-shaped. Ovary with flat, often subrhomboid or
quadrangular apex, 4–6-angular, 1-loculed; ovule 1, basal; stigma sessile, disciform to linear. Seeds subreniform.
About 36 species: tropical Asia; one species in China.

1. Scindapsus maclurei (Merrill) Merrill & F. P. Metcalf,
Lingnan Sci. J. 21: 5. 1945.
海南藤芋 hai nan teng yu
Rhaphidophora maclurei Merrill, Philipp. J. Sci. 21: 337.
1922; Scindapsus megaphyllus Merrill.
Lianas. Stem robust, ca. 2.5 cm in diam. Petiole 26–32 cm,base imbricate, sheath reaching pulvinus; leaf blade pale green
abaxially, green adaxially, drying pale brown, oblong-elliptic or
ovate-elliptic, 23–46 × 12–24 cm, leathery, base subcordate,margin entire, apex acute or shortly acuminate; lateral veins
numerous, diverging at 70–80° from midrib. Peduncle robust.

Spathe yellow, involute-tubular, 18–22 cm, apex acuminate.
Spadix sessile, cylindric, ca. 15 × 2.5 cm. Filaments ca. 4 mm;anthers ovoid, ca. 3 mm. Fruit ca. 9 × 5 mm, apex truncate, 1loculed, 1-seeded. Fl. Nov–Dec.
Dense tropical forests, creeping and climbing on trees and stone
walls; 400–600 m. Hainan [N Thailand, N Vietnam].
Scindapsus maclurei differs from the vegetatively very similar
Rhaphidophora megaphylla in leaf venation (primary lateral veins numerous and not differentiated from the interprimary veins, diverging at
70–80° from midrib in S. maclurei vs. primary lateral veins 10–13 oneach side, diverging at 80–90° from midrib, and strongly differentiatedfrom the interprimary veins in R. megaphylla).

ARACEAE

16

9. LASIA Loureiro, Fl. Cochinch. 1: 64, 81. 1790.
刺芋属 ci yu shu
Li Heng (李恒 Li Hen); Peter C. Boyce
Herbs, evergreen, armored, helophytic or of forest swamps. Stem long creeping and stoloniferous with terminal part erect orascending, with armed internodes. Leaves several, crowded at shoot apex; petiole long, aculeate, inside with longitudinal air vessels;
pulvinus well developed, solid; leaf blade sagittate-hastate, simple or divided, prickly abaxially on larger veins, pinnately veined
above bifurcate basal veins; secondary venation reticulate. Inflorescences solitary, long pedunculate; peduncle prickly. Spathe
constricted above spadix; basal part when mature opening by a slit, long caudate part involute and twisted, at last whole falling off.
Spadix sessile, cylindric, within widened part of spathe. Flowers bisexual; tepals 4–6, free, with vaulted-truncate apex. Stamens 4–6;
anthers elliptic, dehiscent by a longitudinal slit; filaments much longer. Ovary 1-loculed, 1-ovuled; ovule hanging from apex of
locule; style very short; stigma subspherical. Fruit a berry; exocarp thin; mesocarp finely fibrous; endocarp rather thick, leathery,upper part and area around stigma prickly. Seed large, compressed; endosperm absent, embryo large, campylotropous.
Two species: tropical Asia; one species in China.

1. Lasia spinosa (Linnaeus) Thwaites, Enum. Pl. Zeyl. 336.
1864.
刺芋 ci yuDracontium spinosum Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 967. 1753;
Lasia aculeata Loureiro; L. crassifolia Engler; L. desciscens
Schott; L. hermannii Schott; L. heterophylla (Roxburgh) Schott;L. jenkinsii Schott; L. loureiroi Schott; L. roxburghii Griffith; L.
zollingeri Schott; Pothos heterophyllus Roxburgh; P. lasia Roxburgh; P. spinosus (Linnaeus) Buchanan-Hamilton ex Wallich.
Herbs, 1–2 m tall. Stem long creeping and stoloniferous,
erect or ascending, ca. 2.5 cm in diam., internodes with stout
prickles. Petiole 32–125 cm, laxly prickly, sometimes almost
smooth; pulvinus 15–35 mm, aculeate; leaf blade very variable,
sagittate-hastate, 35–65 × 20–60 cm, simple or divided; anterior
lobe entire or pedate to near midrib, acuminate; posterior lobes
strongly downwardly directed to subspreading, once or twice
bifid with 3 or 4 narrow to rather long acute or acuminate lateral segments; primary lateral veins 2–4, strong, secondary lateral veins thinner, higher order veins very numerous, all venation flush above, abaxially with rather small, straight to slightly
curved prickles. Peduncle to 47 cm, laxly prickly. Spathe dullorange to black-red outside, dull yellow to rarely dull crimson
inside, 18–35 cm with caudate part to 28 cm, proximallywidened, very much shorter, 3–10 cm wide. Stipe of spadix obscure; spadix cylindric, 3–5 cm, in fruit elongated to 8 cm. Tepals oblong, 1.5–3 mm, apex triangular hooded, keeled. Filaments ca. 1.5 × 0.8 mm; anthers ca. 0.8 × 0.8 mm. Ovary ovoid,ca. 1.5 mm high. Fruit obpyramidal, ca. 1 cm wide, densely
warty-aculeate, sides unarmed, when dry irregularly ribbed,
apex truncate. Seed ovoid-cordate, 5–7 mm. Fl. Jul–Sep.
Swamps, riverbanks, ditches, moist places in tropical and subtropical forests, sometimes cultivated along fish ponds and rice fields;
below 1500 m. Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Taiwan, S Xizang,
Yunnan [Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, NE and SE India, Indonesia,
Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Thailand,
Vietnam].
The Chinese record of Cyrtosperma lasioides Griffith (Fl. Hainan.
4: 129. 1977; FRPS 13(2): 13. 1979) was based on W. T. Tsang 553,
collected in Hainan. This was, however, a misidentification, and theplants are actually Lasia spinosa (see H. Li et al., Acta Phytotax. Sin.
41: 577–581. 2003).
The young leaves are used as a vegetable. The rhizomes are used
medicinally for treating tuberculosis of lymph nodes, swollen lymph
nodes, stomach aches, snake and insect bites, injuries, and rheumatism.

10. CALLA Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 968. 1753.
水芋属 shui yu shu
Li Heng (李恒 Li Hen); Peter C. Boyce, Josef Bogner
Aroides Heister ex Fabricius; Callaria Rafinesque; Provenzalia Adanson.
Herbs, perennial. Rhizome creeping. Leaves several, distichous; petiole sheathing; sheath ligulate, long; leaf blade broadly
ovate-cordate to cordate-orbicular, apex acute to acuminate; venation parallel-pinnate. Inflorescence solitary, flowering with leaf
appearance; peduncle erect. Spathe persistent, fully expanded, elliptic to ovate, base decurrent, apex acuminate. Spadix stipitate,cylindric, apex obtuse. Flowers numerous, densely arranged, bisexual, naked (perigone absent), only uppermost flowers often male.
Stamens free, usually 6, sometimes more (9–12); filaments flattened; anthers dorsifixed; connective short and slender; thecae ellipsoid, dehiscing by longitudinal slit; pollen grains diaperturate, globose, small, exine foveolate and apertural exine verrucate. Pistil
ovoid, 1-loculed; ovules 6–9 (rarely more), anatropous and oblong; funicle distinct; placenta basal; stylar region attenuate; stigma
subhemispheric, small. Infructescence subglobose to broadly ellipsoid. Berry globose-conic, with many seeds (usually 4–9). Seedoblong-cylindric to somewhat ellipsoid; testa thick, scrobiculate toward chalaza and sulcate-striate toward micropyle; raphe prominent; embryo axile, elongate; endosperm copious. 2n = 36, 54, 72.
One species: N temperate regions and subarctic areas of Asia, Europe, and North America, including China.

ARACEAE

1. Calla palustris Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 968. 1753.
水芋 shui yu
Rhizome creeping, green, cylindric, to 50 cm, robust,
1–2(–3) cm in diam., somewhat spongy; nodes rooting.
Cataphylls lanceolate, to 10 cm, apex acuminate. Petiole
green, terete, (6–)12–24 cm (and longer to 30[–40] cm), basesheathing; sheath 7–8(–12) cm, with free ligule; leaf blade
green, (4–)6–14 × (4–)6–14 cm; primary veins (8–)10–14(–18),
pinnately arching from a strong midvein on each side, intramarginal vein inconspicuous. Peduncle green, terete, 15–30 ×17

0.8–1.2 cm. Spathe green outside, white inside, (3–)4–6(–8) ×
3–3.5(–5) cm, apex with an acumen ca. 1 cm. Spadix 1.5–3
× 0.7–1.5 cm; stipe 5–7 mm. Flowers yellowish green, 2–2.2(–2.5) mm tall. Infructescence (2–)3–5 × (1.5–)2.5–3.5
cm. Berries red, (5–)6–12 × (4–)5–10 mm. Seed brown, 3–5 ×
ca. 2 mm. Fl. May–Jul, fr. Aug–Sep.
Creeping helophyte on swampy shores of streams, rivers, lakes,
and ponds, forest swamps, swampy meadows, in shallow water, oftenwith Sphagnum moss; below 1100 m. Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei
Mongol [Asia, N Europe, North America].

11. HOMALOMENA Schott in Schott & Endlicher, Melet. Bot. 20. 1832.
千年健属 qian nian jian shu
Li Heng (李恒 Li Hen); Peter C. Boyce
Herbs, evergreen, aromatic. Stem creeping, erect or ascending. Leaves long petiolate; petiole sheathing up to halfway, usually
longer than leaf blade, frequently distinctly articulate ca. halfway along; leaf blade oblong, elliptic, lanceolate, deltoid, or sagittate,thinly to rather stiffly leathery, base usually cordate, apex acuminate usually with tubular tip; primary veins all diverging from midrib, with rather few basal, secondary veins striate, tertiary veins often numerous and very much thinner, all veins straight over mostof their length, only near apex arcing into a submarginal vein. Inflorescences usually several together. Spathe persistent, often constricted. Spadix elongate; stipe very short or absent; female flowers usually each with an associated staminode; distal male zone
usually separated from female zone by a ring of staminodes, very rarely a naked or near naked interstice; flowers unisexual, naked;
female flowers: ovary incompletely 2–5-loculed with parietal and axile (very rarely basal) placentation, ovules numerous, semianatropous with long, slender funicle, style minute, stigma sessile or terminating a minute style, disciform or lobed; sterile flowers
sometimes present at base of male axis of spadix; male flowers (fertile) consisting of 2–6 stamens, thecae extrorsely dehiscent by aslit, connective broad or narrow. Berry few or many seeded. Seeds on a long funicle, longitudinally striate, ovoid-lageniform.
About 110 species: tropical America and Asia; four species (two endemic) in China.
Since the now long out-of-date full revision of Engler and Krause (in Engler, Pflanzenr. 55(IV. 23Da): 25–81. 1912), there have been fragmentary floristic accounts (Ridley, J. Straits Branch Roy. Asiat. Soc. 41: 169–188. 1905; Merrill, J. Straits Branch Roy. Asiat. Soc., Special Ed., 86–109. 1921; Alderwerelt van Rosenburgh, Bull. Jard. Bot. Buitenzorg 3: 163–229, 320–347. 1922; Furtado, Gard. Bull. Straits Settlem. 10: 183–238.
1939; Proc. 6th Paciﬁc Sci. Congr. (California, 1939) 4: 577–578. 1941), an uncritical species listing for Malesia focusing primarily on Sumatra(Hotta, Gard. Bull. Singapore 38: 43–54. 1985), a revision for New Guinea and the Bismark Archipelago (Hay, Blumea 44: 41–71. 1999), and various
ad hoc new taxa (Hotta, Diversity Dynam. Pl. Life Sumatra, 73–120. 1986; Acta Phytotax. Geobot. 44(2): 93–96. 1993; Boyce, Kew Bull. 49: 793–
801. 1994; Hay & Herscovitch, Gard. Bull. Singapore 54: 171–178. 2002), but no attempt has been made to undertake a full revision of Homalomena.
The lack of a reliable taxonomy poses considerable problems for field workers given that Homalomena is one of the most speciose and taxonomicallyintractable aroid genera in the Asian tropics.
The problems presented by a lack of reliable taxonomy are compounded by the poor state of preservation of many of the historical types; thecryptic nature of most of the systematically significant morphologies, notably the presence, absence, and disposition of sterile flowers; the generally
large and complex vegetative structures that do not lend themselves readily to traditional herbarium vouchering methodologies; and the fleeting anthetic period such that even well-prepared herbarium specimens are frequently taxonomically useless because inflorescences were prepared post-anthesis,by which time many significant structures had deliquesced or been subject to pre-preservation damage by the most frequent inflorescence visitors,
chrysomelid beetles, and post-preservation destruction by herbarium beetles.
Homalomena is a taxonomically complex group and, notwithstanding the above difficulties, is in urgent need of a rigorous study aimed at resolving the taxonomy and phylogeny. This is imperative not only because Homalomena is one of the most abundant, speciose, and least well understood of the mesophytic aroid genera in tropical Asia, but also because the genus is now becoming the focus of interest for pharmaceutical researchdue to the terpenoids and flavonoids occurring in the plant tissues; such studies must have a basis in sound taxonomic understanding or they risk being
futile.

1a. Leaf blade rounded at base, ovate, ca. 18 × 12 cm.
2a. Inflorescences 1 or 2 together; staminode equaling associated pistil .................................................................. 1. H. aromatica
2b. Inflorescences up to 6 together; staminode exceeding associated pistil ........................................................... 4. H. hainanensis
1b. Leaf blade sagittate at base.
3a. Spadix ca. 3.5 cm × 4–6 mm .................................................................................................................................... 2. H. occulta
3b. Spadix 4–5 cm × ca. 12 mm .............................................................................................................................. 3. H. kelungensis

18

ARACEAE

1. Homalomena aromatica (Sprengel) Schott in Schott &Endlicher, Melet. Bot. 20. 1832.
芬芳千年健 fen fang qian nian jian
Zantedeschia aromatica Sprengel, Syst. Veg. 3: 765. 1826;
Calla aromatica (Sprengel) Roxburgh; Zantedeschia foetida K.
Koch.
Herbs somewhat robust, stemless to decumbent, to 60 cm
tall, smelling of camphor. Stem initially erect, later decumbent,
1–3 cm in diam. Leaves several together; petiole pale to midgreen with slightly darker longitudinal streaks, to 35 cm; petiolar sheath persistent, 4–7 cm, margins membranous; leaf blade
mid-green, drying distinctively pale green, ovate-sagittate toelliptic-sagittate or lanceolate-sagittate, 20–30 × 10–17 cm,
thinly leathery, base sagittate, sinus broad, ca. 5 cm, apex acuteto long acuminate, with a tubular mucro ca. 2 mm; venation
variously differentiated, posterior costae with 4–6 primary lateral veins arising ± simultaneously, anterior costa with 4–6
primary lateral veins and a similar number of virtually indistinguishable interprimary veins diverging from midrib at 45°,
secondary venation striate. Inflorescences 1 or 2 together; peduncle erect (developing and floral) to declinate (post-anthesis
and fruiting), colored as petiole, 10–18 cm. Spathe oblong, 8–
10 cm; limb gaping at anthesis, then closing again. Spadix
tapering cylindric, 7–9 cm, subequaling spathe, stipitate; stipe
ca. 5 mm; female zone 1.5–3 × ca. 1 cm; ovary pale green,
ovoid-globose, ca. 2 mm in diam., with an associated clavatestaminode subequaling height; stigma sessile, capitate; staminode ivory-colored; male zone 5.5–6 × ca. 0.5 cm; male flowers
white, rhombic-hexagonal in apical view, 1–2 mm in diam.,
each comprising 2 stamens overtopped by a large connective.
Infructescence when ripe shedding spathe by slightly ragged
basal abscission. Berries ripening dull orange yellow, smellingof overripe plums.
Evergreen perhumid broad-leaved tropical and subtropical forests,
less often in drier habitats such as seasonally partially deciduous perhumid forests, but then always associated with permanent water; 200–
1000 m. ?Guangxi, S Yunnan (Xishuangbanna) [Bangladesh, NE India,
Laos, N Myanmar, N Thailand, Vietnam].

2. Homalomena occulta (Loureiro) Schott in Schott &Endlicher, Melet. Bot. 20. 1832.
千年健 qian nian jianCalla occulta Loureiro, Fl. Cochinch. 2: 532. 1790; Spirospatha occulta (Loureiro) Rafinesque; Zantedeschia occulta(Loureiro) Sprengel.
Rhizome creeping; terminal part of stem erect, 30–50 cm
tall; cataphylls and prophylls linear-lanceolate, 15–16 × ca. 2.5
cm. Petiole 25–40 cm, proximal part with 2–5 mm wide sheath;leaf blade sagittate-cordate, 15–30 × (8–)15–28 cm or usuallymore; primary veins 7 per side, 2–4 of these basal, downward tobasal lobes and then arching into leaf margin, secondary andtertiary ones thinner, numerous. Inflorescences 1–3 together;peduncle shorter than petioles, 10–15 cm. Spathe pale green,

oblong or elliptic, 5–6.5 × 3–3.2 cm, fusiform before anthesis,
distal part slightly spreading and shortly boat-shaped at anthesis, 5–6 cm wide when spread out completely, apex with a beakca. 1 cm. Spadix sessile or shortly stipitate, 3–5 cm; femalezone 1–1.5 cm × 4–5 mm; ovary oblong, 3-loculed, with 1
staminode at side of base; ovules numerous; placentation axile;
stigma disciform; male zone 2–3 cm × 3–4 mm. Seeds brown,
oblong. Fl. Jul–Sep.
Dense valley forests, bamboo forests, mountain shrub forests; below 100–1100 m. Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Yunnan [Laos, Thailand, Vietnam].
One of us (Boyce) notes that the correct application of the name
Homalomena occulta is obscure. The type (that almost certainly camefrom Huế in Vietnam) is lost, and the material that Schott annotatedas being H. occulta consists of at least three species. The above description appears to be based on at least two species.
The aromatic rhizomes are used medicinally to treat traumatic
injuries, fractures, stomach aches, lumbago, intestinal parasites, andrheumatic arthralgia.

3. Homalomena kelungensis Hayata, Icon. Pl. Formosan. 8:135. 1919.
台湾千年健 tai wan qian nian jian
Leaves 4 or 5; petiole ca. 60 cm, base sheathing; leaf blade
broadly ovate, ca. 33 × 25 cm, membranous, base sagittate-cordate, margin entire, apex triangular-acute; veins almost parallel.
Peduncle ca. 35 cm. Spathe pale green, ca. 6 cm, apex acute.
Spadix cylindric, 4–5 × ca. 1.2 cm; female zone ca. 1.2 × 1.2
cm; ovary obovoid, 2–2.5 mm, apex obtuse; staminodes clavate; male zone ca. 3 × 1.3 cm, obtuse; stamens flattened, ca. 1.5
mm. Fl. Mar.
● N Taiwan (Jilong).

4. Homalomena hainanensis H. Li, Acta Phytotax. Sin. 15(2):103. 1977.
海南千年健 hai nan qian nian jian
Stem erect, ca. 40 cm tall, ca. 1.2 cm in diam. Petiole ca.
46 cm, basal 10–12 cm sheathing; leaf blade green, ovate-oblong, ca. 18 × 11–12 cm, base broadly rounded, apex abruptly
acuminate, acute with tubular tip 2–3 mm; primary lateral veins
5 or 6 per side, secondary veins numerous, parallel. Inflorescences several (up to 6) together; peduncle 4–5 cm, slender, 1–2
mm in diam. Spathe yellow-green, cymbiform, ca. 3.5 × 1.2
cm, apex with rostrum 3–4 mm. Spadix shorter than spathe, ca.
2.5 cm; female zone cylindric, ca. 10 × 3 mm; ovary ovoid;
stigma subsessile, capitate; usually 1 staminode exceeding
associated pistil; male zone clavate, ca. 2 cm × 1.5–3 mm, apex
obtuse. Fl. Oct.
● Open forests on mountains. Hainan.
Homalomena hainanensis differs from other Chinese species in its
leaf blade base broadly rounded (not cordate), spathe small (ca. 3.5 cm),spadix shorter (ca. 2.5 cm), and male zone clavate (ca. 2 cm).

ARACEAE

19

12. SCHISMATOGLOTTIS Zollinger & Moritzi in Moritzi, Syst. Verz. 83. 1846.
落檐属 luo yan shu
Li Heng (李恒 Li Hen); Peter C. Boyce
Herbs, evergreen, creeping, stoloniferous, erect or rarely ascending, colony-forming, clump-forming, or solitary, terrestrial orrheophytic. Leaves ± crowded; petiole much longer than leaf blade, proximally sheathing; leaf blade usually paler or even glaucous
abaxially, green adaxially, frequently with discolored banding along midrib or between midrib and submarginal veins, less often
variously spotted, cordate, sagittate, less often lanceolate, softly subfleshy to thinly leathery; primary, secondary, and tertiary lateralveins parallel, or secondary and tertiary ones partly diverging at a narrow angle from primary veins, all reaching into a submarginalvein. Inflorescences usually several together; peduncle shorter than petioles. Spathe constricted, part below constriction persistent,
enveloping female zone of spadix, distal spathe circumscissile and caducous [elsewhere variously caducous, marcescent, or less often
persistent]. Stipe of spadix short or absent; proximal part of spadix axis equivalent to all or part of female zone adnate to spathe;spadix elongate; proximal part female, distal part male, these separated or not by an interstice either with staminodes or less often
naked; male zone of spadix fertile proximally, sterile distally, falling off later than distal part of spathe. Flowers numerous, unisexual,
naked; female flowers: ovary 1-loculed, ovules rather few to very numerous, on 2–4 parietal to subbasal placentae, stigma sessile,
disciform; interpistillar staminodes sometimes present and female zone often with 1 or 2 rings of staminodes basally; male flowers:
fertile flowers consisting of 2 or 3 connate stamens, filaments fused, connective thick, thecae excavate in center, dehiscing by aterminal pore, pollen shed in strings. Berry few to many seeded. Seeds subellipsoid, densely longitudinally grooved.
About 120 species: mostly in SE Asia, a few species in South America (although these possibly not congeneric); two species (one endemic) in
China.

1a. Leaf blade elliptic or oblong-lanceolate, rounded or obtuse at base; spathe ca. 7 cm; spadix ca. 5 cm .................. 1. S. hainanensis
1b. Leaf blade oblong, cordate at base; spathe 12–15 cm; spadix longer than 10 cm ...................................................... 2. S. calyptrata
1. Schismatoglottis hainanensis H. Li, Acta Phytotax. Sin.
15(2): 103. 1977.

2. Schismatoglottis calyptrata (Roxburgh) Zollinger &Moritzi in Moritzi, Syst. Verz. 83. 1846.

落檐 luo yan广西落檐 guang xi luo yan

Herbs, stoloniferous, forming dense colonies. Petiole 20–
30 cm, proximal half sheathing; leaf blade glaucous abaxially,
dark green adaxially, elliptic or oblong-lanceolate, 16–17 × 5.5–
7 cm, both surfaces densely and minutely impressed punctate,base rounded or obtuse, apex acuminate; primary veins 8–10
per side, adaxially always raised toward midrib; secondary andtertiary veins arising mostly from midrib. Peduncle shorter thanpetioles, ca. 13 cm. Spathe convolute, pale green or white, ca. 7
cm; proximal part elliptic, ca. 2.5 × 0.6 cm, persistent; distal
part convolute, horn-shaped; limb caducous. Spadix ca. 5 cm;
female zone adnate to spathe, ca. 2.5 cm × 4–5 mm, attenuate
toward apex; pistil oblong, ca. 1 mm, 1-loculed, with 2 parietal
placentae; ovules numerous, anatropous, obovoid, with longitudinal striations; funicle long and slender, carried on placentae in
2 ranks; distal sterile zone clavate, ca. 13 × 5 mm, attenuate
toward base, apex obtuse; staminodes cylindric; male zone
cylindric, ca. 15 × 4 mm; fertile stamens with anthers subcuneate, dehiscing by a terminal pore. Fl. Aug–Oct.

Calla calyptrata Roxburgh, Fl. Ind., ed. 1832, 3: 514.
1832; Colocasia humilis Hasskarl; C. kotoensis Hayata; C. neoguineensis Linden ex André; Homalomena calyptrata (Roxburgh) Kunth; Schismatoglottis acutangula Engler; S. angustifolia Alderwerelt van Rosenburgh; S. bitaeniata Engler; S.
calyptrata var. ornata Ridley ex Engler; S. calyptratoides Alderwerelt van Rosenburgh; S. cordifolia Ridley; S. djamuensis
Engler; S. dorensis Gibbs; S. emarginata Engler; S. hellwigiana
Engler; S. hellwigiana var. subcordata Engler; S. klossii Ridley;
S. kotoensis (Hayata) T. C. Huang, J. L. Hsiao & H. Y. Yeh; S.
longipes Miquel; S. maculata Alderwerelt van Rosenburgh; S.
neoguineensis (Linden ex André) N. E. Brown; S. nieuwenhuisii Engler; S. parvifolia Alderwerelt van Rosenburgh; S.
picta Schott; S. potamophila Alderwerelt van Rosenburgh; S.
pseudocalyptrata Alderwerelt van Rosenburgh; S. riparia
Schott; S. ruttenii Alderwerelt van Rosenburgh; S. sublaxiflora
Alderwerelt van Rosenburgh; S. tenuifolia Engler; S. vanvuurenii Alderwerelt van Rosenburgh; Zantedeschia calyptrata(Roxburgh) K. Koch.

● Dense tropical forests, on rocks; 100–200 m. Hainan.
One of us (Li) notes that Schismatoglottis hainanensis differsfrom “S. cadieri” (Buchet & Gagnepain in Lecomte et al., Fl. IndoChine 6: 1118. 1942), from Vietnam, in having an elliptic or oblonglanceolate leaf blade and a spadix with a sterile terminal appendix. The
latter name was not validly published because no Latin description or
diagnosis was provided (Vienna Code, Art. 36.1).
One of us (Boyce) is very doubtful that Schismatoglottis hainanensis is distinct from S. calyptrata. A final decision is deferred pending
examination of the type of S. hainanensis.

Herbs, stoloniferous, 15–60 cm tall. Petiole 5–50 cm,
smooth, proximal 1/3 sheathing, sheath persistent; leaf blade
mid-green, sometimes variegated, cordate to sagittate, 7–35 ×
4–18 cm; midrib abaxially prominent, primary lateral veins 6–
15 per side, entirely raised abaxially, nearly always raised adaxially toward midrib, marginally impressed, secondary venation
arising mostly from midrib. Inflorescences 1–8 together; peduncle erect at anthesis, then deflexed, 6–20 cm. Spathe 3.5–12 cm,
basal part green, narrowly ovoid, ca. 1/2 length of whole spathelimb, differentiated by an abrupt constriction, at female anthesis
much inflated, creamy to pale greenish yellow, narrowing andARACEAE

20

turbinate, completely surrounding spadix and gaping ventrally
or with margins loosely overlapping, conspicuously mucronate
at apex, caducous immediately after female anthesis. Spadix ca.
3/4 length of spathe, narrowly hourglass-shaped; female zone
ca. 1/2 length of spadix, obliquely inserted or partially adnate to
spathe, 5–8 mm in diam., distally tapering; pistils congested,
pale green, flask-shaped, ca. 1 × 0.5 mm, distally more widely
spaced and subglobose; interpistillar staminodes few, white,clavate, taller than pistils; sterile zone absent; male zone ivory,narrowly obconic, ca. 1/2 length of female zone, distally 0.5–1

cm in diam.; anthers dumbbell-shaped, ca. 0.5 × 1 mm; appendix creamy yellow, bullet-shaped, basally somewhat wider thanapex of male zone; appendix staminodes columnar, irregularly
polygonal, ca. 0.5 mm in diam. Fruiting spathe declined, urceolate. Fl. Jun.
Dense tropical forests, forest understories, on rocks; 700–900 m.
Guangxi (Longling, Longzhou), Taiwan [SE Asia, Pacific islands].
The stems are used as a tonic medicine to treat lumbago andarthralgia.

13. CRYPTOCORYNE Fischer ex Wydler, Linnaea 5: 428. 1830.
隐棒花属 yin bang hua shu
Li Heng (李恒 Li Hen); Niels Jacobsen
Herbs, amphibious, monoecious. Rhizome creeping, stoloniferous (usually subterranean). Leaves in a rosette, linear to spatulate
to oblanceolate to cordate; veins arching from base of blade and connected by transverse veinlets. Peduncle very short, elongating at
maturity. Spathe tubular with margins fused for most of length, proximally swollen forming a chamber (kettle) enclosing spadix;
limb varying in shape, a collar or collar zone often present, in some species limb spirally twisted. Spadix at first fused at apex to baseof spathe flap closing kettle (later breaking loose), much shorter than spathe; basal part with naked, connate gynoecia; intermediatezone naked; male zone apical; appendix conic, short. Female flowers 4–8, each 1-loculed; ovules many, subbasal (adaxial); styles
free; stigma globose to elongate. Olfactory bodies immediately above stigmas regular or irregular structures. Male flowers naked;
stamens solitary; thecae each dehiscent by an apical pore. Fruit syncarplike, multiple; each part ultimately splitting at adaxial part andbecoming star-shaped, follicle-like; a few species splitting in a septicidal/septifragal-ceratium-like way. Seeds many, ellipsoid, small;endosperm usually copious.
More than 50 species: tropical Asia, from India to Malesia; one variable species in China.
Cryptocoryne cruddasiana Prain (J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Pt. 2, Nat. Hist. 69: 174. 1901; C. retrospiralis (Roxburgh) Kunth var. cruddasiana(Prain) de Wit; C. burmensis Rataj) occurs in N Myanmar, where it grows on riverbanks. It has not yet been recorded from China but may be
distinguished as follows. Leaves strap-shaped, up to 30 × 0.5–1 cm, smooth to somewhat undulate at margin (sometimes also finely denticulate),green to brownish marmorate, apex rather abruptly acute; leaves disappearing during rainy period or becoming small, 2–4 cm, and terete. Spathe 8–12cm; kettle 2–2.5 cm, with a constriction just below male flowers, proximally whitish, distally purplish and also with alveolae in wall; tube 4–5 cm,
grayish outside; limb to 3.5 cm, upright to somewhat bent backward, with irregular, purplish or red-brown, rounded protuberances sometimes ± transversely oriented, base color of surface dark yellowish to red-brown, throat spotted, collar absent. Spadix: female flowers 5 or 6, with vertical, elliptic
stigmas. Olfactory bodies cream-colored, finely spotted, irregularly lobed to subtoothed. Male flowers 80–120. Fruit not seen. Fl. Dec–Feb. 2n = 36.

1a. Limb of spathe ± spirally twisted, smooth, white or with regular to irregular reddish to purplish to violet
markings ...................................................................................................................................................................... 1. C. crispatula
1b. Limb of spathe ± obliquely recurved, rugose from somewhat irregular, rounded, purplish or
red-brown protuberances .................................................................................................................. C. cruddasiana (see note above)
1. Cryptocoryne crispatula Engler, Pflanzenr. 73(IV. 23F):
247. 1920.
旋苞隐棒花 xuan bao yin bang hua
Rhizome sometimes with a metallic blue-gray color, 0.5–1
cm in diam., irregularly thickened. Root system sometimes withmany finely branched upright roots. Leaves green to brown,
very variable, narrowly linear to lanceolate, 10–70 × 0.2–4 cm,
smooth to undulate to bullate, margin entire to finely, irregularly denticulate; broader leaf blades mostly with conspicuous
lateral veins. Generally, two ecological leaf forms occur: 1)
plants that grow submerged for most of year, thus developing
long flaccid-lax submerged leaves (sometimes also developing
shorter, stiffer emergent leaves); 2) plants that develop short
terete leaves during rainy season and, when water level decreases, form normal emergent leaves at anthesis. Spathe outside greenish to brownish, 10–40(–60) cm; kettle 1–2.5 cm, inside somewhat constricted below male flowers, inside ± reddish(especially distally) and with alveolae (depressions in wall) in
distal part; flap closing kettle sometimes ± purple spotted; tube

slightly to somewhat twisted, 5–30(–45) cm; limb ± spirally
twisted, yellowish to grayish, with short to long, purple toreddish markings, sometimes markings almost completely
covering surface, or few and faint, or absent, (1.5–)3–8(–12)
cm; collar not present. Spadix: female flowers 4–6, with horizontal to vertical, round to ovoid stigmas; olfactory bodies ±
irregularly lobed with protruding cells; male flowers 90–130,
thecae rough from protruding cells. Fruit splitting in a septicidal/septifragal-ceratium-like way, greenish to purplish, narrowly globose, 1–1.5 cm, smooth. Seeds brownish, 5–8 mm,
rugose; endosperm present; embryo cone-shaped with an undifferentiated plumule. 2n = 36, 54.
Rivers,streams; near sea level to 600 m. Guangdong, Guangxi,
Guizhou, Yunnan [Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand,
Vietnam].
Cryptocoryne crispatula s.l. is here interpreted as one species
comprising different ecological races, i.e., leaf forms that are adapted to
the water supply and the overall topography of the rivers in which theygrow. In rivers with more constant water-bearings, and not too steep aARACEAE

fall, the more aquatic ones occur, viz. the long, narrow-leaved forms
with an undulate or bullate leaf blade. In rivers with a seasonal variationin the water-bearings, the more amphibious ones occur, characterized byhaving shorter, ± smooth leaves. The variation within C. crispatula isvery complex, with more than six recognizable forms in mainland Asia,
some more readily distinguishable from the next than others. There aretransitions between the various forms. The here recognized varieties
represent the more distinctive ones, and admittedly specific plants may
only with some difficulty be referred unambiguously to a definite variety. The number of varieties accepted is subjective. This is not meant as
an excuse for an insufficient treatment but is merely recognition of thecomplexity of C. crispatula.
It is important to note that the leaves can vary in size during theflowering season; therefore, herbarium material should be studied withthis in mind.
In the present circumscription, Cryptocoryne crispatula is recognized as different from the tetraploid C. retrospiralis (Roxburgh) Kunth
from India. If C. crispatula were not recognized as different from C.
retrospiralis, the mentioned varieties of C. crispatula would then beconsidered as varieties of C. retrospiralis.
In addition to the four varieties here recognized in China, Cryptocoryne crispatula var. tonkinensis (Gagnepain) N. Jacobsen (Aqua Pl.
16: 29. 1991; C. tonkinensis Gagnepain, Notul. Syst. (Paris) 9: 133.
1941; C. retrospiralis (Roxburgh) Kunth var. tonkinensis (Gagnepain)de Wit) occurs in Thailand and Vietnam, where it grows along rivers
and streams. It has not yet been recorded from China, but may be distinguished as follows. Leaves usually submerged, green to brownish,flaccid, 20–30 × 0.2–0.4 cm, smooth or slightly undulate. Emergent
leaves shorter and broader compared to submerged ones. Spathe mostly
with a tube (5–)15–30 cm; limb with a long open spiral with a yellowish
base color with irregular, dark reddish lines of varying intensities. Fl.
Dec–Apr. 2n = 36.

1a. Plants with short, rather stiff, upright emergent
leaves (10–30 × 0.6–2 cm), submerged leaves
short, terete, 2–10 cm.
2a. Spathe with a short, thick limb
spiral, with distant to dense
red spots ..................................... 1b. var. yunnanensis
2b. Spathe usually with a long,thin/narrow limb spiral, withregular to irregular shorter or
longer purplish to reddish lines(or limb pure white) ....................... 1a. var. crispatula
1b. Plants with long, flaccid-lax submerged
leaves (20–70 × 0.2–4 cm).
3a. Leaves 0.2–0.4 cm wide................................. var. tonkinensis (see note above)
3b. Leaves 0.5–4 cm wide.
4a. Leaves 0.5–1.2 cm wide,smooth to undulate ............. 1d. var. flaccidifolia
4b. Leaves 1.5–4 cm wide,± bullate ................................... 1c. var. balansae
1a. Cryptocoryne crispatula var. crispatula
旋苞隐棒花(原变种) xuan bao yin bang hua (yuan bianzhong)
Cryptocoryne bertelibansenii Rataj; C. crispatula var.
sinensis (Merrill) N. Jacobsen; C. retrospiralis (Roxburgh)
Kunth var. crispatula (Engler) de Wit; C. sinensis Merrill.

21

Leaves upright to flat on soil surface, rather stiff (inshaded habitats more lax), mostly green but often brownish (tobrown) with markings in sun-exposed habitats, lanceolate tostrap-shaped, 10–30 × 0.5–1.5(–2.5) cm, smooth to somewhat
finely undulate to crenulate along margin, entire or distinctly
irregularly serrulate. During times of high water, leaves become
small and terete, and when becoming emergent, leaves andspathes develop. Spathe with a tube 10–20 cm; limb with arather long, somewhat tight to open spiral, usually grayish,
mostly with shorter or longer purplish markings of varying
intensities, but also a completely white limb has been found. Fl.
Nov–Apr. 2n = 36, 54.
Stream and river banks and beds. Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou[Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam].

1b. Cryptocoryne crispatula var. yunnanensis (H. Li) H. Li& N. Jacobsen, comb. et stat. nov.
八仙过海 ba xian guo hai
Basionym: Cryptocoryne yunnanensis H. Li, Acta Phytotax. Sin. 15(2): 108. 1977.
Leaves upright to flat on soil surface, rather stiff, mostly
green but sometimes brownish, 5–30 × 0.5–1.5 cm, smooth toslightly undulate. During times of high water, leaves become
small and terete, and when becoming emergent, new larger
leaves and spathes develop. Spathe with a rather short tube 8–
12 cm; limb rather thick in texture and with a rather short spiral,with a yellowish base color and somewhat distant to very dense
dark reddish spots that sometimes become longer irregular lines
into throat. Fl. Nov–Apr. 2n = 36.
Riverbanks, riverbeds; near sea level to 600 m. Yunnan [Laos,
Thailand, Vietnam].
The plants are used medicinally for treating traumatic injuries,
rheumatic arthralgia, and stomach aches.

1c. Cryptocoryne crispatula var. balansae (Gagnepain) N.
Jacobsen, Aqua Pl. 16: 29. 1991.
广西隐棒花 guang xi yin bang hua
Cryptocoryne balansae Gagnepain, Notul. Syst. (Paris) 9:131. 1941; C. kwangsiensis H. Li; C. longispatha Merrill.
Leaves usually submerged, green to brownish to darkbrown, rather flaccid, 15–70 × 1–4 cm, slightly to strongly bullate; midrib conspicuous, lateral veins less so. Emergent leaves
shorter and often not as bullate as submerged ones. Spathe witha long tube 10–30(–40) cm; limb with a rather long and rather
open to somewhat tight spiral, usually grayish or yellowish,
mostly with shorter or longer purplish markings of varying
intensities. Fl. Dec–Apr. 2n = 36.
Rivers, streams. Guangxi [Laos, Thailand, Vietnam].

1d. Cryptocoryne crispatula var. flaccidifolia N. Jacobsen,
Aqua Pl. 16: 26. 1991.
柔叶隐棒花 rou ye yin bang hua
Leaves usually submerged, green to reddish brown, flac-

ARACEAE

22cid, 20–50 × 0.5–1.2 cm, somewhat undulate to almost smooth.
Emergent leaves shorter and rather smooth compared to submerged ones. Spathe with a long tube (15–)20–30 cm; limb
with a rather long, open spiral, usually grayish, mostly withshorter or longer purplish markings of varying intensities. Fl.
Dec–Apr. 2n = 36.
Rivers, streams. Guangxi [Thailand, Vietnam].

14. HAPALINE Schott, Gen. Aroid. 44. 1858, nom. cons.
细柄芋属 xi bing yu shu
Li Heng (李恒 Li Hen); Peter C. Boyce
Hapale Schott.
Herbs, seasonally dormant or evergreen, small to medium sized, slender. Stems tuberous-stoloniferous with stolons terminatingin further small, depressed-globose tubers. Leaves usually solitary, or few; petiole sheath short; leaf blade pale to deep green with orwithout silvery or paler variegation, cordate-sagittate, sagittate, or hastate, rarely elliptic and cuneate, primary lateral veins pinnate or
mostly arising at petiole insertion, forming arching submarginal collective vein, 1 or 2 marginal veins also present; higher ordervenation reticulate. Inflorescences 1–5 per each floral sympodium, appearing with leaf; peduncle subequal to or longer than petioles,
slender. Spathe slender, not distinctly constricted; tube persistent, very slender, tightly convolute around female flowers; limb erect toreflexed and ± revolute at anthesis, oblong-lanceolate, longer than tube, marcescent. Spadix subequal to or longer than spathe,slender; female zone adnate to spathe, few flowered (2–7), ± biseriate, separated from male zone by short sterile zone; male zone
subulate to cylindric, fertile to apex or with a few sterile flowers at apex or with a long, terminal appendix [Hapaline appendiculata
Ridley]. Flowers unisexual, naked. Gynoecium oblong to lageniform; ovary 1-loculed; ovule 1, anatropous; funicle very short; placenta parietal to subbasal (morphologically basal); stylar region very short; stigma subcapitate. Male flowers 3-androus; synandrium
peltate, truncate, hexagonal, elongated in direction of spadix axis, shallow, stipitate; connective strongly dilated; thecae remote, subglobose, short, almost pendent from margin, dehiscing by pore; synandrodes with proximal ones very few, ± remote, apiculiform;
distal ones very few, consisting of tiny, peltate synandrodes. Fruit an ellipsoid to globose berry; style persistent; pericarp thin, 1seeded, white. Seed ellipsoid; testa smooth, very thin; embryo light green, ellipsoid, large; endosperm absent.
Six species: SE Asia; one species (endemic) in China.

1. Hapaline ellipticifolium C. Y. Wu & H. Li, Acta Phytotax.
Sin. 15(2): 104. 1977.
细柄芋 xi bing yu
Herbs, perennial. Tuber cylindric, 1–2 cm × ca. 5 mm,with many tubercles. Cataphylls lanceolate, 3–4 cm, membranous. Leaves 2 or 3; leaf blade oblong-elliptic, 10–17 × 5–
8.5 cm, base 2-lobed, apex abruptly acuminate; lobes deltoid,
2–4 × 1–3 cm; primary veins multiple, pinnately diverging frommidrib, secondary venation arching-anastomosing, intramarginal veins 3, conspicuous. Peduncles 2 or 3, 18–30 cm, very

slender; cataphylls ca. 8 cm. Spathe ca. 5 cm; tube convolute,ca. 2 cm × 1–2 mm; limb spreading and finely reflexed, lanceolate, ca. 8 cm × 8 mm. Spadix ca. 4.5 cm; female zone ca. 1.5
cm, adnate to tube of spadix; ovaries 4–12, oblong, multistriate,
1-loculed, 1-ovuled; stigma disciform; sterile zone between
male and female inflorescences ca. 7 mm, naked; male zone ca.
1.5 cm; male flowers peltate, hexagonal, apex ca. 5 mm; sterile
male zone at apex of spadix ca. 7 mm, with minute synandrodes. Fl. Apr.
● Tropical forest; ca. 300 m. SE Yunnan (Hekou).

15. AGLAONEMA Schott, Wiener Z. Kunst 1829: 892. 1829.
广东万年青属 guang dong wan nian qing shu
Li Heng (李恒 Li Hen); Peter C. Boyce
Herbs, evergreen, sometimes robust. Stem epigeal, erect to decumbent and mostly unbranched or creeping and often branched,internodes green, becoming brown with age, smooth, often rooting at nodes when decumbent. Leaves several, forming an apicalcrown; petiole shorter than leaf blade, sheath usually long; leaf blade often with striking, silvery and pale green variegated patterns,
ovate-elliptic or narrowly elliptic, rarely broadly ovate or sublinear, base often unequal, attenuate to rounded, rarely cordate; primarylateral veins pinnate, often weakly differentiated, running into marginal vein, higher order venation parallel-pinnate. Inflorescences
1–9 per each floral sympodium; peduncle shorter or longer than petioles, sometimes deflexed in fruit. Spathe caducous, persistent, or
marcescent, erect, green to whitish, boat-shaped to convolute, not differentiated into tube and blade, ovate to ± globose, slightly tostrongly decurrent, often apiculate. Spadix cylindric to clavate, shorter or longer than spathe, stipe long to almost absent; female zone
rather few flowered, either separated by staminodes or contiguous with, and much shorter than, male zone; male zone fertile to apex,
rarely with staminodes basally. Flowers unisexual, naked. Female flowers: ovary subglobose, 1-loculed; ovule 1, anatropous, broadly
ovoid; funicle very short; placenta basal; stylar region short, thick; stigma broad, disciform, concave centrally. Male flowers: stamens
free, not forming clear floral groups; filaments usually distinct, connective thickened; thecae opposite, obovoid, short, dehiscing by

ARACEAE

23

apical pore or reniform transverse slit. Fruit an ellipsoid berry, outer layer fleshy green but turning yellow, rarely white and finallyred. Seed solitary, ellipsoid, almost as large as berry; testa thin, ± smooth; integument inconspicuous; embryo large; endosperm
absent.
Twenty-one species: tropical and subtropical Asia; two species in China.
Aglaonema ovatum Engler (Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 25: 21. 1898) is abundant in N Laos next to the Chinese border and so is expected to be found
eventually in SW China.
Many species are widely cultivated in gardens as evergreen ornamental plants.

1a. Spadix shorter than spathe, ca. 2/3 spathe length, male zone of spadix cylindric, 20–30 × 3–4 mm ....................... 1. A. modestum
1b. Spadix equaling to longer than spathe, male zone of spadix conic, ca. 23 × 9–10 mm ................................................. 2. A. simplex
1. Aglaonema modestum Schott ex Engler in A. Candolle & C.
Candolle, Monogr. Phan. 2: 442. 1879.
广东万年青 guang dong wan nian qing
Plants erect. Stems green, 40–70 cm, 1.5–2 cm in diam.
Leaves mostly crowded at stem apex; petiole green, 5–20 cm,
sheathing for more than 1/2 length; leaf blade pale green abaxially, green adaxially, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, base obtuse or
broadly cuneate, apex acuminate; primary lateral veins 4 or
5 per side, ascending and arching, secondary ones indistinct,
parallel to primary veins. Peduncle (5–)10–12.5 cm. Spathe oblong-lanceolate, (5.5–)6–7 × 1.5–2 cm, apex long acuminate.
Spadix cylindric, ca. 2/3 of spathe length, with a stipe ca. 10mm; female zone 5–8 mm; ovary subglobose; style short; stigma disciform; male zone elongate, 2–3 cm × 3–4 mm; stamen
apex truncate, quadrangular; anthers dehiscent by a pore. Berrygreen to yellow-red, red when ripe, oblong, ca. 20 × 8 mm.
Seed oblong, ca. 1.7 cm. Fl. May, fr. Oct–Nov.
Dense forests, also widely cultivated in gardens as evergreen ornamental plants; 500–1700 m. Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou [N Laos, N
Thailand, N Vietnam].
The plant is used externally as a medicine to treat snake and insect
bites, hydrophobia, abscesses, and swelling.

2. Aglaonema simplex (Blume) Blume, Rumphia 1: 152. 1837.
越南万年青 yue nan wan nian qing
Caladium simplex Blume, Catalogus, 103. 1823; Aglaonema angustifolium N. E. Brown; A. birmanicum J. D. Hooker;
A. fallax Schott ex Engler; A. longicuspidatum Schott; A.
pierreanum Engler; A. schottianum Miquel f. angustifolium (N.

E. Brown) Engler; A. siamense Engler; A. simplex f. angustifolium (N. E. Brown) R. N. Jervis; A. tenuipes Engler; Scindapsus tonkinensis K. Krause.
Plants perennial, erect. Stems dark green, cylindric, 40–80
cm tall, 1–2 cm in diam., rooting at nodes; internodes 2–3 cm,
at distal part 5–10 mm; cataphylls early caducous, broadly linear, 4–7 cm, apex abruptly acute. Leaves usually 5 or 6, densely
crowded at stem apex; petiole green, 6–15 cm, proximallysheathing; leaf blade initially involute, afterward spreading,pale green abaxially, dark green adaxially, ovate-oblong, 10–25
× 5.5–11 cm, thinly leathery, base truncate-rounded, subcordate,or decurrent, apex caudate-acuminate or abruptly long acuminate; primary lateral veins 6–8 per side, ascending and arching.
Peduncle green, 2–6 cm. Spathe initially involute-tubular,
afterward opening by a slit, cymbiform, ovoid, 3–4.5 × ca. 1.3
cm. Spadix 2.5–4.5 cm, slightly longer than or equaling spathe;female zone ca. 5 mm; ovary globose; ovule basal; stigma
sessile, circular; male zone 2–3 cm; stamens 4; anthers 2-celled.
Berry oblong, 12–18 × 7–10 mm. Seed oblong, 11–15 mm. Fl.
Apr–Jun, fr. Sep–Oct.
Dense valley forests; below 1500 m. SW Yunnan [Cambodia,
India (Nicobar Islands), Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines (Palawan), Thailand, Vietnam].
Nicolson (Smithsonian Contr. Bot. 1: 38–41. 1969) maintained
Aglaonema tenuipes and A. simplex as separate species primarily on
inflorescence size and to a much lesser extent on phytogeography (A.
simplex being a Sundaic element with A. tenuipes a N Thai/Indochinese
species). However, there is complete introgression between even the extremes of the spathe size, while the presence of populations intermediate
between “A. tenuipes” and A. simplex in the mountainous parts of C
and SE Thailand seriously weakens the phytogeographical arguments.

16. AMORPHOPHALLUS Blume ex Decaisne, Nouv. Ann. Mus. Hist. Nat. 3: 366. 1834,
nom. cons.
蘑芋属 mo yu shu
Li Heng (李恒 Li Hen); Wilbert L. A. Hetterscheid
Brachyspatha Schott; Candarum Reichenbach ex Schott & Endlicher; Conophallus Schott; Hydrosme Schott; Kunda Rafinesque; Pythion Martius.
Herbs, terrestrial, small to massive. Stem subterranean, tuberous, rarely a chain of tubers or a true rhizome; rhizome ± creeping.
Leaves usually solitary, rarely paired or more; petiole terete, rarely angulate, shallowly grooved, or partly rugulose, rarely entirely
verrucate or hairy; leaf blade decompound, divided into 3 main segments; main segments equally long or anterior shorter thanposterior ones (blade ± subpedate); rachises naked, narrowly or broadly winged and often carrying supernumerary leaflets on
proximal parts; bulbils sometimes developing on leaves, either epiphyllar, intercalary (developing inside rachis), or half-epiphyllar(base developing in rachis, apex exposed beyond rachis). Inflorescence 1, rarely 2 or 3 (synflorescence) or more per season (then24

ARACEAEdeveloping from different buds on stem), epigeal, rarely partly buried, solitary or simultaneous with or directly preceding leaf
development, rarely emerging after leaf development. Spathe base convolute, rarely open or connate, not or clearly separated fromlimb by a constriction, outside variously colored, variously shaped, often cymbiform or campanulate, rarely funnel-shaped; limb
erect, spreading, oblique, or arching. Spadix sessile or shortly stipitate; female zone contiguous with male zone or separated from it
by a sterile zone; flowers sometimes surrounded by staminodes; female flowers consisting of 1 pistil; ovary sessile or shortly stipitate, 1–4-loculed, with 1 ovule per locule, basifixed, or rarely axillary ca. halfway up ovary; style present or (nearly) absent, clearly
separated from ovary or less so, sometimes with apical projections (“branches”) extending beyond stigma; sterile zone (whenpresent) covered with staminodes, rarely partly or entirely naked; male zone cylindric, fusiform, conic, or obconic; male flowers consisting of (1–)3–6(–8) stamens; stamens depressed or elongate; filaments present or nearly absent, separated or partly or entirely
fused within a flower or rarely fused between adjacent flowers; anthers bithecal; thecae 2-celled (with 2 pollen sacs), rarely 1-celled;
pores apical, rarely lateral or subterminal; pollen inaperturate, globose or elliptic, exine rarely absent, psilate, striate, verrucate, echinate, areolate, porate, fossulate, reticulate, or scabrous; appendix rarely absent, contiguous with male zone or separated by a constriction or a short stipe, sometimes with large longitudinal folds or ± irregular deep cracks. Berries crowded or distant, ripening red,rarely blue, globose, ovoid, or narrowly elliptic, smooth or rarely verrucate, 1–4-seeded. Seeds usually with a distinct raphe; endosperm absent.
About 200 species: paleotropical, W to E Africa, S and SE to E Asia, N Australia, Pacific islands; 16 species (seven endemic) in China.
Amorphophallus stipitatus Engler (Notizbl. Bot. Gart. Berlin-Dahlem 8: 457. 1923) was described based on cultivated material in the Berlin
Botanical Garden, originally from Guangdong. The holotype (Mell. s.n., B) has been destroyed, and Engler’s protologue does not give enough clues as
to the identity of the species to which the name refers. It is no doubt a member of the A. yunnanensis alliance, but the differences between species
recognized in this group are too subtle to leave room for any guessing about the identity of A. stipitatus. So as not to confuse matters, this name is here
treated as of uncertain application.
The status of Amorphophallus zengianus C. Long & H. Li (Novon 10: 125. 2000), described from S Yunnan (Jinping), is uncertain. H. Li notesthat the morphology of the inflorescence might be misleading because it was damaged while in the bud stage. She considers it to be conspecific with
A. yunnanensis, based on morphological similarity of the petiole and leaf blade. On the other hand, Hetterscheid considers A. zengianus to represent aless-than-optimal specimen of A. krausei, based on photographs provided by H. Li of living material of A. zengianus. This identity with A. krausei
could be confirmed if there exists a staminodal zone between the male and female zones of the spadix. However, H. Li notes that the living material
no longer exists and the holotype specimen cited in the protologue (C. L. Long 98003, KUN) never existed.
“Amorphophallus tienmushanensis” (Y. Z. Tao, Compreh. Invest. Rep. Nat. Resource Tianmu Mount. Nat. Reserve, 130. 1992) was describedfrom Zhejiang (Tianmu Shan). The present authors consider this name to be not validly published because the requirement of Art. 36.1 of the ICBN
(Vienna Code) was not fulfilled. The intended validating description given by Tao is a mixture of Latin and English. The code requires “a Latin
description or diagnosis.” D. H. Nicolson (pers. comm.) is of the opinion that a percentage of non-Latin is admissible; a similar view was held by R.
K. Brummitt and D. E. Boufford (pers. comm.; for further discussions see Plant Press 45, Jan. 1994 and Plant Press 45, Feb. 1994). We consider asquite disturbing the discussion about the acceptance of a percentage of non-Latin in a diagnosis where “a Latin description or diagnosis” is required,especially given that non-English users of the ICBN will not be able to read between subtle English lines. The ICBN must be unambiguous at aninternational level, and the phrase “a Latin description or diagnosis” should be clear to all, as it is to us, to mean 100% Latin.
The following species were recorded in FRPS but are, in fact, not distributed in China: Amorphophallus bangkokensis Gagnepain (FRPS 13(2):91, 99. 1979), A. mekongensis Engler & Gehrmann (p. 91), A. oncophyllus Prain ex J. D. Hooker (p. 98; A. muelleri Blume), and A. variabilis Blume(p. 95).

1a. Underground part a terete rhizome or chain of tubers.
2a. Underground part a terete creeping rhizome .................................................................................................................. 5. A. hayi
2b. Underground part a chain of tubers ..................................................................................................................... 2. A. coaetaneus
1b. Underground part a single tuber.
3a. Peduncle shorter than or equal to spathe.
4a. Spathe limb erect, concave or straight; appendix whitish or pinkish.
5a. Spathe limb concave; spadix shorter than spathe; appendix whitish, conic ........................................... 14. A. yuloensis
5b. Spathe limb straight, distally slightly widening; spadix longer than spathe; appendix whitish or
pinkish, conic or fusiform-conic and laterally compressed ............................................................................. 15. A. xiei
4b. Spathe limb horizontal, campanulate; appendix dark purple.
6a. Appendix narrowly conic, sometimes with scattered hairs ........................................................................... 6. A. henryi
6b. Appendix globose or broadly conic .................................................................................................. 12. A. paeoniifolius
3b. Peduncle distinctly longer than spathe.
7a. Spadix distinctly stipitate.
8a. Appendix with a strongly cerebriform (brainlike) surface .................................................................... 3. A. corrugatus
8b. Appendix glabrous, shallowly or deeply fissured, partly or entirely echinate.
9a. Appendix deeply fissured/cracked lengthwise ............................................................................... 8. A. kachinensis
9b. Appendix glabrous, with shallowly concave sides, or partly or entirely echinate.
10a. Appendix variously laterally compressed, sides shallowly or more deeply concave,
glabrous; stigma hardly broader than style ........................................................................ 16. A. yunnanensis

ARACEAE

2510b. Appendix terete or dorsiventrally compressed, sides convex, glabrous or entirely or
distally echinate; stigma distinctly broader than style ................................................................... 4. A. dunnii
7b. Spadix sessile.
11a. Male and female zones separated by sterile zone with ovate or elliptic, slightly convex staminodes.
12a. Male zone distinctly longer than appendix .................................................................................... 11. A. krausei
12b. Male zone equaling appendix .............................................................................................................. 1. A. albus
11b. Male and female zones contiguous or with different types of staminodes in between.
13a. Spathe erect; spadix shorter than or equaling spathe.
14a. Male zone at most twice as long as female zone ............................................................ 13. A. tonkinensis
14b. Male zone (including sterile zone when present) at least 2.5 × as long as female zone ...... 11. A. krausei
13b. Spathe oblique; spadix longer than spathe.
15a. Stigma sessile or nearly so; appendix glabrous or with a few scattered hairs .................... 9. A. kiusianus
15b. Style distinct; appendix densely covered with long hairs or glabrous.
16a. Appendix densely covered with long hairs ..................................................................... 7. A. hirtus
16b. Appendix glabrous ........................................................................................................ 10. A. konjac
1. Amorphophallus albus P. Y. Liu & J. F. Chen, J. S. W.
Agric. Coll. 1984(1): 67. 1984.

2. Amorphophallus coaetaneus S. Y. Liu & S. J. Wei, Guihaia
6: 183. 1986.

白蘑芋 bai mo yu

桂平蘑芋 gui ping mo yu

Tuber brown, subglobose, 5–6 cm high, 7–10 cm in diam.,seasonally producing long rhizomatous offsets, these to 23 ×
1.5 cm. Leaf solitary; petiole pale green with grayish green,irregular, elongate or rounded spots, and whitish dots, 40–70 ×
1.5–2 cm, glabrous; leaf blade ca. 80 cm in diam., rachises
winged; leaflets elliptic-lanceolate, 2–12 × 1–3 cm, acuminate.
Inflorescence solitary, long pedunculate; peduncle 16–30 × 1–2
cm. Spathe cymbiform, narrowly ovate, 12–22 × 6–10 cm,
acute; proximal margin of limb recurved, outside base green
to pale green, inside creamy white; outside limb pale green,spotted with dark green and near margin with numerous indistinct white punctiform dots, inside creamy white with a faintpale green flush, base within densely verruculose. Spadix producing a heavy gaseous smell during female anthesis, sessile,bright pale green, turning yellowish during male anthesis,slightly curved, shorter than spathe, ca. 13.5 cm; female zone
cylindric, ca. 1 × 1.2–1.3 cm, flowers congested; ovary brightgreen, depressed, angulate in cross section, ca. 1.5 mm high,
2.5–3 mm in diam., 2-loculed, but 1 locule reduced and sterile;style strongly oriented parallel to spadix axis, bright green,
distally pale to yellowish green, 2–2.5 × ca. 1 mm; stigma lateral, slightly arching, whitish disciform, ca. 1.5 mm in diam.,
ca. 0.8 mm thick, entire, strongly scabrous; sterile zone between
male and female zone swollen, slightly conic, 1–2.5 × 1–1.8
cm; staminodes congested; staminodes consisting of sterile entire flowers, off-white, slightly hemispheric, irregular, largest
ca. 12 × 7 mm, with shallow irregular depressions, or with a
few irregular grooves; male zone narrowly conic, apex slightly
expanded, ca. 4 × 0.8 cm, ca. 1.5 cm in diam. at base, flowers
congested; male flowers consisting of 3 or 4(or 5) stamens; stamens ca. 2 mm; filaments entirely fused, off-white, ca. 1.3 mm;anthers ca. 0.7 × 2 mm, truncate; thecae off-white, opening withapical rounded pores; connective dirty pale yellowish, flat,
raised after anthesis; appendix narrowly conic, ca. 6 × 1.6 cm,
finely rugulose, apex obtuse. Berries orange-red when mature,
ovoid.

Amorphophallus arnautovii Hetterscheid; A. pingbianensis
H. Li & C. L. Long.

● Open forests, arid thickets; 800–1000 m. S Sichuan, NE
Yunnan.
This species is used as a crop plant and is cultivated in Yunnan.

Tuber persistent, dark brown to blackish, depressed globose, to 3 cm high, to 6 cm in diam., chained with others toform a pseudorhizome of 2–6 modules, each 3–5 cm in diam.
Leaves 1–3, lasting up to 3 years; petiole uniformly dark green,
terete, 60–120 × 1–2 cm, turgid, glabrous; leaf blade to ca. 100
cm in diam.; rachises only winged distally, common base of 3
main branches sometimes developing into an intercalary bulbil;
leaflets dark green, oblanceolate, 15–20 × 4–6 cm, acuminate.
Inflorescence long pedunculate; peduncle colored as petiole,
10–50 × 0.6–1.3 cm. Spathe shortly convolute at base, outside
green, dirty green flushed with dirty brownish purple or distal
half entirely brownish purple; inside uniformly green or background color dirty green, at base and along midrib flushed dirty
dark purplish, near apex less so, or base pale green and rest
flushed with brownish purple, narrowly triangular to triangular-ovate, 7.5–15 × 3–7 cm, base within glabrous or nearly
glabrous with a few scattered, small, punctiform warts, apex
acute. Spadix giving off a heavy gaseous stench at female anthesis, sessile, pale yellowish green with a very faint greenish
flush, as long as or longer than spathe, 10–19.5 cm; femalezone cylindric, 1–2 × 1–1.6 cm, flowers congested; ovary green
or pale whitish green, strongly depressed, depressed globose,or subglobose, 1.5–2 mm high, 1.5–4 mm in diam., angulate or
irregularly orbicular in cross section, 1- or 2-loculed; style
straight or slightly upcurved, pale green, 1–2 × ca. 0.8 mm;stigma pale yellowish or pale greenish, flattened, disciform or
nearly so, 0.7–0.8 mm high, 0.8–2 mm in diam., irregularly
orbicular or elliptic in cross section, entire with a shallow, elongate, central depression or shallowly 2-lobed, or more distinctly
bilabiate, margin with 2 small notches or a few small lobes,
densely verruculose or echinulate; male zone cylindric, apex
slightly widened, terete or slightly compressed, 2.3–4.5 × 0.7–
1.5 cm, flowers congested; male flowers consisting of 3 or 5
stamens; stamens ca. 2 × 1–2 mm; filaments ca. 0.7 mm, connate or largely free; anthers off-white, ca. 1.3 mm, truncate;pores apical, elongate and connected to margin of anther by agroove; appendix narrowly fusiform-conic, 5.5–14.5 cm, base

26

ARACEAE

0.7–2.3 cm in diam., sometimes slightly compressed, glabrousor shallowly corrugate, base glabrous or with some flattened
staminodes, separated by grooves, base constricted, apex acute.
Fruiting zone at least 5 × ca. 4 cm. Berries dark blue, oval oroval-ellipsoid, ca. 1 × 0.8 cm, 1- or 2(or 3)-seeded. Fl. Mar.
Moist forested valleys, along water, thickets; 300–900 m. Guangxi(Guiping, Rongshui), Yunnan [E and N Vietnam].
The inclusion of Amorphophallus arnautovii and A. pingbianensis
in the synonymy of A. coaetaneus has been published and discussed byHetterscheid and van der Ham (Blumea 46: 279–281. 2001).
In the protologue of Amorphophallus coaetaneus, the specificepithet was given in error as “guipingensis” in the figure caption on p.
186.

3. Amorphophallus corrugatus N. E. Brown, Bull. Misc.
Inform. Kew 1912: 269. 1912.
田阳蘑芋 tian yang mo yu
Amorphophallus tianyangensis P. Y. Liu & S. L. Zhang;Thomsonia sutepensis S. Y. Hu.
Tuber dark brown, globose, ca. 7 cm high, to 8 cm indiam., weighing up to 850 g, developing seasonal offsets; offsets long, rhizomatous, ca. 9 cm, slender, ca. 0.8 cm in diam.,
not apically thickened. Leaf solitary; petiole background color
dirty white or pale green with a very faint, pale brownish hue
overlain with numerous tiny and fewer large, partly confluent,irregular, dark chocolate-brown or grayish spots, 10–95 cm,
slender, to 2 cm in diam. at base, longitudinally, shallowly
ridged; leaf blade green adaxially, moderately dissected, 10–
150 cm in diam.; rachises only winged in distal 1/3; main
segments subdichotomous; terminal segments oblong or lanceolate, base long decurrent in most distal ones, other segments
narrowly sessile, 10–28 × 4–9 cm, apex acuminate. Inflorescence long pedunculate; cataphylls to 40 cm; peduncle coloredas petiole, 30–70 cm, 0.8–2 cm in diam. at base. Spathe shortly
convolute at base, outside pale greenish, grayish purple, or
white, sometimes to base with whitish spots, or with gray-green
or pale olive-brown spots, either only margin purplish red oralso large parts reddish brown, inside pale greenish white withseveral irregular, purplish red spots and a purplish red margin,base inside often purplish red, or utmost base whitish, ovate or
elliptic-ovate, concave, 7–26 × 4–16 cm, apex acute or obtuse,glabrous. Spadix white or with some pale brownish spots and a
pinkish hue, much shorter than spathe, stipitate, 4–11 cm; stipe
0.2–1.5 cm, slender; flowers unisexual; female zone cylindricor slightly obconic, 1.3–3.5 cm, 0.8–2 cm in diam. (including
styles), flowers congested; ovary dark purple with pale whitish
green base, globose, depressed, or subpyriform, orbicular, diamond-shaped, or irregularly angulate in cross section, 1–2 mmhigh, 1.5–2(–3) mm in diam., ± gradually tapering to style but
after fertilization developing an annular articulation, 1-loculed,occasionally 2-loculed, with 1 basal ovule per locule; style
straight or ± strongly curved toward spadix axis, entirely dark
purple or apical half bright pale green, slender, cylindric orslightly conic, apex oblique and sometimes tricuspidate or
drawn out in a slender point reaching beyond stigma, 2–4 mm,
ca. 0.8 mm in diam. at base; stigma subapical or lateral, superficial or subcapitate, usually transversely bilabiate, rarely longi-

tudinally oval, shallowly but densely verrucate or echinate,occasionally with elongate, fleshy, conic verrucae, pale yellowish or dirty whitish, 0.5–1 mm in diam., 0.2–0.5 mm high;male zone cylindric to fusiform-obconic, 1.3–4 × 0.7–2.2 cm,
flowers densely congested; male flowers consisting of 3–5 stamens; stamens 3–3.5 mm; filaments 1.8–2 mm, proximal halfconnate, whitish; anthers whitish, pinkish, or flesh-colored,
elongate, subquadrangular or strongly biconcave in cross section, 1.3–1.5 × 1–1.3 mm, apex truncate; connective pale violet,
massive; pores transversely elongate, lateral; appendix hardly to
distinctly stipitate, globose, ovoid, elliptic, or conic, obtuse or
truncate, at first turgid but during female anthesis weakening
quickly and soon shriveling and drying, turning brown, 1–5 ×
1–3 cm, with several irregular grooves (not associated withstaminodes), longitudinal ones deepest, between usually with acomplex and dense pattern of elongate, convolute staminodes,
separated by narrow grooves, whole appearing brainlike, yellowish white or pale grayish green, occasionally with a paleviolet hue; stipe of appendix cylindric or obconic, 0.1–0.6 ×
0.3–1 cm. Infructescence cylindric, ca. 4 × 2 cm. Berries at firstgreen, maturing orange, elliptic, 1- or 2-seeded. Fl. Mar–May,
fr. Apr–Jun.
Shaded places in primary evergreen forests, on granite bedrock;
800–1700 m. Guangxi, SE Yunnan [N Myanmar, N Thailand].

4. Amorphophallus dunnii Tutcher, J. Bot. 49: 273. 1911.
南蛇棒 nan she bang
Amorphophallus mellii Engler; A. odoratus Hetterscheid& H. Li.
Tuber dark brown, subglobose or depressed globose, to 10
cm high, to 12 cm in diam., developing numerous offsets annually, these shortly narrowly fusiform, 1–3 × ca. 1 cm. Leaf
solitary; petiole green or grayish green with numerous elongate,confluent, pale green or brownish green spots, 30–60 × 1–1.5
cm, glabrous; leaf blade to ca. 100 cm in diam., rachises winged
throughout; leaflets dark green adaxially, elliptic-lanceolate, 3–
21 × 1.5–7 cm, acuminate. Inflorescence solitary, long pedunculate, producing a scent of fresh carrots; peduncle colored as
petiole, 20–60 cm, 0.7–1.8 cm in diam. at base. Spathe shortly
convolute at base, outside bright pale green, basally withrounded white spots, these distally grading to whitish green,
inside base or a larger patch reddish purple, remainder and limb
as outside but paler, broadly ovate, strongly concave, 8.5–24 ×
8.5–23 cm, base within ridged-verruculose, apex acute, overarching spadix. Spadix stipitate or rarely nearly sessile, slightly
shorter than spathe, 8–20 cm; stipe colored as peduncle but
much paler, 0.5–1.5 cm; female zone cylindric, distal part occasionally broadened, 0.5–2.5 × 1–2.2 cm, flowers congested;ovary pale green, depressed, angulate in cross section, 1–1.5
mm high, 2–3 mm in diam., 2- or 3-loculed, with 1 basal ovule
per locule; style pale green, 0.5–1 × 0.8–1 mm; stigma yellowish, flattened, ca. 1 mm high, ca. 2 mm in diam., 2- or 3(or4)-lobed, oval or triangular in cross section, scabrous-verrucate,lobes obtuse; male zone broadly fusiform, 1.8–3 × 1.3–3.5 cm,
flowers congested; male flowers consisting of 4 or 5 stamens;
stamens ca. 3 mm; filaments ca. 1.5 mm, basal 1/3 connate; anthers butterfly-shaped in cross section, ca. 1.5 × 1.5–1.8 mm;
pores elongate, apical but near margin, sometimes connected by

ARACEAE

an eccentric groove; pollen striate; appendix ivory-white, narrowly to broadly conic, usually slightly dorsiventrally compressed, occasionally substipitate, variable, hollow, 3–14 cm,
1.3–4.5 cm in diam. near base, glabrous or entirely echinate orverruculose, or only distal 1/3 so, base constricted and sometimes grooved, apex subacute or obtuse. Infructescence: fruitingzone cylindric, ca. 12 × 5 cm. Berries crowded, shortly stalked,
glossy dark blue, elongate, to ca. 1.8 × 1.5 cm.
● Guangdong, Guangxi.
H. Li (in FRPS 13(2): 92–95. 1979) treated Amorphophallus
dunnii and A. mellii separately, but the descriptions indicate to Hetterscheid that they represent one variable species. The placement of A.
mellii as well as A. odoratus in the synonymy of A. dunnii was explained by Hetterscheid (Blumea 46: 281. 2000).

27

horizontal, flexed or nearly erect, apex obtuse, all ± creamcolored with a faint bright greenish hue, base with flattened
staminodes separated by shallow grooves, distally diminishing,remainder glabrous; male flowers consisting of ca. 4 stamens;
stamens 1.5–1.8 mm; filaments whitish, ca. 0.3 mm, basallyconnate; anthers dark pink to purplish, 1.2–1.5 × ca. 1 mm,
truncate, pores elongate, apical; pollen irregular, in tetrads,
psilate to verrucate.
Secondary forests; below 1100 m. SE Yunnan [N Vietnam].

6. Amorphophallus henryi N. E. Brown, J. Linn. Soc., Bot.
36: 181. 1903.
台湾蘑芋 tai wan mo yu
Amorphophallus niimurae Yamamoto.

5. Amorphophallus hayi Hetterscheid, Blumea 39: 258. 1994.
红河蘑芋 hong he mo yu
Rhizome horizontal, brown and green, to ca. 25 × 5 cm,
branching infrequently, internodes 1–1.3 cm, leaf scars transversely oval; offset tubers long lasting, depressed, broadly
attached; roots mainly developed from ventral side. Leaves
solitary or paired or simultaneous with inflorescence, latteremerging from petiole sheath; petiole moderately glossy, background color dirty grayish green but nearly totally hidden bylarge, oval, confluent, reddish brown spots, 40–60 × 1–1.5 cm,
turgid, glabrous; leaf blade 50–70 cm in diam., anterior segment
less strongly developed than posterior ones; rachises short,
unwinged except for distalmost parts; leaflets paler green abaxially, moderately glossy green adaxially, lanceolate, 8–32 × 2.5–
7 cm, margin crispate-undulate, apex acuminate; venation quite
strongly impressed. Inflorescence solitary or with leaf, long pedunculate; peduncle reddish brown to yellowish brown, densely
covered with dark reddish brown, narrowly oval, often confluent spots, ca. 50 cm, ca. 1.5 cm in diam. at base, ca. 0.8 cm indiam. at apex, glabrous. Spathe erect, basally loosely convolute,
apical 1/3 horizontally spreading, outside base very pale
purplish brown on a ± cream-colored background, with numerous small and slightly larger, punctiform, rounded, partly confluent, dark purplish brown spots, distally outside dirty creamcolored with less numerous rounded spots but numerous tiny
ones, to margin flushed with gray, inside base dark maroon,
distally ± cream-colored with few tiny dark purple spots, tomargin flushed with dirty dark brownish green, ovate, funnelshaped, margin involute, base and limb not differentiated, 16–
20 × 12–15 cm, base within with very shallow, interconnectedridges, apex narrowly acute. Spadix emitting a strong cheesy
smell, shortly stipitate, longer than spathe, 20–28 cm; femalezone cylindric or slightly obconic, 1.8–2.2 × 1–1.3 cm, distal
limit irregular, flowers congested; ovary bright pale green withtiny reddish purple dots near stigma, very broadly ovoid, 2–2.3
× ca. 2 mm, rounded in cross section, 1-loculed, ovule on aheavy placenta, running on one side to apex of ovary; styleabsent; stigma acroscopic on ovary, pale dirty yellowish, ±reniform, ca. 1 × 0.8 mm, very thin, scaberulose; male zone
fusiform or fusiform-obconic, 2–3 × 1.2–1.5 cm, proximal
and/or distal limit irregular, flowers congested; stipe ca. 2 mm;
appendix 16–23 cm, basal part 1–1.7 cm in diam., distal partca. 4 mm in diam., narrowly fusiform, upper half tail-like andTuber dark brown, depressed globose, 2–6 cm high, 3–11
cm in diam., weighing up to 500 g, seasonally producing several globose offset tubers, these 0.5–1 cm in diam. Leaf solitary;
petiole dull or moderately glossy, mid- or dark green with several ± oval or irregular, whitish spots, with or without numerous
small, white dots in between, 30–60 cm, near base 1–2 cm indiam., glabrous; leaf blade moderately or highly dissected, 30–
100 cm in diam.; rachises narrowly winged; leaflets abaxiallypale green, adaxially mid- or dark green, dull or glossy, margin
at first reddish pink, later usually turning green or whitish, elliptic-ovate, elliptic, or lanceolate, 4–26 × 1.5–5.5 cm, apex acuminate or long acuminate; major veins strongly impressed. Inflorescence solitary, shortly pedunculate; peduncle colored as
petiole, 4–20 × 0.8–1.5 cm, lengthening in fruit. Spathe strongly
convolute at base, outside glossy pale green, with or without apurplish flush, with or without a few small, paler spots; insidedark maroon, near constriction dirty whitish or greenish purple,
campanulate, constricted between base and limb, broadly triangular-ovate, 9–25 × 8–23 cm, thickly walled, apex acute or
obtuse; limb horizontal, irregularly wavy, outside pale green,with a variable, pinkish purplish hue, maroon near margin, inside dark maroon, dull or glossy, near margin greenish or pale
purplish, base within densely covered with large, irregular verrucae; venation strongly impressed. Spadix producing a smellof decaying meat or cow dung at female anthesis, sessile,
longer than spathe, 20–52 cm, female and male zones contiguous or separated by a short (ca. 0.5 cm) (partly) sterile zone;
female zone cylindric or slightly conic, 1.5–4 cm, 2–3 cm indiam. (including styles), flowers congested or all or partly ±remote; ovary: base or larger part greenish, rest dark purple,
depressed, orbicular or suborbicular in cross section, 1.5–3 mmhigh, 2–3(–4.5) mm in diam., 2-loculed, with 1 basal ovule per
locule; funicle long, strongly coiled; style brownish purple or
blackish, 2–3 mm, slender, 0.8–1.2(–1.5) mm in diam.; stigma
grayish purple, large, orbicular or oval in cross section, 0.8–1.5
mm high, ca. 2 mm in diam., 2- or 3(or 4)-lobed, densely
scabrous-papillate; lobes conic, obtuse or subacute; sterilezone with variously transformed male flowers (staminodes),sometimes intermixed with a few sterile remnants of bisexual
flowers, often accompanied by all possible transitional stages
from adjacent zones; appendix pale or dark brown, narrowly
fusiform, 15–42 cm, 1.4–3 cm in diam. near base, 1.8–4 cm indiam. ca. 1/3 from base, oval in cross section, thinly walled andhollow after anthesis, apex ± obtuse or acute, with regular or

28

ARACEAE

irregular, shallow, strongly wrinkled and/or with elongate
depressions, these in basal half of appendix with or without ashort, pale or dark purplish or whitish hair (0.5–2.5 mm); sterile
flowers (when present) between male and female zone either
pale green or purple, to 5 mm, hairlike, or reduced bisexual
flowers, these consisting of a reduced pistil surrounded byseveral stamens; male zone ± obconic, 1.5–4.5 cm, 0.9–1.9 cm
in diam. at base, 1.5–3.5 cm in diam. at apex, flowers congested
or proximal ones distant, free or in distal part fused into lowangled spirals; male flowers consisting of (2 or)3–6 stamens;
stamens ivory-white, oval in cross section, ca. 2 × 1.8 mm; filaments ca. 1 mm, basally connate; anthers ca. 1 mm, truncate or
rostrate (elongation of connective); connective minutely verrucate, after anthesis more strongly rostrate by differential
shrinking of lateral sides of anthers; pores apical, elongate prior
to anthesis, oval at anthesis, opening by deepening of lower
margin, after anthesis ± laterally displaced. Berries blue or violet, elliptic.
● Broad-leaved forests, mixed forests, bamboo plantations, orchards, in heavily to lightly shaded places, on thin soils on limestone
bedrock or in karst areas; sea level to 700 m. Taiwan.

7. Amorphophallus hirtus N. E. Brown, J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 36:
181. 1903.
密毛蘑芋 mi mao mo yu
Tuber whitish, turning grayish brown upon exposure,
globose or depressed globose, 2–9 cm high, 3–15 cm in diam.,
weighing up to ca. 1500 g, seasonally producing numerous thin,rhizomatous offset tubers, these to 3 × ca. 1 cm. Leaf solitary;
petiole dark green with numerous tiny, blackish green spots orwith larger, ± diamond-shaped, pale grayish green spots, thesefilled with numerous dark green, elongate dots, 20–100 cm, 1–
2.6 cm in diam. at base, turgid, glabrous; leaf blade 30–120 cm
in diam., highly dissected; rachises only in distal half of blade
winged, wings sinuous; leaflets adaxially dark emerald green
with a pinkish violet margin, ± obovate or elliptic-oval, 5.5–11
× 2.5–4.5 cm, ± fleshy, long acuminate; venation impressed
adaxially. Inflorescence solitary, long pedunculate; peduncle
colored as petiole, 38–125 cm, 1–4 cm in diam. at base. Spathe
strongly convolute at base, outside pale green, faintly flushedwith purple or dark grayish green with numerous pale whitish
green spots, proximal ones confluent, veins dark green, inside
blackish maroon, campanulate, constricted between base andlimb, broadly triangular, 13–53 × 12–45 cm, covered with numerous shortly ridgelike, laterally compressed, fleshy warts,
base obliquely urceolate, thickly walled, apex acute; limb horizontally spreading or obliquely upturned, outside pale green,
flushed with purple-brown or dark grayish green with angulate,
whitish green spots and margins dirty purple, without spots,
inside ± maroon, flushed with green or with numerous small,rounded, sometimes confluent, whitish greenish spots, veinsmaroon, margin undulate. Spadix emitting a strong smell of old
socks or strong compost, ± stipitate, much longer than spathe,
31–88.5 cm, stipe 0.2–1 cm, female and male zones separated
by a narrow sterile zone; female zone slightly obconic or cylindric, 1.6–6.5 cm, 1.1–3.5 cm in diam. at base, 1.2–3.7 cm indiam. at apex, flowers lax; ovary: basal half white, apical half
blackish maroon, ± globose, ca. 2.5 mm high, ca. 2.5 mm indiam., orbicular in cross section, ± gradually tapering to style,2-loculed, with 1 basal ovule per locule; style maroon, thick, ca.
1 × 1.5 mm; stigma ± pyramidal, orbicular in cross section, ca.
1.8 mm high, ca. 2.5 mm in diam., shallowly 2(or 3)-lobed,
lobes pale olive-green, rounded, scabrous; sterile flowers between male and female zone consisting of 1–7 staminodes,
these consisting of a swollen, often depressed, white base and apurple hair 5–10 mm; male zone urceolate, terete or slightly
laterally compressed, distal margin straight or very irregular, 3–
9 cm, 0.9–3.7 cm in diam. at base, 2–7 cm in diam. at apex,
flowers congested, with scattered, purple hairs between; male
flowers consisting of 3–6 stamens; stamens very shallowly
hemispheric, ca. 2 mm, some uppermost stamens intermediatewith hairs on appendix, carrying a short hair on connective or
reduced to a slightly concave, broad base, carrying a hair(staminode); filaments short, ca. 0.5 mm, connate; anthers ca.
1.5 × 3–3.5 mm, polygonal in cross section, apex very shallowly rounded, ivory-white, producing a clear fluid from top
during female anthesis; connective brownish; pores apical,
elongate, oval after anthesis; appendix very narrowly conic,
25.5–73 cm, 2–7 cm in diam. at base, entirely purple or withnumerous dirty greenish, small spots, with numerous laxly disposed hairs, these directed perpendicular to appendix axis, 0.2–
1.5 cm, purple, in shallow pockets, base not swollen, apex obtuse, producing a clear fluid during female anthesis.
● Dense grasslands; below 100–100 m. Taiwan.

8. Amorphophallus kachinensis Engler & Gehrmann,
Pflanzenr. 48(IV. 23C): 91. 1911.
勐海蘑芋 meng hai mo yu
Amorphophallus bannaensis H. Li.
Tuber brown, depressed globose, 3–5 (or more) cm high,
5–30 cm in diam., developing offsets; offsets incompletely
known but probably rhizomatous. Leaf solitary; petiole dirty
white with dark green to reddish brown spots, ca. 20 cm (?orlonger), glabrous; leaf blade to 100 cm in diam.; leaflets elliptic,
6–9 × 2–3 cm, acute-acuminate. Inflorescence solitary, long pedunculate; cataphylls 9–20 cm; peduncle ivory-white, grayish,
or greenish with brown or purple blotches and greenish patches,
24–80 cm, 0.7–1 cm in diam. at base. Spathe shortly convoluteat base, outside green or greenish brown with green spots or
purplish red stripes and spots, apex purple, concave, 8–29 × 7–
14 cm, base inside with scattered, shallow, punctiform warts.
Spadix emitting an unpleasant, rancid smell, much shorter thanspathe, 6.5–18 cm; stipe 0.2–1 × 0.4–1 cm; flowers unisexual;
female zone slightly obconic or cylindric, 1.3–5 × 0.6–1.4 cm,
flowers congested, proximal ones often more loosely arranged;
ovary dark purple, globose or subpyriform, after anthesis (?fertilization) articulate to style, ca. 2 mm high, ca. 1.5 mm indiam., 1-loculed, with 1 basal, anatropous ovule; style strongly
curved, dark purple, 1–2 mm, slender; stigma superficial, semiglobose, triradiate or flattened, subapical, often transversely
expanded beyond style and subbilabiate, ca. 0.4 mm high, 0.7–1
mm in diam., verrucate, verrucae sometimes elongate and“catcher”-like; male zone obconic, occasionally fusiform, baseoften constricted, flowers congested, 2–4 × 1.2–3 cm; male
flowers consisting of 3–6 stamens; stamens ca. 3 mm; filaments
ca. 2 mm, basal half connate, occasionally entirely connate;anthers white, 1–1.5 × ca. 0.8 mm, apex subtruncate; pores api-

ARACEAE

cal to sublateral, marginal, elongate; appendix stipitate, occasionally sessile, dirty white, ovoid or conic, occasionally nearly
globose, 5.5–7 × 2–4 cm, often with a few deep, longitudinalgrooves or with a few shallow folds, glabrous, base constricted,
apex truncate, rounded, or rarely acute; stipe 0.3–1.5 × 0.8–2
cm. Fl. Mar–May.
Dense climax forests, on limestone rocks; 1000–1500 m. S and W
Yunnan [Laos, N Myanmar (Kachin State), N Thailand].

9. Amorphophallus kiusianus (Makino) Makino, Bot. Mag.
(Tokyo) 27: 244. 1913.
东亚蘑芋 dong ya mo yu
Amorphophallus konjac K. Koch var. kiusianus Makino,
Bot. Mag. (Tokyo) 25: 16. 1911; A. hirtus N. E. Brown var.
kiusianus (Makino) M. Hotta; A. sinensis Belval.
Tuber depressed globose, to ca. 20 cm in diam., to ca. 12
cm high, [no offset development (Japanese specimens) or] witha few sessile, globose offsets (mainland Chinese specimens).
Leaf solitary; petiole glossy, dirty olive-green or grayish green,with narrowly oval or irregular whitish or very pale greenish
spots and numerous tiny dark green dots, to ca. 65 × 4 cm, glabrous; leaf blade 60–90 cm in diam., rachises winged, distalfrom basal main branchings; leaflets adaxially bright green
with a narrow pale violet margin, narrowly elliptic to lanceolate, 6–20 × 3–4.5 cm, margin undulate, apex moderately tolong acuminate. Inflorescence solitary, long pedunculate; peduncle colored as petiole, 40–100 cm (in fruit to ca. 120 cm),
1.5–4 cm in diam. Spathe outside dark greenish, greenish
pinkish, or glossy dark purplish brown, with small, whitish
spots, margin with a narrow, reddish violet line, inside pale
pinkish with a purplish base, purplish and greenish, or entirely
dark brown, with or without a greenish margin, latter sometimes flushed pinkish, sometimes only medially pale green,otherwise with rounded, whitish spots, base outside dark green
or dark greenish brown, with small, rounded whitish spots andblackish green veins, triangular, base rounded, 9–25 × 4–13 cm,
shallowly or clearly constricted between base and limb; limb at
first oblique, then reflexing and bending downward, margin reflexed or undulate; base within dark purple and with numerous± distant, conic warts, occasionally with small, whitish spots.
Spadix sessile or subsessile, shorter than, equal to, or longer
than spathe, 9–22 cm; female zone slightly conic, 1–4 × 0.5–2cm; ovary bright pale green, ± obovoid, angulate in cross section, ca. 2.5 mm high, ca. 2 mm in diam., 2-loculed; style brightpale green or dark brown, nearly absent, ca. 0.2 × 1 mm, bifurcate at apex; stigma pale greenish gray, shallowly or distinctly
2-lobed-sinuous, slightly oval in cross section, ca. 0.8 mm high,ca. 1.5 mm in diam., minutely papillate; staminodes between
male and female zone isolated or in groups of 2–4, or together
with functional stamens as part of lowermost male flowers,
consisting of a highly reduced stamen and a long, brown hair onconnective, those in groups often forming one common disciform base with grooves corresponding with limits of defunctstamens, those on appendix consisting of only a brown hair andeach from a shallow depression; male zone cylindric or slightly
obconic, 2.5–4.5 × 0.5–2 cm; male flowers consisting of 4 or 5
stamens; stamens pale yellow, ca. 1.5 mm; filaments ca. 0.5

29mm, entirely connate; anthers subtruncate or truncate, mostly
subrectangular in cross section, 1–2 × ca. 1 mm; connective
brownish; pores apical, elongate; appendix fusiform-conic or
narrowly fusiform, 4–16 cm, 1–3 cm in diam. near base, apex
acute or obtuse, entirely blackish or with scattered, tiny green
spots, or entirely dark greenish, glossy, glabrous or with shallow depressions, base grooved, otherwise naked or with scattered, thin, violet-brown hairs, emerging from depressions, theseto ca. 1 cm; pollen striate-areolate, released in strings. Infructescence with dried spathe base sometimes remaining, cylindric,
5–22 × 3–4.5 cm. Berries glossy, at first bright green, turning
pinkish purple and finally deep blue, rounded or oval, ca. 1 ×
0.8–1 cm, 2-seeded. Seeds oval in longitudinal section, flattened on one side, ca. 8 × 6 × 4 mm; testa black, moderately
glossy, minutely rugulose. Fl. Apr–Jun, fr. May–Jul.
Shaded, semishaded, or sun-exposed places, plantations, secondary forests, mixed bamboo and broad-leaved forests, orchards; 300–900
m. Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Hunan, Jiangxi, Taiwan, Zhejiang [SJapan].

10. Amorphophallus konjac K. Koch, Wochenschr. Gärtnerei
Pflanzenk. 1: 262. 1858.
花蘑芋 hua mo yu
Amorphophallus mairei H. Léveillé; A. nanus H. Li & C.
L. Long; A. rivieri Durieu ex Riviere; Brachyspatha konjac (K.
Koch) K. Koch; Hydrosme rivieri (Durieu ex Riviere) Engler;
Proteinophallus rivieri (Durieu ex Riviere) J. D. Hooker.
Tuber brown, slightly glossy, depressed globose, to ca. 20
cm high, to ca. 30 cm in diam., seasonally producing numerous
long rhizomatous offsets with swollen apical part, these to ca.
50 × 3 cm. Leaf solitary; petiole background color dirty whitish
pinkish or dirty cream-colored, often nearly entirely covered bylarge, elongate, dark green confluent spots and smaller white
dots, or with numerous small, blackish green spots, very variable, to ca. 100 × 8 cm, glabrous or with scattered punctiform
warts at base; leaf blade highly dissected, to ca. 200 cm indiam., rachises narrowly winged; leaflets dull green adaxially,
elliptic, 3–10 × 2–6 cm, acuminate. Inflorescence long pedunculate (rarely short); peduncle colored as petiole, to ca. 110 × 5
cm. Spathe outside base dirty pale brownish with blackish
green spots, or dirty pale whitish grayish with a few scattered
blackish green dots, near margin flushed with purple; insidebase maroon with or without a paler whitish purplish zone
above, elliptic-lanceolate to broadly ovate-triangular, 10–60 ×
10–55 cm, base and limb ± separated by a shallow constriction,
margin ± strongly sinuous, apex acute; base within densely verrucate, verrucae tiny, punctiform; limb erect, outside uniformly
dark purplish brown, or with scattered blackish green spots,
inside uniformly dark brown, glossy, undulate and/or longitudinally folded, basal margin spreading. Spadix during female
anthesis producing a strong smell of rotting meat and producing
small, clear, slightly viscous droplets, sessile, 15–110 cm;
female zone cylindric or narrowly conic, 2–11 cm, 1–4 cm indiam. at base and to ca. 6 cm in diam. at apex, flowers congested or distant; ovary whitish or pale pinkish, apex purplish,
depressed globose, oval or suborbicular in cross section, 2–2.5
mm high, 2–4 mm in diam., 2- or 3-loculed; style purplish, 1–5

ARACEAE

30mm, ± slender, 0.7–1 mm in diam., often distinctly branched atapex; stigma dirty yellowish brown, depressed, strongly undulate, often sunk between enlarged style branches, 2- or 3(or4)-lobed, oval or triangular in cross section, ca. 0.5 mm high,
1.5–2 mm in diam., verruculose-scabrous; transitional zone between female and male zones occasionally with partly staminodal male flowers and/or pistillodial female flowers or flowers
showing all intermediate stages; male zone cylindric, slightly
fusiform, or slightly obconic, 2–12 × 1–6 cm, flowers congested; male flowers consisting of 3–5 stamens; stamens 2–2.5mm; filaments pale orangish yellow or whitish, 0.5–1 mm,basally or entirely connate or slightly diverging at apex; anthers
dirty whitish grayish, or ± cream-colored, truncate or subtruncate, 1–1.5 × 0.8–2 mm, rectangular in cross section; connective purplish, turning grayish at anthesis, slightly raised; poresapical, oval or reniform; appendix narrowly fusiform-conic,
often laterally compressed and with irregular, shallow longitudinal furrows, 10–85 × 1.5–6 cm, acute, dark purplish brown or
paler, densely rugulose, base often with several diamondshaped, flattened staminodes. Fl. Apr.
● Open situations or forest margins and thickets, secondary forests; 200–3000 m. Yunnan.
The species occurs wild in Yunnan; other occurrences are regarded as plants escaped from cultivation. It is an important crop plant,also cultivated in Japan.

11. Amorphophallus krausei Engler, Pflanzenr. 48(IV. 23C):
94. 1911.
西盟蘑芋 xi meng mo yu
Amorphophallus sutepensis Gagnepain; A. ximengensis H.
Li.
Tuber dirty pale yellowish, brownish, or orangish, yellow
inside, globose, sometimes slightly subcylindric, with a deep
central depression, 4–8 cm high (or more), 5–25 cm in diam.,
weighing up to 750 g (?or more), seasonally developing several
offsets; offsets rhizomatous, long and thin, 2–27 × 0.4–1 cm,
apically slightly thickened or not. Leaf solitary; cataphylls 3, to
25 cm, proximally pale pink, distally grading into off-white,
covered with pale blackish green, elongate spots; petiole background color pale green, at base often pale pink or with areddish brown or reddish hue, with many smaller and larger,
partly or nearly entirely confluent, elliptic to narrowly elliptic,
blackish green or paler green or rarely reddish brown spots andseveral small, white dots, intensity of color and extension ofpattern variable, 20–190 cm, 1–5 cm in diam. at base, glabrous;
leaf blade 100–200 cm in diam.; rachises broadly winged; leaflets paler green abaxially, green or grayish green adaxially, lanceolate to elliptic-lanceolate, more rarely elliptic, 11–48 × 2–11
cm, base decurrent, apex acuminate. Inflorescence solitary; peduncle colored as petiole but smaller, 25–100 cm, 0.8–2 cm indiam. at base. Spathe erect, convolute at base, outside palegreen, toward base slightly darker, inside pale yellowish green,base sometimes ± maroon, cymbiform, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 11–40 × 6–26 cm, basal convolute part 4–6 cm, base insidewith many small, slightly elongate or irregularly ridge-shaped
warts, apex acute-acuminate. Spadix developing considerable
heat at female anthesis and producing a heavy, gaseous, nau-

seating stench, yellowish white or pale green, nearly as long as
spathe, rarely distinctly shorter or slightly longer, 8–35 cm;
flowers unisexual, naked; female zone cylindric or slightly obconic, 0.6–5 cm, 0.6–2.3 cm in diam. (including styles), flowers
congested; ovary pale green, occasionally pale magenta-purple
near style base, globose or slightly depressed, 1.5–2 mm high,
2–2.5 mm in diam., 1-loculed (rarely ?2-loculed), with 1 basal
ovule; style green or magenta-purple, cylindric or conic, 1–2mm; stigma globose or semiglobose, ca. 1 mm in diam., entire
or with a shallow central depression or shallowly 2- or 3-lobed;
lobes pale yellowish white, yellow, or brownish, rounded, scabrous, margin sinuous; sterile zone between female and malezones rarely absent, cylindric, 0.6–2 × 0.8–1.8 cm, staminodes
congested; appendix fusiform or fusiform-conic, sometimes
slightly laterally compressed, 3–17 × 0.9–5 cm, sometimes witha small stipelike part, glabrous, apex rounded or ± acute, baseoccasionally stipelike, at base sometimes with a few roundedstaminodes or staminodal remnants, separated by small
grooves; staminodes often with a droplet as on connectives at
female anthesis, ivory-white or creamy orange, occasionally
flushed with pale purple, ovate or diamond-shaped in crosssection, semiglobose, 1–4.5 × 1–3.1 mm in cross section; malezone cylindric-fusiform or slightly obconic, sometimes slightly
laterally compressed, 3.5–13 × 0.8–3 cm, flowers congested;male flowers consisting of (1–)3 or 4(or 5) stamens, ivorywhite; stamens 2–2.2 mm high; filaments short, 0.75–1 mm,
thick, connate, in lowermost flowers greatly enlarged andwith reduced thecae, grading into staminodes; anthers with arounded apex or subtruncate, 1–1.3 mm high, 1–1.75 mm indiam.; pores apical, elongate; connectives often with a clear,slightly sticky droplet at female anthesis. Infructescence cylindric, ca. 10 cm. Berries 1-seeded (rarely ?2-seeded), bright red,ca. 1 cm. Seeds silvery gray with small, black dots, ellipticovoid, 6–9 × 3–5 mm. Fl. Jun–Aug, fr. Nov–Dec.
Shaded to open, often fire-prone, places in mixed primary evergreen/deciduous forests and deciduous dipterocarp forests, forest margins, bamboo thickets, on granite bedrock, sometimes near streams,
lowlands; below 1500 m. Yunnan [Bangladesh, Laos, N Myanmar, NThailand].
This species is used as a food resource by ethnic minorities in
China (H. Li, J. Wuhan Bot. Res. 6: 212. 1988, under Amorphophallus
ximengensis).

12. Amorphophallus paeoniifolius (Dennstedt) Nicolson,
Taxon 26: 338. 1977.
疣柄蘑芋 you bing mo yu
Dracontium paeoniifolium Dennstedt, Schlüssel Hortus
Malab. 13: (21, 38). 1818 [“paeoniaefolium”]; Amorphophallus campanulatus Decaisne; A. gigantiflorus Hayata; A. microappendiculatus Engler; A. paeoniifolius var. campanulatus(Decaisne) Sivadasan; Arum campanulatum Roxburgh, nom.
illeg. superfl.; A. rumphii Gaudichaud, nom. illeg. superfl.;
Candarum rumphii Schott, nom illeg. superfl.; Hydrosme
gigantiflora (Hayata) S. S. Ying.
Tuber dark brown, depressed globose, ca. 20 cm high, toca. 30 cm in diam., weighing up to ca. 15 kg; root scars prominent, annulate; offsets produced every season, thick and rhi-

ARACEAE

zomatous, to ca. 10 × 4 cm. Leaves 1 or 2; petiole backgroundpale to dark green or blackish green, usually with large andsmall pale blotches and numerous tiny dark dots, large blotches
often confluent, especially near base, petiole to ca. 2 m × 20
cm, shallowly corrugate to strongly echinate-verrucate; leaf
blade highly dissected, to ca. 3 m in diam.; rachises narrowly or
broadly winged almost to base; leaflets abaxially mid-green or
pale green, adaxially mid-green, orbicular, oval, ovate, obovate,
elliptic, elliptic-oblong, elliptic-lanceolate, or lanceolate, 3–35
× 2–12 cm, apex acuminate. Inflorescence shortly pedunculate;peduncle 3–20 × 1–8 cm, usually paler and more glabrous thanpetioles. Spathe campanulate, broader than long, 10–45 × 15–
60 cm, base and limb often separated by a shallow constriction;limb spreading, background ranging from pale green to darkbrown, usually with both large and small, orbicular paler spots,base inside proximal part deep maroon, distal part dirty whitish
or very pale pinkish, limb outside as base but with more prominent maroon flushes, especially near margin, limb inside usually glossy dark maroon, strongly undulate, base outside veryvariable, base within densely verrucate, verrucae variable,
mostly conic, fleshy. Spadix giving off a stench of rotting meat,sessile, shorter or longer than spathe, 7–70 cm; female zone
cylindric, 3–25 × 1–12 cm, flowers congested or slightly distant; ovary entirely pale green or largely maroon with a whitish
base, depressed, orbicular in cross section, 1.5–2.5 mm high, 3–
5 mm in diam., 2- or 3-loculed; style maroon, 3–15 mm, slender, 1–1.5 mm in diam.; stigma pale or deep yellow, oval or triangular in cross section, large, 3–5 mm high, 4–7 mm in diam.,
often strongly laterally compressed, then cordate in longitudinal
section, verruculose, shallowly or deeply 2- or 3-lobed, lobes
rounded or conic, sometimes with a strong groove on outward
side; male zone cylindric or strongly obconic, 2.5–15 cm, 1–10
cm in diam. at base, 1–20 cm in diam. at apex, flowers congested; male flowers consisting of 4–6 stamens; stamens 4–6mm; filaments ca. 0.5 mm, connate; anthers off-white, cylindric, 3.5–5.5 × ca. 1.5 mm, subtruncate; pollen psilate; appendix very variable, glossy dark maroon, rarely pinkish or yellow,
inflated, globose, depressed globose, ovoid, or triangular-conic(pyramidal), 1.5–30 cm, 1.2–30 cm in diam. (slightly abovebase), minutely granulate, glabrous or with various folds and/or
irregular shallow depressions, base often with flattened, staminodal structures, apex obtuse or ± acute. Infructescence longpedunculate; peduncle stretching strongly after fertilization, 20–
100 cm, becoming uniformly tan, with very numerous narrow,transverse cracks; fruiting zone cylindric, 10–50 × 3–8 cm. Berries closely set or slightly distant, ripening from green throughyellow to bright red, elongate, 1.5–2 cm × 8–10 mm. Fl. Apr–
May, fr. Oct–Nov.
Secondary conditions, secondary forests or highly disturbed
areas, in dappled shade or fully exposed; sea level to 800 m. Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Taiwan, Yunnan [Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand,
Vietnam; N Australia, Pacific islands; naturalized in Indian Ocean
islands (Seychelles)].
This taxon is extensively cultivated as a tuber crop, serving as animportant food for humans and as animal feed.

13. Amorphophallus tonkinensis Engler & Gehrmann,
Pflanzenr. 48(IV. 23C): 87. 1911.

31

东京蘑芋 dong jing mo yu
Tuber brown, somewhat glossy, depressed globose, at least
9 cm in diam., root scars slightly raised, no offsets observed.
Leaf solitary; petiole uniformly pale green or background palegrayish green with a clear bluish flush near base and on subterranean part, and with whitish spots, these often broader thanlong, irregularly shaped, and scattered over entire surface withshort, longitudinal, blackish dots, these in proximal part often
raised, petiole 80–200 × 2.5–7 cm, glabrous, turgid; leaf blade
highly dissected, 80–200 cm in diam.; rachises winged only
distally from basal main branchings, sometimes some nodes
swollen and forming intercalary bulbils; leaflets elliptic-lanceolate to lanceolate, 8.5–24 × 3.5–6 cm, long acuminate. Inflorescence solitary, long pedunculate; peduncle colored as petiole,
22–50 cm (but probably longer), ca. 1 cm in diam. Spathe (alldimensions based on relatively small specimens) shortly convolute at base, erect or arching over spadix apically, outside
green with a few transverse, whitish spots, inside whitish green
with small, punctiform or slightly elongate verrucae, oval, 8–20
× 5–17 cm, strongly concave; outside limb dark green with an
obscure blackish purplish flush and a few scattered, small
whitish dots, inside bright green with a few small, whitish
spots. Spadix sessile, shorter than or nearly as long as spathe,
7.5–17 cm; female zone cylindric or slightly obconic, 1–1.5 ×
1–2 cm, flowers congested; ovary bright pale green, depressed
globose, ca. 2 mm high, 2.5–3 mm in diam., 2-loculed; stylewhitish, straight, short, 0.8–1 × ca. 0.8 mm; stigma dirty paleyellowish brownish, depressed, large, ca. 1.5 mm high, 2–2.5
mm in diam., orbicular or oval in cross section, verruculose,
entire, with an acroscopic shallow depression, or shallowly or
distinctly 2-lobed, lobes rounded; male zone slightly or strongly
obconic, 1.5–4 cm, 1.5–2 cm in diam. at base, 1.6–3 cm in diam.
at apex, flowers congested; male flowers consisting of 4 or 5
stamens; stamens 3–3.5 × 1–1.5 mm; filaments ca. 1.5 mm,
connate; anthers 1.5–2 mm, truncate; pores apical or subapical,
elliptic, small, with a groove running from every pore to marginof anther; connective large, raised; appendix conic, oval-elliptic, or narrowly fusiform, 4.5–12 × 2.2–5 cm, obtuse, white,with many shallow, often longitudinally confluent depressions
and with or without scattered, tiny, punctiform pustules, basewith sterile stamens, gradually merging to form appendix wall.
Fl. May.
Dense tropical forests, moist shaded places; 800–900 m. SE
Yunnan [N Vietnam].

14. Amorphophallus yuloensis H. Li, J. Wuhan Bot. Res. 6:
211. 1988.
攸乐蘑芋 you le mo yu
Tuber depressed globose, to ca. 10 cm in diam., without
offset development. Petiole uniformly olive-green to pale green,
10–75 × 0.5- 2 cm, smooth; leaf blade pale green abaxially, midgreen adaxially, 10–100 cm in diam.; rhachises winged distally from basal branchings, central branching point and several
more distal nodes becoming intercalary bulbils, producing
new plants after detachment; leaflets elliptic to elongate elliptic,
2–25 × 2–10 cm, apex acuminate, veins impressed adaxially.
Peduncle dark olive-green with fine, darker, short striations/

32

ARACEAEspots, ca. 10 cm × 8 mm, glabrous. Spathe erect, outside basepale greenish with small, blackish green dots, center very pale
pinkish with similar dots, distally dirty creamish with scattered,grayish black dots, inside base pale pink with numerous white
verrucae, distal part dirty cream, concave, broadly ovate, ca. 11
× 10 cm, margins incurved, obtuse; spathe on second day open
to base. Spadix subsessile, shorter than spathe, ca. 8.5 cm; female zone cylindric, distal margin very irregular, 1–2 × ca. 1.3
cm, flowers congested or just touching; ovary depressed, orbicular in cross section, 2–2.5 mm high, ca. 4 mm in diam., palegreen with very thin, scattered pinkish, short stripes in apicalhalf, 2-loculed, with 1 basal ovule per locule; style ivory-white,
short but distinct, ca. 0.8 × 1.1 mm; stigma pale dirty yellow,
disciform, rounded in cross section, ca. 1 mm high, ca. 2.5 mm
in diam., densely verrucate, with a shallow central depression;
male zone slightly fusiform, 2.5–4 × ca. 11.5 cm, flowers mostly separated but distally congested, occasional flowers transformed into conic-pyramidal staminodes; male flower consisting of (2 or)3(or 4) stamens; stamens ca. 2 mm; filaments
ivory-white, ca. 0.8 mm, basally connate; anthers dirty ivorywhite, truncate, ca. 1 × 2 mm, rectangular in cross section;
pores apical, elliptic; staminodes representing one stamen each;
appendix ivory-white, broadly conic, massive, 3.2–4 × ca. 1.8
cm, glabrous, base irregular, apex obtuse. Fr. Jun.
● Dense primary evergreen valley forests on limestone; 200–2400
m. Yunnan.

15. Amorphophallus xiei H. Li & Z. L. Dao, Novon 16: 240.
2006.
谢君蘑芋 xie jun mo yu
Tuber dark brown outside, pink inside, depressed globose,
7–8 cm high, ca. 16 cm in diam., root scars not swollen, without
offset development. Leaf solitary; petiole pink at base, green to
deep green apically, sometimes with some inconspicuous, paler,rhombic, linear, or irregular spots with a dark center or with
scattered very small, dark green dots, 60–80 cm, glabrous; leaf
blade 60–120 cm in diam.; leaflets pale abaxially, green adaxially, elliptic, to ca. 23 × 8 cm, apex acuminate; main branching
points in leaf blade with an epiphyllar bulbil, these brown,
depressed globose to subglobose, to 3 cm in diam. Inflorescence solitary; peduncle colored as petiole, to 18 × 1.3–1.5 cm.
Spathe almost erect, outside very pale whitish pinkish with
scattered punctiform dark brown dots, with purple base, andmargin sometimes reddish, inside dark pink, campanulate, ca.
18 × 10 cm, base minutely verruculose. Spadix sessile, longer
than spathe, 23–24 cm; flowers unisexual, naked; female zone
cylindric, 4–4.5 × 1.5–2 cm, flowers congested; ovary pink to
reddish pink, obconic, ca. 3 mm high, ca. 2 mm in diam., 1loculed; style almost absent; stigma nearly sessile, yellow,
strongly depressed, disciform, ca. 0.5 mm high, ca. 3 mm indiam., wider than ovary, slightly 5- or 6-lobed to irregularly 8lobed; male zone cylindric or slightly obconic, 6.5–7 × 2.6–3.7
cm; male flower consisting of 4 or 5 stamens; stamens almost
entirely free, ca. 2 × 1.5 mm; filaments ca. 1 mm; anthers offwhite with a pinkish apex, truncate, ca. 1 mm; pores apical,
slightly elongate; appendix off-white or pale pink, fusiformconic, laterally compressed in larger individuals, ca. 11 × 5 cm,

smooth. Fruit red when mature, ovoid, ca. 1.5 cm × 5 mm. Fl.
Apr, fr. May–Nov.
● Forest margins, tropical thickets; 900–1100 m. W Yunnan(Longchuan).
This species is cultivated as a food crop in the valleys of the
Nanwan and Husa rivers of the Irrawaddy system.
The species status of Amorphophallus xiei is doubted by one of us(Hetterscheid). It differs only in color from A. bulbifer Blume (N, NE,
and S India), an otherwise variable species forming a close relationshipwith A. muelleri Blume (NE India, N Thailand southward to the lesser
Sunda islands of Indonesia). Both species also produce the same
epiphyllar bulbils unique in Amorphophallus. Molecular analysis
indicates that A. xiei is most closely related to A. bulbifer, if not just asomaclonal variant of it (both A. bulbifer and A. muelleri are apomictswith 2n = 39) taken up for cultivation and possibly escaped to nonagricultural terrain.

16. Amorphophallus yunnanensis Engler, Pflanzenr. 48(IV.
23C): 109. 1911.
滇蘑芋 dian mo yu
Amorphophallus kerrii N. E. Brown.
Tuber dark brown, white or yellow inside, depressed globose, to 9 cm high, to 13 cm in diam., weighing up to 500 g,root scars with an annular thickening, seasonally developing
several offsets; offsets sessile, rounded or elliptic, ca. 2.5 × to
1.2 cm. Leaf solitary; cataphylls 3, dark grayish green, largely
covered with pale pinkish, rhombic spots, 6–35 cm; petiole
medium to dark olive-green or dark olive-brown with several
rhombic or narrowly elliptic, pale whitish greenish spots, 10–80
cm, 0.5–2.5 cm in diam. at base, glabrous; leaf blade highly
dissected, to 190 cm in diam.; rachises broadly winged except
below basal branching points, basal branching points sometimes developing intercalary bulbils after disturbance; leaflets
abaxially paler, adaxially dark green, often with a bluish sheen
when young, margin often narrowly violet, elliptic, 10–40 × 5–
13 cm, base broadly decurrent, apex acuminate. Inflorescencesolitary, long pedunculate; cataphylls as with leaf; peduncle
colored as petiole, 13–60 cm, 1–2 cm in diam. at base. Spathe
shortly convolute at base, erect, concave, arching over spadix,
outside white or pale greenish white, rarely dark green, sometimes near base with paler, occasionally ringlike spots, or sometimes flushed with pale pinkish, margin sometimes lined
pinkish, inside pale greenish white without spots; limb outside
dirty creamish, sometimes with faint spots, margin sometimes
pale pinkish violet, inside ± cream-colored or pale greenish
white, margin sometimes pale pinkish violet, broadly ovate, 9–29 × 4–20 cm, inside base glabrous or with a few scattered,punctiform warts, apex obtuse or acute. Spadix creamy white orpale pinkish, much shorter than spathe, 3–18 cm; stipe palegreen with whitish spots, 0.5–2.5 cm; flowers unisexual; femalezone cylindric, slightly conic or obconic, 0.8–3.5 × 0.5–2 cm,
flowers congested but in proximal part sometimes loosely
arranged; ovary green, pale green, brownish green, or purplish,
near style insertion sometimes dirty creamish, globose, subglobose, or depressed, orbicular or angulate in outline, 2–2.5 mm
high, 2–4 mm in diam., 2-loculed; style straight or curved,
green or dirty pale pinkish, narrowly to broadly conic, base

ARACEAE(articulation) thickened, 1–2.5 × 0.3–1 mm; stigma pale yellowish or dirty brownish, variable, usually distinctly broader
than style diam., disciform to subhemispheric, more rarely
superficial, punctiform, orbicular or oval in outline, with a shallow central depression to clearly 2-lobed, verrucate; lobes
rounded, 0.4–0.6 mm high, 0.6–1.2 mm in diam.; male zone
conic or fusiform-cylindric, rarely obconic, sometimes (partly)
laterally compressed, 1–4 × 0.6–3.5 cm, flowers congested;male flowers consisting of 3–5 stamens; stamens 3–3.5 mm;
filaments 0.5–2 mm, basally or up to 2/3 of length connate;anthers creamy white, 1.5–3 × 1–2 mm; connectives flat or witha ridgelike extension, perpendicular to long axis, either small orvery large, maroon or dark brown; pores apical, elongate; appendix ovoid, conic, or triangular-ovoid, rarely subcylindric,33

inflated or strongly laterally compressed, 3–11 × 1.5–5 cm,
glabrous or verruculose, rarely entirely echinate, often with a
few longitudinal shallow or deep, broad folds, or irregularly
folded throughout, base strongly truncate, apex obtuse, rarely
acute, usually with a few broadly conic staminodes. Infructescence cylindric or subglobose, 4–11 × 3.5–5 cm, dried malezone and appendix often remaining, as well as dried spathe.
Berries 1- or 2-seeded, at first green, at maturity turning blueand finally violet, at apex with dried style and stigma remaining. Fl. Apr–May.
Shaded places in primary evergreen or mixed evergreen/deciduous
forests, on metamorphic bedrock, in rich soils, or secondary forests,
thickets, forest margins; 100–3300 m. Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan[Laos, N Thailand, N Vietnam].

17. ARUM Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 964. 1753.
疆南星属 jiang nan xing shu
Li Heng (李恒 Li Hen); Peter C. Boyce
Herbs, tuberous. Cataphylls several. Leaves 2, simple; petiole sheathing; leaf blade hastate-sagittate or sagittate. Inflorescences1(or 2), pedunculate; peduncle long or short. Spathe ultimately marcescent, convolute, base (tube) separated from limb by a constriction; spathe tube oblong or ovate; limb initially erect, cymbiform, concave or arched, later flopping forward or actively reflexing,
ovate-lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate. Spadix sessile, shorter than to subequaling spathe; flowers unisexual, naked; female zone
cylindric; ovary oblong, 1-loculed; ovules few on 2 or 3 parietal placentae; stigma sessile; sterile flowers (staminodes) usuallypresent between female and male zones and also above male zone; appendix dark purple or yellow, cylindric-conic, cylindric, or
clavate; male zone shorter; stamens 3 or 4, nearly tetragonal, short; connective convex; anthers obovoid, shorter than filaments,
opening by an apical pore or longitudinal slit; sterile flowers broadly conic, filiform, ± thickened, verrucose, these between female
and male zones recurved, those at distal part of male zone reflexed upward. Berries obovoid, few seeded. Seeds with endosperm;
embryo axile.
Twenty-eight species: N Africa, SW Asia extending to C Asia, Europe; one species in China.

1. Arum jacquemontii Blume, Rumphia 1: 118. 1836.
疆南星 jiang nan xing
Arum griffithii Schott.
Herbs, tuberous, sprouting in late autumn from a disciform, vertically oriented tuber 2–5 cm in diam., 2–2.5 cm thick.
Petiole mid-green, stained dull purple, terete, 10.5–28 cm ×
2.5–4.4 mm. Leaf blade dark to mid-green, sagittate to sagittate-hastate, 11–30 × 4–12 cm, apex acute. Inflorescence notscented; peduncle exceeding leaves, pale green proximally, deep
green distally, terete, 11–32 cm × 5–7 mm. Spathe 12–22 cm;
tube outside green, inside white, oblong-cylindric, 2.5–4 × 1.2–
1.6 cm, slightly constricted apically; limb erect at first but soon
flopping forward, outside mid-green with faint purple staining,inside dull purple, deeper purple along middle, paler proximally, brownish purple to purple distally, narrowly lanceolate,
9–18 × 1–3 cm, acuminate. Spadix 2/3–3/4 as long as spathelimb, 9–20 cm in total length; female flowers in an oblongcylindric cluster 15–17 × 5–6 mm; ovary pale greenish yellow,
oblong, 2–3 mm; stigma pale grayish mauve; pistillodes in 3 or
4 whorls forming a zone 3–4 mm; bristles glossy deep violet,
subulate-filiform, 3–4.5 mm; bases dark purple, bulbiform, ver-rucate; staminodes in 2 or 3 whorls forming a zone 3–5 mm;bristles flexuose, glossy deep violet, filiform, 2–2.5 mm; bases
dark purple, barely conic, verrucate; interstices: proximal 2.5–3
mm cream-colored, longitudinally ridged; distal 1.5–2 mmcream-colored, smooth; appendix dull yellow to orange-brown,
purple, or brownish purple, base paler, cylindric, tapering
basally, 6–17 cm × 3–7 mm; male flowers in an oblong zone 6–
7 × 4–5 mm; anthers and connectives maroon. Infructescence
cylindric, 4–4.5 × 1.8–2.2 cm. Berries oblong, 4–9 × 3–4 mm.
Fl. Apr–May.
Among rocks in damp soil pockets and crevices, occasionallyalong damp field edges; 1600–3700 m. SW Xinjiang, W Xizang [NAfghanistan, N India, Kashmir, W Nepal, N Pakistan, Tajikistan, E
Turkmenistan, SE Uzbekistan; SW Asia (NE Iran)].
Arum jacquemontii has a wide distribution, occurring from the NE
corner of Iran to the W Himalayas (Boyce, Gen. Arum, 139, map 17.
1993). Arum korolkowii Regel as reported in FRPS (13(2): 100–101.
1979) is, in fact, A. jacquemontii. Although similar to A. korolkowii, A.
jacquemontii is readily distinguished by its dull purple, not striped,
petioles, the purple spathe limb, longer spadix appendix, and purple, notgreen, staminode and pistillode bases. Further, the pollen exine of A.
jacquemontii is spinulose and not scabrous as in A. korolkowii. An
important geographic difference is that A. jacquemontii grows farther
south and east and at higher elevations than A. korolkowii.

ARACEAE

34

18. TYPHONIUM Schott, Wiener Z. Kunst 1829: 732. 1829.
犁头尖属 li tou jian shu
Li Heng (李恒 Li Hen); Wilbert L. A. Hetterscheid
Herbs, seasonally dormant. Underground part a long or short tuberous rhizome. Leaves entire, sagittate-hastate, 3-lobed or-partite. Inflorescence simultaneous with or preceding leaves; peduncle short or long. Spathe divided into a strongly convolute basal
part with a ± strong apical constriction and a spreading lanceolate to ovate-triangular limb. Spadix as long as or longer than spathe,with 4 zones: a proximal female zone, an intermediate sterile zone with staminodes all over (in Typhonium flagelliforme only) or
only at base, a male zone, and a sessile or stipitate appendix. Female flowers 1-loculed with 1 or 2(or 3) orthotropous basal ovules.
Staminodes variable, spatulate to filamentous or variously reduced. Male flowers with 1–3 stamens opening by slits or pores;
connective sometimes prolonged. Fruiting zone with spathe remaining (sometimes splitting open at maturity); berries ovoid, 1(or 2)seeded. Seeds with endosperm.
About 50 species: from India to Polynesia; distributions in Africa and the West Indies are the result of human introductions; nine species (fourendemic) in China.
The number of species given here for China is expected to be a considerable underestimation in view of the high species numbers in N Thailand
and N Vietnam.
Recent molecular investigation of the tribe Areae (Cusimano et al, Taxon 59: 439–447. 2010) suggested that Typhonium sensu Hetterscheid andBoyce (Aroideana 23: 48–55. 2000) is polyphyletic and transferred several species to Sauromatum. The latter genus in its new monophyletic
circumscription was shown not to be the direct sister genus to Typhonium sensu stricto.

1a. Sterile zone between female and male zone fully covered by staminodes ............................................................ 4. T. flagelliforme
1b. Sterile zone between female and male zone with basal staminodes only, rest naked.
2a. Staminodes vermiform, thin, long, irregularly curving and twisting in all directions.
3a. Staminodes numerous, proximal ones covering most of female zone; spathe limb broadly triangular;
underground part a short, tuberous rhizome .................................................................................................. 9. T. trilobatum
3b. Staminodes few, female zone readily visible; spathe limb lanceolate; underground part a long, cylindricrhizome ........................................................................................................................................................... 5. T. hunanense
2b. Staminodes different, when filiform then not curving in all directions.
4a. Spathe limb broadly triangular, or basal part triangular and apical part lanceolate, purple.
5a. Basal part of spathe limb triangular, apical part narrowed, lanceolate; leaf entire and linear, or
deeply 3-lobed, lobes linear ..................................................................................................................... 8. T. trifoliatum
5b. Spathe limb broadly triangular, not narrowed to apex; leaf entire and triangular to triangular-hastateor triangular-sagittate, or ± deeply 3-lobed, lobes ovate or ovate-lanceolate.
6a. Staminodes downcurved ................................................................................................................... 7. T. roxburghii
6b. Staminodes upcurved .............................................................................................................................. 3. T. blumei
4b. Spathe limb lanceolate, pale purple or ± cream-colored.
7a. Staminodal flowers present just below base of appendix, a naked axis part between these andmale zone, staminodes above female flowers 3–4 mm ...................................................................... 2. T. baoshanense
7b. Staminodal flowers absent above male flowers.
8a. Staminodes few, all vertical, parallel to spadix axis, 3–4 mm .................................................... 1. T. albidinervium
8b. Staminodes numerous, at least partly oblique or horizontally spreading, 6–7 mm ........................ 6. T. jinpingense
1. Typhonium albidinervium C. Z. Tang & H. Li, Acta
Phytotax. Sin. 15(2): 105. 1977.
白脉犁头尖 bai mai li tou jianUnderground part a short tuberous rhizome, ca. 2 cm,
producing annual offsets. Petiole pale green or pale dull
brownish, 15–25 cm; leaf blade ovate-cordate to ovate-hastate,
4–13 × 3.5–8 cm, base cordate, apex acute. Peduncle 2–5 cm.
Spathe outside yellowish green, with reddish stripes and spots,
inside ± cream-colored, base ovoid or conic, 1.5–1.8 × 1–1.2
cm, distinctly constricted at apex; limb arching forward, purplish brown or pale brown outside, dark to pale brown inside,
margins sometimes ± cream-colored, apex pale green, ovatelanceolate, 9–15 cm, ca. 1.5 cm in diam. at base, tapering toapex. Spadix ± as long as spathe; female zone conic, 3–4 mm,
3–4 mm in diam. at base; ovary pale green, broadly cylindric,ca. 1 mm; stigma sessile; sterile zone 1.3–2.5 cm, with 2 or 3
whorls of staminodes at base, rest naked and terete; staminodes
solitary or 2 or 3 fused with their bases, ± cream-colored toyellowish, base violet or dark pink, fusiform-clavate, 3–4 mm;
male zone cylindric, 5–6 × 2–3.5 mm; anthers yellow; appendix
brownish purple or pale brown, filiform, 9–16 cm, ca. 2 mm indiam. at base. Infructescence obconic, with spathe base persistent. Berries pale green, obconic, ca. 6 mm. Fl. May.
Guangdong, Hainan; also cultivated in Guangdong and Yunnan [NThailand].

2. Typhonium baoshanense Z. L. Dao & H. Li, Acta Phytotax.
Sin. 45: 236. 2007.
保山犁头尖 bao shan li tou jianUnderground part a short tuberous rhizome, irregularly

ARACEAE

35

shaped, ca. 3 × 2 cm, developing several small globose offsetswith leaves. Petiole greenish, 8–14 cm, smooth; leaf blade 2–10
× 2–10 cm, variable, ovate, hastate or sagittate to 3-lobed,
deeply cordate at base, apex acute; lateral lobes (when present)
ovate-oblong, ca. 4.5 × 3 cm. Inflorescence appearing withleaves; peduncle whitish, hidden in soil, 1.3–4.5 cm. Spathe
pale green outside, ca. 18 cm; tube ellipsoid, ca. 2 × 1.5 cm;
limb convolute at base, purple on both surfaces, margins andapical part pale green, lanceolate, to 15 × ca. 3 cm, tapering toapex. Spadix sessile, as long as spathe or slightly longer, 18–20
cm; female zone conic, ca. 5 mm, ca. 7 mm in diam. at base;ovary yellowish, ovoid; stigma brown; sterile zone to 2.5 cm,
basal part with staminodes, rest naked, terete; staminodes yellow, fusiform, 3–4 × ca. 1 mm, obtuse; male zone cylindric, ca.
5 mm, ca. 3 mm in diam.; stamens yellow; anthers subsessile;
appendix dark purple, filiform, ca. 14.5 cm, ca. 3 mm in diam.
at base, base with 2 verticils of dysfunctional stamens; sterile
male flower at base of appendix subglobose or fusiform, without pollen; anthers yellow; connective purple. Fl. Jun–Jul. 2n =10*.

Underground part a short, tuberous rhizome, depressed, 1–
2 cm. Petiole green, 15–30 cm; leaf blade 5–25 × 0.5–18 cm,
extremely variable, linear, lanceolate, elliptic, or hastate. Inflorescence appearing alongside leaves; peduncle 5–20 cm, thin.
Spathe convolute at base, green, ovoid, globose, or depressed,
1.5–3.5 × 1.2–2 cm, constricted at apex, outside with 1 or a few
keels; limb convolute-tubular at base, expanded and sharply
flexed horizontally at apex, green on both sides or base flushed
purple, lanceolate, 7.5–25 cm, tapering to long acuminate apex.
Spadix shorter than, as long as, or slightly longer than spathe;female zone subcylindric, slightly fusiform, 1.5–1.8 cm × 8–10mm; ovary pale green, elongate, angulate; sterile zone 1–2 cm,
entirely covered with staminodes, these distant; staminodes
dimorphic; proximal ones ca. 6 mm, with a horizontal whitebase, apically sharply upcurved, spatulate-lingulate and with orwithout a purple apex; distal ones downcurved, white, subulate,aristate; male zone ca. 5 mm; appendix subsessile, 16–17 cm,
base swollen and often deeply grooved, apically filiform,
erect, horizontal, or downcurved. Berries pale greenish, 2- or
3-seeded. Fl. Apr–May.

● About 1700 m. W Yunnan (Gaoligong Shan: Baoshan).

In shallow water by streams, water fields, moist meadows; sealevel to 400 m. Guangdong, Guangxi, SE Yunnan [Bangladesh, Bhutan,
Cambodia, NE and S India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar,
Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, N Thailand; N Australia].

3. Typhonium blumei Nicolson & Sivadasan, Blumea 27: 494.
1981.
犁头尖 li tou jianUnderground part a broad and flattened rhizome, to 5 ×
2.5 cm, to 1.8 cm high, producing numerous small, fusiform
offsets. Petiole green, 20–40 cm; leaf blade pale green abaxially, green adaxially, entire, cordate-hastate, ovate or deltoid in
outline, 7–10 × 7–9 cm, terminal lobe ovate, basal lobes ovate
to deltoid. Inflorescence appearing alongside leaves; peduncle
pale green, 9–11 cm. Spathe convolute at base, green, ellipsoid
to ovoid, 1.6–4 cm × 8–15 mm, distinctly constricted at apex;
limb spreading, inside greenish purple to dark purple, ovate,
12–18 × 4–5 cm, long cuspidate. Spadix erect, subequaling
spathe; female zone conic, 1.5–3 mm, 3–4 mm in diam. at base;ovary cream-colored; stigma sessile, reddish or pale pinkish;sterile zone 1.7–4 cm, proximal 7–8 mm covered with densely
congested staminodes, rest naked, terete; staminodes ascendingor variously curved, yellow or basal part reddish, narrowly
fusiform, ca. 4 mm; male zone 4–9 mm; stamens yellow, subsessile; anthers orange; appendix narrowly conic, 10–13 cm,
proximally corrugate, distally smooth, tapering to sharply acuteapex, base truncate or obliquely truncate, usually with a stipe 5–
7 mm. Fl. May–Jul. 2n = 52.
Croplands, grasslands, between rocks; below 1200 m. Fujian,Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Taiwan, Yunnan, Zhejiang [Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan,
Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam; introduced in Africa, Nepal, Neotropics,
Philippines, and Pacific islands].
In FRPS (13(2): 111. 1979), the name Typhonium divaricatum(Linnaeus) Decaisne was misapplied to this species.

4. Typhonium flagelliforme (Loddiges) Blume, Rumphia 1:
134. 1837.
鞭檐犁头尖 bian yan li tou jianArum flagelliforme Loddiges, Bot. Cab. 4: t. 396. 1819; A.
cuspidatum Blume; Typhonium cuspidatum (Blume) Decaisne.

5. Typhonium hunanense H. Li & Z. Q. Liu, Bull. Bot. Res.,
Harbin 3(2): 155. 1983.
湖南犁头尖 hu nan li tou jian
Rhizome cylindric, 3–6 cm × 4–10 mm, usually curved
and branched. Petiole 11–26 cm; leaf blade green, sometimes
purple, oblong-sagittate to ovate, distal part ovate, 6–14 × 5–6
cm, base cordate or truncate, apex abruptly acuminate or acute;basal lobes, if present, spreading, ovate, deltoid, or oblong.
Peduncle 6–9 cm, slender. Spathe convolute at base, yellowish,
with purple spots, 6–10 cm, basal 2–3 cm ovoid, constricted atapex; limb spreading or slightly recurved, purple, lanceolate, 4–
6 cm, apex long acuminate. Spadix shorter than spathe, 5–7 cm;
female zone ca. 3 mm; ovary subglobose, 1-loculed, 1-ovuled;stigma subsessile, violet; sterile zone 1.5–2 cm, proximal 5–7
mm with densely congested staminodes, rest naked; staminodes
variously curled, filiform, 3–4 mm; male zone cylindric, 6–8 ×
1.5–2 mm; appendix sessile, erect, narrowly conic, 2–3.9 cm ×
3–4 mm, base truncate. Fl. Apr–May, fr. Jun.
● Bamboo forests, thickets; ca. 100 m. Hunan.

6. Typhonium jinpingense Z. L. Wang, H. Li & F. H. Bian,
Novon 12: 287. 2002.
金平犁头尖 jin ping li tou jianUnderground part a short, tuberous rhizome, 2–2.5 × 0.7–1
cm, producing annual offsets. Petiole green, 10–17 × ca. 0.1
cm, smooth; leaf blade cordate, 5–8 × 4–10 cm, base usuallycordate-hastate or deeply cordate. Peduncle ca. 1 cm. Spathe
pale green, dark purple at apex, base ovoid, ca. 1.5 × 0.5 cm;
limb slightly arching, whitish with purple base, narrowly lanceolate, ca. 11 cm, ca. 1 cm in diam. at base, apex long acuminate. Spadix slightly longer than spathe, to ca. 14 cm; femalezone ca. 5 mm; ovary with short style and dark purple stigma;
sterile zone ca. 2.4 cm, densely covered with staminodes at

ARACEAE

36

base, rest naked; staminodes erect or spreading, yellowish,
clavate, 6–7 mm; male zone ca. 5 mm; male flowers yellow;
appendix erect, purple, cylindric, ca. 10 cm × 2 mm. Fl. late
Apr–Aug. 2n = 10*.
● Yunnan (Jinping).

7. Typhonium roxburghii Schott, Aroideae, 12. 1855.
金慈姑 jin ci gu
Underground part a short, tuberous rhizome, subglobose or
globose. Petiole 10–35 cm; leaf blade yellowish green abaxially, dark green adaxially, reniform-hastate, triangular in outline, shallowly or deeply 3-lobed; terminal lobe ovate, (5–)9–17
× 4–14 cm, acuminate; lateral lobes spreading, obliquely ovate
or narrowly ovate. Inflorescence appearing after leaves; peduncle creamy red with dark purple dots, 2–9 cm. Spathe outside
whitish or pale green with purple striae, inside purple, baseovoid, 2–3.5 × ca. 1.5 cm; limb outside purplish mixed withdirty green flush or striae, or purple all over, inside deep rich
purple, ovate-lanceolate, abruptly tapering from below middle,
usually twisted at tip, 13–15 × ca. 5 cm. Spadix subequaling
spathe; female zone 4–5.5 mm; ovary white or yellowish,
ovoid; stigma purple, 1-loculed, 1-ovuled; sterile zone 1.5–2.2
cm, proximal 5–7 mm densely covered with staminodes, rest
naked; staminodes downcurved, yellow or pale yellow, subcylindric, 8–9 mm, acute; male zone 7–12 mm; male flowers
consisting of 2 or 3 stamens, yellow; anthers sessile, opening
with apical pore; appendix dark purple, narrowly conic, 12–15
cm, 3–4 mm in diam. at base, base truncate with a pale red stipe
ca. 2 mm. Berries pale green at first, white when mature, ovoid
or ellipsoid, 1-seeded. Fl. and fr. May–Aug.
Taiwan, Yunnan [Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Japan (Bonin
Islands), Malaysia, New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand;
introduced in E Africa, W Australia, and South America].

8. Typhonium trifoliatum Wang & Lo ex H. Li, Y. Shiao & S.
L. Tseng, Acta Phytotax. Sin. 15(2): 105. 1977.
三叶犁头尖 san ye li tou jianUnderground part a short, tuberous rhizome, ca. 1.5 × 1.2
cm. Petiole 6–12 cm; leaf blade rarely entire and then linear,usually deeply 3-lobed or 3-partite; segments sessile, linear;terminal segment 8–10 cm × 3–8 mm, acuminate; lateral segments horizontally spreading, 1.7–4.5 cm × 3–4 mm. Inflores-

cence appearing after leaves; peduncle 8–10 cm. Spathe convolute at base, dark purple, basally ovoid, ca. 1.5 × 1.2 cm,
apex constricted; limb ovate-lanceolate, ca. 17 × 5–6 cm, distal
half narrowed, linear, recurved. Spadix shorter than spathe, 13–
17 cm; female zone ca. 5 mm; ovary ovoid, 1-loculed, 1ovuled; stigma disciform; sterile zone ca. 1.4 cm, proximal 1–2
mm covered with staminodes, rest naked; staminodes downcurved, filiform; male zone 8–18 mm; appendix shortly stipitate, suberect, 10–13 cm, base swollen, 3–5 mm in diam., subtruncate. Berries ovoid, 1-seeded. Fl. and fr. Jul–Aug.
● Hebei, Nei Mongol, Shaanxi, Shanxi.

9. Typhonium trilobatum (Linnaeus) Schott, Wiener Z. Kunst
1829: 732. 1829.
马蹄犁头尖 ma ti li tou jianArum trilobatum Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 965. 1753.
Underground part a short, tuberous rhizome, subglobose orsubcylindric, producing few annual offsets or splitting up.
Petiole green or variously flushed with purple, 25–40 cm; leaf
blade cordate-ovate in outline, usually deeply 3-lobed, rarely
5-lobed; central lobe ovate, 10–15 × 6–11 cm, acuminate,sometimes mucronate; lateral lobes 8–13 cm. Inflorescenceappearing after leaves; peduncle 5–10 cm, elongating in fruit.
Spathe convolute at base, outside green, inside green, to 30 cm,
ovoid or ellipsoid, 2.5–3.5 × 1–1.5 cm, constricted at apex; limb
spreading, outside green, inside dark purple to reddish purple,
ovate-lanceolate, ca. 15 × 5–8 cm, apex acuminate. Spadix
shorter than spathe; female zone slightly conic, 7–10 mm;
ovary yellowish green; stigma sessile, dark or mid-purple,
disciform; sterile zone 2–3 cm, proximal half densely covered
with staminodes, distal half naked; staminodes strongly curled
but mostly directed downward and covering most of femalezone, filiform, 7–12 mm; male zone 1.5–2 cm; stamens pink;
appendix shortly stipitate, glossy purple or reddish, narrowly
conic, 5–12 cm × 4–7 mm, base truncate, apex acute or subacute. Fruiting zone with spathe remaining; berries at first green
with purple spots, white when mature, ellipsoid, 1- or 2-seeded.
Fl. May–Jul.
Tropical secondary forests, thickets, grasslands, roadsides; below
700 m. Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, S Yunnan [Bangladesh, Bhutan,
Cambodia, India, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand; introduced in W Africa, W Borneo, Neotropics, Philippines, andSingapore].

19. SAUROMATUM Schott in Schott & Endlicher, Melet. Bot. 17. 1832.
斑龙芋属 ban long yu shu
Li Heng (李恒 Li Hen); Wilbert L. A. Hetterscheid
Herbs, seasonally dormant. Underground part a depressed-globose tuber. Leaves entire, sagittate-hastate, 3-lobed or -partite topedatisect. Inflorescence simultaneous with or preceding leaves; peduncle short. Spathe divided into a connate or strongly convolutebasal part with a ± strong apical constriction and a spreading lanceolate to ovate-triangular limb. Spadix as long as spathe, with 4
zones: a proximal female zone, an intermediate sterile zone with staminodes all over or only at base, a male zone, and a sessile or
stipitate appendix. Female flowers 1-loculed with 1 or 2(or 3) orthotropous basal ovules. Proximal staminodes clavate, distal ones
(when present) irregularly cristate or elongate aristate. Male flowers with 1–3 stamens opening by slits or pores; connective sometimes prolonged. Fruiting zone with spathe caducous or remaining; berries ovoid, 1(or 2)-seeded. Seeds with endosperm.
Eight species: Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam; seven species (two endemic) in China.
See the comment under Typhonium above.

ARACEAE

37

1a. Sterile zone between male and female zones largely smooth and terete or grooved, except for proximal part
carrying staminodes.
2a. Leaf and outside of spathe densely hirsute .............................................................................................................. 5. S. hirsutum
2b. Leaf and outside of spathe glabrous.
3a. Spathe base fully closed (margins connate), limb inside with background off-white, almost entirely
hidden by numerous strongly confluent, oval, deep maroon spots; leaves always pedate .............................. 7. S. venosum
3b. Spathe base convolute (margins overlapping), limb inside uniformly whitish green, or with purple
stripes, or uniformly purple; leaves varying (often in one plant) from entire to pedate ........................... 2. S. diversifolium
1b. Sterile zone between male and female zones fully covered with staminodes, distally gradually becoming
smaller.
4a. Leaves simple, cordate, at least 10 cm ................................................................................................................. 4. S. giganteum
4b. Leaves pedate.
5a. Spathe base convolute ..................................................................................................................................... 6. S. horsfieldii
5b. Spathe base fully closed, margins connate.
6a. Proximal staminodes gradually changing upward from clavate through irregularly short andcurved to irregularly cristate or strongly reduced to almost absent; petiole often with 1 or a
few intercalary bulbils near base ....................................................................................................... 3. S. gaoligongense
6b. Intermediate staminodes absent between proximal (clavate) and distal (irregularly cristate)staminodes ................................................................................................................................................... 1. S. brevipes
1. Sauromatum brevipes (J. D. Hooker) N. E. Brown, Gard.
Chron., ser. 3, 34(2): 93. 1903.
短柄斑龙芋 duan bing ban long yu
Typhonium brevipes J. D. Hooker, Fl. Brit. India 6: 511.
1893.
Tuber globose, 1–1.5 cm in diam., producing numerous
tiny, annual bulbils. Petiole pinkish or dull purplish red, 15–30
cm × ca. 2 mm; leaf blade green adaxially, 5–9-pedatifid; lobes± fused at base; central lobe linear-lanceolate or narrowly
elliptic, 6.5–25 × 1–5 cm, margin undulate, with or without apurple midrib; outermost lobes progressively smaller. Inflorescence(s) appearing alongside developing leaves; peduncle palegreen, 2–2.5 cm. Spathe outside base ocher or yellow-brownwith purple spots or faint pinkish spots, inside ± cream-coloredor dark pink, closed, subglobose, 1.4–3.5 × 1.5–2.5 cm; limb
inside ± cream-colored with a purple zone at apex, base partly
closed, partly convolute, margins sinuous, distal part arching
and twisting, outside and inside as spathe base, or grayish, lanceolate, 10–15 × 1.2–2 cm. Spadix as long as spathe; femalezone subcylindric, ca. 6 mm; ovary green or ± cream-colored,
depressed obovoid, 2-ovuled; sterile zone 4–6 mm, with a few
staminodes at base, rest grooved-ridged and set with irregular,
pale purple warts; staminodes clavate, ca. 4 mm; male zone 3–5mm; appendix pink to yellow, with or without a pinkish base,slender, filiform, 5–14 cm, 0.6–3 mm in diam. at base, apex
obtuse. Fl. Jun.
Mountain grasslands; 1500–2700 m. S Xizang [Bangladesh, India(Sikkim), Nepal].

2. Sauromatum diversifolium (Wallich ex Schott) Cusimano& Hetterscheid, Taxon 59: 445. 2010.
高原犁头尖 gao yuan li tou jianTyphonium diversifolium Wallich ex Schott, Aroideae, 13.
1855; Heterostalis foliolosa Schott; T. alpinum C. Y. Wu ex H.
Li, Y. Xiao & X. L. Zeng; T. austrotibeticum H. Li; T. diversifolium var. huegelianum (Schott) Engler; T. foliolosum (Schott)Engler; T. huegelianum Schott.

Underground part a subglobose tuber, 1–1.5 cm high, 0.5–
1.2 cm in diam., producing annual offsets. Petiole 10–30 cm;
leaf blade simple and ovate-lanceolate, 2–22 × 1–25 cm,
cuneate to hastate, 3–5-lobed or pedately 5–9-sect, lobes elliptic
to linear. Inflorescence appearing just before or alongsideleaves; peduncle 3–14 cm. Spathe base oblong-ovoid, 2–4 × 1–
2 cm; limb outside green, sometimes flushed with purple orpurple all over, inside dark purple or greenish with dark purple
veins and flushes, oblong-lanceolate, 4–13 × 2–5 cm, apex acuminate to shortly caudate. Spadix shorter than spathe, 4–12 cm;
female zone cylindric, 0.5–1.5 cm × 4–7 mm; ovary: basal half
white, apical half purple, ellipsoid; stigma sessile, white; sterilezone 1–3 cm, base swollen and with long staminodes, rest fusiform, with verrucate staminodal structures; proximal staminodes clavate, with only apical part distinctly and abruptly
swollen, basal part filiform, whitish with purple flushes, clavatepart yellow with a purple tip or purple; staminodal structuresconsisting of narrowly elliptic, shallow ridges with verrucatecorrugate surface, white, pale purple, or violet; male zone
cylindric, 0.6–1.3 cm × 1.5–7 mm; appendix blackish purple,
broadly to narrowly cylindric, 1–7 cm × 2–8 mm, obtuse or
subacute.
Open grasslands, meadows, alpine damp open ground; [ca. 2300
m in Bhutan] 3300–4000 m. W Sichuan, S Xizang (Gyirong), NC Yunnan (Dayao) [Bhutan, Cambodia, NE and NW India, Myanmar, Nepal].

3. Sauromatum gaoligongense Z. L. Wang & H. Li, Acta Bot.
Yunnan., Suppl. 11: 61. 1999.
贡山斑龙芋 gong shan ban long yu
Typhonium gaoligongense (Z. L. Wang & H. Li) Hetterscheid & P. C. Boyce.
Tuber depressed globose, ca. 2 cm high, 2.5–3.5 cm indiam., producing several annual offsets. Petiole uniformly green
or dark purple, to 40 cm, proximally often developing intercalary, irregular bulbils; leaf blade deeply 5–13-pedatifid;
central lobe elliptic to obovate, to 12 × 5 cm; lateral lobes progressively smaller. Inflorescence appearing before leaves; pe-38

ARACEAE

duncle largely subterranean, yellowish green with a few scattered purple spots, 4–5 cm × 3–6 mm. Spathe closed at base,outside purplish brown, inside whitish, base triangular-ovate, to
3 × 2.8 cm, tapering to constricted apex; limb strongly convolute at base, slightly arching, outside brownish purple with afew darker spots, inside pale purple, narrowly oblong, ca. 7 ×
2.5 cm, apex long acuminate. Spadix shorter than spathe, ca.
6 cm; female zone cylindric, ca. 4 × 5–6 mm; ovary obovoid,
1-loculed, 2-ovuled; sterile zone narrowly conic, ca. 3 cm,
carrying staminodes in proximal half, these distally progressively shorter and finally disappearing, distally grooved,
verruculose; staminodes clavate, distally changing to aristate
and upcurved; male zone oblong, ca. 1 cm × 3 mm; male
flowers purple, with 1 stamen, pores apical; appendix stipitate,clavate, ca. 1.6 cm, apex narrowly fusiform-conic, rugose.
● Broad-leaved evergreen forests, shaded ravines; ca. 2200 m. W
Yunnan (Gaoligong Shan: Baoshan, Longling, Tengchong).
In all respects, this species is similar to Typhonium horsfieldii(Sauromatum horsfieldii) except for the closed spathe base.

4. Sauromatum giganteum (Engler) Cusimano & Hetterscheid, Taxon 59: 445. 2010.
独角莲 du jiao lian
Typhonium giganteum Engler, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 4: 66.
1883; T. giganteum var. giraldii Baroni; T. giraldii (Baroni)
Engler; T. stoliczkae Engler.
Underground part a rhizome, 5–8 × 2–5 cm, producing
numerous annual fusiform offsets. Petiole green, with or without numerous purple spots, 20–60 cm; leaf blade ovate, cordate
to hastate, 15–45 × 9–25 cm, margin entire, apex acuminate.
Inflorescence preceding or simultaneous with leaves; peduncle
13–17 cm. Spathe convolute at base, erect, oblong-ovate, 4–8
cm; limb erect or recurved, ovate, to 15 cm, margin sinuous,
apex acuminate. Spadix sessile or nearly so, slightly shorter
than spathe, to 14 cm; female zone cylindric, 1–1.5 cm × ca. 8mm; ovary: basal part whitish, apical part purple, cylindric,apex truncate, 2-ovuled; stigma sessile, gray, disciform; sterilezone 2–3 cm, covered by distant staminodes of different types;
proximal staminodes with clavate apical part, middle ones with
subulate apical part, distal ones with apical part reduced to astump; male zone ca. 2 cm × 8 mm; male flowers sessile; anthers ± cream-colored, with pinkish flushes, ovoid, opening by
apical pore; appendix sessile, cylindric, to 6 cm, ca. 5 mm indiam. at base, base slightly attenuate, apex obtuse. Fruiting zone
elongate, naked, ca. 5 × 3 cm; berries crowded, violet-purple,
keeled, apex acute. Fl. Jul.
● Grasslands, field sides, streamsides, grassy slopes; below 1500
m. Anhui, Gansu, Hebei, Henan, Jilin, Liaoning, Shandong, Shanxi,
Sichuan, S Xizang; cultivated in Guangdong, Guangxi, Jilin, and Yunnan as a medicinal plant.

5. Sauromatum hirsutum (S. Y. Hu) Cusimano & Hetterscheid, Taxon 59: 445. 2010.
毛犁头尖 mao li tou jianArisaema hirsutum S. Y. Hu, Dansk Bot. Ark. 23: 454.
1968; Typhonium hirsutum (S. Y. Hu) J. Murata & Mayo.

Herbs, cormous, with single-celled hairs ca. 0.5 mm.
Underground part a depressed-globose tuber, 1.5–2.5 cm indiam., producing numerous annual, subglobose, angulate offsets. Petiole 20–25 cm; leaf blade pedately 5–7-foliolate; leaflets almost sessile; central leaflet elliptic, 7–31 × 2.5–10 cm,
apex acuminate; lateral leaflets elliptic, oblique at base, outermost one ca. 2/3 length of central one. Inflorescence appearing
alongside first developing leaf; peduncle very short, 1–1.5 cm.
Spathe hirsute outside, smooth inside; basal part convolute but
lower ca. 1 cm with fused margin, ca. 4 × 2 cm, slightly constricted at apex; limb laterally incurved, lanceolate-ovate, 8–13
× 5–8 cm. Spadix shorter than spathe; female zone broadly
cylindric-conic, to 6.5 × 10 mm; ovary subcylindric, 1-loculed,with 2 or 3 ovules; stigma white or ± cream-colored, disciform;
sterile zone to 3.5 cm, proximal 0.5–1 cm densely covered withstaminodes, rest naked, grooved; proximal staminodes pale
pinkish purple or dark brownish purple, clavate, to 7 mm, apex
obtuse; male zone 1–1.7 × ca. 0.8 cm; appendix sessile or subsessile, brown or grayish brown, narrowly conic, to 10.5 cm, to
6 mm in diam. at base, base truncate. Infructescence naked,
globose, to 4 cm in diam. Berries with distinct angulate distal
part, ca. 1 × 0.5 cm; style remnant sharply acute, ca. 1 mm. Fl.
May, fr. Jul.
Secondary evergreen forests, tea plantations; 500–1100 m. S
Yunnan [N Thailand].

6. Sauromatum horsfieldii Miquel, Fl. Ned. Ind. 3: 196. 1856.
西南犁头尖 xi nan li tou jianArisaema submonoicum Gagnepain; Typhonium calcicola
C. Y. Wu ex H. Li, Y. Shiao & S. L. Tseng; T. fallax N. E.
Brown; T. hongyanense Z. Y. Zhu; T. horsfieldii (Miquel)
Steenis; T. kerrii Gagnepain; T. kunmingense H. Li; T. kunmingense var. alatum H. Li ex H. Peng & S. Z. He; T. kunmingense var. cerebriforme H. Li ex H. Peng & S. Z. He; T.
larsenii S. Y. Hu; T. omeiense H. Li; T. pedatum Schott.
Underground part a subglobose to depressed-globose tuber,producing annual offsets. Petiole variable in color, uniform,
striped, or spotted, ranging from green to purple, 35–60 cm;
leaf blade abaxially pale to gray-green, sometimes with scattered reddish purple spots, adaxially mid- to dark rich velvety
green, with or without reddish main vein or splashed withgolden spots along main vein, pedatisect, 7–13-lobed; lobes
elliptic to lanceolate, margin flat or sinuous, entire or occasionally crenate, apex acute. Peduncle 4.5–20 cm. Spathe convolute at base, outside pale or mid-green or dull mid- to darkbrown, with or without a few reddish or blackish brown spots
or stripes, inside white or whitish green, base ovoid, occasionally with 1 or a few shallow keels, apex ± constricted; limb
slightly arching, outside pale or mid-green, dirty greenish, or
dirty pale brownish, with or without a few indistinct darker
spots, inside whitish, pale green, with or without a few scattered
blackish purple spots, ovate to oblong-ovate, cymbiform, 6–17
× 4–6 cm, often keeled at midrib, apex acuminate to caudate.
Spadix shorter than spathe; female zone cylindric or slightly
conic, 2.5–10 × 4–8 mm; ovary ovoid to oblong-ovoid, 1loculed, 1- or 2-ovuled; stigma very small, in a depression of
apex of ovary or ringlike surrounding depression; sterile zone

ARACEAE

narrowly fusiform-conic, 2–6 cm, 3–7 mm in diam. at base,entirely covered by staminodes; proximal staminodes withrhombic, flat base and aristate to clavate process, latter strongly
bent upward, white, clavate part yellowish white or occasionally dark red; subbasal staminodes exclusively aristate,strongly pointing upward parallel to spadix axis, ± creamcolored; distal staminodes fused into vertical ridges with numerous irregular short processes, often arranged in ridges,
white; male zone cylindric, 6–10 × 2–7 mm; male flowers
white, distal ones often sterile and subclavate to spatulate oroccasionally aristate; appendix subsessile or more distinctly
stipitate, cream-colored or more rarely grayish brown withpurple spots, cylindric or rarely fusiform, 1.5–4.5 cm × 2–6
mm, slightly tapering to obtuse apex, smooth or strongly corrugate, base attenuate to stipe; stipe sometimes ridged-verrucate. Fruiting zone with spathe base remaining; berries palegreen when mature, obovoid to ellipsoid, corrugate and shallowly grooved.
Evergreen, bamboo, or secondary forests, grasslands, between
rocks; 100–3100 m. Guangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan, NE, SE, and W Yunnan [Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam].

7. Sauromatum venosum (Aiton) Kunth, Enum. Pl. 3: 281.
1841.
斑龙芋 ban long yu
Arum venosum Aiton, Hortus Kew. 3: 315. 1789;
Arisaema venosum (Aiton) Blume; A. guttatum Wallich (1831),
not Salisbury (1796); Desmesia venosa (Aiton) Rafinesque;Jaimenostia fernandopoana Guinea & Gómez Moreno;
Sauromatum abyssinicum Schott; S. angolense N. E. Brown;
S. guttatum Schott; S. guttatum var. pulchrum (Miquel) Engler;
S. guttatum var. simlense (Schott) Engler; S. guttatum var.
venosum (Aiton) Engler; S. nubicum Schott; S. nubicum var.

39

angolense (N. E. Brown) Engler; S. pulchrum Miquel; S.
punctatum K. Koch; S. simlense Schott; Typhonium venosum(Aiton) Hetterscheid & P. C. Boyce.
Tuber depressed globose, to ca. 9 cm high and ca. 15 cm
in diam., producing numerous annual offsets, these globose ordepressed globose. Petiole yellowish green, with rounded purplish brown spots, 20–100 cm; leaf blade 9–11-pedatifid; central lobe oblong or oblong-elliptic to oblanceolate, 10–40 ×
4–20 cm, acuminate; lateral leaflets elliptic, gradually smaller
toward distal end of rachis. Inflorescence appearing before
leaves; peduncle greenish white, with or without a few brownspots, 3–7 cm, sometimes elongating during fruiting. Spathebase outside dull dark violet, inside rich reddish purple, ellipsoid, 5–10 × 2–4 cm; limb convolute at base, ca. 10 cm, distallyoutside as base but slightly darker and with a few violet
longitudinal stripes, inside background color yellowish, almost
entirely covered by numerous orbicular to elliptic, confluent
dark purple spots, lanceolate, 30–70 × 8–10 cm, apex acuminate. Spadix slightly shorter than or as long as spathe; femalezone subcylindric, 2–2.5 × 1–1.5 cm; ovary violet or pale
purple, obovoid, 2–4-ovuled; sterile zone 8–8.5 cm, proximal
2–2.5 cm sparsely covered with long staminodes, distally
grooved and with a few distant conic projections, proximallywhitish, distally pale brownish violet; staminodes yellow,
clavate, 4–10 mm; male zone 1–2 × 1–1.5 cm; stamens yellow;
appendix at first erect, finally recurved, pale brown to paleviolet or lead-colored, terete, to 30 cm, ca. 1 cm in diam. atbase, obtuse. Fruiting zone globose or subcylindric, naked, to
ca. 9 cm in diam.; berries crowded, bright purple, cylindric, 5–
10 × 2–4 mm, angulate, apex truncate. Fl. Apr–May, fr. Jul.
Primary evergreen forests, meadows by rivers, secondary thickets,
path sides; 1300–2000 m. Xizang, Yunnan [Bhutan, NE and NW India,
Myanmar, Nepal; Africa].

20. PINELLIA Tenore, Atti Reale Accad. Sci. Sez. Soc. Reale Borbon. 4: 69. 1839, nom. cons.
半夏属 ban xia shu
Li Heng (李恒 Li Hen); Josef Bogner
Atherurus Blume; Hemicarpurus Nees.
Herbs, perennial, seasonally dormant; tuber cormlike, subglobose, or rhizome cylindric; tubercles usually formed around main
tuber, on tuber around base area of petioles, or at rhizome ends; bulbils usually at proximal, middle, or distal part of petioles,
sometimes on both petiole and base of leaf blade. Leaves 1–5; petiole green, usually unspotted, sometimes spotted; sheath fairly
long, very short, or nearly absent; bulbils present or absent; leaf blade simply cordate, ovate, oblong, deeply trifid, or trisect, or
pedatisect; leaflets oblong-elliptic to ovate-oblong; primary lateral veins of leaf blade or of each leaflet pinnate, forming asubmarginal collective vein, with 1 or 2 distinct marginal veins also present, higher order venation reticulate. Inflorescence solitary,
appearing with leaves; peduncle green, shorter or slightly longer than petioles. Spathe persistent, slightly to strongly constricted
between tube and blade (except in Pinellia pedatisecta); tube convolute, narrowly ellipsoid to ovate, almost closed within by atransverse septum (except in P. pedatisecta), gaping at base; limb arching, gaping, green to purple, oblong-elliptic, boat-shaped, ca. 2
× or more as long as tube. Spadix much longer than spathe; female zone adnate to spathe, separated from male zone by spathe
septum (except in P. pedatisecta) and by short, free, naked part of spadix axis; male zone free, cylindric, short; terminal sterile
appendix long exserted from spathe, often sigmoid, narrowly subulate. Flowers unisexual, perigone absent. Male flowers 1- or 2–4androus; stamens sometimes united congenitally in pairs or groups of 4, short, laterally compressed; anthers sessile, connective
slender, thecae ellipsoid, 2-celled, dehiscing by apical slit, rarely each pollen sac opening by a pore. Pollen extruded in amorphousmass, inaperturate, spherical or subspheroidal, small to medium sized, exine spinulose. Female flower (gynoecium, pistil) with ovary
ovoid to ovoid-oblong, 1-loculed; ovule 1, orthotropous, funicle very short; placentation basal; stylar region attenuate; stigma small,hemispheric to disciform. Berries green, yellowish green, or whitish, oblong-ovoid. Seeds obnapiform to ellipsoid; testa irregularly

ARACEAE

40

verrucose-rugulose or smooth; embryo axile, elongate, or very small and subglobose; endosperm copious. 2n = 26, 28, 52, 54, 72, 78,
104, 115, 116, 128.
Nine species: E Asia (China, Japan, Korea), with the center of diversity in E China (Anhui, Fujian, Zhejiang); two species regionally naturalizedin Australia, Europe, and North America; nine species (seven endemic) in China.
See the recent synopsis of Pinellia by G. Zhu, H. Li and R. Li (Willdenowia 37: 503–522. 2007).

1a. Leaf blade compound, 3-foliolate or pedate.
2a. Leaf blade always pedate, leaflets 6–11; bulbils absent ...................................................................................... 9. P. pedatisecta
2b. Leaf blade 3-foliolate or pedate with 5 leaflets.
3a. Leaf blade only deeply 3-partite, anterior lobe broadly ovate or ovate-oblong, sessile; bulbils absent .......... 6. P. tripartita
3b. Leaf blade trisect, sometimes pedate with only 5 leaflets, leaflets oblong or lanceolate.
4a. Petiole lacking bulbils, bulbils emerging only from tuber; lateral leaflets usually bifid .............. 7. P. yaoluopingensis
4b. Bulbils present at petiole below middle, or both at proximal part of petiole and at base ofleaf blade ........................................................................................................................................................ 8. P. ternata
1b. Leaf blade entire.
5a. Leaf blade peltate, ovate or oblong ............................................................................................................................ 4. P. peltata
5b. Leaf blade not peltate.
6a. Petiole lacking bulbils.
7a. Leaf blade deltoid-ovate or broadly ovate, base deeply cordate, 6–33 × 4–22 cm ................................ 1. P. polyphylla
7b. Leaf blade ovate or oblong, base obtuse or shallowly cordate, 5–19 × 1.5–6 cm ................................ 2. P. integrifolia
6b. Petiole or base of leaf blade bearing bulbils.
8a. Tuber globose; leaf blade sagittate-oblong, cordate-ovate, base deeply cordate; bulbils present atbase of petiole and at base of leaf blade ....................................................................................................... 3. P. cordata
8b. Rhizome cylindric; leaf blade broadly sagittate; bulbils at base of petiole ............................................ 5. P. fujianensis
1. Pinellia polyphylla S. L. Hu, Acta Pharmacol. Sin. 19: 713.
1984.
大半夏 da ban xia
Tuber depressed globose, irregularly depressed, to 6 cm indiam., with 1–4 stolons 4–7 cm; stolons often bearing globose
tubercles 5–10 mm in diam. at end. Leaves 1–4; petiole
greenish or flesh-red, 10–60(–70) cm; leaf blade deltoid-ovate
to broadly ovate, 6–33 × 4–22 cm, papery, base deeply cordate,
apex acuminate; primary lateral veins 5–15 per side. Inflorescence with peduncle shorter than petioles. Spathe erect,
greenish or yellowish green, constricted, 5–8 cm; tube funnelform, 1–2.5 × ca. 0.5 cm; limb broadly lanceolate, 3.5–5 × 0.8–
1.2 cm. Spadix longer than spathe; female zone 1.5–2 cm,
adnate to spathe; female flowers densely arranged; pistil ca. 2.4mm; ovary ovoid, ca. 2 × 1.3 mm; style very short; stigma subsessile, small, ca. 0.4 mm in diam.; sterile zone between female
and male flowers 1–1.5 cm; male zone 1–1.5 cm; thecae ellipsoid, opening by a slit; appendix greenish to yellowish, tortuous, 6–11.5 cm. Berries green to whitish, ovoid. Seed 1, globose, ca. 1.5 mm in diam. Fl. May–Jun, fr. Jul–Sep.
● Secondary forests, rock slopes, fields; below 800 m. Sichuan.
Pinellia polyphylla differs from P. cordata in having a larger tuber
to 6 cm in diam., with 1–4 stolons, and petioles without bulbils.

2. Pinellia integrifolia N. E. Brown, Hooker’s Icon. Pl. 19: t.
1875. 1889.
石蜘蛛 shi zhi zhu
Tuber depressed globose, 1–1.3 cm in diam. Leaves 1–3;
petiole 5–15 cm, slender, base sheathing; leaf blade entire,
ovate, oblong, or oblong-lanceolate, 5–19 × 1.5–6 cm, base obtuse, rarely shallowly cordate, apex shortly acuminate to acute;primary lateral veins 6 or 7 per side. Inflorescence including
peduncle shorter than petioles; peduncle 6–10 cm. Spathe constricted, (6–)7–9 cm; tube 0.8–1.2 cm; limb curved, lanceolate,
7–8 cm, apex long acuminate. Spadix 8–12 cm; female zone 5–
10 mm, adnate to spathe; female flowers densely arranged; pistil 0.8–0.9 mm; ovary ovoid, ca. 0.6 × 0.4 mm; style distinct, ca.
0.3 mm; stigma subhemispheric, ca. 0.18 mm in diam., broader
than style; sterile zone between female and male flowers 5–10mm; male zone 5–10 mm; thecae elongate, ca. 0.7 mm, opening
by a long slit; appendix pendulous, incurved, filiform, 4–9 cm.
Berries pale green to whitish, ovoid. Fl. Sep.
● Slopes, moist areas by streams; below 1000 m. Chongqing,
Hubei (Yichang), SE Sichuan (Xuyong).
Pinellia integrifolia is characterized by its ovate or oblong leaf
blades, obtuse or shallowly cordate leaf bases, and petioles lacking
bulbils.
The poisonous tubers are used for treating traumatic injuries andgonorrhea.

3. Pinellia cordata N. E. Brown, J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 36: 173.
1903.
滴水珠 di shui zhu
Pinellia browniana Dunn.
Tuber depressed globose, 1–1.5 cm in diam. Leaves 1–3;
petiole green or purple, 12–25 cm; leaf blade greenish or purple
abaxially, green adaxially, cordate-oblong, cordate-ovate, or
cordate to sagittate, 4–25 × 2–7.5 cm, base deeply cordate, apex
long acuminate; primary lateral veins 9 or 10 per side; bulbils
present at basal part of petiole and at base of leaf blade (apex ofpetiole), ovoid. Inflorescence including peduncle shorter thanpetioles, 3.7–18 cm. Spathe green, purplish yellow, or violet,
constricted, 4–7 cm; tube 1–1.3 × 1–1.3 cm; limb erect or

ARACEAE

slightly incurved, elliptic, 3–4.5 × 1.2–3 cm, apex obtuse or
acute. Spadix 9–23 cm; female zone (0.8–)1–1.2 cm, adnate to
spathe; female flowers densely arranged; pistil ca. 2.5 mm;ovary ellipsoid-oblong, ca. 2 × 1 mm; style short, ca. 0.3 × 0.5mm; stigma disciform, 0.6–0.7 mm in diam.; sterile zone between female and male flowers 7–8 mm; male zone 5–7 mm;
thecae elongate, ca. 1.8 mm, opening by a slit; appendix violetgreen, tortuous, 6.5–20 cm. Berries ovoid. Fl. Mar–Jun, fr.
May–Sep. 2n = 26*, 72*.
● Forests, along streams, moist meadows, cliffs, rock debris;
below 800 m. Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei,
Hunan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang.
Pinellia cordata is characterized by its small size and by having
bulbils at both the petiole and leaf blade bases.
The poisonous tubers are used for detoxifying viper bites, fortreating lumbago and allergic reactions, and externally for treating
traumatic injuries, abscesses, neck lymphosarcoma, mastitis, and also
for draining pus.

4. Pinellia peltata C. Pei, Contr. Biol. Lab. Sci. Soc. China,
Bot. Ser. 10: 1. 1935.
盾叶半夏 dun ye ban xia
Tuber subglobose, 1–2.5 cm in diam. Leaves 2 or 3;
petiole 27–33 cm; leaf blade deep green, peltate, ovate or oblong, 10–17 × 5.5–12 cm, base deeply cordate, apex shortly
acuminate; primary lateral veins (5 or)6–8 per side. Inflorescence including peduncle 7–15 cm, shorter than petioles; peduncle 5–8 cm. Spathe yellowish green, constricted, 4–5 cm;
tube obovoid, ca. 8 mm; limb opening, 3–4 × 0.5–0.8 cm, apex
obtuse to acute. Spadix 11–13 cm; female zone ca. 0.8 cm, adnate to spathe; female flowers densely arranged; pistil obovoid,
2.5–3 × 1.2–1.5 mm; stigma sessile, very small; sterile zone
between female and male zones ca. 3.5 mm; male zone ca. 6mm; thecae elongate; appendix ca. 10 cm. Berries pale green towhitish, ovoid, acute at apex. Seeds globose. Fl. May–Jun, fr.
Aug–Sep. 2n = 78*.
● Forests, grassy slopes, on rocks or between rocks. Fujian,Zhejiang.
Pinellia peltata differs from all of the other species of the genus
by its subglobose tuber and its peltate leaves, which are ovate to oblongovate and shortly acuminate at apex.

5. Pinellia fujianensis H. Li & G. H. Zhu, Willdenowia 37:
512. 2007.
闽半夏 min ban xia
Stem an obovoid rhizome, to 3.5 × 1.4 cm; nodes morethan 5, swollen; internodes very short, 2–3 mm; annual partrooting; cataphylls 2 or 3, ca. 1.5 cm, long acuminate. Leaves 2
or 3; petiole 10–45 cm, bearing bulbils at base; leaf blade
broadly sagittate; anterior lobe deltoid-ovate, 7–13.5 × 4.5–10
cm, apex long acuminate; basal lobes divaricate, subtriangular,
4–7 × 2.5–3.5 cm; primary lateral veins 6 or 7(or 8) per side. Inflorescence including peduncle 8–20(–25) cm; peduncle shorter
than petioles, to 14(–15) cm. Spathe reddish to yellowish violet,
constricted, ca. 5.5 cm; tube ca. 1.5 × 0.1 cm; limb erect, navicular, lanceolate, 3.5–4 × ca. 1.4 cm. Spadix ca. 11 cm; female

41

zone ca. 1.3 cm with 9 or 10 pistils, adnate to spathe; female
flowers densely arranged; pistil ca. 1.2 mm; ovary ellipsoid,
0.7–0.8 mm in diam.; style slender, ca. 0.25 × 0.15 mm; stigma
disciform, ca. 0.3 mm in diam.; sterile zone between female andmale flowers 5–7 mm; male zone ca. 7 × 3 mm; appendix outcurved, ca. 8 cm, slender. Berries ovoid. Seed 1, ovoid, ca. 0.4
mm in diam. Fl. Apr, fr. Sep.
● Forest margins, on rocks or between rocks, moist places. Fujian.
Pinellia fujianensis is similar to P. cordata but differs in having anacute rhizome to 3.5 cm and leaf blade broadly sagittate.

6. Pinellia tripartita (Blume) Schott, Syn. Aroid. 5. 1856.
三裂叶半夏 san lie ye ban xia
Atherurus tripartitus Blume, Rumphia 1: 137. 1835; Arisaema tripartitum (Blume) Engler; Pinellia tripartita var. atropurpurea Makino.
Tuber subglobose, ca. 2.5 cm in diam.; cataphylls lanceolate, to 10 cm. Leaves 2–5; petiole green, 30–35 cm; leaf blade
green, 3-partite; leaflets broadly ovate to ovate-oblong; anterior
leaflet ca. 15 × 4–7 cm, apex ca. 1.5 cm; lateral leaflets smaller;
primary lateral veins 8–12 per side on each leaflet, forming a
distinct marginal collective vein, also with 2 thinner collective
veins along margin. Inflorescence solitary; peduncle to 25 cm,
shorter than petioles, slender. Spathe whitish to light green,slightly constricted, 7–9(–10) cm; tube almost closed within bya transverse septum, gaping at base, oblong to subcylindric, ca.
3.5 × 1–1.25 cm; limb gaping, boat-shaped, oblong, ca. 4 × 2.5
cm. Spadix 20–25 cm; female zone ca. 3 cm, adnate to spathe;female flowers densely arranged; pistil 1–1.2 mm; ovary ovoid,
0.9–1 mm; style distinct, 0.2–0.3 mm, attenuate; stigma subhemispheric; sterile zone between female and male zone 0.6–
0.7 cm; male zone 1.8–2 cm; thecae elongate, opening by a slit;
appendix long exserted from spathe, sigmoid, 15–20 cm, baseca. 3 mm in diam., smooth. Berries pale green to whitish, ovoid,
1-seeded. Fl. May–Jul, fr. Jun–Sep. 2n = 26, 52.
Dense broad-leaved forests, forest margins, roadsides. Hong Kong
[Japan].
Pinellia tripartita was considered endemic to Japan for a longtime; it is first reported here from Hong Kong (C. Wright 508, P).
This species differs from Pinellia yaoluopingensis in having
broadly ovate or ovate-oblong, sessile leaflets and a tuber lacking tubercles. It is also easily distinguishable from P. ternata by its petioles
lacking bulbils.
This species is used ornamentally.

7. Pinellia yaoluopingensis X. H. Guo & X. L. Liu, Acta Bot.
Yunnan. 8: 223. 1986.
鹞落坪半夏 yao luo ping ban xia
Tuber subglobose, 1.3–3 cm in diam., bearing bulbils at
apex. Leaves 1–4; petiole deep green, with purple spots, 12–25
cm; leaf blade 3-foliolate, sometimes also pedate; leaflets 3–5;
central leaflet oblong-elliptic or obovate-elliptic, 5–10 × 3–4.5
cm, base cuneate, apex acuminate or acute; lateral leaflets sessile, smaller, 5.5–7.3 × ca. 4 cm, with 4 or 5 primary lateralveins per side, forming a collective vein along margin. Inflores-

42

ARACEAE

cences 1 or 2; peduncle usually longer than petioles, 22–36 cm.
Spathe green, constricted, 7–8 cm; tube 2–3.5 cm × 6–8 mm;
limb oblong, 3–4 × 2–3 cm, apex obtuse. Spadix 16–20 cm;
female zone 2–2.5 cm × 3–5 mm, adnate to spathe; female
flowers densely arranged; pistil 1–1.1 mm; ovary broadly ovoid,
ca. 0.9 mm; style distinct; stigma disciform, ca. 0.25 mm indiam.; sterile zone between female and male flowers 5–6 mm;
male zone 5–7 × 3–4 mm; thecae elongate, ca. 1.4 mm, eachpollen sac opening by a pore; appendix recurved, sigmoid,green, 13–18 cm. Berries conic, obtuse, 1-seeded. Fl. May, fr.
Jul–Sep. 2n = 26*.
● Broad-leaved forests; ca. 1000 m. Anhui (Jingde, Yuxi), Jiangsu(Nanjing).
This species differs from Pinellia ternata in having a tuber withtubercles around the petiole bases and by lacking bulbils elsewhere.

8. Pinellia ternata (Thunberg) Tenore ex Breitenbach, Bot.
Zeitung. 37: 687. 1879.
半夏 ban xia
Arum ternatum Thunberg in Murray, Syst. Veg., ed. 14,827. 1784; Arisaema loureiroi Blume; A. macrourum (Bunge)
Kunth; A. ternatum (Thunberg) Schott; Arum atrorubens Sprengel (1826), not Linnaeus (1753); A. bulbiferum Salisbury; A.
bulbosum Persoon ex Kunth; A. fornicatum Roth; A. macrourum Bunge; A. subulatum Desfontaines; A. triphyllum Houttuyn (1774), not Linnaeus (1753); Hemicarpurus fornicatus(Roth) Nees; Pinellia angustata Schott; P. koreana K. H. Tae &J. H. Kim; P. ternata var. angustata (Schott) Engler; P. ternata
var. giraldiana Engler; P. ternata var. subpandurata Engler; P.
ternata var. vulgaris Engler; P. tuberifera Tenore, nom. illeg.
superfl.; Typhonium tuberculigerum Schott.
Tuber globose, 1–2 cm in diam. Leaves 2–5; petiole 15–20
cm, base sheathing; bulbils present in sheath, at proximal or
middle part of petiole, and at base of leaf blade; leaf blade 3foliolate, sometimes pedate with 5 leaflets; leaflets greenish
abaxially, green adaxially, oblong-elliptic or lanceolate, basecuneate, apex acuminate; anterior leaflet 3–10 × 1–3 cm; lateral
leaflets (3–)4–7.5 × 1.8–2.3 cm, with 7–9(or 10) primary lateralveins per side, forming a collective vein along margin. Inflorescence including peduncle longer than petioles, 25–35 cm; peduncle 15–25 cm. Spathe greenish or whitish green, rarely purplish, slightly constricted, 6–7 cm; tube narrowly cylindric, 1.5–
2 cm; limb green and usually violet at margin, oblong, 4–5 × ca.
1.5 cm, apex obtuse or acute. Spadix 9–10 cm; female zone ca.
2 cm, adnate to spathe; female flowers densely arranged; pistil
2.1–2.2 mm; ovary ovoid, ca. 1.8 × 1–1.1 mm; style distinct,
attenuate; stigma very small, ca. 0.2 mm in diam., not broader
than style; sterile zone between female and male flowers ca. 3
mm; male zone 5–7 mm; thecae elongate, ca. 1.2 mm, opening
by a slit; appendix erect or sigmoid, green to violet, 6–7(–8)
cm. Berries yellowish green to whitish, ovoid, with persistent
stigma and style, 1-seeded. Fl. May–Jul, fr. Jul–Sep. 2n = 28,
54, 72, 104, 115, 116, 128.
Grasslands, secondary forests, wastelands, cultivated lands; below
2500 m. Widely distributed in China, excluding Nei Mongol, Qinghai,

Xinjiang, and Xizang [Japan (including Ryukyu Islands), Korea; naturalized in Europe and North America].
Pinellia ternata is a highly variable species in morphology andcytology. It differs from other Pinellia species by having bulbils at
different parts of the petiole; bulbils on each petiole may be 1, 2, or 3.
Fourteen sheets of specimens in the Herbarium of the Royal Botanic
Garden Edinburgh (E), have been studied and counted: six specimens
have bulbils at the proximal part of the petiole; five specimens show
bulbils at the median part; one specimen has three bulbils located at theproximal and median parts and at the distal part; another specimen has
two bulbils at the distal and proximal parts (6 May 1975, N. Togash s.n.
from Tokyo); and one has two bulbils found at the distal and the medianparts. After examining the variability in position and number of bulbils,
we suggest that “Pinellia zinguiensis” H. Li (nom. nud.), with bulbils at
both the distal and proximal parts of the petiole, must be a synonym of
P. ternata. For the same reason, Engler’s four variants (P. ternata var.
angustata, P. ternata var. giraldiana, P. ternata var. subpandurata, andP. ternata var. vulgaris) may not represent any independent systematictaxa. Pinellia koreana was described from Korea as differing by its
pedate leaf blades with five leaflets; but strong growing plants sometimes produce pedate leaf blades, and, therefore, this is only a further
synonym of P. ternata. It was collected from Korea, Mt. Chiri, 480 m,
10 Jun 1999 (fl.), K.-H. Tae 99-001 (holotype, TUT).
The poisonous tubers are used in traditional Chinese medicine fortreating coughs, reducing phlegm, stopping vomiting, and externally fortreating mastitis and otitis media. The plant is also used ornamentally.

9. Pinellia pedatisecta Schott, Oesterr. Bot. Wochenbl. 7: 341.
1857.
虎掌 hu zhang
Arisaema cochinchinense Blume; Pinellia cochinchinensis(Blume) W. Wight; P. tuberifera Tenore var. pedatisecta (Schott)Engler; P. wawrae Engler.
Tuber subglobose, to 4 cm in diam., with some surrounding tubercles. Leaves 1–3 or more; petiole greenish, 20–
70 cm, proximally sheathing; leaf blade pedate; leaflets 6–11,
sessile, lanceolate, base cuneate, apex acuminate; central leaflet
15–18.3 cm, following ones smaller; outermost ones 4–5 cm;
primary lateral veins 7–12 per side, forming an inner collective
vein and an outer second collective vein near margin. Inflorescence including peduncle 20–50 cm, green; peduncle to 35 cm.
Spathe slightly convolute at base, green outside, greenish towhitish inside, lanceolate in total, not constricted between tube
and limb, inside transverse septum absent, 10–19 × 1.5–2 cm,
apex long acuminate. Spadix 14–20 cm; female zone 1.5–3 cm,
adnate to spathe; female flowers very densely arranged; pistil
2.1–2.2 mm; ovary green, obovoid, ca. 1.9 × 1.2–1.3 mm; stigma subsessile, white, spherical, papillose; sterile zone between
female and male flowers short, 4–5 mm; male zone cylindric,
5–8 mm; thecae yellow, elongate, ca. 1.3 mm, opening by a slit;
appendix suberect, greenish to whitish, ± cylindric, 10–15 cm,
2–3 mm in diam. at base, distally becoming filiform. Berries
pale to whitish green, ovoid, 4–5 × 3–5 mm, 1-seeded. Seedbrown, obovoid, ca. 3.5 × 2.5 mm; funicle robust. Fl. May–Jun,
fr. Jul–Sep. 2n = 26*.
● Forests, valleys, shaded areas; below 1000 m. Anhui, Fujian,ARACEAE

43

Guangxi, Guizhou, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Shaanxi,
Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, NE Yunnan, Zhejiang.

It is easily distinguished from other species by having a spathe lacking a
constriction between the tube and blade.

Pinellia pedatisecta is the only species of Pinellia with always
pedate leaf blades and lacking the transverse septum inside its spathe.

The poisonous tubers are used in medicine for treating enlarged
lymph nodes and urinary tract infections.

21. ARISAEMA Martius, Flora 14: 459. 1831.
天南星属 tian nan xing shu
Li Heng (李恒 Li Hen), Zhu Guanghua (朱光华); Jin Murata
Herbs with tuber or rhizome, paradioecious (sex depending on nutrition and therefore variable from one year to another). Tuber
usually renewed seasonally and producing some tubercles around, these separated from old tuber at end of growth season. Rhizome
usually cylindric, with many nodes, not renewed every year, usually preceding evergreen or wintergreen leaves. Roots usually
growing at apex of tuber around cataphylls or at new nodes of rhizome. Cataphylls 3–5, herbaceous or membranous, surrounding
basal part of shoot. Pseudostem consisting of basal cylindric part of petiole present or absent. Leaves 1–3, long petiolate; petiole
usually mottled, stout, smooth or verrucose; leaf blade 3-foliolate, palmate, pedate, or radiate. Inflorescence borne with or before
leaves, solitary, pedunculate, emerging from pseudostem in tuberous or some rhizomatous plants or separately from petiole anddirectly surrounded by cataphylls in some rhizomatous plants; peduncle (excluding part within pseudostem) erect, stout, usuallyshorter than or sometimes equaling or longer than petioles (excluding part forming pseudostem). Spathe tubular proximally,
expanded limb distally, deciduous, withering or rarely semipersistent; throat of spathe tube often widely spreading outward, with orwithout an auricle on each side, margins of throat ciliate or not; spathe limb occasionally with a long tail at apex. Spadix sessile,
unisexual or bisexual; bisexual spadix female proximally, male distally, neuter (sterile) flowers sometimes present on appendix;
appendix variable in shape, base stipitate or not, apex sometimes ending in long filiform flagellum. Ovaries with 1 basal locule withseveral orthotropous ovules; style usually indistinct; stigma peltate, papillose. Synandria of 2–6 fused stamens, sessile or on a united
filament; anthers dehiscing by 2 apical pores or a single horseshoe-shaped slit or circumscissile into a ring. Neuter flowers filiform,
subulate. Infructescence upright or nodding. Berries reddish, several seeded.
About 180 species: NE Africa, Asia (including Arabian Peninsula), E North America and Mexico; 78 species (45 endemic) in 12 sections in
China; one additional species (endemic) is incompletely known.
Many Chinese species of Arisaema are of medicinal importance. For example, the tuber of A. flavum is used to treat fractures, traumatic injuries,and swellings; the tuber of A. franchetianum is used to treat enlarged lymph nodes, intestinal parasites, and snake and insect bites; the tubers of A.
erubescens, A. heterophyllum, and A. yunnanense are used to treat coughs, epilepsy, and tetanus. Many species of Arisaema have been found topossess anticancer properties.
The following taxa were recorded in FRPS but are, in fact, not distributed in China: Arisaema amurense Maximowicz var. serratum Nakai(FRPS 13(2): 174. 1979; A. amurense f. denticulatum Makino; A. amurense var. denticulatum (Makino) Engler; A. nikoense Nakai), A. angustatum
Franchet & Savatier (p. 171), A. griffithii Schott (p. 148), A. griffithii var. verrucosum (Schott) H. Hara (p. 149; A. verrucosum Schott), A. japonicum
Blume (p. 179), A. propinquum Schott (p. 140), A. serratum (Thunberg) Schott var. viridescens Nakai (p. 180), A. sikokianum Franchet & Savatier(pp. 174–175), and A. sikokianum var. serratum (Makino) Handel-Mazzetti (p. 175; A. sazensoo (Blume) Makino var. serratum Makino).

1a. Plant basically evergreen; underground stems rhizomatous, purplish inside; pseudostem absent or present;
phyllotaxy spiro-distichous ................................................................................................................................... 1. A. sect. Anomala
1b. Plant basically deciduous; underground stems tuberous or rarely rhizomatous, whitish inside; pseudostempresent; phyllotaxy quincuncial or spiro-distichous.
2a. Summer dormant; underground stems rhizomatous .................................................................................. 9. A. sect. Decipientia
2b. Winter dormant or semievergreen; underground stems tuberous or rarely rhizomatous.
3a. Spadix appendix sessile, or if stipitate then leaf blade radiate.
4a. Phyllotaxy spiro-distichous; leaf blade radiate; spadix appendix sessile or rarely stipitate .... 12. A. sect. Sinarisaema
4b. Phyllotaxy quincuncial; leaf blade 3-foliolate or pedate; spadix appendix sessile.
5a. Spadix appendix with neuter flowers at least in female inflorescence, or if not then leaf
blade 3-foliolate and spadix bisexual.
6a. Axillary buds solitary; leaf blade trisect ............................................................................ 2. A. sect. Fimbriata
6b. Axillary buds accompanying accessory buds; leaf blade pedatisect ..................................... 3. A. sect. Clavata
5b. Spadix appendix without neuter flowers, unisexual or bisexual.
7a. Spadix appendix gradually tapered to apex, usually filiform, exserted from spathe,recurved or sigmoid ............................................................................................................. 7. A. sect. Tortuosa7b. Spadix appendix subglobose, not exserted from spathe ....................................................... 8. A. sect. Dochafa
3b. Spadix appendix stipitate; leaf blade trisect or pedatisect.
8a. Phyllotaxy spiro-distichous ............................................................................................................. 10. A. sect. Pistillata
8b. Phyllotaxy quincuncial.

ARACEAE

44

9a. Leaf blade palmate or rarely radiate; ovary fusiform ...................................................... 11. A. sect. Tenuipistillata
9b. Leaf blade trisect, or rarely palmate; ovary bottle-shaped.
10a. Leaf blade 3-foliolate or palmate; inflorescence exceeding leaf blade .................... 5. A. sect. Nepenthoidea
10b. Leaf blade 3-foliolate; inflorescence below leaf blade.
11a. Appendix apex usually flagelliform, much exceeding spathe, pendulous,
proximally thick and base expanded into a stipitate disk; anthers dehiscingby horseshoe-shaped or lunate slits ........................................................................ 4. A. sect. Arisaema
11b. Appendix obclavate, nearly erect or slightly recurved, obtuse at apex andgradually narrowed at base into a stipe; anthers dehiscing by rounded or
oblong pores ..................................................................................................... 6. A. sect. Franchetiana
1. Arisaema sect. Anomala Gusman & L. Gusman, Aroideana 26: 40. 2003.
根茎组 gen jing zu
Plants with rhizome. Rhizome reddish purple inside. Phyllotaxy spiro-distichous. Leaf blade 3-foliolate or pedate, rarely simple.
Spadix bisexual or rarely unisexual when mature; appendix sessile, terete, attenuate or long and pendulous distally, usually withnumerous filiform neuter flowers.
About 20 species: wet tropical and subtropical Asia; 11 species (seven endemic) in China.

1a. Pseudostem distinct (more than 10 cm).
2a. Leaf blade pedate or rarely 3-foliolate; neuter flowers occurring partly on spadix appendix.
3a. Spathe basically green, throat of spathe tube not auriculate .................................................................... 8. A. grapsospadix
3b. Spathe basically green, or dark purple dotted with paler purple, throat of spathe tube auriculate ............. 9. A. hainanense
2b. Leaf blade 3-foliolate; neuter flowers covering whole of spadix appendix.
4a. Neuter flowers (distal ones) 3–5.5 cm ............................................................................................................. 5. A. victoriae
4b. Neuter flowers less than 0.7 cm.
5a. Rhizome stout, more than 3 cm in diam.; spathe semitranslucent, without white mark ............................ 1. A. petelotii
5b. Rhizome less than 2.5 cm in diam.; spathe opaque, with white mark ......................................... 7. A. rubrirhizomatum
1b. Pseudostem absent or very short (less than 5 cm).
6a. Budlike structure present at axil of neuter flowers ............................................................................................. 2. A. smitinandii
6b. Budlike structure absent at axil of neuter flowers.
7a. Apex of spadix appendix simple or nearly so.
8a. Spathe tube throat broadly auriculate; spadix appendix with neuter flowers ....................................... 11. A. bannaense
8b. Spathe tube throat without auricles; spadix appendix without neuter flowers ................................. 10. A. petiolulatum
7b. Apex of spadix appendix brushlike, covered with numerous neuter flowers.
9a. Spathe limb basically purplish, tube thick; spadix appendix pendulous ............................................. 4. A. lihengianum
9b. Spathe limb basically green, tube slender; spadix appendix upright.
10a. Spathe limb with single white mark at base ............................................................................. 6. A. pingbianense
10b. Spathe totally greenish, without marks ........................................................................................ 3. A. menglaense
1. Arisaema petelotii K. Krause, Notizbl. Bot. Gart. BerlinDahlem 11: 332. 1932.

Humid forest floors and gravel slopes in shade; 800–1000 m. S
Yunnan [Vietnam].

紫根南星 zi gen nan xing

2. Arisaema smitinandii S. Y. Hu, Dansk Bot. Ark. 23: 455.
1968.

Plants dioecious. Rhizome lying underground or half
underground, dark brown outside, purplish in section, thickly
cylindric, 7–18 × 4–6 cm. Leaves usually 2; petiole green or
purplish green, to 60 cm, proximal 20–30 cm sheathing into
pseudostem, encircled by several cataphylls; leaf blade green,
3-foliolate; central leaflet with petiolule 1–4 cm, blade elliptic
to ovate, to 30 × 17 cm, base rounded; lateral leaflets similarly
petiolulate, obliquely ovate, apex acuminate. Peduncle coloredas petiole, 7–12 cm. Spathe green, without stripes, semitranslucent; tube narrowly funnelform, 4–7 cm, throat 2–3 cm indiam.; limb deltoid-ovate, to 7 × 5 cm, apex acute and cuspidate. Spadix bisexual when mature; appendix basically green,
4–6 cm, slender, covered with rather numerous filiform neuter
flowers, brushlike. Berries reddish, ovoid, ca. 5 mm in diam. Fl.
Jun–Jul, fr. Oct–Nov.

披发南星 pi fa nan xing
Arisaema tsangpoense J. T. Yin & Gusman.
Plants perennial, evergreen, basically dioecious. Rhizome
ca. 5 × 2.5 cm. Pseudostem absent. Leaves 1–4 together; petiole
dull dark brown to violet, with light brown transverse markings,
cylindric, ca. 25 × 0.5–1 cm; leaf blade pedate with 3–5 segments; leaflets petiolulate, greenish, lanceolate, membranous,
apex acute ending in a short arista; central leaflet with petiolule
to 3 cm, blade ca. 15 × 5 cm, lateral veins numerous, base cuneate; lateral leaflets with petiolule to 5 mm, blade 12–15 × 3–4
cm, base obliquely cuneate. Peduncle whitish, cylindric, much
shorter than petioles, ca. 2 × 0.5 cm, surrounded by 3 cataphylls; cataphylls light brown, oblong, ca. 2, 4, and 6 cm,

ARACEAE

respectively. Spathe: tube white-green, with numerous green
longitudinal stripes, cylindric, ca. 3 × 1.5 cm, throat margin
widely recurved; limb arched over tube, green, with darker
longitudinal veins, ovate-lanceolate, ca. 7 × 4 cm, apex acuminate, ending in a tail ca. 1 cm. Spadix unisexual; female zone
conic, 13–15 × 5–10 mm; ovaries congested, green, fusiform,
with 1 basal locule, each locule containing 3 ovules, fusiform
and slightly curved; stigma disciform, borne on a short style;male zone cylindric, ca. 2 × 0.5 cm; stamens loosely arranged,
each consisting of 3–6 anthers, stipitate; thecae yellowish,
subglobose, dehiscing by oblong pores; appendix sessile, darkgreen to purple, slender, 15–40 × 1.5–3 mm, covered with numerous ascending filiform neuter flowers throughout its length;
neuter flowers in distal section accompanied by an axillary
budlike structure. Fl. Nov.
Forests; 800–900 m. SE Xizang (Mêdog) [S Thailand].
Arisaema smitinandii was recorded from China by H. Li(Aroideana 30: 45–48. 2007). The specimens on which this record wasbased (Mêdog Expedition 1090, KUN [3 sheets]) are paratypes of thename A. tsangpoense J. T. Yin & Gusman (Ann. Bot. Fenn. 43: 156.
2006; and see subsequent discussion by Gusman, Aroideana 31: 124.
2008). One of us (Murata) agrees with Gusman (loc. cit.) in recognizing
the Chinese plants as a distinct species, A. tsangpoense, unique inhaving a budlike structure present at the axil of the neuter flowers,
whereas no such structure has been described or illustrated for A.
smitinandii; furthermore, the peduncle is very short in A. tsangpoense
but longer than the petiole in A. smitinandii. Murata believes that true A.
smitinandii is actually a synonym of A. chumponense Gagnepain, whichis endemic to Thailand. On the other hand, one of us (Li) believes thatA. smitinandii and A. tsangpoense are conspecific because they have thesame filiform neuter flowers on the spadix appendix. Li also believes
that the budlike structure at the axil of the neuter flowers is merely an
additional neuter flower and that differences in the number and shape ofneuter flowers in Arisaema should not be used to distinguish species.
Moreover, Li notes that variation in peduncle length is known in otherspecies of Arisaema and, in the case of A. smitinandii, is probably the
result of differing climatic conditions in the disjunct areas of the
distribution. Li notes a similar disjunction in the distribution of A.
cuspidatum Engler, known from the Naga Hills in NE India and from
Penang and Selangor in W Peninsular Malaysia. However, P. Boyce (inreviewing this treatment) believes that A. cuspidatum is a juniorsynonym of A. roxburghii Kunth, which was described from Penang,
and that the plant in the Naga Hills is A. album N. E. Brown.

3. Arisaema menglaense Y. H. Ji, H. Li & Z. F. Xu, Ann. Bot.
Fenn. 41: 133. 2004.
勐腊南星 meng la nan xing
Plants perennial, evergreen, monoecious or male. Rhizome
erect, light brown outside, violaceous in section, oblique or horizontal, cylindric, 5–6 × 2.5–3 cm, with numerous nodes bearing
buds, roots 10–15 cm. Pseudostem absent. Cataphylls 5, fleshcolored, 5–8 × 1.5–2 cm, membranous, 2 encircling petiole andpeduncle, 3 enclosing peduncle directly. Leaves 1 or 2, arisingat different seasons from different rhizome nodes; petiole
viridescent with inconspicuous white spots, cylindric, ca. 45
cm × 5–8 mm; leaf blade green, 3-foliolate; central leaflet withpetiolule ca. 1.7 cm, blade elliptic, ca. 21 × 11 cm, base cuneate, apex acuminate with acumen ca. 1 cm; lateral leaflets withpetiolule ca. 1.5 cm, blade obliquely broadly lanceolate, ca. 20
× 8 cm, base broadly cuneate, apex acuminate with acumen

45

0.9–1 cm; lateral veins 7–9 on each side, collective vein 4–9mm from margin. Peduncle green, cylindric, shorter than petioles, ca. 20 × 0.5 cm. Spathe green, with numerous longitudinalveins; tube funnel-shaped, ca. 7 × 1.5–3 cm, throat margin recurved to 8 mm wide; limb bent forward, oblong, ca. 6.5 × 4
cm. Bisexual spadix ca. 3.5 cm; female zone ca. 1.5 cm; female
flowers densely arranged; ovary greenish, obovoid, ca. 2.5 × 1–
2 mm; ovules 4, erect; male zone ca. 2 cm; synandria sparse;
synandria of 2 or 3 fused stamens; stalk ca. 2 mm; anthers 3,
each comprising 2 thecae; thecae subglobose, ca. 1 mm indiam., dehiscing by an apical slit; appendix sessile, erect, proximally purple, distally green, ca. 5.5 cm × 1–4 mm, usually exserted from spathe tube by ca. 1 cm, wholly covered by filiform
neuter flowers; neuter flowers erect, green, 5–10 mm. Malespadix ca. 3 cm × 2 mm; appendix ca. 5 cm. Fl. Dec–Feb.
● Tropical seasonal forests; 1000–1100 m. S Yunnan (Mengla).
This taxon is very close to Arisaema omkoiense Gusman (Syst.
Geogr. Pl. 71: 3. 2001), from N Thailand, and A. pingbianense.

4. Arisaema lihengianum J. Murata & S. K. Wu, J. Jap. Bot.
78: 83. 2003 [“lihenganum”].
李恒南星 li heng nan xing
Plants to 50 cm tall, monoecious or male. Rhizome
creeping horizontally, purplish to brownish outside, red-purple
inside, subcylindric, to 13 × ca. 4 cm, branching. Cataphylls to
20 cm, some encircling peduncle directly. Leaf 1, expanding
simultaneously with inflorescence; petiole purplish brown, mottled with green, to 30 cm, lacking pseudostem; leaf blade 3foliolate; petiolules 3.5–4.5 cm; leaflets subequal in size, to 25
× 15 cm; central leaflet oblong-elliptic, base rounded-cuneate,apex acuminate and caudate; lateral leaflets oblique. Peduncle
11–20 cm. Spathe tube white or pale green, narrowly funnelform, 4.5–6 × 7–9 cm when opened; limb proximal half white,
distal half dark red-purple, narrowly deltoid to narrowly deltoidovate, 15–20 × 5–6.5 cm, apex acuminate. Spadix bisexual aftersex change; female zone 20–30 × ca. 10 mm; female flowers
green, bottle-shaped; male zone 10–20 × ca. 8 mm; male flowers basically white; appendix sessile, 13–16 cm, slender, exserted from throat of spathe and pendulous, proximally white,
distally dark red-purple, throughout with numerous filiform
neuter flowers 3–5 cm.
● Limestone crevices under bushy evergreen forests; ca. 1000 m.
W Guangxi (Napo).

5. Arisaema victoriae V. D. Nguyen, Aroideana 23: 38. 2000.
马尾南星 ma wei nan xing
Arisaema hippocaudatum S. C. Chen & H. Li.
Rhizome oblique or horizontal, light brown outside, violaceous in section, cylindric, 3–6 × 2–3 cm. Cataphylls 3 or 4,
grayish brown with purplish and black spots, longest one 10–15
cm, apex mucronate. Leaves 2; petiole green, marked with purple, to 30 cm, proximal 15–25 cm forming pseudostem; leaf
blade 3-foliolate, paler and evidently veined abaxially, shiny
green adaxially; central leaflet elliptic, 9.5–10 × 3.2–3.5 cm,
aristate at apex, with a tip 8–11 mm; lateral ones slightly
smaller. Peduncle erect, overtopping leaves. Spathe green tinged

ARACEAE

46

except for white center, ca. 12 cm, with proximal margins incurved or ± overlapping to form a cylindric tube to 6 × 2.7
cm, scarcely or slightly auriculate at throat; limb subovate-lanceolate, ca. 8 × 4 cm, apex aristate and recurved. Male spadix
subsessile, ca. 16 cm; fertile zone green, subterete, graduallyattenuate distally, ca. 4 cm, loosely flowered; male flowers
stipitate, usually diandrous; stipe 0.2–0.9 mm; thecae ellipsoid,
0.4–0.7 mm; appendix extending beyond throat of spathe tube,
recurved, greenish, horsetail-shaped, ca. 12 cm, with many filiform subulate neuter flowers; proximal neuter flowers scattered, 3–4 mm; distal ones numerous and crowded, 2.5–5.5 cm.
Female spadix unknown. Fl. Jun.
Limestone crevices on hilltops; 600–700 m. Guangxi (Du’an)[Vietnam].
One of us (Murata) recognizes Arisaema hippocaudatum S. C.
Chen & H. Li (Acta Bot. Yunnan. 24: 607. 2002) as a rare Chinese
species known only from the type and A. victoriae as endemic to
Vietnam. In A. victoriae, the main axis of the spadix appendix is distinct
and much longer than the branches (neuter flowers) as in A.
lihengianum, whereas in A. hippocaudatum, the main axis is not clearand (if still present) is of a similar size and shape to the branches in its
distal part. On the other hand, one of us (Li) believes that the twoentities are conspecific, based on observations of cultivated plants.

6. Arisaema pingbianense H. Li, Bull. Bot. Res., Harbin 8(3):99. 1988.
屏边南星 ping bian nan xing
Plants monoecious and male. Rhizome prolonged and thin,
10–15 × 1–2 cm, nodes swollen and globose. Cataphylls 3, palegreen with violet spots, encircling peduncle. Leaves 2, arising atdifferent seasons from different rhizome nodes; petiole green,
cylindric, to 20 cm × 3–4 mm, base shortly sheathing; leaf blade
3-foliolate, green, membranous; central leaflet with petiolule ca.
1.7 cm, blade elliptic, 9–13.5 × 4–5.5 cm, base cuneate; lateral
leaflets with petiolule 3–6 mm, blade obliquely ovate-lanceolate, base oblique, apex acuminate with acumen 1.5–2 cm; lateral veins 5–7 on each side, collective vein 1–2 mm from margin. Peduncle encircled by cataphyll, green, cylindric, shorter
than petioles, ca. 15 cm. Spathe tube subcylindric, 4–4.5 × ca.
1 cm, throat margins spreading outward; limb green, with arounded white area ca. 1.5 cm in diam. at proximal part, oblong, 3.5–4 cm, apex abruptly acuminate with a filiform tip.
Spadix bisexual after sex change; proximal female zone congested with female flowers; ovary green, obovoid; distal malezone with sparse male flowers; synandria of 2 or 3 fused stamens; anthers brown to creamy white, globose, dehiscing by 2
apical pores; appendix nearly filiform, ca. 3 cm, distal ca. 1 cmcovered with numerous filiform neuter flowers, brushlike;
neuter flowers slightly recurved, brown or green, filiform, 2–3
mm. Fl. Dec.
● Secondary evergreen forests; 1000–1600 m. SE Yunnan.

7. Arisaema rubrirhizomatum H. Li & J. Murata, sp. nov.
红根南星 hong gen nan xing
Type: China. Yunnan: Malipo, Xiajinchang, 1700–1850m, limestone area along stream, 21 Feb 1994, S. K. Wu, Y. P.
Yang, J. Murata & T. Kawahara 243 (holotype, TI).
Haec species Arisaemati victoriae V. D. Nguyen et A. hip-pocaudato S. C. Chen & H. Li similis, sed ab eis appendicespadicis ex ore tubi spathae non exserta atque floribus neutris
brevibus minus quam 7 mm longis differt.
Plants basically dioecious. Rhizome erect, oblique, or horizontal, dark brown outside, purple in section, cylindric or conic,
2–5 × 1–2 cm. Cataphylls 3, encircling pseudostem, lanceolate,membranous, outermost one 1–2 cm, innermost one 18–19 cm.
Leaves 1 or 2; petiole purplish green or olive-green with palegreen spots, 30–50 cm, proximal 20–30 cm sheathing into pseudostem; leaf blade green, leathery, 3-foliolate; central leaflet
with petiolule 1–4 cm, blade elliptic or oblong to lanceolate,
12–26 × 5–12 cm, base cuneate; lateral leaflets sessile or withshort petiolule 1–4 cm, blade oblong-lanceolate or obliquelyovate, 10–20 × 3.5–11 cm, apex acuminate. Peduncle colored as
petiole, slightly longer than petioles, 30–50 cm. Spathe green
with a white area ca. 2 cm in diam. at proximal part of limb;
tube 3–5 × 1.5–1.8 cm, throat spreading outward; limb deltoidovate, 5–7 × 3.5–5 cm, apex acute. Spadix basically unisexual;
female zone ca. 2.2 × 1.5 cm; ovary obconic; ovules 2–4;
synandria of 5 stamens, sessile; male zone ca. 3.5 cm × 5 mm,rarely with a few male flowers above; anthers ovoid, dehiscingby 2 apical slits; appendix dark purplish, 4–5 cm, slender, frombase to apex covered with rather numerous filiform or subclavate neuter flowers, brushlike. Berries reddish, ovoid, ca. 5
mm in diam. Seed 1, yellowish, ca. 3.5 mm in diam., rugose. Fl.
Feb–May, fr. Jul.
● Evergreen forests, thickets, along streams, in limestone mountain areas; 1000–1900 m. SE Yunnan.

8. Arisaema grapsospadix Hayata, Icon. Pl. Formosan. 5: 244.
1915.
毛笔南星 mao bi nan xing
Arisaema nanjenense T. C. Huang & M. J. Wu; A. quinquefoliolum Hayata.
Rhizome oblong-ovoid, 3–5 × 1.5–2.2 cm. Leaves 2(or 3);
petiole 18–30 cm, proximal 13–25 cm sheathing into pseudostem, dull purplish green, mottled with dark purple and orange,surrounded by several cataphylls; leaf blade 3- or 5-foliolate;leaflets base rounded to cuneate, margin entire, apex acute toacuminate, often mucronate at tip; central leaflet with petiolule
1–2.5 cm, blade elliptic to lanceolate; lateral leaflets with petiolule 3–10 mm, blade lanceolate to oblong, oblique at base.
Spathe greenish on both surfaces with a semilunate white spotin throat; tube cylindric, (3–)4–6 × 1–1.7 cm; limb triangularovate, 1.5–2 cm wide, apex acute. Spadix bisexual in matureplants; female zone ca. 2.5 cm × 5 mm; ovary obliquely conicovoid; stigma subsessile, pilose; ovules 4; male zone ca. 1.8 cm
× 4–5 mm; synandria lax, of 3 stamens; anthers dehiscing by 2
apical pores; appendix narrowly pyramidal, 6–7 cm, distal part
filiform and weakly curved, distal 1.2–2 cm covered with filiform neuter flowers ca. 3 mm. Berries red, conic-ovoid. Seeds 2
or 3, cream-yellow spotted with dark purple. Fl. Mar, fr. Jul.
● Low to middle elevations. S Taiwan.

9. Arisaema hainanense C. Y. Wu ex H. Li, Y. Shiao & S. L.
Tseng, Acta Phytotax. Sin. 15(2): 107. 1977.
黎婆花 li po hua

ARACEAE

Rhizome cylindric, ca. 5 × 2–3 cm. Leaves 2; petiole dull
green, unmarked or mottled with brown-purple, to 50 cm, proximal 10–30 cm sheathing into pseudostem; leaf blade pedate,papery; leaflets pale green abaxially, dull green adaxially; central leaflet with petiolule 1–2 cm, blade elliptic, 14–16 × 6–8
cm, base broadly cuneate, apex abruptly acuminate, sometimes
caudate; lateral leaflets subsessile or with petiolule 5–10 mm,
blade 13–15 × 5–6 cm; outermost ones obliquely elliptic, ca. 10
× 3 cm. Peduncle green, equaling or longer than petioles by 3–5
cm. Spathe tube green, with longitudinal white stripe on backup to base of limb, funnelform, 4–5.2 cm, throat obliquely truncate, outcurved for ca. 2 mm; limb dark purple with purplish
spots, or green with purple reticulation, or totally olive-green,
ovate, 4–4.7 × ca. 2.7 cm, acuminate and caudate at apex.
Spadix bisexual when mature; female zone 2–2.5 cm; malezone 1–1.5 cm; synandria lax; anthers 1–3, stipitate; thecae oblong, dehiscing by lateral slits; appendix sessile, erect or sometimes recurved at apex, narrowly cylindric or fusiform, 4–5 cm
× 1.5–2.5 mm, proximal 3–4 mm covered with many erect filiform neuter flowers 3–4 mm. Infructescence 4–5 cm. Berries
reddish, ovoid, ca. 6 × 4 mm. Fl. Jun, mature fr. Nov.
● Evergreen rain forests in valleys and on slopes; 400–2100 m.
Hainan.

10. Arisaema petiolulatum J. D. Hooker, Fl. Brit. India 6: 498.
1894.
三匹箭 san pi jianArisaema inkiangense H. Li; A. inkiangense var. maculatum H. Li.
Plants monoecious and male, evergreen. Rhizome paleyellow outside, purple or violet in section, cylindric. Cataphylls
withering, yellowish red to creamy red, narrowly lanceolate,membranous. Leaf 1; petiole encircled by cataphylls, pale,unspotted, to 40 cm, base sheathing for ca. 1.5 cm; leaf blade
pale green abaxially, green adaxially, papery, 3-foliolate; central
leaflet with petiolule ca. 2 cm, blade elliptic, 9–25 × 5.8–10 cm,
base obtuse or shortly cuneate, apex acuminate; lateral leafletswith petiolule 5–10 mm, blade elliptic-lanceolate, 8–20 × 3.5–
9.5 cm, base obliquely rounded. Peduncle encircled by 2 cataphylls, separated from petiole, terete, 25–35 × 1.2–1.5 cm.
Spathe tube greenish white, with ca. 1 cm white base, ca. 5 cm
× 8 mm, throat margin narrowly auriculate, outwardly recurved,
auricle ca. 8 mm wide; limb arching, green with a large rounded
white area at base, ovate-lanceolate, ca. 6 × 3 cm, membranous,
with a tail ca. 5 mm. Spadix bisexual in mature plants, unisexual (male) in small plants. Bisexual spadix: basal femalezone cylindric, ca. 1.5 cm, ca. 5 mm in diam. at base, densely
flowered; ovary oblong; ovules 2–4, basal, erect; style short but
distinct; stigma capitate, pilosulose; continual male zone ca. 1.5
cm with sparse male flowers; synandria of 2 or 3 stamens; an-47

thers sessile, or filaments ca. 1 mm; thecae subglobose, openingby an apical slit; appendix erect, sessile, green, narrowly cylindric, without neuter flowers, distally slightly rugose. Unisexualspadix: male zone ca. 2 cm, ca. 3.5 mm in diam. with a stipe ca.
2 mm; appendix as in bisexual spadix, with or without 2 or 3
subulate neuter flowers in proximal part. Fl. Oct–Nov.
Dense forests, in mountain valleys; 400–1700 m. Yunnan [NE
India, N Myanmar].

11. Arisaema bannaense H. Li, Bull. Bot. Res., Harbin 8(3):101. 1988.
版纳南星 ban na nan xing
Plants evergreen. Rhizome yellowish outside, purplish inside, robust, 8–9 × 3–4 cm, rooting on whole surface and in different directions. Leaves 3–5 together, separately arranged on
rhizome back, perhaps from different seasons; petiole palegreen with dark green striae and whitish spots, or pinkish brownwith black or dark brown short striae and sparse spots,cylindric, 28–60 × 0.4–2 cm, encircled by cataphylls; leaf blade
pale green abaxially, green adaxially, subpapery, 3-foliolate;leaflets entire, base obtuse, apex acuminate with acumen 1–2
cm; central leaflet with petiolule 2.8–4.6 cm, blade green with
scattered pale brown and black spots, elliptic to oblong, 14–24
× 6–10 cm, base cuneate to rounded; lateral leaflets with petiolule 5–10 mm, blade lanceolate, oblique, 12–24 × 4.5–10 cm,
base obliquely rounded; cataphylls 2 or 3, colored as petiole, 5–
20 cm. Peduncle encircled in cataphylls, colored as petiole,to 70 cm. Spathe green; tube 6–8 × 1.5–2 cm, throat margins
spreading, auriculate; limb arching, obovate, ca. 5 × 3.5–4 cm,
apex acuminate or acute. Spadix bisexual and unisexual (male).
Bisexual spadix: female zone ca. 2 cm × 7 mm; ovary palegreen, ovoid; style short; stigma pale white, disciform; malezone ca. 1.5 cm × 3 mm, sparsely covered by male flowers;
appendix erect, greenish white, cylindric, ca. 3 cm × 1.5–3 mm,
apex subclavate, verrucose to echinate. Male spadix: male zone
ca. 6.7 cm, base ca. 6 mm in diam.; male flowers dense, of 2–4
stamens, subsessile; anthers violet to cream-yellow, ovoid or
subglobose, dehiscing by an apical united slit; appendix cylindric, ca. 4.2 cm × 3 mm, base usually with some male flowers,
apex subclavate, rugose, ca. 4 mm in diam. Berry orange-red,
obovoid, ca. 5 × 4 mm. Fl. Feb–Mar, fr. Oct.
● Primary tropical rain forests; 700–1000 m. S Yunnan.
Arisaema bannaense is quite similar to A. garrettii Gagnepain,from Thailand. The species are possibly distinct only in the shape of theapical part of the spadix appendix. According to observations by Murata
in S Yunnan, the appendix of A. bannaense is always subclavate,acuminate, and verrucate to muricate, and the apex is exserted from thespathe tube so that it is clearly seen from outside. In specimens
examined by Murata, the appendix of A. garrettii is columnar, with arounded apex, and equaling the spathe tube in length so that the apex ishardly seen from outside. The two taxa may be allopatric varieties.

2. Arisaema sect. Fimbriata (Engler) H. Li in C. Y. Wu & H. Li, Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 13(2): 123. 1979.
线花组 xian hua zu
Arisaema [unranked] Fimbriata Engler, Pflanzenr. 73(IV. 23F): 151. 1920.
Tuber subglobose. Leaf blade 3-foliolate. Spadix appendix sessile, attenuate distally, with neuter flowers at least in female inflorescence, or if lacking then spadix bisexual.

ARACEAE

48

About 14 species: tropical and subtropical Asia; six species (four endemic) in China.

1a. Epiphyte; leaves appearing much later than inflorescences; spathe with long filiform tail to 60 cm ......................... 17. A. lackneri
1b. Geophyte; leaves coetaneous with inflorescences; spathe without tail.
2a. Spadix bisexual when mature; neuter flowers absent ........................................................................................... 12. A. lidaense
2b. Spadix unisexual; neuter flowers present at least in female inflorescences.
3a. Spathe totally green, throat margins auriculate ..................................................................................................... 16. A. sinii
3b. Spathe color contrasted with white and green, throat margins not auriculate.
4a. Spathe with white mark at base of limb ................................................................................................ 15. A. calcareum
4b. Spathe limb color transversely demarcated between proximal white part and distal green part.
5a. Spathe limb deltoid-ovate, not narrowed at base ........................................................................ 13. A. penicillatum
5b. Spathe limb ovate, narrowed at base ................................................................................. 14. A. austroyunnanense
12. Arisaema lidaense J. Murata & S. K. Wu, J. Jap. Bot. 78:
81. 2003.
文山南星 wen shan nan xing
Plants to 30(–40) cm tall, but usually smaller. Tuber
depressed globose, 1–2 cm in diam., with distinct axillary buds.
Cataphylls 2 or 3, surrounding pseudostem, purplish green,
without distinct marks. Leaf usually 1, expanding earlier thaninflorescence; petiole 20–40 cm, proximal (3–)5–12(–15) cm
sheathing into pseudostem; leaf blade 3-foliolate; leaflets subsessile, subequal in size; central one narrowly elliptic, 7–14(–16) × 2–4.5(–5.5) cm, base attenuate, apex long acuminate;
lateral ones oblique. Inflorescence bisexual after sex change;
peduncle usually shorter than petioles (much shorter in bisexual
inflorescence), 8–15 cm, downcurved when fruiting. Spathegreen with white patch on back of throat, 4–9 cm; tube narrowly cylindric, 2.5–5 cm, not expanded at throat; limb ovate tobroadly ovate, 1.5–4 cm, apex acuminate. Bisexual spadix
narrowly cylindric; female zone to 1.4 cm; female flowers
congested, green, ellipsoid; male zone to 10 mm; male flowers
with white or purple anthers; appendix upright or weakly incurved, green, usually without projections, gradually narrowed
to apex, not exserted from spathe, 3–4.5 cm. Infructescencependulous. 2n = 24*.
● Limestone crevices; ca. 1300 m. SE Yunnan (Wenshan).

13. Arisaema penicillatum N. E. Brown, J. Linn. Soc., Bot.
18: 248. 1880.
画笔南星 hua bi nan xing
Arisaema matsudae Hayata.
Tuber globose, 1–2(–3) cm in diam. Cataphylls lanceolate,ca. 8 cm. Leaves 2; petiole 25–30 cm, below middle sheathing
into pseudostem; leaf blade 3-foliolate; central leaflet petiolulate, elliptic, ca. 14 × 6 cm; lateral ones subsessile, shorter thanterminal, oblong-lanceolate, ca. 10 × 4 cm, base oblique, apex
acuminate; collective vein 0.3–2 mm from margin. Peduncle aslong as or longer than petioles. Spathe tube pale green, cylindric, 4–6 × 1.2–2 cm, throat margins spreading but not recurved; limb transversely demarcated between proximal whitepart and distal green part, oblong, 2–5 cm, apex acuminate withtip. Spadix unisexual. Female spadix: female zone green, pyramidal, ca. 1.5 cm; ovary ovoid; ovules 5, apex constricted into a
short style; stigma capitate; appendix green, narrowly cylindric,
4–5 cm × 2–3 mm, base ca. 2 cm and apex 8–10 mm, covered
with broadly filiform neuter flowers (1.5–2 mm). Male spadix:
male zone narrowly conic, 3–4 cm, with sparse male flowers;

synandria of 3 stamens; anthers ovoid, opening by longitudinal
apical slits; appendix filiform, 3–4 cm, at apical 1–1.5 cmcovered with filiform or subulate neuter flowers (1–2 mm). Fl.
Apr–Jun.
● Understories of dense forests; below 1000 m. Guangdong,
Guangxi, Hainan, Taiwan.
A Chinese record of Arisaema laminatum Blume (Bentham, Fl.
Hongk. 342. 1861) is referable to A. penicillatum.

14. Arisaema austroyunnanense H. Li, Acta Phytotax. Sin.
15(2): 105. 1977 [“austro-yunnanense”].
滇南南星 dian nan nan xing
Tuber globose, 1–2 cm in diam. Cataphylls green, acute.
Leaf 1; petiole green, proximally sheathing into pseudostem;
leaf blade 3-foliolate; leaflets glaucous abaxially, green adaxially; central leaflet with petiolule ca. 15 mm, blade ovate orovate-oblong, 8–10 × 2.8–6 cm, base obtuse, apex abruptly
acuminate; lateral leaflets with petiolule 3–5 mm, blade ovatelanceolate, 9–10 × 4.8–5 cm, base rounded, oblique, apex acuminate. Peduncle as long as petioles, slender. Spathe small, ca.
6.5 cm in total; tube pale green, funnelform, ca. 2.8 cm, throat
ca. 1.5 cm in diam., margins obliquely truncate, not auriculate;
limb erect, dark green, ovate-lanceolate, ca. 3 × 1.5 cm, apex
acuminate with a short tail at tip, base slightly constricted, witha white ca. 5 mm high basal zone. Spadix unisexual. Male spadix slender; male flowers sparse; synandria of 2–4 stamens,
subsessile; thecae subglobose, opening by an apical slit; appendix erect, ca. 2.2 cm, slender, with several scattered, short, subulate neuter flowers from base to apex; neuter flowers less than
1 mm. Female spadix unknown. Fl. May.
Tropical forests; ca. 800 m. S Yunnan (Jinghong, Simao) [Vietnam].
Chinese records of Arisaema balansae Engler (H. Li, Bull. Bot.
Res., Harbin 8(3): 99. 1988) and A. ramulosum Alderwerelt van
Rosenburgh (Gusman & Gusman, Gen. Arisaema, 220. 2006;
Gusman, Aroideana 30: 43. 2007, p.p., as to Vietnamese element; Yin& Gusman, Aroideana 31: 98–100. 2008) are referable to A. austroyunnanense. In the treatment of Arisaema in Flora Malesiana (Murata,
in press), A. laminatum will be recognized in a broad sense including
A. ramulosum and A. austroyunnanense. Gusman et al. (loc. cit.)
separated A. ramulosum from A. laminatum; they did not refer to A.
austroyunnanense, but it may have been included in their concept of
A. ramulosum. In the present treatment, however, it seems best torecognize A. austroyunnanense as a separate species because it has
been known by a single specimen (the type) and we cannot consider
variation in China. Gusman et al. (loc. cit.) also reported A. barbatum
Buchet (Notul. Syst. (Paris) 1: 366. 1911) from S Yunnan (Xishuang-

ARACEAE

banna) by presenting a photograph. However, this record requires confirmation because it does not seem to fit typical A. barbatum, from Java,and no herbarium specimen is available at present.

15. Arisaema calcareum H. Li, Acta Phytotax. Sin. 15(2): 106.
1977.
金江南星 jin jiang nan xing
Arisaema jinshajiangense H. Li.
Plants deciduous, to 120 cm tall and 60 cm wide. Tuber
subglobose or cylindric, 2.5–6 cm in diam. Cataphylls 3, fleshcolored, longitudinally striped and mottled, lanceolate, 2–40
cm, apex obtuse for shortest. Leaves 2, subopposite; petiole
light green, plain or stained with purple, to 60 cm, proximal partto 45 cm sheathing into pseudostem; leaf blade 3-foliolate;leaflets abaxially paler, sometimes flushed carmine, adaxiallygreen and with impressed, thin, and light green veins and abroad, white-green central midvein, margins entire, base convex
and petiolulate, apex acuminate; central leaflet with petiolule to
4 cm, blade subrhombic, shorter than lateral ones, 20–50 ×
10–25 cm, base cuneate; lateral leaflets with petiolule to 2
cm, blade ovate, 20–55 × 10–25 cm. Inflorescence unisexual,emerging when leaves unfold and held nearly at foliage level;peduncle pale green, shorter than petioles, 10–20 × ca. 1 cm.
Spathe tube green with white stripes, basally white, cylindric,ca. 7 × 1.5 cm, throat not expanded; limb curved forward,
green with conspicuous white stripes and a white spot at throat
level, oblong-lanceolate, ca. 6 × 2.5 cm, apex long acuminate.
Spadix: ovaries congested, ovoid, ca. 2.5 × 2 mm; ovules ca.
2; stigma penicillate, borne on a short style; male flowers
unknown; appendix slightly exserted from tube, erect, palegreen, cylindric, 6–8 cm × ca. 5 mm, slightly narrowed to bothends, base with scattered hornlike projections (these curved, 3–5 mm, often brown and bifid at apex), apex rounded. Fruiting
spike upright. Fl. Jun–Jul, fr. Oct.
● Among shrubs. Yunnan.

16. Arisaema sinii K. Krause, Notizbl. Bot. Gart. BerlinDahlem 10: 1047. 1930.
瑶山南星 yao shan nan xing
Plants dioecious. Tuber depressed globose, ca. 2 × 1.5 cm,
renewed seasonally, proceeding from a whorl of roots and a few
globose offsets at apex around shoot. Cataphylls 2 or 3, whitish
green, 5–12 cm, membranous, apex acuminate. Leaves 1 or
2; petiole light green, unspotted, 20–30 cm, basal 10–12 cm
sheathing into pseudostem; leaf blade glaucous abaxially, green
adaxially, 3-foliolate; leaflets sessile, apex acuminate, with ashort tail at tip; collective vein distinct, 3–7 mm from margin;
central leaflet rhombic, 8–15.5 × 6–13 cm, base cuneate; lateral
leaflets obliquely ovate-rhombic, 9–18 × 6–11 cm, base obtuse
on outer side, attenuate on inner side. Peduncle emerging from49

pseudostem, green without spots, 21–25 cm, shorter than petioles, curved forward after flowering. Spathe pale green; tube
white at base, funnelform, 3.3–5 cm × 10–15 mm, throat margins auriculate, recurved outward; limb arching forward anddownward, ovate, 4–6 × 2.6–3.9 cm, with longitudinal whitelines inside, apex occasionally with a tubular tail 5.5–7.5 cm.
Spadix unisexual. Female spadix: female zone green, conic, ca.
15 × 8 mm; ovaries densely distributed, globose; stigma sessile
and rounded with serrate margin; appendix sessile, erect, palegreen, cylindric, ca. 2.5 cm × 3.5 mm, attenuate to base, usuallywith a few subulate neuter flowers ca. 3 mm at base. Malespadix: male zone 1–1.5 cm; synandria of 2 or 3 stamens, violet; thecae globose, dehiscing by apical pore; appendix as infemale spadix, erect, 2.2–3 cm, without neuter flowers. Infructescence curved forward or pendulous. Fl. May.
● Evergreen forests, secondary Pinus forests, grasslands in limestone areas; 1000–2600 m. Guangxi, Guizhou, Hunan, Sichuan, Yunnan.

17. Arisaema lackneri Engler, Notizbl. Königl. Bot. Gart.
Berlin 2: 186. 1898.
勐海南星 meng hai nan xing
Arisaema menghaiense J. T. Yin, H. Li & Z. F. Xu.
Epiphytes, dioecious. Tuber depressed globose, ca. 5 ×
10 cm, renewed seasonally, purple outside with brown spots
1–1.5 mm in diam.; roots whitish, 2–7 cm × 1–2 mm. Leaf solitary, coetaneous with fruit; petiole green, without spots, cylindric, 20–30 × ca. 1 cm, smooth; leaf blade greenish, membranous, 3-foliolate; leaflets petiolulate; central leaflet withpetiolule ca. 15 mm, blade ovate, ca. 20 × 10 cm, base cuneate,apex acute; lateral veins numerous; collective vein 2–3 mmfrom margin; lateral leaflets with petiolule 8–11 mm, blade
obliquely ovate-lanceolate, ca. 21 × 8 cm, base obliquely cuneate, apex acuminate with filiform tail 5–8 mm. Inflorescences
unisexual, appearing before leaf; peduncle white, terete, ca. 26
× 0.3 cm (male), ca. 25 × 1 cm (female), surrounded by cataphylls; cataphylls 3, pale green, oblong, 18–23 cm, membranous, apex obtuse. Spathe tube green, cylindric, ca. 6 × 1.5 cm,
throat margin broadly auriculate, strongly outwardly recurved;
limb arched, greenish purple, ovate-lanceolate, ca. 6 × 5 cm,
apex acuminate with a purple tail to 60 cm. Female spadix
densely flowered; ovaries green, 1-loculed, ovoid; stigmas subsessile, disciform; ovules 5 or 6, basal, erect; appendix as inmale spadix. Male spadix with basal fertile part cylindric, ca.
3.8 × 0.5–0.6 cm, densely flowered; synandria subsessile, purple; anthers 4–6, subglobose, dehiscing by an apical slit; appendix sessile, greenish, cylindric, ca. 3.8 × 0.3 cm, apex obtuse,
with a few subulate neuter flowers in basal part. Infructescence
cylindric, ca. 5.2 × 1–1.5 cm. Fl. Apr, fr. May.
About 1800 m. S Yunnan (Menghai) [N Myanmar].

3. Arisaema sect. Clavata (Engler) H. Hara, Bull. Univ. Mus. Univ. Tokyo 2: 347. 1971.
云台南星组 yun tai nan xing zu
Arisaema [unranked] Clavata Engler, Pflanzenr. 73(IV. 23F): 171. 1920.
Underground stems tuberous, whitish inside, axillary buds with accessory buds. Phyllotaxy quincuncial, normal leaves pedate.
Spadix appendix sessile, with neuter flowers in proximal part.

ARACEAE

50

Six species: C China to Japan; four species (all endemic) in China.

1a. Appendix narrowly fusiform, attenuate distally, slightly bent outward .................................................................. 20. A. hunanense
1b. Appendix cylindric, erect, apex rounded, capitate or creased.
2a. Appendix slender, erect, apex abruptly capitate and echinate, slightly exserted from spathe tube .................... 21. A. clavatum
2b. Appendix stout, not capitate, long exserted from spathe tube.
3a. Appendix smooth ............................................................................................................................................ 18. A. silvestrii
3b. Appendix twisted and creased in distal section .............................................................................................. 19. A. ilanense
18. Arisaema silvestrii Pampanini, Nuovo Giorn. Bot. Ital.,n.s., 22: 262. 1915.
云台南星 yun tai nan xing
Arisaema dubois-reymondiae Engler; A. zanlanscianense
Pampanini.
Tuber subglobose, ca. 2 cm in diam. Cataphylls 3, greenish
brown, membranous, apex obtuse. Leaves 2; petiole green, 24–
35 cm, basal 10–18 cm sheathing and forming pseudostem, freepart 13–30 cm; leaf blade pedate; leaflets 7–9, sessile to subsessile, oblanceolate or oblong to elliptic, base cuneate, margin
entire, apex acuminate; rachis between central and lateral leaflets 1–2.5 cm, rachis between outer leaflets 5–10 mm; central
leaflet subsessile, 7–20 × 2.5–5 cm; outermost leaflets 5–12 ×
1.5–2.5 cm. Peduncle shorter than petioles, 13–17 cm, exserted
from pseudostem 3–5 cm. Spathe greenish white with 3–5
white stripes inside or (in female) dark purple with pinkish
white stripes, ca. 15 cm in total; tube funnelform, 5.5–6 × 2–2.5
cm at throat; limb oblong or oblong-ovate, 7–8 × 3–3.5 cm,acute at apex with an acumen 5–10 mm. Spadix unisexual;
male zone ca. 2 cm; synandria lax; anthers 2–4, thecae globose,
dehiscing by apical pores; female zone ca. 2 × 1 cm; ovary
green; style short; stigma punctate. Appendix sessile, erect,
greenish or purplish, cylindric, 4–7(–14) cm × 2–5 mm, proximal part covered with a few acute neuter flowers. Fl. Apr–May.
● Bamboo forests, evergreen forests, thickets; below 1800 m.
Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guizhou, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu,
Jiangxi, Shanxi, Zhejiang.

19. Arisaema ilanense J. C. Wang, Bot. Bull. Acad. Sin. 37: 71.
1996.
宜兰南星 yi lan nan xing
Tuber depressed globose, 1.3–3 cm in diam. Cataphylls 3–
5, whitish to greenish, fleshy, apex mucronate. Leaves 2; petiole
terete, 20–55 cm, basal 10–30 cm sheathing and forming pseudostem; leaf blade pedate; leaflets 7–15, sessile, oblanceolate toelliptic, base cuneate, apex acuminate; central one 10–22 × 2–
4.5 cm, longer than or equal to adjacent one. Peduncle 11.5–37
cm, free part 1.5–7 cm, usually much shorter than free part ofpetiole. Spathe tube pale to greenish yellow outside, dark purple
inside, gradually becoming pale to reddish brown proximally,
cylindric, slightly auriculate at throat, 6–9 × 1.3–2 cm; limb
pale greenish yellow outside, dark purple inside, ovate, 6–10 ×
3–5 cm, apex acute or sometimes acuminate. Spadix unisexual,
1.5–2.4 cm in male, 1.5–3.4 cm in female. Appendix distinctly
exserted from spathe tube, proximally reddish, distally dark
purple to black, clavate, 9–15 cm, proximally gradually narrowed toward floriferous part or sometimes stipitate at basewith some echinate neuter flowers, distally bent outward or

slightly downward. Fl. Feb–Mar.
● Broad-leaved forests; 1600–1900 m. N Taiwan.

20. Arisaema hunanense Handel-Mazzetti, Symb. Sin. 7:1365. 1936.
湘南星 xiang nan xing
Tuber depressed globose, ca. 2 cm in diam. Cataphylls to
15 cm. Leaves 2; petiole 45–55 cm, proximal half sheathing
and forming pseudostem; leaf blade pedate; leaflets 7–9, oblanceolate; central leaflet shortly petiolulate, larger than lateralones; rachis between central and lateral leaflets 4–6 mm. Peduncle shorter than petioles, free part 3–6 cm. Spathe reddish
inside; tube cylindric, ca. 7 × 2 cm, throat slightly recurved, notauriculate; limb ovate-lanceolate, ca. 6 cm, apex long acuminate. Spadix unisexual; male ca. 1.5 cm; female ca. 2.5 cm;
ovary elliptic, ca. 3 mm; style short; stigma small, pilose.
Appendix sessile, suberect or slightly recurved, narrowly pyramidal, 4–7 cm × ca. 4.5 mm, narrowed toward base and apex,
basal ca. 1.5 cm in female spadix usually with acute neuter
flowers 4–5 mm, smooth in male spadix. Fl. Mar–May.
● Forests, streamsides; 200–800 m. Chongqing, Guangdong,
Hubei, Hunan, E Sichuan.

21. Arisaema clavatum Buchet, Notul. Syst. (Paris) 2: 121.
1911.
棒头南星 bang tou nan xing
Tuber subglobose or ovoid-globose, 2–4 cm in diam. Cataphylls green, to 20 cm, membranous, apex obtuse or acute.
Leaves 2; petiole green, 40–60 cm, proximal half sheathing;leaf blade pedate; leaflets (7–)11–15, sessile, oblong or oblanceolate, papery, base cuneate, margin entire, apex abruptly acuminate and caudate; central 5 leaflets nearly equal, 10–19 × 3–6
cm, outward gradually smaller, outermost one 2–4 × 0.5–1.5
cm; rachis between leaflets 5–15 mm. Spathe green, sometimes
purplish, with white stripes or not, 7.5–16 cm in total; tube
cylindric or narrowly funnelform, 3.5–8 × 1.3–2.5 cm, throat
obliquely truncate or rounded, not recurved; limb oblong, 5–8 ×
3–3.5 cm, apex acute. Spadix unisexual; male cylindric, 1.2–1.7
cm × ca. 3 mm; synandria purple; anthers 2 or 3; thecae globose, dehiscing by apical pores; female conic or elliptic, 2–2.5
cm × 7–8 mm; ovary greenish, obovoid; ovules 3 or 4; stigma
subglobose, ca. 1 mm. Appendix sessile, green to purple, narrowly cylindric, 2.6–7 cm, slender, ca. 1.5 mm in diam., basal
2–3 cm sparsely covered with acute and hooked neuter flowers(1–3 mm), apex abruptly swollen into a clavate head 3–10 × 2–
4 mm, densely clavate-echinate. Fl. Apr–Jun.
● Bamboo thickets, broad-leaved forests; 600–1400 m. Chongqing, N Guizhou, W Hubei, Sichuan.

ARACEAE

51

4. Arisaema sect. Arisaema
天南星组 tian nan xing zu
Plants with tuber or rarely with robust rhizome. Leaf usually solitary; leaf blade 3-foliolate, or rarely quinate. Spathe tube sometimes lamellate inside; limb curved forward, usually widened into wings, sometimes galeate. Spadix appendix proximally swollen
into a disk and stipitate, distally usually filiform and long exserted from spathe, or subcylindric and not exserted from spathe. Thecae
united at apex, dehiscing by a single horseshoe-shaped slit.
About 17 species: mostly in Himalayan region and SW China; 16 species (seven endemic) in China.

1a. Lateral veins of leaflets numerous, parallel ................................................................................................................ 26. A. costatum
1b. Lateral veins not parallel.
2a. Central leaflet obovate, obcordate, or obdeltate, shorter than wide.
3a. Spadix appendix not or slightly exserted from spathe.
4a. Spadix appendix filiform .................................................................................................................... 32. A. bonatianum
4b. Spadix appendix subcylindric, apex rounded.
5a. Pseudostem, petiole, and peduncle verrucose or finely asperate ................................................... 33. A. asperatum
5b. Pseudostem, petiole, and peduncle smooth .......................................................................................... 34. A. brucei
3b. Spadix appendix distinctly exserted from spathe.
6a. Inflorescence ca. as high as leaf blade ...................................................................................................... 35. A. wilsonii
6b. Inflorescence distinctly below leaf blade.
7a. Spadix appendix basally densely rugose ............................................................................................ 31. A. handelii
7b. Spadix appendix smooth throughout.
8a. Spathe smaller, tube 1.5–3.5 cm .................................................................................................. 37. A. parvum
8b. Spathe larger, tube 3–5 cm ........................................................................................................... 36. A. elephas
2b. Central leaflet elliptic, ovate, or rhombic, longer than wide and as long as lateral lobes.
9a. Underground stems rhizomatous or spathe throat galeate-auriculate; all leaflets petiolulate.
10a. Spathe limb not winged sideways; stems thickly rhizomatous .......................................................... 30. A. speciosum
10b. Spathe limb winged sideways and galeate-auriculate.
11a. Underground stems rhizomatous, cylindric .............................................................................. 23. A. dahaiense11b. Underground stems tuberous, subglobose ............................................................................. 22. A. lingyunense
9b. Underground stems tuberous; spathe throat not galeate-auriculate; leaflets basically sessile.
12a. Spathe tube lamellate inside.
13a. Spathe limb not winged sideways ....................................................................................................... 27. A. utile
13b. Spathe limb winged sideways and vexillate ............................................................................. 28. A. vexillatum
12b. Spathe tube not lamellate inside.
14a. Spathe limb ovate-lanceolate, apex long acuminate to caudate ........................................... 25. A. intermedium
14b. Spathe limb obovate, apex cucullate or 3-lobed.
15a. Leaflets covered with golden scales abaxially; spathe limb cucullate ......................... 24. A. pianmaense
15b. Leaflets without trichomes; spathe limb distinctly 3-lobed ...................................... 29. A. tengtsungense
22. Arisaema lingyunense H. Li, Acta Phytotax. Sin. 15(2):107. 1977.
凌云南星 ling yun nan xing
Plants dioecious. Tuber subglobose, 3–7 cm in diam., withmany small tubercles. Leaf solitary, emerging after anthesis;
petiole ca. 30 cm, basal part forming pseudostem; leaf blade 3foliolate; leaflets with petiolules 1–1.5 cm; central leaflet rhombic, ca. 24 × 14 cm; lateral leaflets oblique, outer side often ca.
2 × as wide as inner side, ca. 20 × 13 cm, base cuneate at innerside, rounded at outer side. Peduncle shorter than petioles, ca.
25 cm × 5 mm. Spathe purple with white lines; tube funnelform, ca. 8 × 2.5 cm, without lamella inside; limb incurved,
galeate, lateral margins elongated into broad wings, withwhitish reticulate networks on both sides, ca. 20 × 20 cm, baseconstricted, apex rounded with an acumen 3–4 cm. Spadix unisexual; female zone conic, ca. 3 × 2 cm; ovary cylindric, ca. 5mm; ovules 2, basal, erect, fusiform; style short; stigma disciform; male zone cylindric, ca. 3 cm × 9 mm; synandria of 2 or 3

stamens; anthers stipitate, dehiscing by horseshoe-shaped slit;
appendix purple, flagellate, ca. 44 cm (female) to 143 cm(male) in total, proximal 13–14 cm subcylindric, ca. 1.5 cm
in diam., base attenuate, not truncate, stipe ca. 1.8 cm × 8 mm
(female), ca. 4 × 3 mm (male), distal filiform part ca. 30 cm(female) to 130 cm, pendulous. Berries red. Fl. Apr–Jun, fr. Jul.
Swamps by mountain streams; 1400–3000 m. Guangxi [WMyanmar].

23. Arisaema dahaiense H. Li, Acta Phytotax. Sin. 15(2): 107.
1977.
会泽南星 hui ze nan xing
Arisaema dulongense H. Li.
Plants dioecious. Rhizome horizontal, outside pale brown,
inside yellowish, cylindric, 7–8 × 5.5–8 cm, bearing some offsets around. Cataphylls 2 or 3, deciduous, transparent, pink, 30–
60 cm, membranous. Leaf 1; petiole violet, greenish distally,smooth and not spotted, ca. 80 cm, ca. 3 cm in diam. in proxi-

ARACEAE

52

mal pseudostem part; leaf blade 3-foliolate; leaflets with petiolules 2–3.5 cm, blade greenish abaxially, green adaxially, papery, usually covered with hairs; central leaflet narrowly ovate,
to 25 × 18 cm, base rounded, apex acuminate with a long tail;lateral leaflets obliquely ovate, to 18 × 17 cm in outline, baseoutside ca. 2 × as wide as inside, auriculate. Peduncle erect,
pinkish green, not spotted, to 25 cm. Spathe dark purple withwhitish longitudinal lines; tube cylindric, 8–9 × 2–3 cm, throat
margins slightly recurved, smooth on both sides; limb galeate,
oblong, 8–10 cm, apex acuminate, tip with an acumen 2.5–5cm; lateral sides widened, membranous, as wings, with whitish
reticulate networks, whitish longitudinal lines from tube connected at middle of limb. Spadix unisexual; female zone subconic, ca. 2.2 × 1.3 cm; ovary pale green, cylindric; stigma sessile; appendix violet, base truncate with a stipe ca. 8 mm,
proximally narrowly pyramidal, distally pendulous, filiform, to
50 cm or more in total, somewhat longer in female spadix,
smooth; male zone cylindric, ca. 4 cm × 3–8 mm (ca. 8 mm indiam. at base), dark violet; synandria violet consisting of 3 or 4
stamens; connected filaments violet, ca. 1.5 mm; thecae fused,violet, dehiscing by horseshoe-shaped slit. Fl. Mar–Apr. 2n =26.
Evergreen forest margins; 1400–2600 m. NE and NW Yunnan(Dulong Jiang, Huize) [N Myanmar].

24. Arisaema pianmaense H. Li, Acta Bot. Yunnan., Suppl. 5:
9. 1992.
片马南星 pian ma nan xing
Plants dioecious. Tuber depressed globose, 3–4 cm indiam. Cataphylls 2 or 3, whitish with purple spots, to 21 cm,
membranous, apex acute. Leaf solitary; petiole pale green, withpurple spots, terete, 30–50 cm, basal part forming pseudostem;
leaf blade 3-foliolate; leaflets subsessile, abaxially grayish
green and densely covered with matted hairs and sparse golden
scales, adaxially green and with dense papillae; central leaflet
elliptic, 15–35 × 8–19 cm, base cuneate, apex acute; lateral
leaflets obliquely ovate-oblong, outer base ca. 2 × as wide as
inner side, rounded. Peduncle terete, 18–32 cm. Spathe purple
with whitish longitudinal lines; tube cylindric, 6–7 × 1.5–2 cm,
throat margins slightly recurved; limb obovate-spatulate, 7–8 ×
4–5 cm, apex abruptly acuminate with a tail 2–3 cm, strongly
downcurved. Spadix unisexual; female zone ca. 2.5 cm; ovary
pale green, subcylindric; stigma sessile, concave; appendix subsessile, purple, proximally narrowly conic, distally tapering anddrawn into flagellum, in total 24–30 cm, pendulous, base truncate; male zone ca. 2 cm; synandria of 2 or 3 stamens, connected filaments distinct; anther purple, fused from 2 thecae,
dehiscing by horseshoe-shaped slit. Fl. May.
● Mixed forests; ca. 2700 m. W Yunnan (Lushui).

25. Arisaema intermedium Blume, Rumphia 1: 102. 1835.
高原南星 gao yuan nan xing
Plants dioecious. Tuber depressed globose, 2–4 cm indiam. Cataphylls 2 or 3, green to purple, 16–20 cm. Leaves 1 or
2; petiole green, 15–50 × 1–1.5 cm, basal part forming pseudostem; leaf blade 3-foliolate; leaflets sessile or shortly petiolulate; central leaflet ovate, rhombic, or elliptic, (7–)9–12 × 3–

11 cm, base cuneate, apex acute to acuminate; lateral leaflets
obliquely ovate or rhombic, as large as central leaflet. Peduncle
green and unmarked, shorter than petioles, 10–26 cm. Spathegreen, rarely dark purple, with green or white lines; tube
broadly cylindric, (3–)4–8 × 1.5–2.5 cm, smooth inside, throat
margins obliquely truncate, not auriculate; limb dark purple,
yellowish green, or green, 7–16 × 2–6.5 cm, apex acuminatecaudate into a tail 2–20 cm. Spadix unisexual; female zone ca.
1.5 cm; ovary obovoid; style short; stigma small; male zone ca.
2 cm; synandria of 4 stamens, yellow, dehiscing by horseshoeshaped slit. Appendix dark purple, narrowly flagellate, 15–60
cm in total, proximally swollen fusiform or cylindric, smooth,distally curving and exserted from tube, gradually drawn into
flagellum, sigmoid and pendulous in distal part. Fl. May, ?Sep.
2n = 28.
Mountain slopes, grassy places; 2600–3400 m. S Xizang, Yunnan[India (Darjeeling, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand), Kashmir, Nepal].

26. Arisaema costatum (Wallich) Martius ex Schott & Endlicher, Melet. Bot. 17. 1832.
多脉南星 duo mai nan xing
Arum costatum Wallich, Tent. Fl. Napal. 28. 1824.
Plants dioecious. Tuber brown outside, white inside, depressed globose, 3–5 cm in diam. Cataphylls 3, ca. 50 × 25 cm,
membranous. Leaf solitary; petiole green, often slightly purplish, terete, 30–50 cm, proximal 1/4–1/3 sheathing into pseudostem, ca. 1 cm in diam.; leaf blade 3-foliolate; leaflets palegreen abaxially, deep green adaxially, shortly petiolulate orsubsessile; terminal elliptic or oblong, 16–30 × 9–16 cm, baseauriculate and rounded, inner base narrowly cuneate, apex acuminate; lateral veins very numerous and running almost parallel, distinctly raised abaxially, impressed adaxially. Peduncle
emerging from pseudostem, shorter than petioles, 25–45 cm.
Spathe dark purple, with white longitudinal lines; tube cylindric, 4–8 cm, slightly costate inside, but in Xizang specimens
almost smooth inside, throat margins slightly recurved; limb
incurved, narrowly ovate-oblong, 3–4 cm, apex acuminate witha filiform tail. Spadix unisexual; female zone 2.4–3.5 cm; ovary
green; style short; stigma white, disciform; appendix pendulous
from spathe, dark purple, very long flagelliform, 20–50 cm,
inflated toward base, base truncate, swollen disciform, with astipe 3–5 mm, smooth throughout; male zone 2–3.7 cm; synandria of 3–5 stamens; connected filaments distinct; thecae dehiscing by a horseshoe-shaped slit. Fl. Jul.
Grasslands in forest areas; 2300–2400 m. S Xizang (Dinggyê,Nyalam) [Nepal].
Molecular phylogeny has revealed that Arisaema costatum is not
closest to the other members of A. sect. Arisaema but is instead monophyletic with African species that have radiate leaves (Renner, Zhang &Murata, Amer. J. Bot. 91: 881–888. 2004).

27. Arisaema utile J. D. Hooker ex Schott, Prodr. Syst. Aroid.
30. 1860.
网檐南星 wang yan nan xing
Plants dioecious. Tuber depressed globose, 3–10 cm indiam., with small tubercles. Cataphylls to 9 cm, membranous.

ARACEAE

Leaf solitary; petiole green with dark purple spots, 20–40 cm,
proximal 1/3 sheathing into pseudostem; leaf blade 3-foliolate;leaflets sessile or subsessile, green with reddish margin; veinsraised, often reddish abaxially; central leaflet broadly rhombic
or ovate-rhombic, sometimes broader than long, 7–15 × 6–11
cm, base broadly cuneate, apex acuminate; lateral leaflets
obliquely ovate, 11–14 × 7–9 cm, base rounded to subtruncate,apex acuminate. Peduncle shorter than petioles, 20–22 cm.
Spathe tube purplish brown with longitudinal whitish lines,
cylindric, 4–5 × 1.5–2 cm, longitudinally lamellate inside, throat
margins slightly recurved; limb strongly incurved, dark purple
with white longitudinal and reticulate lines (at margin), obovate, 7–8 × 3–5 cm, apex acuminate. Spadix unisexual; femalezone conic, 2.6–6 cm; ovary green, obovoid; stigma subsessile,dark purple; male zone 1.5–2 cm × ca. 4 mm; synandria of 2–5
stamens; connected filaments distinct, 0.5–1 mm; anther dehiscing by horseshoe-shaped slit. Appendix brown, flagelliform,
11–20 cm, thickened toward base 5–15 mm wide, base truncateand stipitate. Fl. May.
Tsuga forest margins, thickets; 2800–3100 m. Xizang, Yunnan[Bhutan, N India, Kashmir, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan].

28. Arisaema vexillatum H. Hara & H. Ohashi, J. Jap. Bot. 48:
99. 1973.
细腰南星 xi yao nan xing
Plants dioecious. Tuber brown outside, white inside, depressed globose, 1.5–3 cm in diam. Cataphylls 2 or 3, pink topurple, to 8 cm, membranous. Leaf solitary; petiole greenish,
not spotted, terete, 15–18 cm, basal part forming pseudostem,smooth, not verrucose; leaf blade 3-foliolate; leaflets subsessile,green usually with bluish margins; central leaflet broadly obovate or rhombic, 4–5(–11) × 4–5(–10.5) cm, apex abruptly
acuminate or rounded with an acumen 2–3 mm; lateral leaflets
larger than central one, ovate or rhombic, 8–9(–15) × 4(–9)
cm, base cuneate, slightly oblique, apex acuminate. Peduncle
greenish as petiole, shorter than petioles, 6–10 cm. Spathe tube
dark purple with whitish longitudinal lines, cylindric, 4.5–5 ×
1.5–2 cm, throat obliquely truncate, slightly recurved, not auriculate, inside distinctly lamellate, throat abruptly constricted into
an intermediate zone 1.5–2 cm wide; limb above intermediatezone strongly dilated, reniform or subcordate, 3–5 × 4–7 cm,
purple with whitish reticulate networks, apex rounded with atubular tail 3–4 cm. Spadix unisexual; female zone conic, ca.
1.2 cm × 8 mm; ovary green; stigma subsessile, dark purple,
ovoid; male zone cylindric, ca. 2 cm × 5 mm; synandria of 3 or
4 stamens; connected filaments purple, distinct; anthers yellowish, globose, dehiscing by horseshoe-shaped slit. Appendix
purple, flagellate, recurved distally following spathe limb, 9–11
cm, base swollen, 4–5 mm in diam., truncate and stipitate; stipe
8–10 mm. Fl. Jun.
Thickets, grasslands on slopes; 3500–3700 m. S Xizang [ENepal].

29. Arisaema tengtsungense H. Li, Acta Phytotax. Sin. 15(2):106. 1977.
腾冲南星 teng chong nan xing

53

Arisaema tengtsungense var. pentaphyllum H. Li.
Plants dioecious. Tuber globose, 1–2 cm in diam. Cataphylls 2, whitish pink, short, 2–4 cm, membranous. Leaf solitary; petiole terete, 14–77 cm, basal part forming pseudostem;
leaf blade 3-foliolate or rarely quinate; leaflets sessile, palegreen abaxially, green adaxially; central leaflet elliptic or ovateelliptic, 5–14 × 3–7 cm, base cuneate, apex acuminate; lateral
leaflets obliquely ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 6–12 × 3–9 cm,
base cuneate at inner side, rounded at outer side. Peduncle
shorter than petioles, 7–25 cm, emerging from pseudostem.
Spathe tube purple with white longitudinal lines, funnel-shaped,
ca. 7 × 1.9 cm, throat oblique, not auriculate, slightly recurved;
limb dark purple with indistinct whitish lines, galeate, oblong inoutline, 5–6.6 × 3–3.5 cm, incurved, apex deeply 3-lobed; middle lobe smaller, lanceolate, ca. 5 × 2 mm; lateral lobes oblong,ca. 1.5 × 1.3 cm, apex rounded. Spadix unisexual; male zone
cylindric, 1–1.5 cm; synandria of 2 or 3 stamens; anthers subsessile, globose, dehiscing by horseshoe-shaped slit; appendix
pendulous, flagelliform, 8–15 cm, basal 2–3 cm narrowly conic,
2–3.5 mm in diam., base truncate and stipitate; stipe slender, 3–
4 mm. Female spadix unknown. Fl. Jun–Jul.
Evergreen forests, Rhododendron thickets on mountain summits; 2600–3200 m. W Yunnan (Jingdong, Lushui, Tengchong) [NMyanmar].

30. Arisaema speciosum (Wallich) Martius ex Schott &Endlicher, Melet. Bot. 17. 1832.
美丽南星 mei li nan xing
Arum speciosum Wallich, Tent. Fl. Napal. 29. 1824; A.
eminens Schott; A. speciosum var. eminens (Schott) Engler.
Plants dioecious. Rhizome cylindric, 4–10 × 2–4 cm.
Cataphylls 2 or 3, reddish brown, inner one to 15 cm. Leaf
solitary; petiole pale green, not spotted, 15–50 cm, baseforming pseudostem, 1–1.5 cm in diam.; leaf blade 3-foliolate;leaflets with petiolules 1–1.5 cm, pale green with narrow red
margin, not spotted; central leaflet dull adaxially, ovate or oblong, 11–13 × 4–7 cm, base cuneate, apex acuminate or acute;lateral leaflets obliquely oblong to lanceolate, larger than central leaflet, 13–16 × 4.5–6.5 cm, base strongly oblique (one sidecuneate, other deeply cordate), apex abruptly shortly acuminate.
Peduncle whitish with tiny brown dots, much shorter than petioles, 2.5–10 cm. Spathe dark purple, with whitish longitudinallines; tube cylindric, 4–10 × 1–3 cm, throat margins obliquely
truncate, slightly outcurved; limb arching over spadix, oblonglanceolate, 8–20 × 6–8 cm, margins narrowly recurved, apically
gradually acuminate, drooping. Spadix unisexual; female zone
subconic, ca. 1.7 × 1.2 cm; ovary obovoid; stigma sessile, punctate; male zone cylindric, ca. 2.5 cm × 5 mm; male flowers
purple; synandria of 3–5 stamens; connected filaments distinct;
thecae dehiscing by a single horseshoe-shaped slit. Appendix
pink to dark purple, very narrowly conic, filiform distally, 20–
80 cm, base to 8 mm in diam., narrowed into a stipe ca. 1 cm.
Fruiting peduncle erect. Berries red, obovoid-obconic, angulate.
Fl. Apr–Jun, fr. Oct.
Broad-leaved forests; 2400–2800 m. S Xizang [Bhutan, NE India,
Nepal].

54

ARACEAE

31. Arisaema handelii Stapf ex Handel-Mazzetti, Symb. Sin.
7: 1367. 1936.
疣序南星 you xu nan xing
Plants dioecious. Tuber depressed globose, 2–4.5 cm indiam., with many fimbriate roots. Cataphylls 1 or 2, whitish
green, flushed purplish, 17–36 × 1–1.5 cm, membranous, apex
acute, sometimes obtuse. Leaf solitary; petiole dark green,
unmarked, 17–55 cm, smooth, base forming pseudostem; leaf
blade 3-foliolate; leaflets pale green abaxially, green adaxially,
margin crisped or shallowly crenulate, petiolulate; central leaflet with petiolule 1–3 cm, blade obovate to obcordate, ca. 16 ×20 cm, apex depressed or concave with a short mucro; lateral
leaflets with petiolule winged and 1–2 cm, blade broadly rhombic or obliquely ovate, 19–26 × 15–20 cm, base obliquelyrounded or truncate, decurrent to petiolule, apex abruptly acuminate or acute, sometimes with filiform tail ca. 1.5 cm. Peduncle whitish green to dark green, unmarked, much shorter
than petioles, emerging from pseudostem, 15–20 cm, smooth.
Spathe green, purple, or dark green with broad white stripes;
tube funnelform, 5–6 cm, ca. 2 cm in diam. at base, ca. 4 cm indiam. at throat, not auriculate; limb slightly incurved or suberect, oblong, ca. 15 × 4–6 cm, apex acuminate, sometimes
with a filiform tail 2–3 cm. Spadix unisexual; female zone 3–
4.5 cm; ovaries dense; stigma subsessile; male zone cylindric,3.4–4 × 1–1.5 cm; synandria with stipe 2–3 mm; anthers usually 4, globose, each dehiscing by horseshoe-shaped slit. Appendix whitish, narrowly conic, basal 4–6 cm densely papillose
or rugose, ca. 1.5 cm in diam., abruptly narrowed at base into
stipe ca. 6 × 5 mm, distal part smooth and gradually drawn into
flagellum to 38 cm in total, exserted from spathe tube and tortuous, pendulous in distal flagellate part. Fl. May–Jun.
● Picea forests, secondary forests; 2800–3500 m. SE Xizang(Zayü), NW Yunnan (Dêqên, Weixi).

rounded with acumen ca. 0.5 cm. Spadix unisexual; femalezone cylindric, ca. 5.5 × 0.7–1.6 cm; ovary pale green withgreen stripes, oblong-ovoid, ca. 5 × 2 mm; ovules 9, subbasal;style short; stigma white, pilose; male zone cylindric, ca. 3 ×
0.8 cm; synandria stipitate; stipe ca. 1 mm; anthers 3–5 (mostly4), whitish, obovoid, dehiscing by a horseshoe-shaped slit.
Appendix flagelliform, ca. 14 cm, distal part greenish, tortuous,
smooth, base swollen to 6 mm in diam., truncate and stipitate,
stipe ca. 3 mm.
● Mountains, among shrubs on slopes, meadows by rivers; 2800–
3000 m. S Sichuan, NW Yunnan.

33. Arisaema asperatum N. E. Brown, J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 36:
176. 1903.
刺柄南星 ci bing nan xing
Arisaema cochleatum Stapf ex H. Li.
Plants dioecious. Tuber depressed globose, ca. 3 cm indiam. Cataphylls 2 or 3, purplish, 15–20 cm. Leaf solitary;
petiole 30–50 cm, with dense whitish papillose spines, basal ca.
5 cm sheathing into pseudostem; leaf blade 3-foliolate; central
leaflet broadly obovate, 16–23 × 18–27 cm, base cuneate, apex
truncate or concave with acute acumen; lateral leaflets rhombicoblong, 17–28 × 15–22 cm; all leaflets spinose at midrib abaxially. Peduncle 25–60 cm, verrucose, scabrid. Spathe dark purple, with whitish green stripes; tube cylindric, 5–6 cm, throat
margins not recurved or auriculate; limb suberect, oblanceolate
or ovate-lanceolate, 8–12 cm, apex acuminate. Spadix unisexual; female zone conic, 2–3 cm; ovary subcylindric; stigma
sessile, disciform; male zone cylindric, ca. 3 cm; synandria lax,
shortly stipitate; anthers 2 or 3, yellowish, depressed globose,
dehiscing by horseshoe-shaped slit. Appendix cylindric, 6.5–9
cm, base abruptly thickened, 2.5–4 mm in diam., truncate, withstipe 3–5 mm, apex slightly recurved, not pendulous. Fl. May–
Jun.

32. Arisaema bonatianum Engler, Pflanzenr. 73(IV. 23F): 214.
1920.

● Forests, thickets; 1300–2900 m. Chongqing, S Gansu, W
Henan, W Hubei, NE Hunan, Shanxi, E Sichuan.

丹珠南星 dan zhu nan xing

34. Arisaema brucei H. Li, R. Li & J. Murata, sp. nov.

Arisaema danzhuense H. Li; A. salwinense Handel-Mazzetti; A. smithii K. Krause.

贝氏南星 bei shi nan xing

Plants perennial, dioecious. Tuber brown outside, subglobose, 1.5–5 cm in diam., bearing 5–10 tubercles 0.5–1 cm indiam. Cataphylls 2 or 3, greenish, oblong-elliptic, to 20 × 5 cm,
membranous. Leaf solitary; petiole greenish, cylindric, 40–60 ×
0.5–2.5 cm, densely verruculose with whitish spinules, sheathedin proximal 1/3 forming pseudostem; leaf blade 3-foliolate;leaflets sessile or subsessile, greenish abaxially, green adaxiallywith dark purple spots, margins purple; midrib and lateral veinsraised abaxially, verruculose with whitish spinules; central
leaflet depressed rhombic, 15–21 × 16–20 cm, base broadly
cuneate, apex acute; lateral veins 7 per side; collective veins 3,
1–15 mm from margin; lateral leaflets obliquely ovate, 20–30 ×
15–21 cm, base broadly cuneate, apex acuminate. Peduncle
emerging from pseudostem, greenish, 40–50 × 0.7–1.2 cm,
verruculose and spinulescent. Spathe greenish or dark purple
with white stripes, adaxially with ca. 20 longitudinal lamellae
1–3 mm wide; tube cylindric, ca. 5 × 3 cm, throat margins
slightly recurved; limb incurved, oblong, ca. 8 × 2–5 cm, apex

Type: China. Yunnan: Gongshan, Gaoligong Shan, Dulong
Jiang valley, between Xishaofang and Bapo, 2570 m, evergreen
broad-leaved forest, 17 Jul 2002, H. Li, R. Li & Z. L. Dao15020 (holotype, KUN; isotype, CAS).
Haec species Arisaemati asperato N. E. Brown similis, sed
ab eo planta glabra, folii segmento intermedio elliptico, spathae
lamina oblonga bruneaque ad apicem albido-reticulata differt.
Plants dioecious. Tuber subglobose, 1.8–2 cm in diam.
Cataphylls not seen. Leaf solitary; petiole 24–30 cm, glabrous,
proximal 5–7 cm sheathing into pseudostem; leaf blade 3-foliolate; leaflets subsessile, green with purple margins, glabrous,
margins subcrenulate or crenate; terminal leaflet elliptic, ca. 11
× 4–6 cm, base cuneate, apex acuminate; lateral veins 12–15
per side, collective vein 0.5–1.5 mm from margin; lateral leaflets lanceolate, oblique, ca. 11 × 3.3–3.5 cm, base cuneate, apex
long acuminate. Peduncle shorter than petioles, 12.5–16 cm.
Spathe suberect, 12–13 cm; tube brown with whitish stripes,
obconic, 4.5–5 × 1.7–2 cm, throat margins obliquely truncate,ARACEAE

slightly recurved, not auriculate; limb slightly incurved, darkbrown with whitish stripes, oblong, 7.5–8 × 2.4–3 cm, base notconstricted, apex acuminate with white reticulate stripes.
Spadix unisexual; male zone cylindric, 1.3–1.7 cm; synandria
lax, stipitate; filaments 1.5–2 mm; anthers 2–4, dehiscing by
horseshoe-shaped slits; appendix distally curved, cylindric, ca.
6 cm in total, proximal 2.5–3 cm suberect, ca. 3 mm in diam.,
abruptly swollen toward base, base conic, 4–5 mm in diam.,
truncate, with stipe ca. 4.5 × 1.3 mm, apex attenuate, obtuse.
Female spadix unknown. Fl. Jul.
● Evergreen broad-leaved forests slightly disturbed by roads;
2500–2600 m. NW Yunnan (Gongshan).
This species is named in honor of Dr. Bruce Bartholomew of the
California Academy of Sciences, U.S.A., a senior researcher of thebiodiversity of the Gaoligong Shan in W Yunnan, where he hascollected extensively almost every year since 1998.

35. Arisaema wilsonii Engler, Pflanzenr. 73(IV. 23F): 212.
1920.
川中南星 chuan zhong nan xing
Arisaema wilsonii var. forrestii Engler.
Plants dioecious. Tuber dark brown outside, whitish inside,
globose, 5–7 cm in diam., bearing some tubercles around.
Cataphylls 3 or 4, dark purple, with tiny greenish stripes, to 30
× 7 cm, apex obtuse. Leaf 1(or 2); petiole to 130 cm, basal partsheathing into short pseudostem; leaf blade 3-foliolate; leaflets
sessile, dull abaxially, light green adaxially, margins usually
cristate or crenulate; midrib and lateral veins raised abaxially;
central leaflet depressed obovate, 15–26 × 18–28 cm, base cordate, apex nearly truncate with a broad and short acumen; lateral leaflets rhombic or obliquely ovate, longer than central one,
to 37 × 24 cm, apex abruptly acuminate. Peduncle yellowish
green, shorter than petioles, ca. 35 cm, papillose. Spathe purple
with yellowish stripes; tube cylindric, 6–8 × ca. 3 cm, throat
margins slightly recurved; limb oblong or obovate-oblong, 10–
15 × 5–8 cm, apex abruptly acute with an acuminate tail 3–4
cm, incurved. Spadix unisexual; female zone conic, ca. 2 × 1.3
cm; ovary green, obconic; style distinct; stigma purple; malezone 5.5–6 cm × 6–7 mm; synandria stipitate, lax; anthers 3 or
4, reniform, dehiscing by horseshoe-shaped slit. Appendix robust, greenish dark purple, to 23 cm in total, proximally narrowly pyramidal, ca. 1.4 cm in diam., base truncate with a stipe
ca. 10 × 7–8 mm, distally gradually narrowed into flagellum,
tortuous, sometimes pendulous. Berries red, oblong, ca. 10 × 7
mm when mature. Fl. May, fr. Jun.
● Broad-leaved forests, forest margins, grassy slopes; 1900–3200
m. Gansu, Sichuan (Emei Shan), SE Xizang, W Yunnan.
The long peduncle, which lifts the inflorescence as high as the leaf
blade, is probably an adaptation to its grassy habitat and makes thisspecies comparable to the Himalayan Arisaema propinquum Schott.

55

36. Arisaema elephas Buchet, Notul. Syst. (Paris) 1: 370.
1911.
象南星 xiang nan xing
Arisaema dilatatum Buchet; A. rhombiforme Buchet.
Plants dioecious. Tuber subglobose, 2–5 cm in diam. Cataphylls usually 2, reddish brown, to 13 cm, acute. Leaf solitary;
petiole green, 20–30 cm, often verrucose, base forming pseudostem, ca. 2 cm in diam.; leaf blade 3-foliolate; leaflets green
with cristate margins; central leaflet sessile, obovate to obcordate, 5–10 × 6–13 cm, base narrowly cuneate, apex abruptly
acute; lateral leaflets obliquely oblong or ovate, 7–14 × 5–10
cm, base broadly cuneate, apex acute. Spathe purple with green
or whitish stripes; tube cylindric, 3–5 × 2–2.5 cm, throat margins obliquely truncate, neither recurved nor auriculate; limb
incurved or suberect, dark purple, oblong, 7–10 × ca. 4 cm,
apex abruptly acuminate. Peduncle green, 11–15 cm, often verrucose. Spadix unisexual; female zone cylindric, ca. 2 × 1.2 cm;
ovary green, oblong-ovoid; style green, short; stigma white or
purple, pilose; male zone cylindric, ca. 3 × 1.1 cm; synandria
stipitate; stipe reddish, 2–3 mm; anthers 2–5, yellow, obovoid,dehiscing by a horseshoe-shaped slit. Appendix sigmoid, to 20
cm in total, proximal 4–5 cm whitish or purplish to dark purple,
cylindric, ca. 8 mm in diam., abruptly narrowed at base into
stipe ca. 8 mm, distally narrowed into flagellum. Berries red,oblong. Seeds 5–8, pale brown, ovoid. Fl. Jun–Jul, fr. Aug.
Coniferous forests, bamboo forests, meadows, usually among
mossy rocks; 1800–4000 m. Chongqing, Gansu, Guizhou, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan [Bhutan, Myanmar].

37. Arisaema parvum N. E. Brown, J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 29:
320. 1893.
小南星 xiao nan xing
Plants dioecious. Tuber globose, 1.2–1.8 cm. Cataphylls
3–4.5 cm, acute. Leaf solitary; petiole green, 6–18 cm, smooth,base forming pseudostem; leaf blade 3-foliolate; central leaflet
obovate or obcordate, 1.8–5.5 × 2–6 cm, base cuneate usuallywith red margins, apex truncate or concave, with a short acumen; lateral leaflets obliquely ovate, 3–8 × 3–7 cm, acuminate.
Peduncle green, shorter than petioles, 5–12 cm, smooth. Spathe
tube color rather demarcated between dark purple (or dark
carmine) proximal part and greenish distal part with whitish
stripes, cylindric, 1.5–3.5 × 1.3–1.5 cm, throat obliquely truncate, not recurved; limb greenish, broadly lanceolate, 3–6 × ca.
3.5 cm, apex acute or acuminate, incurved. Spadix unisexual;
male zone ca. 6 mm; synandria stipitate; anthers usually 2,
yellow, dehiscing by horseshoe-shaped slit; appendix shorter
than spathe, 5–6 cm, slender, base suddenly expanded into adisk, stipitate, distally recurved. Female spadix unknown. Fl.
May–Jun.
● Alpine grasslands, meadows; 3000–3600 m. W Sichuan (Kangding), SE Xizang, Yunnan (Dali, Luquan, Yangbi).

5. Arisaema sect. Nepenthoidea (Engler) H. Hara, Bull. Univ. Mus. Univ. Tokyo 2: 325. 1971.
猪笼南星组 zhu long nan xing zu
Arisaema [unranked] Nepenthoidea Engler, Pflanzenr. 73(IV. 23F): 208. 1920.

ARACEAE

56

Underground stems tuberous. Phyllotaxy quincuncial. Leaves 3-foliolate or pedate (to 9-foliolate), usually glaucous abaxially.
Inflorescence emergent and unfolded before leaves. Spadix appendix erect, terete, base stipitate.
Three species: SW China to E Himalayas; three species (one endemic) in China.

1a. Leaves 7–9-foliolate; peduncle shorter than petioles ................................................................................................ 40. A. meleagris
1b. Leaves 3–5(–7)-foliolate; peduncle longer than petioles.
2a. Leaves 3-foliolate ....................................................................................................................................................... 38. A. wattii
2b. Leaves (3–)5(–7)-foliolate ............................................................................................................................. 39. A. nepenthoides
38. Arisaema wattii J. D. Hooker, Fl. Brit. India 6: 498. 1893.
双耳南星 shuang er nan xing
Arisaema biauriculatum W. W. Smith ex Handel-Mazzetti;
A. pangii H. Li.
Plants dioecious. Tuber depressed globose, 2.3–5 cm indiam. Cataphylls 3 or 4, green or violet, with purplish spots,
15–20 cm, apex acute or obtuse. Leaves 2; petiole yellow-green
with dark brown spots consisting of tiny striae, finally to 60 cm,
proximal 1/3–1/2 forming pseudostem; leaf blade 3-foliolate;leaflets sessile, green; central leaflet elliptic, 15–30 × 4–10 cm,
base cuneate, apex acuminate; lateral leaflets narrowly obovate,
oblique, as long as central one, base auriculate, rounded onouter side, narrowly cuneate on inner side. Inflorescenceemerging before leaves; peduncle as long as petioles. Spathe
purplish brown or purplish green, 11–13 cm in total; tube
cylindric, 4.5–6.5 × 1–2 cm, throat margins with horizontal
auricle 1.5–2.5 cm wide; limb broadly ovate, 6–7 × 3.5–5 cm,base slightly constricted, apex shortly acuminate. Spadix unisexual; female zone conic, 1.5–2 × ca. 1 cm; ovary obovoid;
ovules 4, basal; style short; stigma disciform; male zone 1.5–3cm; synandria lax; anthers 2, shortly stipitate, purple, dehiscing
by apical pore. Appendix erect, whitish green, cylindric, 2.5–4.5
cm × 4.5–5 mm, base truncate with a stipe 5–7 mm, middle partslightly constricted, apex obtuse. Berries red. Seeds 4, ovoid.
Fl. Apr–May, fr. Jun–Sep.
Mixed broad-leaved forests, mossy evergreen forests, grassy
slopes; 2100–3300 m. SE Xizang (Mêdog), Yunnan [NE India (Assam,
Manipur), NE Myanmar (W slope of Gaoligong Shan)].

39. Arisaema nepenthoides (Wallich) Martius ex Schott &Endlicher, Melet. Bot. 17. 1832.
猪笼南星 zhu long nan xing
Arum nepenthoides Wallich, Tent. Fl. Napal. 26. 1824.
Tuber depressed globose, 6–7 cm in diam. Cataphylls,
petioles, and peduncle reddish or greenish, densely covered
with dark green, dark brown, or black irregular spots consistingof parallel striae. Cataphylls 3, to 25 cm, obtuse at apex. Petiole
to 90 cm, basal 10–50 cm sheathing, forming pseudostem; leaf
blade digitate; leaflets 5(–7), glaucous abaxially, dull green
adaxially, central leaflet with petiolule 2–3 cm, lateral 2 leaflets
sessile; central leaflet oblanceolate, 16–20 × 4–5 cm; outermost
leaflets 12–14 × 3–4 cm, extremely oblique, narrowly cuneate
at inner base, distinctly auriculate semiovate at outer side.
Peduncle emerging from pseudostem, shorter or longer thanpetioles. Spathe tube yellowish with brownish or dark brownspots at both sides, cylindric, 3–8 × 1.2–2.5 cm, throat broadly
auriculate, auricles semiorbicular, to 2 cm wide, outcurved;
limb arching, yellowish with numerous black spots, triangularovate, 3–10 × 2–5 cm, apex acuminate. Spadix unisexual; female zone cylindric, 2–2.5 cm × 8–12 mm; ovaries dense, green,
obovoid; stigma yellowish; male zone ca. 1.5 cm; synandria
lax; anthers 1–3, violet, shortly stipitate; thecae globose, dehiscing by apical pores. Appendix erect, whitish green, cylindric, 6–8 cm × 4.5–5 mm, base truncate with stipe 5–7 mm,middle part slightly constricted, apex obtuse. Fl. May–Jun. 2n =26, 26 + 1B.
Tsuga or Quercus forests, forest banks and margins; 2700–3600
m. S Xizang, Yunnan [Bhutan, NE India (Darjeeling, Sikkim), N Myanmar, Nepal].
A Chinese record of Arisaema ochraceum Schott (Lacaita, J. Linn.
Soc., Bot. 43: 483. 1916) is referable to A. nepenthoides.

40. Arisaema meleagris Buchet, Notul. Syst. (Paris) 2: 122.
1911.
褐斑南星 he ban nan xing
Arisaema meleagris var. sinuatum Buchet; A. paichuanense Z. Y. Zhu; A. shimienense H. Li.
Tuber subglobose or depressed globose, 1–2.5 cm in diam.
Cataphylls 2.4–12 cm, membranous, apex obtuse. Leaf solitary,
pedate; petiole green with brown spots, 10–23 cm, proximallyforming pseudostem; leaflets 7–9(–12), lanceolate, 3 cm (outermost one) to 10 × 1–2.5 cm, base acute, margin entire, usuallyerose, apex acuminate; central 3 subequal, remote, sessile;rachis between leaflets 5–10 mm. Peduncle green with brownspots, shorter than petioles, 5–15 cm. Spathe purplish brownwith numerous dark brown spots, 6–9 cm in total; tube cylindric, 3–4 cm × 8–12 mm, throat auriculate and outcurved; limb
suberect, dark purple at apex, ovate to elliptic, ca. 3.5 × 2 cm,
apex acute or acuminate. Spadix unisexual; female zone ca. 7
× 4 mm; ovary yellow-green, obovoid; stigma subsessile, subglobose; male zone ca. 7 mm; synandria lax; anthers 2–4,
sessile; thecae subglobose, dehiscing by lateral slits. Appendix erect, purple in basal and apical parts, whitish with purple
spots at base, subcylindric, 2.5–3.5 mm, base narrowed into
stipe 5–10 mm, apex obtuse. Fl. May–Jun.
● Broad-leaved forests, bamboo thickets; 2000–3000 m. Chongqing (Chengkou), Sichuan, Yunnan (Dali, Zhenxiong).
This species is similar to Arisaema auriculatum in A. sect. Tortuosa in its small size, range of variation of leaf shape, and colorationof the spathe.

ARACEAE

57

6. Arisaema sect. Franchetiana (Engler) H. Hara, Bull. Univ. Mus. Univ. Tokyo 2: 326. 1971.
象头花组 xiang tou hua zu
Arisaema [unranked] Franchetiana Engler, Pflanzenr. 73(IV. 23F): 148. 1920.
Tuber purple outside, globose, base of axillary buds swelling. Leaves 1 or 2; leaf blade 3-foliolate. Spadix unisexual; thecae
opening by an apical pore or slit; appendix suberect or apex outwardly recurved, pyramidal or subcylindric, robust, base attenuate
into a stipe.
Four species: SW China, N Myanmar; four species (three endemic) in China.
Putative intrasectional hybrids are frequently observed.

1a. Spathe unfolded before leaf blade, limb shorter than tube, erect or curved forward but not galeate.
2a. Spathe basically white, tube thick .............................................................................................................. 41. A. candidissimum
2b. Spathe basically purple, tube slender ............................................................................................................. 43. A. lichiangense
1b. Spathe unfolded after leaf blade, limb longer than tube, arched and pendulous.
3a. Spathe arched and galeate, enclosing spadix appendix ............................................................................... 42. A. franchetianum
3b. Spathe arched but not galeate, spadix appendix seen from outside ........................................................................ 44. A. fargesii
41. Arisaema candidissimum W. W. Smith, Notes Roy. Bot.
Gard. Edinburgh 10: 8. 1917.
白苞南星 bai bao nan xing
Plants dioecious. Tuber depressed globose, 3–5 cm indiam. Cataphylls 3 or 4, pinkish brown, sparsely spotted withwhitish dots, 5–24 × 4–5 cm, membranous, apex obtuse, convolute, encircling pseudostem. Leaf solitary; petiole entirely
green, 15–35 cm, base forming pseudostem, ca. 1.2 cm indiam., smooth; leaf blade 3-foliolate, papery; leaflets sessile,ovate or nearly orbicular, apex rounded or acute; central leaflet
6–8 × 7–9 cm (at anthesis and much expanded later), baseshortly cuneate; lateral leaflets slightly oblique, 5–6 × 4–8 cm.
Inflorescence arising before leaves. Spathe pale green or whitewith green or purple longitudinal lines; tube cylindric, 3–4 × ca.
2 cm, throat margins recurved; limb ovate to ovate-lanceolate,
5–6 × 3–4 cm, apex with a tail 2–3 cm. Spadix unisexual; female zone oblong, ca. 2 × 1 cm; ovary green, obovoid; stigma
subsessile, rounded; male zone cylindric, 1.6–2 cm × 3–4 mm;synandria consisting of 2 or 3 anthers; thecae yellow, subglobose, opening by apical pores. Appendix suberect or erect,
white or pale green, funnel-shaped, subcylindric, 3–4.5 cm × 2–
5 mm, naked, base attenuate, subsessile to stipitate, apex acuteor obtuse.
● Quercus forests, valley thickets; 2200–3300 m. Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan.

42. Arisaema franchetianum Engler, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 1: 487.
1881.
象头花 xiang tou hua
Arisaema delavayi Buchet; A. purpureogaleatum Engler.
Plants dioecious. Tuber renewed seasonally, creamy redoutside, depressed globose, 1–6 cm in diam., bearing manytubercles around. Cataphylls 2 or 3, pale brown with purplish
spots, membranous. Leaf solitary; petiole creamy red or palegreen, without spots, 20–50 cm, base forming pseudostem, 1–2
cm in diam.; leaf blade 3-foliolate; leaflets sessile or subsessile,subleathery; central leaflet ovate, broadly elliptic, or subovate,
7–23 × 6–22 cm, base shortly cuneate to rounded, apex abruptly

attenuate; lateral leaflets obliquely elliptic, 6–20 × 5–19 cm,
base cuneate. Peduncle erect in flowering, recurved at fruiting,brown with white dots, shorter than petioles, 10–30 cm. Spathe
dirty purple or dark purple with white or greenish white longitudinal lines; tube cylindric, 4–6 × 1.2–2 cm, throat margins
slightly recurved; limb galeate-recurved, 4.5–11 × 3–5 cm, apex
long acuminate with a tubular tail 5–6 cm, whiplike, pendulous.
Spadix unisexual; female zone cylindric, 1.2–3.8 cm × 8–20mm; ovaries dense, greenish purple, ca. 5 mm; ovules 2, basal,
erect; stigma convex; male zone narrowly conic. Appendix
recurved from middle, sometimes suberect, 1.5–4 cm × 2.5–6
mm, base attenuate into short stipe, 4–8 mm in diam., apex 1–2
mm in diam. Fl. May–Jul, fr. Sep–Oct.
Forests, thickets, grasslands; 900–3000 m. Guangxi, Guizhou,
Hunan, Sichuan, Yunnan [N Myanmar].

43. Arisaema lichiangense W. W. Smith, Notes Roy. Bot.
Gard. Edinburgh 8: 178. 1914.
丽江南星 li jiang nan xing
Plants dioecious. Tuber renewed seasonally, brown outside, yellowish white inside, subglobose, 3–4.5 cm in diam.,usually with tubercles. Cataphylls 3, brown with purple dots,
membranous, inner one 7–15 cm, purplish brown with whitish
spots. Leaf solitary; petiole purplish brown with some whitish
dots, 20–37 cm, basal 4–5 cm sheathing into pseudostem; leaf
blade 3-foliolate; leaflets sessile, sometimes shortly petiolulate,green, broadly ovate or subrhombic, subleathery, base broadly
cuneate or rounded, margin entire, apex acute or abruptly
acuminate; central leaflet 6–15 × 6.5–13 cm; lateral leaflets
smaller, 5.5–13 × 4.5–10 cm, base oblique. Peduncle purplish
brown with tiny whitish dots, shorter than petioles, 13–24 cm.
Spathe purple or purplish red, with whitish or greenish longitudinal lines, 7–10 cm in total; tube broadly cylindric, ca. 2.5 ×
1.3–1.5 cm, throat margins slightly recurved; limb erect orslightly recurved, ovate-lanceolate, 3.5–4 cm, apex long acuminate, with a connective whitish intramarginal line along distal part. Spadix unisexual; female zone subconic, ca. 10 × 6–7mm; ovary green, obconic; ovules 3, basal, erect; stigma sessile,
disciform; male zone cylindric, 9–15 × 2–3 mm; synandria of 1
or 2 stamens; anthers sessile or distal ones subsessile; thecae

ARACEAE

58

purple, globose, opening by an apical pore. Appendix whitish
purple proximally, dark purple distally, 6–7 cm (including
stipe), base swollen, 3–4 mm in diam., attenuate into stipe ca.
10 × 1 mm. Fl. Jun–Jul.
● Pinus forests, deciduous broad-leaved forests in valleys,secondary thickets; 2400–3200 m. SW Sichuan, NW Yunnan.

44. Arisaema fargesii Buchet, Notul. Syst. (Paris) 1: 371. 1911.
螃蟹七 pang xie qi
Arisaema bogneri P. C. Boyce & H. Li.
Plants dioecious. Tuber subglobose, 3–5 cm in diam., witha few tubercles. Cataphylls 3, brown, inner one ca. 15 cm. Leaf
solitary; petiole 20–40 cm, base 6–7 mm in diam., proximal 1/4
sheathing into pseudostem; leaf blade 3-foliolate; leaflets sessile, membranous; central leaflet rhombic or ovate-oblong toovate, 12–32 × 9–27 cm, base shortly cuneate or combined withlateral leaflets, apex acute; lateral leaflets obliquely elliptic,
outer side semiovate, 9–23 × 6–16 cm. Peduncle emerging frompseudostem, slender and shorter than petioles, 18–26 cm.
Spathe purple with whitish longitudinal lines; tube subcylindric,
4–8 × 1.5–2 cm, throat margins recurved and auriculate; limb
arching or suberect, narrowly triangular, 6–12 × 4–4.5 cm, apex
long acuminate with a tail 1–4 cm. Spadix unisexual; femalezone ca. 2 cm; ovary obovoid; stigma subsessile, papillose;
male zone cylindric, 2.5–3 cm × 4–5 mm; synandria of 2–4
stamens; thecae ovoid, opening by an apical pore. Appendix
robust, suberect or slightly recurved, narrowly conic, long acuminate toward apex, 4.5–9 cm, proximal part 7–15 mm indiam., base attenuate into a short stipe, apex obtuse, ca. 5 mm
in diam. Fl. May–Jun.
● Forests, thickets, in rocks; 900–2000 m. Chongqing, S Gansu,
W Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan, E Xizang, NW Yunnan (Gongshan).

7. Arisaema sect. Tortuosa (Engler) H. Hara, Bull. Univ. Mus. Univ. Tokyo 2: 344. 1971.
曲序组 qu xu zu
Arisaema [unranked] Tortuosa Engler, Pflanzenr. 73(IV. 23F): 185. 1920; Flagellarisaema Nakai.
Underground stems tuberous. Phyllotaxy quincuncial. Leaves 1 or 2(or 3); leaf blade 3-foliolate or pedate. Spathe limb erect orincurved, usually ovate. Spadix: thecae dehiscing by apical lunate slit or by pore; appendix elongate, sigmoid, tortuous, base gradually attenuate and sessile, without neuter flowers.
About 18 species: E Asia, North America; 12 species (seven endemic) in China.

1a. Spathe basically purplish.
2a. Flowering in autumn; spathe throat not auriculate ............................................................................................. 55. A. thunbergii
2b. Flowering in spring; spathe throat broadly auriculate.
3a. Spathe limb basally narrowed, not united with oblong auricles, showing 3-lobed appearance .............. 49. A. auriculatum
3b. Spathe limb basally expanded and united with expanded part of spathe throat, showing single
cordate appearance ........................................................................................................................................ 56. A. cordatum
1b. Spathe basically green or white.
4a. Spathe white.
5a. Leaf blade 3-foliolate; mature spadix bisexual ............................................................................................. 53. A. odoratum
5b. Leaf blade pedately 5–7(–9)-foliolate; mature spadix female .......................................................................... 54. A. mairei
4b. Spathe green.
6a. Central leaflet much smaller than adjacent lateral leaflets .................................................................... 51. A. heterophyllum
6b. Central leaflet ca. as large as or larger than adjacent lateral leaflets.
7a. Spadix bisexual when mature ................................................................................................................ 50. A. tortuosum
7b. Spadix female when mature.
8a. Leaf blade (1–)3–5-foliolate; leaflets linear to narrowly oblong; ovary fusiform ............................. 45. A. saxatile
8b. Leaf blade 3- or 5- or more foliolate; leaflets lanceolate to oblong; ovary bottle-shaped.
9a. Spadix appendix filiform, 8–16 cm, usually pendulous.
10a. Leaf blade 3-foliolate; mature spadix bisexual ................................................................... 48. A. prazeri
10b. Leaf blade 5–9-foliolate; mature spadix female .................................................................. 52. A. aridum
9b. Spadix appendix narrowly attenuate, less than 7 cm, curved forward.
11a. Leaf blade 3-foliolate .................................................................................................... 46. A. yunnanense
11b. Leaf blade 5-foliolate ............................................................................................ 47. A. quinquelobatum
45. Arisaema saxatile Buchet, Notul. Syst. (Paris) 2: 124. 1911.
银南星 yin nan xing
Arisaema bathycoleum Handel-Mazzetti; A. lineare
Buchet.
Plants dioecious. Tuber renewed seasonally, depressed
globose, 1–2 cm in diam. Cataphylls 2, creamy green, mem-

branous, acute. Leaves 1 or 2; petiole green without spots, 9–25cm, proximally forming pseudostem; leaf blade 3-foliolate or
pedately 5-foliolate; leaflets sessile or subsessile, green, narrowly lanceolate or elliptic, papery, margin entire; terminal
leaflet 4–12 × 0.5–2.5 cm. Peduncle emerging from pseudostem, green, usually longer than petioles, 15–28 cm. Spathegreen or pale green; tube funnelform, 5–6 × 1–2 cm, throat mar-

ARACEAE

gin obliquely truncate, slightly recurved; limb ovate-lanceolate,
apex acute or acuminate. Spadix unisexual; female zone cylindric, 2–2.5 × ca. 0.7 cm; ovary yellowish green, fusiform, styleshort; stigma capitate; male zone cylindric, ca. 2.2 cm × 4 mm;
male flower of 2 or 3 stamens; anthers violet, globose, 2thecous, dehiscing by apical pore; appendix in male spadix
sessile, recurved or twining, pale green, proximally narrowly
cylindric, distally filiform, to 20 cm, naked, base ca. 3 mm indiam.; appendix in female spadix recurved, usually purple, 4–5
cm, much shorter than appendix in male spadix. Berries red, 1–
4-seeded. Fl. Jun, fr. Aug.
● Pinus forests, grassy slopes, alpine grasslands; 1600–3400 m.
Sichuan, Yunnan.

46. Arisaema yunnanense Buchet, Notul. Syst. (Paris) 1: 367.
1911.
山珠南星 shan zhu nan xing
Arisaema talense Engler; A. talense var. latisectum Engler.
Plants dioecious. Tuber renewed seasonally, pale brownoutside, white inside, depressed globose or globose, 0.5–4 cm
in diam., with some offsets above; offsets sessile, globose.
Cataphylls 2, green, sometimes purplish, 3–25 cm, papery, apex
obtuse. Leaves 1(or 2); petiole green, without spots, 40–70 cm,
basal 2/3 sheathing into pseudostem, encircled by cataphylls;
leaf blade green on both surfaces, 3-foliolate; central leaflet
with petiolule 0–1.5 cm, blade elliptic, sometimes ovate, 10–19
× 5–12 cm, base cuneate or obtuse, apex acuminate; lateral
leaflets sessile or shortly petiolulate, ovate to lanceolate, 9–15 ×
5.5–9 cm, base obliquely cuneate. Peduncle emerging frompseudostem, green, without spots, longer (male) or shorter thanpetioles, 20–75 cm. Spathe green, with longitudinal white lines;
tube 2–2.5 × 1–1.4 cm, throat margin obliquely truncate, notauriculate; limb arching from base, ovate, ca. 5 × 3.5 cm, apex
acuminate. Spadix unisexual; female zone conic, ca. 1.5 cm;
ovary green, obovoid; ovules 3, basal; style ca. 0.5 mm; stigma
depressed globose; male zone pyramidal, 1.5–2 cm, base 3–5
mm in diam.; synandria of 2 or 3 stamens; thecae violet, globose, opening by an apical pore. Appendix recurved outward or
downward, pale green, cylindric, narrowed distally, 3.5–6 cm,
base 2–2.5 mm in diam., naked. Berries red, subcylindric. Seeds
2 or 3, ovoid-globose. Fl. May–Jul, mature fr. Aug–Sep. 2n =48.
Pinus and Pinus-Quercus forests, grassy slopes, roadsides,
thickets; 700–3200 m. Guizhou, Sichuan, Yunnan [N Myanmar].

47. Arisaema quinquelobatum H. Li & J. Murata, sp. nov.

59

petiole 10–45 cm, proximal 6–28 cm forming pseudostem, usually greenish, unspotted; leaf blade palmately 5-foliolate; leaflets green, narrowly elliptic to elliptic, 4–13.5 × 1–7 cm, basecuneate, margin entire, apex acuminate. Inflorescence unfolding
after leaf blade; peduncle longer than petioles. Spathe green,with longitudinal white lines; tube 2–2.5 × 1–1.4 cm, throat
margin obliquely truncate, not auriculate; limb arching frombase, ovate, ca. 5 × 3.5 cm, apex acuminate. Spadix unisexual;
female zone conic, ca. 1.5 cm; ovary green, bottle-shaped;
ovules 3, basal; style ca. 0.5 mm; stigma depressed globose;
male zone pale green, pyramidal, 1.5–2 cm, base 3–5 mm indiam.; synandria of 2 or 3 stamens; thecae violet or creamcolored, globose, opening by apical pore; pollen verrucate between conic spines. Appendix recurved outward or downward,
green, narrowly conic, 3.5–6 cm, base 2–2.5 mm in diam.
Berries red, subcylindric. Seeds 2 or 3, ovoid-globose. Fl. May–
Jul, mature fr. Aug–Sep. 2n = 24*.
● Pinus-Quercus forests, grassy slopes, roadsides, thickets; 1800–
2100 m. NC and NW Yunnan (Lijiang, Wuding, Yuanmou, Zhongdian).
This species is considered to be the diploid ancestor of Arisaema
yunnanense, which is tetraploid, with 2n = 48 chromosomes. It also
differs from A. yunnanense in having always quinate leaves.

48. Arisaema prazeri J. D. Hooker, Fl. Brit. India 6: 501. 1893.
河谷南星 he gu nan xing
Arisaema prazeri var. variegatum Engler; A. prazeri var.
viride Engler.
Plants monoecious and male. Tuber renewed seasonally,
subglobose, 1–3 cm in diam. Cataphylls 2 or 3, grayish green,with dark purple striae and spots, 10–28 cm. Leaves 1 or 2;
petiole grayish with purple striae and spots, 25–70 cm, proximal 1/2–3/4 sheathing into pseudostem; leaf blade green, membranous, 3-foliolate; leaflets subsessile; central leaflet ovatelanceolate, 22–25 × 9–10 cm, base cuneate, apex acuminate;
lateral leaflets obliquely ovate, 17–18 × 5–10 cm. Peduncle
shorter than petioles. Spathe green with white longitudinal
stripes on back; tube cylindric, 4–5 × ca. 1 cm, throat margin
obliquely truncate, not auriculate; limb erect, lanceolate, 6–10 ×
1.5–2.5 cm, apex acuminate, with short tail. Spadix bisexual or
male. Male spadix: male zone ca. 3 cm, base 4–5 mm in diam.;synandria of 2 stamens; thecae purple, ovoid, opening by anapical longitudinal slit. Bisexual spadix: female zone proximal,
cylindric, 2.3–3 cm × 5–6 mm; ovary green, obovoid; ovules 3;
stigma subsessile; male zone distal, 1–3.5 cm × ca. 4 mm;synandria as in male spadix. Appendix pendulous, usually dark
purple, filiform, to 80 cm. Fl. Jun.

五叶山珠南星 wu ye shan zhu nan xing

Tropical thickets, evergreen forests, in limestone areas; 100–1500
m. Yunnan [Myanmar, Thailand].

Type: China. Yunnan: Lijiang, Hutiaoxia (虎跳峡, “Tiger
Leaping Gorge”), 1860 m, 20 Jun 1995, J. Murata, X. Cheng,
H. Takahashi, J. Ohno & H. Murata s.n. (holotype, TI).

49. Arisaema auriculatum Buchet, Notul. Syst. (Paris) 2: 123.
1911.

Haec species quoad inflorescentiam eadem ac Arisaema
yunnanense Buchet est, sed ab eo foliis 5-foliolatis et chromosomatum numero diploideo 2n = 24 differt.
Plants dioecious, 10–40 cm tall. Tuber depressed globose,
1–5 cm in diam., with some tubercles around. Leaves 1 or 2;

长耳南星 chang er nan xing
Arisaema auriculatum var. hungyaense (H. Li) Gusman &L. Gusman; A. hungyaense H. Li; A. omeiense P. C. Kao.
Plants dioecious. Tuber globose, small, 1–2 cm in diam.,shortly stoloniferous. Cataphylls 3, brownish purple with tiny

60

ARACEAE

black striae, to 18 cm, apex obtuse. Leaf solitary; petiole
greenish with some grayish spots, 20–30 cm, proximal 1/3
sheathing into pseudostem; leaf blade pedate; leaflets (7–)9–15,
sessile, oblanceolate or oblong, base attenuate, margin entire
or erose, apex acuminate; central leaflet usually larger than orequaling lateral ones; lateral leaflets 10–12 × 2.5–3.5 cm, outermost ones 1.5–4 × 0.3–1.5 cm. Inflorescence emerging before
leaf; peduncle grayish green with whitish spots, shorter thanpetioles, 12–25 cm. Spathe 7–12 cm in total; tube green or pale
brown, densely flushed with dark purple or dark brown spots,
narrowly cylindric, 4–6 cm × 7–15 mm; limb deeply 3-lobed;
lobes green or purple, often flushed with dark purple or blackspots on back; lateral lobes oblong or oblanceolate, 20–25 × ca.
7 mm, spreading into auricles at tube throat; central lobe ovate
to elliptic, 2–3 × 1.4–1.8 cm, base constricted, apex acuminate,
incurved. Spadix unisexual; female zone conic, 12–15 × 6–7mm; ovaries dense, green, ovoid; stigma subsessile; male zone
1.5–2 cm, slender; synandria lax; anthers sessile, violet, globose; thecae dehiscing from apical pore. Appendix sessile, ascending, sigmoid, dark violet, flagelliform to filiform, 7–12 cm,
1–2 mm in diam. in basal part. Infructescense subglobose.
Berries red. Fl. Apr–Jun.
● Mixed evergreen forests, bamboo forests, secondary forests, wetplaces in valleys; 1400–3100 m. NW Hunan, Sichuan, Yunnan.

50. Arisaema tortuosum (Wallich) Schott in Schott &Endlicher, Melet. Bot. 17. 1832.
曲序南星 qu xu nan xing
Arum tortuosum Wallich, Pl. Asiat. Rar. 2: 10. 1831;
Arisaema helleborifolium Schott; A. tortuosum var. helleborifolium (Schott) Engler.
Plants monoecious or male. Tuber depressed globose, 2–6
cm in diam. Cataphylls and petiole variously blotched withpinkish, gray dark brownish, or purplish. Leaves (1 or)2 or 3;
petiole 5–30(–180) cm, proximal 2/3–5/6 sheathing into pseudostem; leaf blade pedate; leaflets 5–17, shortly petiolulate
or sessile, greenish abaxially, dull green adaxially, variously
shaped, rhombic-ovate or oblong to lanceolate, base cuneate,apex abruptly acuminate; central leaflet 5–30 × 1–7 cm; lateral
leaflets gradually smaller to outermost. Peduncle emerging
from pseudostem, 30–45(–200) cm, usually exceeding leaves.
Spathe light green, usually glaucous green or dark purple; tube
cylindric or funnelform, 2.5–7 × 1.5–3 cm, throat margins
obliquely truncate, not recurved; limb slightly incurved, ovate
or oblong, 4–12 × 2–5 cm, apex shortly acuminate. Spadix bisexual or male. Bisexual spadix: proximal part female, 2–4 cm;
ovary broadly ovoid; style short; stigma disciform; male zone
2–3 cm. Male spadix: male zone ca. 4 cm; synandria widely
spaced, stalked (1–3 mm), cream to orange, consisting of 2 or
3(–5) anthers; thecae dehiscing by lateral slits. Appendix
ascending, sigmoid, green, glaucous, or dark purple, graduallytapering from sessile base to very acute apex, 7–23 mm, 3–12mm in diam. at base, smooth. Infructescence upright, subglobose. Berries red. Seeds 3–5. Fl. Jun, fr. Aug.
Rocky slopes, path sides, streamsides, especially in disturbed
areas; 1300–2900 m. Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan [Bhutan, India, Nepal].

51. Arisaema heterophyllum Blume, Rumphia 1: 110. 1835.
天南星 tian nan xing
Arisaema ambiguum Engler; A. brachyspathum Hayata;A. kwangtungense Merrill; A. limprichtii K. Krause; A. manshuricum Nakai; A. multisectum Engler; A. stenospathum
Handel-Mazzetti; A. takeoi Hayata; A. thunbergii Blume var.
heterophyllum (Blume) Engler; Heteroarisaema heterophyllum(Blume) Nakai; H. manshuricum (Nakai) Nakai.
Plants monoecious and male. Tuber depressed globose, 2–
6 cm in diam. Cataphylls 4 or 5, membranous. Leaf usuallysolitary; petiole glaucous, 30–60 cm, proximal 3/4 sheathing
into pseudostem; leaf blade pedate; leaflets 11–19(–21), shortly
petiolulate or sessile, pale greenish abaxially, dull green adaxially, variously shaped, oblanceolate, oblong, or linear-oblong,base cuneate, apex acuminate; central leaflet 3–15 × 0.7–5.8
cm, often much shorter than lateral leaflets; first outer leaflets
7.7–24.2(–31) × (0.7–)2–6.5 cm, gradually smaller to outermost
leaflets, distance between leaflets 0.5–5 cm. Peduncle usually
longer than petioles, 50–80 cm. Spathe tube glaucous outside,
whitish green inside, cylindric, 3.2–8 × 1–2.5 cm, throat slightly
recurved; limb strongly incurved, pale greenish to pale yellow
abaxially, deep green adaxially, ovate, 2.5–8 × 4–9 cm. Spadix
bisexual or male. Bisexual spadix: female zone proximal, 1–2.2
cm; ovary globose; style distinct; stigma punctate; ovules 3 or
4; male zone distal, 1.5–3.2 cm; synandria lax; occasionallywith echinate neuter flowers. Male spadix: male zone 3–5 cm ×
3–5 mm; synandria stalked, consisting of 2 or 3 anthers, eachwith 2 thecae dehiscing by apical slits. Appendix ascending,sigmoid, pale whitish, gradually tapering from sessile base tovery acute apex, ca. 20 cm, 5–11 mm in diam. at base. Berries
yellowish red or red, cylindric, ca. 5 mm. Seed usually 1,
clavate. Fl. Apr–May, fr. Jul–Sep.
Forests, thickets, grasslands; below 2700 m. Almost throughout
China, except Xizang [Japan, Korea].

52. Arisaema aridum H. Li, Acta Phytotax. Sin. 15(2): 107.
1977.
旱生南星 han sheng nan xing
Arisaema yunnanense Buchet var. aridum (H. Li) Gusman& L. Gusman.
Plants dioecious. Tuber nearly globose, 1–3 cm in diam.
Cataphylls 2 or 3, to 17 cm. Leaves 1 or 2; petiole green,
unmarked, 16–50 cm, proximal 1/4–1/2 sheathing into pseudostem; leaf blade pedate; leaflets 5–9, pale greenish abaxially,green adaxially, linear to narrowly lanceolate, sessile; central
leaflet 15–20 × 1–1.5 cm; lateral leaflets gradually smaller andshorter toward outermost, outermost ones 2–3 cm × 1–5 mm.
Peduncle green, 10–50 cm, shorter or longer than petioles.
Spathe yellowish green, 5–15 cm in total; tube narrowly cylindric, 2.2–6 cm × 4–20 mm, throat obliquely truncate, not recurved; limb suberect, ovate to narrowly ovate, 4–7 × 1–2 cm,
apex acuminate. Spadix unisexual; female zone 1.2–2.5 cm;
ovary whitish green, obovoid; ovules 3; stigma with short stipe;

ARACEAE

male zone cylindric, 1.8–3 cm, densely flowered; synandria sessile, consisting of 2–4 anthers, each with 2 thecae dehiscing by
apical pores. Appendix sessile, sigmoid or simply curved forward, yellowish green to violet, 4–17 cm × 2.5–4 mm. Fl. Apr–
Jun.
● Grassy slopes, valley thickets along Jinsha Jiang; 1800–2800 m.
NW Yunnan.

53. Arisaema odoratum J. Murata & S. K. Wu, J. Jap. Bot. 69:
153. 1994.
香南星 xiang nan xing
Plants monoecious or male. Tuber subglobose. Cataphylls
2 or 3, membranous. Leaves 1 or 2; petiole green to purplish,
unmarked, 13–22 cm, basal 4–7 cm sheathing into pseudostem;
leaf blade 3-foliolate; leaflets sessile, ovate to oblong, basecuneate, margin entire, apex acuminate. Inflorescence fragrant;
peduncle green, nearly as long as petiole. Spathe white, 7–8 cm;
tube funnelform, gradually opening to blade; limb ovate or
oblong to narrowly oblong, 5.5–6 × 1.7–4 cm, apex acute toacuminate, bending forward. Spadix male or bisexual; female
flowers green or cream-colored, congested in basal part ofspadix; male flowers white. Appendix extremely fragrant, sessile, dull green, becoming orange, whip-shaped, 5–9 cm, bent
down from throat of spathe. 2n = 22*.
● Humid grassy slopes at forest margins; ca. 1400 m. NC Yunnan(Dayao).

54. Arisaema mairei H. Léveillé, Cat. Pl. Yun-Nan, 10. 1915.
乌蒙南星 wu meng nan xing
Arisaema maireanum Engler; A. wumengense H. Li.
Plants dioecious. Tuber renewed seasonally, dark brownoutside, whitish inside, depressed globose, ca. 3 × 4–5 cm.
Cataphylls 2 or 3, greenish with pink and whitish blotches or
whitish with brownish apex, 17–18 × ca. 2.7 cm, papery, apex
obtuse. Leaves 2; petiole green but sheathing part often withdark brown short stripes, 30–40 cm, proximal 25–30 cm
sheathing into pseudostem, encircled in cataphylls; leaf blade
pedate, 5–7-foliolate or palmate-digitate; leaflets sessile, baseconnected and closed, light green abaxially, dull green adaxially; central leaflet subsessile, elliptic to broadly oblong, baseacute, apex acute or acuminate; lateral leaflets as central one
but somewhat smaller, outermost ones ca. 8 × 3 cm. Peduncle
green, unmarked or with whitish dots, usually shorter thanpetioles, 33–36 cm. Spathe emerging from pseudostem; tube
greenish outside, white inside, unmarked, cylindric, ca. 4 × 1.4–
2 cm, smooth, throat slightly recurved, not auriculate; limb
white, unmarked, narrowly ovate, 9–11 × 3.7–5.5 cm, apex
acute or acuminate, slightly incurved. Spadix unisexual; femalezone greenish, conic, ca. 1.5 × 1 cm; ovary obovoid; style pyramidal, short; stigma small, papillose; male zone cylindric, 1.5–2
cm × ca. 3 mm; synandria dense, subsessile; anthers 2 or 3,
yellowish, thecae globose, dehiscing by apical pores. Appendix
sessile, dark green throughout or whitish in basal 2–3 cm, green
in middle ca. 1.5 cm, dull brownish purple distally, cylindric,61

narrowed distally, ca. 14 cm in total, 3–5 mm in diam., part
exserted from spathe tube recurved and pendulous, apex filiform. Fl. Jun–Jul.
● Thickets, grassy slopes, riversides; 1900–2000 m. S Sichuan(Huidong), Yunnan (Huize, Luquan).

55. Arisaema thunbergii Blume subsp. autumnale J. C. Wang,
J. Murata & H. Ohashi, Bot. Bull. Acad. Sin. 37: 75. 1996.
东台南星 dong tai nan xing
Plants dioecious. Tuber depressed globose, 3–6 cm indiam. Cataphylls purplish to brownish, membranous, apex
mucronate. Leaf solitary; petiole terete, 25–50 cm, proximallyforming pseudostem; leaf blade pedate; leaflets 11–15, oblanceolate to elliptic, base cuneate, apex acuminate; central leaflet
10–28 × 2–7.5 cm. Peduncle usually shorter than petioles, 15–
35 cm. Spathe white or pale yellow with dark to bronze-purple
or reddish purple stripes; tube white or pale yellow with longitudinal purple stripes outside and dark purple stripes inside,
cylindric, auriculate at throat, 5–7 × 2–2.5 cm; limb triangularovate, 7–10 × 4–5 cm, apex acute to acuminate. Spadix unisexual; female zone cylindric, 1.5–2 cm; male zone 3–4 cm;synandria stipitate, consisting of 4 anthers, thecae dehiscingfrom lateral slits. Appendix long exserted from spathe, filiform,
40–60 cm, proximally narrowly cylindric, smooth, gradually
narrowed at both ends, distally bent downward and pendulous.
Fl. May–Jul.
● Forests, thickets; near sea level to 1100 m. E and N Taiwan.
A Chinese record of Arisaema thunbergii subsp. urashima (H.
Hara) H. Ohashi & J. Murata from Taiwan (J. C. Wang, Taiwania 37:
54–57. 1992) is referable to A. thunbergii subsp. autumnale.

56. Arisaema cordatum N. E. Brown, J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 36:
177. 1903.
心檐南星 xin yan nan xing
Arisaema brevistipitatum Merrill.
Plants dioecious. Tuber globose, 1–1.5 cm in diam. Cataphylls 2 or 3, ca. 5 cm, membranous. Leaf solitary; petiole 10–30 cm, slender, base forming short pseudostem; leaf blade
pedate; leaflets (5–)7, sessile, light greenish, oblong, 7–10 ×
1.5–3 cm, membranous, base broadly cuneate, apex acute toabruptly acuminate. Inflorescence emerging before leaf unfolds;
peduncle 3–10 cm, slender. Spathe basically purplish; tube
cream-colored, outside stained with purplish, inside dark purple, funnelform, 3–3.5 × 1–1.4 cm, throat margins broadly expanded to limb; limb broadly cordate, ca. 6 × 4 cm, apex acuminate and involute, surrounding spadix appendix. Spadix unisexual; female zone ca. 1 cm; ovary fusiform; male zone ca. 1 cm
× 3 mm, shortly stipitate; synandria consisting of 2 anthers,
thecae globose, dehiscing by apical pores. Appendix sessile,
15–27 cm, proximally fusiform, to 4 mm in diam., distally upright, exserted through involute apex of spathe limb, filiform.
Fl. Apr.
● Guangdong, Guangxi.

ARACEAE

62

8. Arisaema sect. Dochafa (Schott) H. Hara, Bull. Univ. Mus. Univ. Tokyo 2: 344. 1971.
黄檐组 huang yan zu
Dochafa Schott, Syn. Aroid. 24. 1856.
Tuber subglobose. Leaves 1 or 2; leaf blade pedate. Spathe small; tube ovoid; limb incurved, ovate. Spadix bisexual and male.
Appendix ellipsoid, small. Infructescence nodding.
One species: arid and cool areas at high elevations (2200–4000 m) in Africa, SW Asia (Arabian Peninsula), and the Sino-Himalayan region.

57. Arisaema flavum (Forsskål) Schott subsp. tibeticum J.
Murata, J. Jap. Bot. 65(3): 71. 1990.
黄苞南星 huang bao nan xing
Arisaema daochengense P. C. Kao; A. flavum var. tibeticum (J. Murata) Gusman & L. Gusman.
Plants monoecious and male. Tuber subglobose, 1.5–2.5
cm in diam. Cataphylls 3–5, green, 8–25 cm. Leaves 1 or 2;
petiole green to purplish, unmarked, 11–35 cm, sheathing forca. 4/5 length forming pseudostem; leaf blade pedate; leaflets
5–11(–15), sessile, glaucous abaxially, green adaxially, oblonglanceolate or obovate-lanceolate, base cuneate, apex acuminate;
central leaflet largest, 9–12 × 3–5 cm; outer (lateral leaflets)
gradually decreasing to outermost (1.5–4 × 1–1.2 cm). Peduncle emerging from pseudostem, green, 15–30 cm. Spathe
smallest in genus, 2.5–6 cm in total; tube yellowish green,
ovoid to globose, 1–1.5 × 1–1.4 cm, constricted at dark purple
throat with nectar inside; limb yellow or green, inside dark
purple at least at basal part, oblong-ovate, 1.5–4.5 × 0.8–2 cm,

apex acuminate, slightly incurved. Spadix bisexual or male,very short, 1–2 cm in total; female zone proximal, 3–7 × 5–7mm; ovaries congested, greenish, obovoid; stigma sessile; malezone distal, light yellow, cylindric, 3–7 × 2–3 mm; synandria
congested, usually consisting of 2 anthers; thecae sessile, dehiscent by apical pore. Appendix yellowish or yellow green, ellipsoid, 2–5 × ca. 1.5 mm, very short, rugose when dry. Mature
infructescence nodding, subglobose, ca. 4 cm in diam. Berries
obovoid, 3–4 × 3–5 mm. Seeds 3, pale yellowish, 2–2.5 mm. Fl.
May–Jun.
Rocky slopes, thickets, croplands, field sides; 2200–4400 m. W
Sichuan, SE Xizang, NW Yunnan [Bhutan, NE India].
According to chromosome number and plant size, Murata (J.
Jap. Bot. 65(3): 65–73. 1990) divided Arisaema flavum into three subspecies: subsp. abbreviatum (Schott) J. Murata (2n = 56, tetraploid)
including C and W Himalayan (Afghanistan to Nepal) and Arabian(Oman) plants; subsp. flavum (2n = 56, tetraploid) including Africanand Arabian plants; and subsp. tibeticum (2n = 28, diploid) including
plants from Bhutan, China, and NE India.

9. Arisaema sect. Decipientia (Engler) H. Li in C. Y. Wu & H. Li, Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 13(2): 166. 1979.
雪里见组 xue li jian zu
Arisaema [unranked] Decipientia Engler, Pflanzenr. 73(IV. 23F): 195. 1920.
Underground stem a cylindric rhizome, branched. Leaves 2, pedate. Spathe auriculate at throat, long caudate at apex. Appendix
stipitate, erect with truncate base, obtuse or narrowed at apex.
One species: SW China, NE India, Myanmar, Vietnam.

58. Arisaema decipiens Schott, Oesterr. Bot. Wochenbl. 7: 373.
1857.
雪里见 xue li jianArisaema guixiense S. Y. Liu; A. rhizomatum C. E. C.
Fischer; A. rhizomatum var. nudum C. E. C. Fischer; A. rhizomatum var. viride C. E. C. Fischer.
Rhizome cylindric, to 9 × 2.5 cm. Cataphylls 3 or 4, yellowish purple with dark brown or whitish spots, 2–15 cm.
Leaves 2; petiole greenish or reddish with dark green or dark
purple spots, 15–90 cm; leaf blade pedate, palmate; leaflets(3–)5–7, petiolulate, greenish and sometimes with purple spots
abaxially, dark green adaxially, narrowly oblong to elliptic, basecuneate, apex acuminate; central leaflet with petiolule devel-

oped to 5 cm, blade 8–18 × 3–8 cm; outermost leaflets 5–6 ×
1.5–2 cm. Spathe green, usually with dark purple dots; tube
cylindric, white toward base, 4–6 × 1.5–2 cm, throat obliquely
truncate, slightly outcurved; limb deep green, lanceolate toovate-lanceolate, 4–9.5 × 3–3.5 cm, apex acuminate and caudate, tail 6–10 cm, curved forward. Spadix unisexual; femalezone conic, 1.5–2 cm, 7–13 mm in diam. at base; ovary green,bottle-shaped; stigma sessile, purple; male zone 2–2.5 cm;
synandria lax; anthers 2 or 3; thecae dehiscing by lateral slits.
Appendix erect, green, usually with dark purple dots, terete, 5–
7 × ca. 0.7 cm, rugose or echinate, base stipitate, apex rounded.
Berries red. Seeds 1–3, obovoid, ca. 5 mm. Fl. Sep–Jan.
Evergreen forests, mossy forests, thickets, bamboo thickets, onand between rocks; 600–1600 m. Guangxi, Guizhou, Hunan, Sichuan,
SE Xizang, Yunnan [NE India, Myanmar, Vietnam].

10. Arisaema sect. Pistillata (Engler) Nakai, Bot. Mag. (Tokyo) 43: 525. 1929.
花南星组 hua nan xing zu
Arisaema [unranked] Pistillata Engler, Pflanzenr. 73(IV. 23F): 151. 1920.
Plants with tubers, paradioecious. Phyllotaxy spiro-distichous. Leaves 1 or 2; leaf blade 3-foliolate or pedately multifoliolate.

ARACEAE

63

Spadix unisexual; thecae dehiscing by an apical elliptic or oblong slit; appendix erect, slightly exserted from spathe tube, cylindric,base nearly truncate and stipitate, apex obtuse.
About 57 species: E Asia, North America; six species (three endemic) in China.

1a. Spathe blade cucullate-galeate ....................................................................................................................................... 61. A. ringens
1b. Spathe blade flat, not cucullate-galeate.
2a. Underground stem obovoid, stoloniferous ..................................................................................................... 59. A. xuanweiense
2b. Underground stem a subglobose tuber, not stoloniferous.
3a. Tuber bluish green outside; leaf blade always 3-foliolate, glaucous abaxially, always entire;
infructescence nodding .................................................................................................................................... 60. A. lobatum
3b. Tuber whitish outside; leaf blade pedate with 5 or more leaflets, or rarely 3-foliolate, usually notglaucous abaxially, occasionally serrate or dentate; infructescence upright.
4a. Pseudostem much shorter than petioles (except sheath part) ................................................................ 62. A. amurense
4b. Pseudostem longer than petioles.
5a. Leaflets usually 5–7; spathe tube funnelform, throat oblique, scarcely recurved ................................ 63. A. bockii
5b. Leaflets usually 7 or more; spathe tube cylindric, throat horizontal, narrowly recurved ............. 64. A. peninsulae
59. Arisaema xuanweiense H. Li, Kew Bull. 55: 419. 2000.
宣威南星 xuan wei nan xing
Plants dioecious. Rhizome vertical, 3–5 cm × 7–10 mm,
producing stolons. Cataphylls 2 or 3, whitish green, 3–8 cm,
membranous, acuminate at apex. Leaves 1 or 2; petiole greenish,
15–18 cm, proximally forming pseudostem; leaf blade 3-foliolate, pale green abaxially, green adaxially; leaflets sessile, serrate; central leaflet suborbicular, 8.8–11 × 6–8.5 cm, base obtuse, apex acute; lateral veins 5 per side, parallel, collective
vein 2–3 mm from margin; lateral leaflets obliquely ovate, 8.5–
10.8 × 5.8–8.2 cm, base rounded, apex acuminate. Peduncle
greenish, terete, to 18 cm. Spathe nearly erect, ca. 9.5 cm; tube
green, cylindric, ca. 4 × 1.5 cm, basal ca. 1 cm white, throat
obliquely truncate, straight or slightly recurved; limb green withwhitish stripes, abaxially with a large (ca. 1 cm) oblong whitearea, incurved, ovate, ca. 5.5 × 4 cm, apex acuminate with a tailca. 8 cm. Spadix unisexual; female zone subconic, ca. 15 mm;flowers dense; ovary green; stigma sessile; appendix erect,
whitish green, cylindric, ca. 35 × 3.5 mm in total, base subtruncate, ca. 5 mm in diam., stipitate; stipe ca. 3 × 2 mm. Malespadix unknown. Fl. Apr.
● About 2200 m. NE Yunnan (Xuanwei).

60. Arisaema lobatum Engler, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 1: 487. 1881.
花南星 hua nan xing
Arisaema lobatum var. latisectum Engler; A. lobatum var.
rosthornianum Engler; A. onoticum Buchet; A. pictum N. E.
Brown ex Hemsley.
Plants dioecious. Tuber bluish green outside, globose, 2–4
cm in diam. Cataphylls 3, brown, usually with reddish spots,
15–20 cm, apex acute or obtuse. Leaves 1 or 2; petiole greenish
or olive-green with purple spots, 17–35 cm, proximal 1/3–1/2
sheathing into pseudostem; leaf blade 3-foliolate, pale greenish
with pink raised veins abaxially, green with pale green veinsadaxially; central leaflet with petiolule 1.5–5 cm, blade oblongor elliptic, 8–22 × 4–10 cm, base narrowly attenuate or obtuse,
apex acuminate; lateral leaflets sessile, oblique, oblong, 3–23
× 2–8 cm, outer base auriculate and rounded. Inflorescence
unfolded before leaves; peduncle nearly as long as petiole, but
usually shorter. Spathe pale purplish or pale olive-green withpurple stripes; tube funnelform, 4–7 × 1–2.5 cm, throat notauriculate, obliquely truncate, narrowly recurved or not; limb
incurved or nearly erect, usually with whitish stripes inside,broadly lanceolate or ovate, 4–7 × 2.5–3 cm, constricted tobase, apex acuminate, usually with a tail 3–5 cm. Spadix unisexual; female zone cylindric or subglobose, 1–2 cm; ovary
green, obovoid; style short; stigma disciform; male zone cylindric, 1.5–2.5 cm; synandria lax; anthers 2 or 3, stipitate; thecae
violet, ovoid, dehiscing by apical pore. Appendix erect, palegreen to whitish green, cylindric, middle slightly constricted,base truncate and stipitate, apex obtuse; stipe 6–8 mm. Infructescence nodding. Fl. Apr–Jul. 2n = 28*, 56*, 84*.
● Forests, thickets, grassy slopes; 600–3300 m. Anhui, Chongqing, Gansu, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu,
Jiangxi, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang.

61. Arisaema ringens (Thunberg) Schott in Schott & Endlicher,
Melet. Bot. 17. 1832.
普陀南星 pu tuo nan xing
Arum ringens Thunberg, Trans. Linn. Soc. London 2: 337.
1794; Arisaema arisanense Hayata; A. taihokense Hosokawa.
Plants dioecious. Tuber depressed globose, 2–5 cm indiam. Cataphylls greenish to purplish. Leaves 2; petiole
greenish and unmarked, 15–35 cm, proximal 1/3 sheathing into
pseudostem; leaf blade 3-foliolate; leaflets sessile, glaucous
abaxially, green adaxially, margin entire, apex long acuminate
with a tail ca. 2 cm; central leaflet ovate-lanceolate to rhombicelliptic, 16–22 × more than 10 cm, base cuneate; lateral leaflets
obliquely ovate, 15–18 × 10–13 cm, apex filiform-caudate.
Peduncle greenish, unmarked, shorter than petioles, to 25 cm.
Spathe yellowish green to green; tube yellowish green to green
outside, purplish red with white or pale yellowish green striations inside, cylindric, gradually opening to an auriculate throat,
3–3.5 × 1–2 cm; limb concave and incurved, saccate, apex caudate. Spadix unisexual; female zone conic, ca. 1.8 × 1.2 cm;
ovary greenish, obovoid; stigma subsessile, pilose; male zone
sessile, cylindric, ca. 1.5 cm × 8 mm; synandria subsessile; anthers 2 or 3; thecae globose, dehiscing by an apical pore.
Appendix erect, white, narrowly conic, 2–6 cm × 5–10 mm,base truncate and stipitate, apex obtuse; stipe 3–10 mm. Infructescence erect. Fl. Apr. 2n = 28.

ARACEAE

64

Low elevations. Jiangsu, Taiwan, Zhejiang [Japan, Korea].

62. Arisaema amurense Maximowicz, Mém. Acad. Imp. Sci.
St.-Pétersbourg Divers Savans 9 [Prim. Fl. Amur.]: 264. 1859.
东北南星 dong bei nan xing
Arisaema amurense var. robustum Engler; A. amurense
var. violaceum Engler.
Tuber depressed globose, 6–7 cm in diam. Leaves 2(or 3);
petiole (5–)7–30 cm, proximal 3/4 sheathing and forming pseudostem; leaf blade 3-foliolate or pedately 5-foliolate; rachis
between leaflets 0–6 cm; leaflets sometimes covered with finewhitish marks, obovate to narrowly oblong, 7–11 × 4–7 cm,
base cuneate, margin entire or serrate, occasionally denticulate,
apex acute; central leaflet with petiolule 5–25 mm; lateral leaflets remote from central one for 1–30 mm; outermost leaflets
sessile, 9–15 cm, oblique, cuneate at base on inner side, auriculate or rounded on outer side. Peduncle shorter than petioles.
Spathe greenish to dark purple, usually with pale purplish
stripes; tube funnelform to cylindric, ca. 5 cm, ca. 2 cm in diam.
at throat, throat obliquely truncate, not auriculate; limb ovatelanceolate to oblong, 3–4 cm, apex acuminate. Spadix unisexual; female zone subconic, ca. 2 cm, ca. 1 cm in diam. at base;ovary obovoid; ovules 4; stigma spherical; male zone cylindric,ca. 2 cm × 2–3 mm; synandria lax, nearly sessile; anthers 2 or
3; thecae globose, dehiscing by apical pores. Appendix stipitate,erect, cylindric and robust, 3–5.5 cm × 4–5(–7) mm, base truncate, apex obtuse. Berries red, narrowly conic. Seeds 4, red,
ovoid, smooth. Fl. May, mature fr. Sep. 2n = 28, 56.
Deciduous forests, mixed forests, woods, by streams; below 100–
200 m. Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Shandong, Shanxi [Korea, Russia (SE Siberia)].

63. Arisaema bockii Engler, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 29: 235. 1900.
灯台莲 deng tai lian
Arisaema engleri Pampanini; A. sazensoo (Blume) Makino
var. henryanum Engler; A. sikokianum Franchet & Savatier var.
henryanum (Engler) H. Li.
Tuber depressed globose, 2–5 cm in diam. Cataphylls
cream-colored, to 22 cm, membranous, apex obtuse. Leaves
2; petiole green or pale green, 30–40 cm, basal 20–33 cm
sheathing and forming pseudostem; leaf blade pedate; leaflets
5–7, green adaxially, oblong or ovate-oblong to ovate, membranous, base cuneate to rounded, margin entire and usually dentate, apex acuminate; central leaflet with petiolule 1–6 cm,
blade 10–21 × 4–11 cm; outer 2 leaflets sharing a common
lateral petiolule as long as terminal petiolule; outermost leaflet
strongly oblique at base, 4–15 × 5–6 cm. Peduncle emerging
from pseudostem, green tinged purplish, ca. 35 cm, free part ca.
13 cm. Spathe dark purple with greenish stripes, ca. 17.5 cm intotal; tube narrowly funnelform, ca. 8 cm, ca. 1.5 cm in diam. atbase, ca. 3.5 cm in diam. at throat, throat obliquely truncate,
not auriculate or recurved; limb arching, ovate, ca. 9 × 4–5 cm,
apex acuminate or acute. Spadix unisexual; female zone ca. 1.2
cm × 7 mm; ovary green; style short; stigma punctate, basetruncate and stipitate, apex obtuse; male zone cylindric, ca. 3
cm × 1 mm; synandria lax, dark purple; anthers 1–3, stipitate;
thecae sessile, globose, dehiscing by apical pores. Appendix
shorter and wider in male, ca. 4 cm × 6–8 mm, stipe 5–7 mm;
longer and narrower in female, ca. 5 cm × 3–5 mm, stipe to
20 mm. Infructescence erect, pyramidal, ca. 10 × 5 cm. Berries yellow, oblong-conic, 7–8 mm in diam. Seeds 2–4, ovoid,smooth. Fl. May, mature fr. Oct. 2n = 26*.
● Forest margins, streamsides, on rocks, in valleys; 600–1500 m.
Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Henan, Hubei, Hunan,
Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Zhejiang.

64. Arisaema peninsulae Nakai, Bot. Mag. (Tokyo) 43: 537.
1929.
细齿南星 xi chi nan xing
Arisaema angustatum Franchet & Savatier var. peninsulae(Nakai) Nakai.
Tuber depressed globose, 1.5–5.5 cm in diam. Cataphylls
3, brownish with purple spots, 3–10 cm. Leaves 2; petiole 35–
93 cm; pseudostem (sheathing part) 29–77 cm; leaf blade
pedate; leaflets 7–17(–23); rachis well developed between
terminal and lateral ones, and between lateral ones; leaflets narrowly elliptic, obovate-lanceolate, or ovate-oblong, base cuneate, margin entire or serrate, apex acuminate; central leaflet
with petiolule 1–4 cm, blade 9–18 × 3.5–9 cm, graduallysmaller outward; lateral leaflets remote from central one for 1–4
cm, shortly petiolulate or sessile, ca. as large as central one;outer lateral leaflets sessile and much smaller than central leaflet. Peduncle erect, 30–80 cm. Spathe usually green with white
stripes, or purplish to dark purple with whitish stripes; tube 5–8
× ca. 1.5 cm, throat obliquely truncate, scarcely recurved; limb
incurved, usually green, or dark purple, oblong, 5–6 × 4–5 cm,
apex acuminate. Spadix unisexual; female zone 1.5–3 cm × 5–7mm; ovaries dense, narrowly ovoid; style short; stigma disciform; male zone 1–1.5 cm; synandria dense, sessile; anthers 2
or 3; thecae globose, dehiscing by apical pores. Appendix erect,
cylindric, 3.5–4 cm × 3–6 mm, base truncate and stipitate, apex
obtuse; stipe 4–5 mm. Berries reddish yellow, ovoid-globose,
ca. 8 × 7 mm. Seeds 2 or 3, yellow-brown, ca. 4 mm in diam.,rugose. Fl. May–Jun, mature fr. Sep.
Forests; below 500 m. Heilongjiang, Henan, Jilin [Japan, Korea].
Chinese records of Arisaema serratum (Thunberg) Schott (e.g., in
FRPS 13(2): 179. 1979) are referable to A. peninsulae.

11. Arisaema sect. Tenuipistillata Engler, Pflanzenr. 73(IV. 23F): 151, 195. 1920.
细柄组 xi bing zu
Plants dioecious. Tuber subglobose. Phyllotaxy quincuncial. Leaves 1 or 2, pedate or palmate. Spathe limb ovate or ovatelanceolate, involute. Ovary bottle-shaped. Thecae dehiscing by lateral slits or by apical pores. Appendix erect or slightly incurved,
narrowly cylindric, thickened to base, stipitate.
Three species: Himalayas and Xizang-Qinghai plateau; three species (two endemic) in China.

ARACEAE

65

1a. Spathe throat margin auriculate; leaflet apex long acuminate with tail ca. 6 cm ........................................................... 67. A. souliei
1b. Spathe throat margin oblique or slightly recurved; leaflet apex acuminate.
2a. Spadix appendix exserted from spathe throat, distally often suddenly recurved; leaflets 3(or 7 or 9) ......... 65. A. jacquemontii
2b. Spadix appendix included in spathe tube, cylindric, erect; leaflets 3–6 .................................................................. 66. A. wardii
65. Arisaema jacquemontii Blume, Rumphia 1: 95. 1835.
藏南绿南星 zang nan lü nan xing
Tuber subglobose, 1.2–3 cm in diam. Cataphylls 1 or 2,
whitish, occasionally brown, to 20 cm, membranous, apex
acute or obtuse. Pseudostem, petiole, and peduncle pale green,
unmarked. Leaves 1 or 2; petiole (2.5–)20–52 cm, proximal 4/5
sheathing and forming pseudostem; leaf blade palmate; leaflets
5(or 7 or 9), sessile, ovate, oblong, or lanceolate, base attenuate,
apex acuminate; central leaflet 7–18 × 2.5–7 cm; lateral leaflets
3–7 × 0.8–2.5 cm. Peduncle as long as petioles. Spathe green
outside, greenish inside; tube cylindric, 2.5–8 cm × 8–20mm, throat obliquely truncate, not recurved; limb arching overspadix, ovate to narrowly ovate or oblong-triangular, 2.5–5(–9)× 1–2.5(–3.5) cm, apex acuminate into ascending filiform tail2.5–6 cm. Spadix unisexual; female zone 1.5–3 cm × 5–7 mm;ovary greenish, narrowly ovoid; stigma spherical; male zone
cylindric, 2–3 cm × 3–3.5 mm; synandria sessile, lax, creamcolored or tinged dark purplish; anthers 2–4, dehiscing by
apical pores or slits. Appendix greenish proximally, purplish
distally, 2–8 cm × ca. 1 mm, distal part emergent from spathe
tube horizontal to decurved, tapering, base swollen, truncate to
3–5 mm in diam., shortly stipitate, smooth. Fl. Jun–Jul. 2n = 52.
Coniferous forests, open grassy places in forests, Juniperus or
Rhododendron thickets, forest margins; 3000–4300 m. S Xizang[Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, N India, Kashmir, Nepal, Pakistan].

66. Arisaema wardii C. Marquand & Airy Shaw, J. Linn. Soc.,
Bot. 48: 228. 1929.
隐序南星 yin xu nan xing
Tuber globose, 1.5–2.2 cm in diam. Cataphylls 2 or 3,
9–10 cm, obtuse at apex. Petiole 12–25 cm, proximal 2/3
sheathing into pseudostem; leaf blade palmate or radiate; leaflets 3–6, sessile, oblong, 2–11 × 1–3 cm, base cuneate, apex
acuminate, usually caudate. Peduncle shorter or longer thanpetioles, 10–18 cm. Spathe green, unmarked or with whitish
stripes; tube funnelform, 2–6.5 × ca. 1.5 cm, throat obliquely
truncate, not auriculate, not recurved; limb triangular-ovate orovate-lanceolate, 2–7 × 1.5–4 cm, apex acuminate and caudate
with filiform tail 3–5 cm. Spadix unisexual; female zone cylindric, ca. 2.2 cm × 5–6 mm; ovary green, ovoid; style short; stigma spherical; male zone cylindric, 1.5–2.5 cm × 2–3 mm;synandria dense, sessile; anthers 2 or 3, dehiscing by lateralslits. Appendix erect, green, cylindric, 2–3.2 cm, 2.3–5 mm indiam. at base, base swollen and stipitate, apex obtuse; stipe 1.5–
3 mm. Infructescence cylindric, ca. 5 × 1.5 cm. Berries yellowish red, ovoid, ca. 5 mm in diam. Seeds 1–3, pale brownish
or brown, ovoid, reticulate rugose. Fl. May–Jul.
● Coniferous forests, grassy places; 2400–4200 m. E Qinghai, S
Shanxi, S Xizang, W Yunnan.

67. Arisaema souliei Buchet, Notul. Syst. (Paris) 2: 127. 1911.
东俄洛南星 dong e luo nan xing
Arisaema brevispathum Buchet; A. xiangchengense H. Li& A. M. Li.
Tuber subglobose, ca. 3 cm in diam. Cataphylls obtuse atapex. Leaves 1 or 2; petiole 40–70 cm, proximal half sheathing
into pseudostem; leaf blade radiate to palmate; leaflets 6–9,
usually 7, broadly oblong-lanceolate, base long cuneate, apex
acuminate and caudate with filiform tail ca. 6 cm; central leaflet
10–25 × ca. 5.8 cm. Peduncle shorter than petioles, 20–40 cm.
Spathe green or distally dark brown with whitish stripes, 15–
20 cm (including tail); tube cylindric, 5–10 × 1–2 cm, throat
obliquely truncate, slightly recurved or not; limb suberect, ovate
to ovate-lanceolate, 4.5–5 × ca. 3.5 cm, apex acuminate into
filiform tail to 4–5 cm. Spadix unisexual; female zone 2.5–3 cm
× 6–7 mm; ovules 5–9, bottle-shaped; male zone ca. 2 cm × 2.5mm; synandria sessile; anthers 2. Appendix stipitate, ca. 9 cm inmale spadix, 5–6 cm in female, base whitish, swollen, ca. 3 mm
in diam. in male spadix, ca. 6 mm in diam. in female, gradually
narrowed distally, apex exserted from tube, erect or recurved,
dark brown, 1–1.5 mm in diam.
● Quercus thickets, deforested slopes; ca. 3500 m. Chongqing(Chengkou), Sichuan.

12. Arisaema sect. Sinarisaema Nakai, J. Jap. Bot. 25: 6. 1950.
伞叶组 san ye zu
Tuber subglobose. Phyllotaxy spiro-distichous. Leaves 1 or 2, radiate. Spathe limb incurved or erect. Spadix unisexual; anthers
dehiscing by apical pores or rarely circumscissile; appendix cylindric, terete, or clavate, or rarely degenerate, sessile or rarely
stipitate, usually with acute neuter flowers at proximal part.
About 14 species: S and SE Asia, Himalayas; 11 species (seven endemic) in China.

1a. Apex of spadix appendix distinctly echinate or rugose; spathe margin entire.
2a. Spadix appendix rugose ..................................................................................................................................... 77. A. taiwanense
2b. Spadix appendix echinate.
3a. Tuber stoloniferous ..................................................................................................................................... 72. A. echinoides
3b. Tuber not stoloniferous ................................................................................................................................ 71. A. echinatum
1b. Apex of spadix appendix smooth, or rarely slender and slightly creased, or degenerate, if apex rugosethen spathe margin ciliate around throat.

ARACEAE

66

4a. Spadix appendix degenerate; spathe limb ± erect, involute .................................................................. 68. A. exappendiculatum
4b. Spadix appendix terete, stipitate or not.
5a. Pseudostem and peduncle much shorter than petioles, inflorescence positioned just above ground ................... 69. A. zhui
5b. Pseudostem and/or petiole long, inflorescence distant from ground.
6a. Spathe basically yellow.
7a. Underground stem subglobose tuber; spathe not striped; (?neuter flowers absent;?infructescence nodding) ........................................................................................................... 76. A. jingdongense
7b. Underground stem subcylindric, longer than wide; spathe tube longitudinally stripedwith white and purple; neuter flowers present; infructescence upright ............................................ 75. A. muratae
6b. Spathe basically green or purple.
8a. Plants stoloniferous; spadix appendix upright or curved forward.
9a. Spadix appendix slender, frequently curved forward at apex; infructescence upright .......... 78. A. concinnum
9b. Spadix appendix cylindric; spathe margin ciliate around throat; infructescence nodding ......... 73. A. ciliatum
8b. Plants without stolons; spadix appendix upright.
10a. Spathe tube cylindric, basically greenish, limb occasionally tinged with purple ................ 74. A. erubescens
10b. Spathe tube funnelform, usually purple outside, white inside ............................................ 70. A. sukotaiense
68. Arisaema exappendiculatum H. Hara, J. Jap. Bot. 40: 21.
1965.
圈药南星 quan yao nan xing
Tuber depressed globose, 2–5 cm in diam., sometimes
with thick creeping stolons. Cataphylls purple. Leaf solitary;
petiole green, sometimes dark purple, 23–55 cm, proximallysheathing into pseudostem; leaf blade radiate; leaflets 7–13,
sessile, oblanceolate, 8–22 × 2–4 cm, base cuneate, apex longacuminate. Peduncle green, sometimes purplish, much shorter
than petioles. Spathe green, occasionally dark purple, slightly
glaucous inside; tube pale green, without distinct stripes, cylindric, 2–7 × 1.2–2 cm, not broadened nor spreading at throat;limb suberect, ovate-lanceolate, 8–15 × 2.5–3 cm (at base), generally with inrolled margins, convolute, tapering into a longcaudate apex 5–8 cm. Spadix unisexual, 1.5–3 cm including
appendix; female zone ca. 1.2 cm in diam. at base; ovary green,
turbinate, slightly angular, apex apiculate; stigma small; malezone 7–8 mm in diam. at base; synandria lax; anthers stipitate,circumscissile at apex. Appendix absent, or very rarely broadly
cylindric, to 1.5 cm. Fl. May–Jun.
Forests on slopes, grasslands between forests; 2400–2500 m. S
Xizang [Nepal].

69. Arisaema zhui H. Li, Kew Bull. 55: 423. 2000.
维明南星 wei ming nan xing
Tuber depressed globose, 3–4 cm in diam., with a few
tubercles around. Cataphylls, petiole, and peduncle greenish,
unmarked. Cataphylls 2, membranous. Leaves 1 or 2; petiole
32–36 cm × 5–8 mm, basal 3–4 cm sheathing into pseudostem;
leaf blade radiate; leaflets 11–13, sessile, pale green abaxially,green adaxially, narrowly elliptic, unequal, (including filiformtail) 1–1.5 × 1.1–2.2 cm. Peduncle emerging from pseudostem,
much shorter than petioles, only ca. 7 cm. Spathe dark purple,
with whitish stripes; tube whitish green inside, funnelform,
short, ca. 3.8 × 1.5 cm, gradually opening to throat, throat
obliquely truncate, not recurved; limb incurved, purple-green
with indistinct stripes outside, dark purple with greenish stripes
inside, triangular-ovate, 6.5–9 (male) × ca. 4 cm, apex abruptly
acuminate and long caudate with filiform tail ca. 2 cm (female)to 4.5 cm (male). Spadix unisexual; female zone ca. 1.5 cm;

ovaries dense, green, ovoid-globose; ovules 4, basal, erect;
stigma subsessile, punctate; male zone ca. 2.4 cm × 3–4 mm;synandria dense, subsessile; anthers 2–6, violet, globose, dehiscing by apical pores. Appendix yellowish or greenish, withtiny purple dots, cylindric, distally slightly swollen, 3–3.6 cm ×
3–6 mm, base truncate with purple stipe ca. 5 mm, apex obtuse.
Fl. Jun.
● About 4000 m. NW Yunnan (Dêqên: Meili Xueshan).

70. Arisaema sukotaiense Gagnepain, Notul. Syst. (Paris) 9:129. 1941.
中泰南星 zhong tai nan xing
Plants deciduous. Tuber subglobose, cream-colored, 3–4 ×
5–7 cm. Cataphyll pink, with brown mottling, 1–20 cm. Leaf
solitary; petiole red-brown or olive-green with transverse paler
mottling, 60–80 cm, proximal 35–45 cm forming pseudostem,ca. 1.5 cm in diam. at base; leaf blade radiate; leaflets 12–14,
sessile to subsessile, glaucous with slightly prominent carmine
or green veins abaxially, shiny green adaxially, elliptic, 20–30 ×
3–4 cm, base cuneate, margin flat or undulate, green or red,apex acuminate, often prolonged into a carmine thread to 9 cm;
veins slightly impressed adaxially. Peduncle green with paler
mottling, becoming red-violet toward inflorescence, shorter
than petioles, 35–60 cm × 4–5 mm. Spathe tube outside pruinose, dark purple or pale olive-green with thin white stripes,
inside pale carmine with white stripes, funnelform, 7–8 cm,
1.2–1.5 cm in diam. at base, 3–4.5 cm in diam. apically; throat
margins straight, dark carmine; limb horizontal, outside dark
purple, with very faint paler stripes, inside dark purple, palegreen at base, with broad white stripes anastomosing in acentral white spot at throat level, ovate, 9–10 × 5–6 cm, nearly
as long as tube, apex acuminate, prolonged into a purple, filamentous tail to 20 cm. Spadix unisexual; female zone of same
shape and size as male zone; ovaries dense, pale green, bottleshaped, 1.5–2 mm in diam.; stigma sessile, penicillate, surrounded by black annulus; male zone subcylindric, 2–3 × ca.
0.6 cm; synandria loosely arranged, consisting of 2–4 anthers;
anthers lilac, subsessile or borne on a white-green short stalk;thecae dehiscent by an oblong pore; pollen white. Appendix
sessile, slightly exserted from spathe tube, erect, cylindric,to 7 cm × 5 mm, middle part green sometimes with carmine

ARACEAE

stripes above neuter flowers, apex white-green, rounded, evenor spongy; neuter flowers upcurved, green, 3–4 mm, numerous
in female spadix only. Infructescence cylindric, ca. 5 × 1.5–2.5
cm, borne on a nodding peduncle. Berries dense, red-orange
with black stigmatic remains, ca. 7 × 3 mm, 1- or 2-seeded.
Seeds globose, ca. 2 mm; testa cream-colored. Fl. May–Jun, fr.
Oct.
Mountain forests along roadsides, sometimes growing as an
epiphyte on mossy tree trunks; 1200–2500 m. S Yunnan [N Thailand].

71. Arisaema echinatum (Wallich) Schott in Schott &Endlicher, Melet. Bot. 17. 1832.
刺棒南星 ci bang nan xing
Arum echinatum Wallich, Pl. Asiat. Rar. 2: 30. 1831.
Tuber depressed globose, 2–4 cm in diam. Cataphylls
2, green, 4–20 cm. Cataphylls, petiole, and peduncle green,
unmarked. Leaf solitary; petiole ca. 30 cm, basal ca. 6 cm
sheathing into pseudostem; leaf blade radiate; leaflets 7–11,
sessile, glaucous abaxially, green adaxially, narrowly elliptic or
oblanceolate, unequal, attenuate to base, apex long acuminate,sometimes caudate with a short filiform tail; central leaflet ca.
12.5 × 2.8 cm; outer leaflets 7–8.5 × ca. 1.4 cm. Peduncle
emerging from petiole sheath, much shorter than petioles, ca. 17
cm. Spathe green, not marked by spots or stripes; tube cylindric, ca. 5.5 × 1.5 cm, slightly recurved at throat; limb slightly
outcurved at base, otherwise incurved, ovate, ca. 8 × 5 cm, longcaudate, with filiform tail to 8 cm. Spadix unisexual; femalezone conic, ca. 2.3 × 1.4 cm, flowers dense; ovary green, subglobose; stigma punctate, violet; male zone 1.5–3 cm, 3–5 mm
in diam. at base; synandria lax; anthers 4, dehiscing by apicalpores. Appendix green, cylindric, ca. 4 cm × 5–6 mm, baseabruptly narrowed and stipitate, apex obtuse and echinate; stipe
ca. 5 mm. Fl. Jun.
Forested slopes; 2600–3100 m. S and SE Xizang (Gyirong,
Nyingchi, Zayü), W Yunnan (Baoshan, Gaoligong Shan, Lijiang) [Bhutan, India (Sikkim), Nepal].
Himalayan plants differ from those in Gaoligong Shan in having
the spathe green, white striped outside, and dark purple inside.

72. Arisaema echinoides H. Li, Kew Bull. 55: 425. 2000.
拟刺棒南星 ni ci bang nan xing
Tuber subglobose, ca. 2 cm in diam., stoloniferous. Cataphylls membranous, acute at apex. Leaf solitary; petiole ca. 24cm, proximally forming pseudostem; leaf blade radiate; leaflets
9, sessile, oblanceolate, 13–16 × 2–3 cm, base cuneate, apex
acuminate. Peduncle shorter than petioles, ca. 10 cm. Spathe
tube purple with numerous longitudinal white stripes, cylindric,ca. 5.1 cm, broadly auriculate and recurved at throat; limb dark
purple with white midrib, oblong-ovate, ca. 7 × 4 cm, baseslightly constricted, apex abruptly acuminate; pinnate veins 4 or
5 on each side, ascending and connected into intramarginal veinremote from margin for 2–3 mm. Spadix white, unisexual; female zone conic, ca. 1.8 cm × 7 mm, flowers dense; male zone
ca. 1.8 cm; synandria sessile; anthers 2 or 3, globose, dehiscing
by apical pores. Appendix erect, ca. 3 cm × 5–7 mm, thickened,base truncate and stipitate, apex obtuse and densely echinate;stipe ca. 7 × 3 mm. Fl. May–Jun.

67● Forests, thickets, in shade; 2900–3300 m. NW Yunnan(Lijiang).

73. Arisaema ciliatum H. Li, Acta Phytotax. Sin. 15(2): 108.
1977.
缘毛南星 yuan mao nan xing
Arisaema ciliatum var. liubaense Gusman & Gouda.
Tuber depressed globose, 2–2.5 cm in diam., stoloniferous.
Cataphylls 3, 10–20 cm, membranous. Cataphylls, petiole, andpeduncle green, occasionally purplish, unmarked. Leaf solitary;
petiole 20–70 cm, basal 15–40 cm sheathing into pseudostem;
leaf blade radiate; leaflets 11–14, sessile, narrowly elliptic, basecuneate, apex acuminate and caudate. Peduncle shorter thanpetioles, 20–50 × 1.2–1.4 cm. Spathe purple or dark purple,
with numerous white stripes, or green; tube cylindric, 4–5 × 1–
1.2 cm, throat obliquely truncate, not auriculate, ciliate; limb
suberect to incurved, narrowly lanceolate, 4.5–5.5 × 2.1–4 cm,
apex long acuminate and caudate with violet filiform tail 2–5
cm. Spadix unisexual; female zone conic, ca. 1.5 cm, ca. 7 mm
in diam. at base; ovary green; style conic; stigma purple, punctate; male zone narrowly conic, 2–3 cm, ca. 3 mm in diam. atbase; synandria lax, shortly stipitate; anthers 2 or 3, yellow,
dehiscing by apical pores. Appendix erect, violet, occasionallygreenish, cylindric, 3.2–5.5 cm × 3–4 mm, gradually narrowed
to base, apex obtuse and verrucose, with acute neuter flowers
on proximal part. Infructescence nodding. Fl. Jun.
● Pinus forests, Quercus thickets, grasslands; 2600–3600 m.
Sichuan (Baoxing, Gongga Shan), NW Yunnan (Lijiang, Zhongdian).

74. Arisaema erubescens (Wallich) Schott in Schott &Endlicher, Melet. Bot. 17. 1832.
一把伞南星 yi ba san nan xing
Arum erubescens Wallich, Pl. Asiat. Rar. 2: 30. 1831;
Arisaema alienatum Schott var. formosanum Hayata; A. biradiatifoliatum Kitamura; A. brevipes Engler; A. consanguineum
Schott; A. consanguineum subsp. kelung-insulare (Hayata)
Gusman; A. erubescens var. consanguineum (Schott) Engler; A.
formosanum (Hayata) Hayata; A. formosanum var. bicolorifolium T. C. Huang; A. formosanum f. stenophyllum Hayata; A.
fraternum Schott; A. hypoglaucum Craib; A. kelung-insulare
Hayata; A. kerrii Craib (1912); A. kerrii Gagnepain (1941); A.
linearifolium J. T. Yin & Gusman; A. oblanceolatum Kitamura;A. tatarinowii Schott; A. undulatum K. Krause; A. vituperatum
Schott.
Tuber depressed globose, 2–7 cm in diam. Cataphylls 3,
dark green, with whitish striae or spots, to 55 cm, acute at apex.
Petiole and peduncle green, smooth, unmarked. Leaf solitary,occasionally 2; petiole to 100 × ca. 2 cm, proximal ca. 50 cm
sheathing into pseudostem; leaf blade radiate; leaflets 18–23,
sessile, green abaxially, dull green adaxially, narrowly elliptic
or narrowly linear, 16–28 cm × 2–20 mm, base cuneate, apex
long acuminate and caudate, with filiform tail 7–10 cm; veinsraised abaxially, impressed adaxially; lateral veins numerous,
obliquely ascending. Peduncle shorter than petioles, to 75 cm,
free part ca. 9 cm. Spathe green, with indistinct whitish stripes
or not; tube cylindric, 6–7 × ca. 1.5 cm, auriculate and recurved

68

ARACEAEat throat; limb deep green sometimes with purple margin outside, pale green inside, triangular-ovate, 8–12 × 4–8 cm, apex
acuminate with long purple filiform tail, arching; tail to 35 cm,
pendulous. Spadix unisexual; female zone conic, ca. 3.5 × 1.5
cm; ovary green, obovoid; stigma sessile, spherical, pilose;
male zone cylindric, 4–4.5 cm × 4–5 mm; synandria dark violet;
anthers subsessile, 2 or 3, dehiscent by apical pores. Appendix
pale green, cylindric or narrowly conic, ca. 7 cm × 2–4 mm,with some acute neuter flowers at base. Infructescence nodding.
Berries red. Fl. Jun–Jul.
Pinus forests, mixed forests, thickets, grassy slopes, lakesides,
between rocks; below 3200 m. Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong,
Guangxi, Guizhou, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Shaanxi,
Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Taiwan, Yunnan, Zhejiang [Bhutan, NE
India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, N Thailand, Vietnam].
H. Hara (Bull. Univ. Mus. Univ. Tokyo 2: 321–354. 1971) notedthat Arisaema consanguineum is characterized by having a threadlike
appendage at the apex of the leaflets and spathe (but sometimes absent),a sessile spadix appendage with neuter flowers at least in the female
spadix, and a nodding infructescence, whereas A. erubescens lacks athreadlike appendage on the leaflets and spathe, has a stipitate spadix
appendage without neuter flowers, and has an upright infructescence. In
the present treatment, we follow many Chinese floras in recognizing awide range of variation for Chinese A. erubescens including both typesof plants. One of us (Murata), until recently, considered that only true A.
consanguineum is distributed in China, but he found the second type ofplants, which share some characteristics with A. erubescens, north ofKunming City. However, these plants have a threadlike appendage on
the leaflets and spathe and do not fit true A. erubescens (nor A. consanguineum in the strict sense) and could represent a new species. A
revision of the whole A. erubescens-A. consanguineum group is now
required.

75. Arisaema muratae Gusman & J. T. Yin, Ann. Bot. Fenn.
44: 231. 2007.
邑田南星 yi tian nan xing
Plants to 1 m tall and 50 cm in diam. Tuber green andbrown outside, subcylindric, ca. 5 × 5–6.5 cm, with short globose offsets. Cataphylls olive-green or pink with dark and paletransverse markings, to 50 cm. Leaf usually solitary; petiole
similar in color and pattern to pseudostem, cylindric, to 80 cm,
proximally forming pseudostem to 40 × ca. 3 cm, green withcream-colored stripes and transverse vermillion markings; leaf
blade radiate, with up to 11 segments; leaflets subsessile or
shortly petiolulate, glaucous abaxially, shiny green adaxially,
elliptic, 20–25 × 6–7 cm, base cuneate, margin undulate, green,
entire or serrate, apex long acuminate; veins deeply impressed
adaxially. Inflorescence emerging when leaf unfolds and carried
beneath foliage; peduncle olive-green, flushed pink and pruinose apically, to 55 cm, shorter than petioles, ca. 1 cm in diam.
at base. Spathe tube carmine outside with longitudinal pale
stripes, with white ring at base and yellow-green near throat,yellow-green inside with dotted purple stripes mainly inproximal half, cylindric, broadly recurved at throat margin, to 8
× ca. 1.8 cm, at middle ca. 1.2 cm in diam.; limb horizontal,
slightly translucent, yellow-green with paler veins both outside
and inside, yellow at apex and turning carmine at tip, lanceolate, ca. 5 × 4 cm, shorter than tube, acuminate into tail to 15
cm. Spadix unisexual; female zone slightly conic, 2–3 × 1–1.5

cm; ovaries dense, pale yellow-green, bottle-shaped, 1-loculed;ovules ca. 3, basal, fusiform; stigma sessile, white, penicillate;neuter flowers absent or few in male spadix, numerous infemale, located just above fertile part, upcurved, stiff, ca. 5 mm;
male zone cylindric to slightly conic, 4–5.5 × 1–1.3 cm; synandria dense, each consisting of 2–4 anthers, stalked; thecae purple proximally and carmine distally, dehiscent by elongatedpores; pollen blue; appendix sessile, slightly protruding fromspathe tube, whitish with carmine longitudinal stripes, obscurely crimson and wrinkled at apex, cylindric, clavate, 4–5
cm in male spadix, 5–6 cm in female, ca. 4 mm in diam. atbase, ca. 7 mm in diam. at apex. Infructescence borne on upright peduncle, cylindric, ca. 10 × 4 cm; rachis pale pink. Berries dense, red-orange, ca. 14 × 8 mm, distally rounded andsmooth, up to 3-seeded. Seeds globose, ca. 6 mm in diam.; testagray.
● Evergreen broad-leaved forests; 1200–2400 m. Yunnan (Yingjiang).

76. Arisaema jingdongense H. Peng & H. Li, Acta Phytotax.
Sin. 33: 97. 1995.
景东南星 jing dong nan xing
Arisaema cangshanense X. D. Dong.
Tuber subglobose, ca. 2.5 cm in diam. Cataphylls 3, palegreen with purple spots, to 30 cm. Leaf solitary; petiole
greenish, unmarked, ca. 65 cm, proximal 3/4 sheathing into
pseudostem; leaf blade radiate; leaflets 7, sessile, pale green
abaxially, deep green adaxially, oblong-lanceolate, 7–8 × 1.4–
1.6 cm, margin entire, apex acuminate. Peduncle shorter thanpetioles, ca. 55 cm × 2.5–3 mm. Spathe yellowish, without
white stripes; tube cylindric, ca. 4 cm × 9 mm, recurved atthroat; limb arching, triangular-oblong, ca. 7.5 × 3 cm, apex
acuminate with a filiform tail 4–5 cm. Spadix unisexual; malezone ca. 3 cm; synandria dense; appendix hidden in spathe tube,
orange-yellow, clavate, ca. 3.5 cm × 4 mm, smooth, apex
obtuse. Female spadix unknown. Fl. Jun.
● Evergreen broad-leaved forests; 2400–2500 m. Yunnan (Diancang Shan, Jingdong).

77. Arisaema taiwanense J. Murata, J. Jap. Bot. 60: 353. 1985.
蓬莱南星 peng lai nan xing
Tuber depressed globose, 2–6 cm in diam. Cataphylls
greenish or reddish, often with purple-brown marks. Leaf solitary; petiole white or pale green, usually mottled with purplebrown marks, 12–70 cm, proximal 2–30 cm sheathing into
pseudostem; leaf blade radiate; leaflets 7–15, glaucous abaxially, green adaxially, oblanceolate, apex filiform, caudate, witha threadlike pendulous tail at tip. Peduncle distinctly shorter
than petioles, 3–45 cm. Spathe purplish red to dark purple, withfine green dots between veins outside; tube white or pale yellowish green with purple stripes inside, obconic, gradually
opening to auriculate throat, 2–6 × 3.7–8 cm; limb dark purple,
ovate to broadly ovate, 3–8 × 3.5–8 cm, scarcely with paleveins on inner surface, apex acute to acuminate with a prolonged filiform tail to 40 cm. Spadix 3–10 cm including appendix, unisexual; female zone conic, 2.8–3 cm × ca. 12 mm, base

ARACEAE

narrower, with abundant aculeate neuter flowers, apex slightly
enlarged, strongly rugose; male zone cylindric, ca. 4 cm × 7
mm; synandria consisting of 3 or 4 subsessile anthers; appendix
sessile, whitish distally, broadly cylindric, 1.7–7 cm × 4–13mm, strongly or weakly rugose at apex. Fl. May–Jun.
● Common throughout the island; middle elevations. Taiwan.

1a. Peduncle 10–45 cm, 5–15 cm
exserted from pseudostem; petiole
and peduncle mottled with purplebrown marks; spadix appendix
5–7 cm ................................................ 77a. var. taiwanense
1b. Peduncle 3–15 cm, 1–5 cm exserted
from pseudostem; petiole andpeduncle unmarked; spadix
appendix 1.8–2.5 cm ............. 77b. var. brevipedunculatum
77a. Arisaema taiwanense var. taiwanense
蓬莱南星(原变种) peng lai nan xing (yuan bian zhong)Cataphylls, petiole, and peduncle mottled with purplebrown marks. Peduncle 10–45 cm, 5–15 cm exserted frompseudostem. Spathe tube 3.8–5 × 5–8 cm when opened; limb
weakly concave and arched, 5–7 cm except for threadlike tip,
4–6.5 cm wide. Spadix appendix 5–7 cm × 4–13 mm. Fl. May.
2n = 28*.
● Taiwan.

77b. Arisaema taiwanense var. brevipedunculatum J. Murata,
J. Jap. Bot. 60: 356. 1985.

69

短梗蓬莱南星 duan geng peng lai nan xing
Cataphylls, petiole, and peduncle unmarked. Peduncle 3–
15 cm, 1–5 cm exserted from pseudostem. Spathe tube 2–4 ×
3.7–6 cm when opened; limb concave and arched, 3–5 cm
except for threadlike tip, 3.5–7 cm wide. Spadix appendix 1.8–
2.5(–3.5) cm × 4–8 mm. Fl. May–Jun.
● Middle elevations. E and S Taiwan.

78. Arisaema concinnum Schott, Bonplandia (Hannover) 7:
27. 1859.
皱序南星 zhou xu nan xing
Tuber depressed globose, to 5 cm in diam., stoloniferous.
Cataphylls 3, 10–20 cm, membranous. Leaf solitary; petiole
30–50 cm, proximal 20–30 cm forming pseudostem, green or
purplish, scarcely marked; leaf blade radiate; leaflets 7–13, sessile, oblanceolate to elliptic, base cuneate, apex acuminate andcaudate. Peduncle shorter than petioles, 15–20 cm. Spathe dark
purple or green, with longitudinal white stripes; tube cylindric,
4–8 × 1.5–2 cm, throat obliquely truncate, not auriculate; limb
ovate to deltoid-ovate to narrowly deltoid-ovate, 2–4 cm wide,
apex long acuminate and caudate, to 15 cm including filiform
tail. Spadix unisexual; female zone conic, 1.5–2 cm, 7–10 mm
in diam. at base; ovary green; male zone narrowly conic, 2–3
cm; synandria lax; anthers 2 or 3, dehiscing by apical pores;
appendix erect, dark purple or green, narrowly cylindric-clavate, 4–7 cm × 2–4 mm, apex bent forward and verrucate.
Infructescence upright. Fl. Jun.
● Alpine meadows; 2000–3500 m. Xizang.

Incompletely known species
Arisaema nangtciangense Pampanini, Nuovo Giorn. Bot. Ital.,n.s., 22: 261. 1915.
南漳南星 nan zhang nan xing
Tuber globose. Cataphylls 7–10 cm, obtuse and cuspidate
at apex. Leaves 2; petiole slender, ca. 20 cm, proximal ca. 15

cm sheathing; leaf blade pedate; leaflets 7, lanceolate, 14–20 ×
5.5–6 cm, entire, acuminate; central leaflet shortly petiolulate,larger than lateral ones. Peduncle ca. 15 cm, nearly equaling
sheath. Female zone in spadix ca. 2 cm (in fruit), shortly stipitate; appendix ca. 3.5 cm.
● Humid places. Hubei (“Nangqiang”).

22. STEUDNERA K. Koch, Wochenschr. Vereines Beförd. Gartenbaues Königl. Preuss.
Staaten 5: 114. 1862.
泉七属 quan qi shu
Li Heng (李恒 Li Hen); Peter C. Boyce
Herbs, medium sized to robust, latex-bearing, usually evergreen, sometimes seasonally dormant. Stem epigeal, erect or creeping,stout, covered with fibrous remains of leaves and cataphylls. Leaves solitary or few to several together; petiole sheath very short; leaf
blade peltate, ovate or ovate-oblong, base often emarginate, apex acuminate; basal veins short, well developed, primary lateral veins
pinnate, forming a submarginal collective vein very near margin, marginal vein also present, secondary and tertiary laterals arisingfrom primaries at a wide angle, then arching toward leaf margin and forming a ± conspicuous interprimary collective vein, higher
order venation reticulate. Inflorescence solitary; peduncle shorter than petioles. Spathe barely convolute at base, ± fully expanded atanthesis, yellow, yellow and red or ± dark purple within, ovate or ovate-lanceolate, not constricted, apex acuminate; basal part persistent to fruiting stage; apical part becoming reflexed and revolute, marcescent. Spadix much shorter than spathe, densely flowered;female zone cylindric, often longer than male zone, mostly adnate to spathe; male zone contiguous with female zone, cylindric,ellipsoid, or subglobose, fertile to apex, obtuse. Flowers unisexual, naked. Gynoecium surrounded by whorl of 2–5 short, claviform
staminodes, more rarely staminodes absent; ovary subglobose to ovoid, 1-loculed; ovules numerous, hemiorthotropous; funicle
distinct; placentae 2–5, parietal, in basal part only or extending from base to apex, defined stylar region ± lacking; stigma strongly 2–

ARACEAE

70

5-lobed. Male flowers 3–6-androus; stamens connate into a strongly lobed, apically truncate synandrium; common connective relatively small, impressed at apex; thecae contiguous, oblong, dehiscing by apical pore. Fruit ovoid, many seeded. Seeds ovoid toellipsoid; testa costate; embryo axile, conic, short; endosperm copious.
About nine species: tropical and subtropical Asia; four species in China.

1a. Spathe inside concolorous purple ........................................................................................................................................ 3. S. kerrii
1b. Spathe inside variously yellow.
2a. Spathe inside greenish yellow, inside basal half brownish; stigma 2-lobed .......................................................... 4. S. henryana
2b. Spathe inside golden yellow with or without a red basal patch; stigma entire or 4- or 5-lobed.
3a. Female flowers with associated staminodes, stigma 4- or 5-lobed; leaves paler but not glaucous
abaxially .................................................................................................................................................... 1. S. colocasiifolia
3b. Female flowers without associated staminodes, stigma entire; leaves strikingly white glaucous
abaxially ............................................................................................................................................................. 2. S. griffithii
1. Steudnera colocasiifolia K. Koch, Wochenschr. Vereines
Beförd. Gartenbaues Königl. Preuss. Staaten 5: 114. 1862[“colocasiaefolia”].
泉七 quan qi
Gonatanthus peltatus Van Houtte.
Stem short, creeping and ascending; persistent cataphylls
brown, not netted. Petiole green, cylindric, 30–50 cm, slender,
base sheathing; leaf blade paler but not glaucous abaxially,green adaxially, ovate or obovate, 20–30 × 12–17 cm, subleathery, base obtuse, apex acuminate or acute. Peduncle green or
violet, much shorter than petioles, 8–15 cm. Spathe reflexed,concolorous yellow, ovate-lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, 10–
15 × 5–7 cm, apex long acuminate. Spadix 3–4 cm; femalezone cylindric, 2–2.5 cm, 2–3 mm in diam., ca. 3/4 of length
adnate to spathe; ovary subglobose, stigma 4- or 5-lobed, mixed
with clavate staminodes; male zone ellipsoid, 1–1.5 cm × 5–6mm, obtuse. Fl. Mar–Apr.
Dense forests, wet meadows, by streams; 600–1400 m. Guangxi,
Yunnan [Bangladesh, NE India, N Laos, N Myanmar, N Thailand, N
Vietnam].
The poisonous stem is used to treat injuries, cuts, snake and insect
bites, vasculitis, and skin ulcers.

2. Steudnera griffithii (Schott) Schott, Bonplandia (Hannover)
10: 222. 1862.
全缘泉七 quan yuan quan qi
Gonatanthus griffithii Schott, Prodr. Syst. Aroid. 143.
1860.
Stem creeping, 10–20 cm, 3–10 mm in diam. Petiole 25–
30 cm; leaf blade strikingly white glaucous abaxially, palegreen adaxially, ovate-oblong, 10–25 × 6–15 cm, base emarginate or shortly 2-lobed, apex acute or cuspidate. Peduncle ca.
12 cm. Spathe reflexed, yellow-green on both surfaces, brownpurple below middle inside, 7–10 × 2.8–3 cm. Spadix 2–3.5
cm; female zone 15–25 × 1–2 mm, ca. 2/3 of length adnate to
spathe; ovary without staminodes; stigma entire; some sterile
flowers on distal part of female zone; male zone cylindric, ellipsoid, 5–6 mm. Berry yellowish green, broadly obovoid-cylindric, apex with persistent stigma, 1-loculed. Seeds 4–12. Fl.
Mar–Jun.
Open forests, brushwood in valleys, wet places; 100–500 m. SE
Yunnan [NE India, Myanmar].

3. Steudnera kerrii Gagnepain, Notul. Syst. (Paris) 9: 140.
1941.
广西泉七 guang xi quan qi
Herbs, evergreen. Stem rhizomatous, epigeal, erect, later
decumbent with age, 2–40 × 1–1.5 cm, densely covered withtattered cataphyll and leaf remains, older parts eventually
naked. Leaves solitary to several together at shoot tips; petiole
pale green, terete, 35–40 cm × 3–7 mm, sheath very short; leaf
blade strongly glaucous abaxially, deep olive-green adaxially,
peltate, ovate, 10–35 × 8–14 cm, membranous, base emarginate, sinus very shallow, posterior lobes almost absent, apex
cuspidate. Inflorescence solitary, very strongly fragrant of naphtha; peduncle mid-green, terete, 6–12 cm. Spathe outside deep
yellow, inside deep purple, lanceolate, 9–10 × 2–5 cm, reflexed
on opening, apex long acuminate, distal part soon withering,
marcescent, proximal part persistent into fruiting. Spadix ca. 2.5
cm × 5 mm; female zone pale creamy white, cylindric, dorsally
adnate to spathe; pistil subglobose, 2–3 mm high, 0.5–1 mm indiam.; style very short; stigma 4-lobed, exceeding style width,style and stigma tinged purple; male zone pale creamy white,clavate, free; synandria 4–6-androus, 1–2 mm high, 1.5–2.5
mm in diam., 10–16-lobed, shortly stipitate. Infructescence consisting of few to many berries partially covered by persistentspathe base. Berry ripening dull red, ovoid, 6–11 × 4–7 mm.
Wet areas in seasonal evergreen forests, almost always associatedwith limestone; 400–600 m. SW Guangxi [N Thailand, N Vietnam].
One of us (Boyce) has collected Steudnera kerrii on the Chinese
border in N Vietnam. The population almost certainly extends into
adjacent Guangxi.

4. Steudnera henryana Engler, Pflanzenr. 71(IV. 23E): 13.
1920.
滇南泉七 dian nan quan qi
Herbs, evergreen, medium sized, to 45 cm. Stems short,densely covered with fibrous cataphyll remains. Leaves few
together at shoot tips; petiole mid-green, terete, 30–45 cm × 4–
5 mm, sheath very short; leaf blade slightly paler abaxially,
mid-green adaxially, peltate, somewhat stiffly membranous,
base sometimes somewhat truncate, apex acuminate. Inflorescence solitary, rarely paired; peduncle pale green, terete, 8–15
cm. Spathe golden yellow, inside with a red patch, ovate toovate-lanceolate, 5–8 × ca. 4 cm, apex cuspidate-acuminate.

ARACEAE

Spadix up to 2.3 cm; female zone cylindric, ca. 15 × 3 mm,
dorsally adnate to spathe; pistil mid-green, depressed globose,ca. 2 mm in diam.; style very short; stigma pale yellow, 2lobed, exceeding style; staminodes 4 or 5 per pistil, white,
shorter than pistil, stoutly spatulate and very shortly apiculate;71

male zone ivory, bluntly cylindric, free; synandria 6- or 7androus, ca. 2 × 3.5 mm. Infructescence and fruit unknown.
Wet shaded areas in seasonal evergreen forests, habitually on
limestone; 300–700 m. Yunnan [N Laos, N Vietnam].

23. REMUSATIA Schott in Schott & Endlicher, Melet. Bot. 18. 1832.
岩芋属 yan yu shu
Li Heng (李恒 Li Hen); Peter C. Boyce
Gonatanthus Klotzsch.
Herbs, small to medium sized, seasonally dormant, epiphytic or epilithic, rarely terrestrial, latex-bearing. Tuber subglobose,
producing erect to spreading, unbranched or branching stolons from axils of scarious, deciduous cataphylls; stolons producing small,
ovoid tubercles at nodes, each invested by numerous apically hooked scales (minute cataphylls). Leaves 1 or 2; petiole sometimes
slender, sheath relatively short; leaf blade peltate, cordate-lanceolate to cordate-ovate, apex acuminate; basal veins well developed,
primary lateral veins pinnate, forming submarginal collective vein very close to margin, marginal vein also present, secondary andtertiary laterals arising from primaries at a wide angle, then arching toward leaf margin and forming inconspicuous interprimary collective veins, higher order venation reticulate. Inflorescences solitary or up to 3 together, appearing with or without leaf; peduncle
shorter than petioles. Spathe strongly constricted between tube and blade, sometimes with secondary constriction above spadix (thisgroup formally recognized as a separate genus: Gonatanthus); tube with convolute margins, persistent, enclosing female zone andsterile zone of spadix; limb yellow or red, longer than tube, fully expanded or remaining convolute and opening only at base, sometimes becoming reflexed (in Remusatia vivipara and R. yunnanensis), later deciduous. Spadix sessile or subsessile, much shorter thanspathe; female zone subcylindric, ca. 1/2 as long as spathe tube, separated from male zone by much narrower zone of sterile male
flowers; male zone ellipsoid or subclavate, fertile to apex, obtuse. Flowers unisexual, naked. Male flowers 2- or 3-androus; stamensconnate into cuneate-clavate, 4–6-sulcate synandrium; fused filaments distinct; common connectives somewhat excavated at apex;
thecae 4–6, oblong to ellipsoid, dehiscing by apical porelike slit; synandrodes each ± elongated. Pistils lacking associated staminodes; ovary subcylindric to subglobose, 1-loculed or partially 2–4-loculed at apex; ovules many, hemiorthotropous; funicle short tolong; placentae 2–4 and parietal or placenta 1 and basal; stylar region very shortly attenuate or appearing lacking; stigma disciformsubcapitate or slightly 3- or 4-lobed. Fruit an obovoid to globose, many-seeded berry; infructescence ellipsoid, borne within persistent spathe tube. Seed ellipsoid to subglobose, covered by thick, fleshy sarcotesta or testa verruculose to irregularly costate;embryo axile, ovoid to subglobose, short; endosperm copious. 2n = 28, 42.
Four species: S and SE Asia, one (Remusatia vivipara) extending from Africa and Madagascar to tropical Asia, Australia, and the Pacific islands;
four species (one endemic) in China.

1a. Spathe with 2 constrictions, 1 separating tube and limb, 1 separating limb into 2 parts, proximal part subglobose,
distal part narrowly lanceolate, apex long acuminate ....................................................................................................... 4. R. pumila
1b. Limb of spathe with only 1 constriction separating tube and limb.
2a. Bulbiferous stolons erect, simple, stout ................................................................................................................... 1. R. vivipara
2b. Bulbiferous stolons creeping or pendulous, simple or much branched, slender.
3a. Limb of spathe semispreading to erect, not reflexed ................................................................................... 2. R. hookeriana
3b. Limb of spathe initially erect, later spreading and soon reflexed .............................................................. 3. R. yunnanensis
1. Remusatia vivipara (Roxburgh) Schott in Schott &Endlicher, Melet. Bot. 18. 1832.
岩芋 yan yu
Arum viviparum Roxburgh, Hort. Bengal. 65. 1814 [“viviparium”]; Caladium viviparum (Roxburgh) Nees; Colocasia
vivipara (Roxburgh) Thwaites; Remusatia bulbifera Vilmorin;
R. formosana Hayata.
Tuber depressed globose, 2–4 × 3.5–5 cm; stolons erect,
simple, stout; bulbils ellipsoid, 0.5–2.5 mm, stout; bristles to 1.5mm, stout. Cataphylls 4 or more, brownish, broad, concealing
peduncle, ca. 15 × 3 cm. Petiole 19–42 cm, proximal 1/4
sheathing; leaf blade glossy on both sides, pale green abaxially,green adaxially, oblong-ovate or lanceolate, 11–33 × 7–19.5

cm, sinus 1.5–3 cm; intramarginal vein indistinct. Flowering
before leaves develop. Peduncle 6–12 cm. Spathe tube green
outside, 3–5 × 1.3–2 cm; limb initially erect, later reflexed, yellow inside, obovate, 5.3–11.5 × 2.5–9 cm, narrowed to base,apex acute, apiculate. Spadix: female zone 1.7–2 cm × 7–9 mm,with 3 or 4 whorls of sterile ovaries at apex and 1 or 2 whorls atbase; sterile zone 1.1–2.5 cm, slender, tapering distally; malezone yellowish, clavate, cylindric, 1.5–2.2 cm × 4–7 mm. Fl.
Apr–Sep. 2n = 28, 42.
Subtropical forests, epiphytic, on rocks, cliff ledges; 700–1900 m.
Taiwan, Xizang, Yunnan [Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Indonesia (Java),
N Laos, Nepal, Sri Lanka, N Thailand, N Vietnam; Africa, SW Asia, N
Australia, Madagascar, Pacific islands].
The tubers are poisonous. They are used externally to treat mastitis, traumatic injuries, abscesses, and swellings.

72

ARACEAE

2. Remusatia hookeriana Schott, Oesterr. Bot. Z. 8: 133. 1858.
早花岩芋 zao hua yan yu
Gonatanthus ornatus Schott; Remusatia ornata (Schott)
H. Li & Q. F. Guo.
Herbs, cormous. Tuber dark outside, white inside, depressed globose, 0.5–3 × 0.5–3 cm; new roots and buds appearing at apex in Apr–May; stolons much branched, spreading,pendulous, sometimes simple and creeping; bulbils numerous,
smaller. Cataphylls white, lanceolate, ca. 9 cm, membranous,
convolute around both leaf and flower buds. Leaves 2, appearing in Jun (after anthesis), spreading one after another;petiole tinged reddish, with darker markings, up to 45 cm × ca.
8 mm; leaf blade becoming purple abaxially, green adaxially,
ovate-lanceolate, first leaf up to 30 × 13 cm, membranous, peltate and cordate at base, long acuminate at apex; second leaf
appearing from sheath in proximal part of petiole of first leaf,
petiole 10–20 cm, leaf blade smaller, ca. 14 × 4.5 cm. Flowering before leaves develop. Peduncle greenish, 4–13 cm × 1.5–
3.5 mm. Spathe 3–7 cm; tube convolute, green outside, dark
purple inside, ovoid, 1.3–2.7 cm × 5–10 mm; limb deciduous,
semispreading to erect, entirely yellow-green, ovate, 2–4.5 × ca.
3.3 cm, apex acute. Spadix sessile, yellow-green, shorter thanspathe; female zone yellow-green, ca. 11 × 4 mm; female
flowers partly 4-loculed; ovary ovoid, ca. 1.1 mm in diam.; stigma sessile, disciform; placentae parietal; ovules many, orthotropous; sterile zone attenuate, yellow, ca. 7 × 2 mm; sterile
male flowers rhombic or elliptic, apex truncate; male zone capitate, ellipsoidal, to 9 × 5 mm, apex obtuse; male flowers clavate
or cuneate, apex truncate, with fleshy connective, with 4–6
oblong thecae opening by a terminal pore. Fl. May. 2n = 28, 42.
Evergreen forests, on mossy rocks or tree stumps; 1800–2800 m.
Yunnan [Bhutan, India (Assam, Himachal Pradesh), Nepal, N Thailand].
The plants from C Yunnan have a triploid chromosome number of42, but plants from Dulongjiang and from Dali are diploid with different
karyotypes.

3. Remusatia yunnanensis (H. Li & A. Hay) A. Hay, World
Checkl. & Bibliogr. Araceae, 442. 2002.
云南岩芋 yun nan yan yu
Gonatanthus yunnanensis H. Li & A. Hay, Acta Bot.
Yunnan. 14: 375. 1992.
Herbs, cormous, lithophytes. Tuber purple outside, white
inside, globose, ca. 4 cm in diam.; bulbiferous stolons 2–4,
creeping, simple, to 100 cm × ca. 4 mm, internodes 5–3.5 cm;
bulbils ellipsoid, 1–3 mm, covered by 4 or 5 scales, bristles
filiform and hooked, in scale axils bearing some secondary
small bulbils. Leaves 2–4; petiole cylindric, 40–60 cm; leaf
blade pale green abaxially, green adaxially, ovate, 20–30 × 17–
20 cm, subleathery, base peltate and cordate, sinus 4–7 cm;
primary veins 4 or 5 on each side, radiating from petiole andpinnately from midrib of main lobe, secondary venationarching-anastomosing, fine intramarginal vein absent. Inflorescences 1–3, flowering when leaves develop; peduncle green,
cylindric, 11–17 cm. Spathe tube green outside and inside,
ovate-elliptic, ca. 3 × 1.2 cm, leathery, apex strongly constricted; limb initially erect, later spreading and soon reflexed,

light purple within and dull purple beneath, base yellowish on
both surfaces, obovate-oblong, ca. 8.5 × 3 cm. Spadix: femalezone subcylindric, ca. 15 × 6 mm, densely flowered; female
flowers 4-carpellate; ovary 1-loculed, green, ovoid, ca. 2 mm;ovules many, basal, suberect; stigma sessile, circular; sterilezone yellow, ca. 14 mm, slender; male zone yellow, broadly
cylindric, ca. 17 × 4 mm, attenuate toward base, apex obtuse;synandria of 4 or 5 fused stamens; common filament obconic,
apex truncate; thecae 8–10, obovoid, adnate to outside of filament and opening by a terminal pore. Fl. Aug–Sep. 2n = 28*.
● Dense rain forests; ca. 1100 m. Yunnan (Yingjiang).
The combination Remusatia yunnanensis was attempted twice
before but was not validly published (Vienna Code, Art. 33.4) because
the basionym reference was omitted (H. Li & A. Hay, Moscow Aroid
Conference 1992 Programme & Abstracts, 36. 1992) and the page
number of the basionym reference was omitted (H. Li & A. Hay, Acta
Bot. Yunnan., Suppl. 5: 28, 32. 1992).

4. Remusatia pumila (D. Don) H. Li & A. Hay, Acta Bot.
Yunnan., Suppl. 5: 32. 1992.
曲苞芋 qu bao yu
Caladium pumilum D. Don, Prodr. Fl. Nepal. 21. 1825;
Colocasia pumila (D. Don) Kunth; Gonatanthus pumilus (D.
Don) Engler & K. Krause; G. sarmentosus Klotzsch; Remusatia
garrettii Gagnepain.
Tuber yellowish brown outside, globose, 1–2.5 cm indiam.; bulbiferous stolons spreading, creeping, slender,
branched; bulbils many, covered by brown scales; bristles
filiform, hooked. Leaves 3 or 4; petiole green, cylindric, 15–40
cm, proximal 1/4–1/3 sheathing; leaf blade dull green on both
surfaces, areas between primary veins sometimes purple abaxially and/or adaxially, ovate to oblong-ovate, 8–23.5 × 7–14.5
cm, papery, base peltate and shallowly cordate, apex acute orslightly acuminate, sinus 5–45 mm; primary veins 4 or 5 oneach side, radiating from petiole and pinnately from midrib ofmain lobe, secondary venation pinnate from primary veins, fineintramarginal vein present. Inflorescence solitary, flowering
when leaves develop; peduncle green, 6–10 cm. Spathe tube
green, narrowly ovoid, 12–15 × ca. 10 mm; limb semispreading
to erect, yellow or yellow-green on both surfaces, elongate, 13–
21 cm, membranous; proximal part of limb separated into 2
parts by a constriction; proximal part subglobose, 1.5–2.5 cm,
opening to reveal male zone of spadix; distal part narrowly
lanceolate, 11.5–21 cm × 6–15 mm, apex long acuminate, fully
opening only for a short time (less than 3 or 4 hours). Spadix
sessile; female zone 5.5–7.5 × 3.5–4.5 mm; ovary green; ovules
many, oblong, basal; stigma sessile; sterile zone yellow, 4–5mm, slender; sterile flowers rhombic or oblong, flat; male zone
violet, clavate, ca. 10 × 4 mm; synandria 0.6–1 mm in diam.;
filaments ca. 0.7 mm. Fl. May–Jul. 2n = 28.
Dense evergreen forests, on damp mossy rocks, trees, and banks;
1000–2800 m. S Xizang, Yunnan [Bhutan, India, Nepal, N Thailand].
This species is readily distinguished from the other three species
by the spathe limb being constricted above the spadix as well as between
the female and male zones forming a chamber enclosing the male zoneof the spadix.

ARACEAE

73

24. COLOCASIA Schott in Schott & Endlicher, Melet. Bot. 18. 1832, nom. cons.,
not Link (1795).
芋属 yu shu
Li Heng (李恒 Li Hen); Peter C. Boyce
Leucocasia Schott.
Herbs, seasonally dormant or evergreen, small, medium sized, or gigantic, latex-bearing. Stem either a hypogeal, subglobose orsubcylindric tuber or mostly epigeal, massive. Leaves several, rosulate in acaulescent plants, forming a terminal crown in arborescentspecies. Petiole glabrous, sometimes strikingly glaucous, rarely pubescent, sheath rather long; leaf blade peltate, ovate-cordate tosagittate-cordate, abaxially glabrous, glaucous, pruinose, rarely pilose; posterior lobes rounded, shortly to almost entirely connate;basal ribs well developed, primary lateral veins pinnate, forming submarginal collective vein, 1 or 2 marginal veins also present,
secondary and tertiary laterals arising from primaries at a wide angle, then arching strongly toward leaf margin and forminginconspicuous interprimary collective veins, higher order venation reticulate. Inflorescences 1 to many per each floral sympodium,appearing with leaves; peduncle mostly shorter than petioles. Spathe constricted between tube and limb, sometimes with a second
weaker constriction above male zone of spadix; tube persistent, enlarging in fruit and then splitting open irregularly from apex, withconvolute margins, usually much shorter than limb, ovoid or oblong; limb either remaining erect, and ± furled, or opening and thenreflexed at anthesis, later deciduous, white or yellow, very narrowly lanceolate to oblong or boat-shaped. Spadix sessile, shorter thanspathe; female zone short, separated from male by narrower zone of sterile male flowers or contiguous with male zone; male zone
cylindric to fusiform; terminal appendix erect, ± smooth, narrowly conic to fusiform or subulate, sometimes reduced to a small,mucronate stub, or absent. Flowers unisexual, naked. Ovary ovoid or oblong, 1-loculed; ovules many, hemiorthotropous; funicles
relatively long; placentae 2–5, parietal; stylar region short, narrowed or not, sometimes ± absent; stigma disciform-capitate or weakly
lobed. Interpistillar staminodes present in some species, these weakly clavate, equaling associated pistil; interfloral synandrodes(where present) depressed obpyramidal, laterally compressed, truncate. Male flowers 3–6-androus; stamens connate into ± truncate
synandrium; thecae lateral, oblong-linear, dehiscing by apical pore. Infructescence erect or declined by flexing of peduncle. Fruit agreenish to whitish or dull orange, obconic or oblong, strongly fruit-smelling berry, many seeded; stigma remnants persistent. Seedtiny, ovoid to ellipsoid; testa thickish, costate; embryo axile, cylindric; endosperm copious.
About 20 species: tropical and subtropical Asia; six species in China.

1a. Petioles and peduncle pubescent; leaf blade abaxially pilose ................................................................................. 1. C. menglaensis
1b. Plants glabrous.
2a. Plants gigantic, often exceeding 2 m tall; petioles and abaxial surface of leaves white pruinose; inflorescencearising as a fan of 5–13 inflorescences; spathe limb pure white ............................................................................ 2. C. gigantea
2b. Plants small to large (very rarely exceeding 1.5 m tall); petioles and abaxial surface of leaves at most grayish
glaucous; inflorescence solitary or in pairs, rarely 4 together and then not in a fan; spathe limb not pure white.
3a. Plants large, with tuberous, rhizomatous, or stoloniferous stems; spathes yellow.
4a. Leaf blade adaxially matte waxy-glaucous and water-shedding (water sometimes forming “mercury
droplets”); spathe limb dull yellow, opening only at base slightly above constriction, remainder
staying furled; infructescence declined .................................................................................................... 3. C. esculenta
4b. Leaf blade adaxially glossy and wettable (water forming an even coating); spathe limb brightyellow, spreading and opening flat; infructescence erect ..................................................................... 4. C. antiquorum
3b. Plants small, stoloniferous; spathes pale green or somewhat purplish or purplish brown.
5a. Stolons very slender, much branched; leaves frequently with dark patches between primary lateralveins; female and male zones contiguous ...................................................................................................... 5. C. affinis
5b. Stolons robust, little branched; leaves usually concolorous green; female and male zones separated
by a zone of synandrodes ............................................................................................................................... 6. C. fallax
1. Colocasia menglaensis J. T. Yin, H. Li & Z. F. Xu, Ann. Bot.
Fenn. 41: 223. 2004.
勐腊芋 meng la yu
Herbs, terrestrial, stoloniferous. Rhizome 20–40 × 3–7 cm;
stolons 6–10 per plant, pale green, trailing horizontally, simple,
15–20 cm × ca. 4 mm; internodes cylindric, ca. 4 cm, without
tubercles. Leaves 5 or 6 together; petiole pale greenish, cylindric, ca. 50 × 1 cm, pubescent, proximal half sheathing; leaf
blade pale green abaxially, glossy green adaxially, peltate, ovatecordate, ca. 40 × 25 cm, membranous, pilose; primary lateralveins 7–9 pairs, sharply raised abaxially; marginal vein 1–3 mmfrom margin, inconspicuous. Inflorescences (2 or)3(or 4); peduncle pale green, cylindric, shorter than petioles, ca. 20 cm,
pubescent. Spathe greenish, constricted between proximal tubular part and limb, proximal part nearly fusiform, 3–6 × ca. 1.2
cm; limb basally open, apically convolute, erect, not reflexed,yellowish, oblong-lanceolate, 13–18 × 4–6 cm. Spadix sessile,
shorter than spathe; female zone green, cylindric, ca. 2 × 1 cm,
separated from male zone by a narrower zone of synandrodes;
ovary ovoid to oblong, ca. 1.5 mm, 1-locular; placentae 4 or 5,parietal; stylar region short; stigma disciform-capitate; sterile

74

ARACEAEzone between female and male zones cylindric, ca. 1 cm × 6
mm; sterile male flowers: synandrodes depressed obpyramidal,
apex subtruncate; male zone yellowish, cylindric, ca. 3.5 cm ×
7 mm; male flowers 8–11-androus; thecae oblong-linear, dehiscing by apical pore; appendix pale yellowish, narrowly
conic, ca. 3.5 × 0.5 cm, rugose at base. Berry not seen. Fl. Mar–Jun.
By streams at humid forest margins; 1000–1100 m. Yunnan(Mengla) [Laos, N Myanmar (Bhamo), N Thailand].

2. Colocasia gigantea (Blume) J. D. Hooker, Fl. Brit. India 6:524. 1893.
大野芋 da ye yu
Caladium giganteum Blume, Cat. Gew. Buitenzorg, 103.
1823; Leucocasia gigantea (Blume) Schott.
Herbs, large to gigantic, evergreen, with massive, stout
epigeal stem. Leaves very large; petiole pale green, strikingly
pruinose, to 2.5 m, proximal half sheathing; leaf blade whitepruinose abaxially, especially when immature, green or palegreen adaxially, ovate-cordate, 25–250 × 17–150 cm, membranous, base cordate, peltate, margin undulate, apex shortly acuminate. Inflorescences 5–13 arising from leaf axil (actually terminal on shoot and displaced by new shoot); peduncle pruinose,
cylindric, 30–80 × 1–2 cm, each with a membranous cataphyll
nearly equaling length of peduncle. Spathe 12–24 cm; tube
green, ellipsoid, 3–6 × 1.5–2 cm; limb erect, white, oblongboat-shaped, distinctly constricted, 8–19 × 2–3 cm. Spadix 9–
20 cm; female zone white or cream-colored, conic; sterile zone
3–4.5 cm, slender; male zone 5–14 cm; appendix very short, 1–
5 mm, apex acute. Berry oblong, ca. 5 mm. Seeds many, fusiform, with many distinct longitudinal striations. Fl. Apr–Jun, fr.
Sep. 2n = 28.
Valley forests, limestone-associated, usually on moist but welldrained sites, also cultivated; 100–700 m. Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi,
Jiangxi, Yunnan; cultivated in Anhui, Guizhou, Hunan, Sichuan, andZhejiang [Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia (Peninsular), Myanmar, Thailand,
Vietnam; widely cultivated in SE Asia].

3. Colocasia esculenta (Linnaeus) Schott in Schott &Endlicher, Melet. Bot. 18. 1832.
芋 yu
Arum esculentum Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 965. 1753; A.
colocasia Linnaeus; Caladium colocasia (Linnaeus) W. Wight;
C. esculentum (Linnaeus) Ventenat; Calla gaby Blanco; Colocasia antiquorum Schott var. esculenta (Linnaeus) Schott ex
Seemann; C. formosana Hayata; C. konishii Hayata; C.
neocaledonica Van Houtte.
Rhizome vertical to horizontal, tuberous, 3–5 cm or more
(up to 15 cm) in diam. Stolons long or absent. Leaves 2 or 3 ormore; petiole green, 25–80 cm, sheathing for 1/3–2/3 length;leaf blade adaxially matte waxy-glaucous and water-shedding(water sometimes forming “mercury droplets”), oblong-ovate tosuborbicular, 13–45 × 10–35 cm, base shallowly cordate (sinus
1–4 cm), apex broadly and shortly cuspidate. Peduncle usuallysolitary, 16–26 cm. Spathe tube green, 3.5–5 × 1.2–1.5 cm;

limb open proximally, cream-colored to golden yellow, lanceolate or elliptic, 10–19 × 2–5 cm, apex acuminate. Spadix: female zone conic, 3–3.5 × ca. 1.2 cm; ovary 1–3 mm in diam.;
stigma subsessile, narrower than apex of ovary; sterile zone
narrowly cylindric, 3–3.3 cm; sterile flowers (pistils) seen fromabove elongate, ca. 0.5 mm in diam.; male zone cylindric, 4–6.5
cm × ca. 7 mm; appendix narrowly conic, 15–45 × ca. 2 mm.
Berry green, ca. 4 mm. Seeds few; synandria ca. 1 mm high, ca.
0.8 mm in diam. Fl. Feb–Apr (Yunnan), or Aug–Sep (Qin Ling
area). 2n = 26, 28, 30, 36, 38, 42, 44, 46, 48, 52, 58, 84, 116.
Widely cultivated usually near farmhouses or in water fields; also
naturalized or perhaps native in wet places in forests, valleys, swamps,
wastelands, and at watersides. Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi,
Guizhou, Hainan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Taiwan,
Yunnan, Zhejiang [widely cultivated in tropics and subtropics].
This very variable species is widely cultivated throughout thetropics, and many wild or naturalized clones are found in S Asia,
Malesia, and the Pacific islands. The spathes, spadices, and spadix
appendixes vary considerably, although the floral organs have not been
observed in many cultivated clones. This wide variation is attributableto cultivation selections, escapes, naturalizations, and re-domestications.
It seems best, therefore, to treat Colocasia esculenta as a single species
rather than formally recognize infraspecific taxa or segregate species(see Hay, Sandakania 7: 31–48. 1996).
The rhizomes, petioles, and inflorescences are used as a vegetable.
The rhizomes are used medicinally for treating swellings, abscesses,
snake and insect bites, and swollen lymph nodes in the neck.

4. Colocasia antiquorum Schott in Schott & Endlicher, Melet.
Bot. 18. 1832.
滇南芋 dian nan yu
Colocasia esculenta (Linnaeus) Schott var. antiquorum(Schott) F. T. Hubbard & Rehder; C. fontanesii Schott; C.
gaoligongensis H. Li & C. L. Long; C. gongii C. L. Long & H.
Li; C. lihengiae C. L. Long & K. M. Liu; C. tonoimo Nakai.
Herbs, perennial, terrestrial, with stolons (stoloniferous
runners) and a usually erect rhizome. Rhizome 120–135 × 12–
18 cm; stolons (stoloniferous runners) 6–12, trailing horizontally, pale green to pale purple, simple, thin, 70–80 × ca. 0.5
cm; internodes cylindric, 15–25 cm, without tubercles. Leaves
4–8 together; petiole light green to reddish purple, 55–140 cm,
sheathing in basal 1/2; leaf blade pale green or yellow-green
abaxially, sometimes with a purple margin, green or yellowgreen adaxially, glossy and wettable (water forming an evencoating), peltate, ovate-cordate to sagittate-cordate, 30–80 ×
18–70 cm, membranous; primary lateral veins 5–9, pale green
or purple, interprimary veins inconspicuous. Inflorescences 3–5(or 6); peduncle green or purple, cylindric or subtrigonous,
shorter than petioles, 40–70 × 1.5–2 cm. Spathe constricted
between tube and blade; tube yellowish green or purple, oblong,
4–12 × 1.4–4.5 cm, subcylindric; limb convolute at base, suberect to reflexed, golden yellow, sometimes with purple margin, oblong, oblong-lanceolate, or obovate, 7–24 × 4–14 cm,
apex obtuse or acute. Spadix sessile, shorter than spathe; femalezone golden yellow, cylindric, 2–3 × 0.3–0.75 cm, ca. 1/2 aslong as spadix, with a few yellow interpistillar staminodes;
female flowers obovoid; ovary 1-loculed; placentae 2; stigma

ARACEAE

sessile or subsessile, disciform, 6-lobed; sterile zone whitish,
cylindric, 1–5 × 0.3–1.8 cm; synandrodes depressed obpyramidal; male zone yellow, cylindric, 3.5–14 × 0.4–1.5 cm; synandria 3–10-androus, yellow, 1–2 mm; appendix absent or erect,
narrowly conic, ca. 5 cm. Fruit not seen. Fl. May–Sep. 2n = 28.
Dense rain forests, evergreen broad-leaved forests, and forest margins in valleys in limestone areas, along streams in evergreen broadleaved forests, moist shaded thickets; 600–1200 m. S and W Yunnan(Mengla, Tengchong, Yingjiang) [NE India, N Laos, N Myanmar, NThailand].

5. Colocasia affinis Schott, Bonplandia (Hannover) 7: 28. 1859.
卷苞芋 juan bao yu
Colocasia bicolor C. L. Long & L. M. Cao.
Herbs, perennial, terrestrial, with stolons and tubercles.
Stolons trailing horizontally, pale green, thin, 3.7–40 cm × ca. 4
mm, branched; internodes cylindric, 2.7–9 cm, with tubercles;
tubercles triangular or ovate, ca. 2 cm in diam. Leaves 3–7;
petiole light green or greenish white, without transverse purple lines, cylindric, 20–45 cm; leaf blade pale green abaxially,green or light green adaxially, with 4–6 pairs of large purple
spots (lighter when growing in a very shady environment), peltate, ovate-cordate, (5–)16–21 × (4.7–)13–16 cm, membranous; primary lateral veins in 3 or 4 pairs, marginal veins inconspicuous. Inflorescences 1–3; peduncle pale green, cylindric,much shorter than petioles, 6.4–15 cm. Spathe constricted; tube
convolute, green, almost cylindric, 1.3–2.7 × 0.6–1.8 cm; limb
usually reflexed at anthesis, yellow, greenish white, or yellowish, oblong-lanceolate, 4.2–7.8 × 1.6–3.3 cm. Spadix sessile, shorter than spathe; female zone cylindric, short, 0.9–1.7
cm × 3–8 mm; female flowers green; ovary ovoid; ovules ca.
30; funicle long; placentae parietal; stigma sessile; sterile zone
absent between female and male zones or cream-colored, 0.5–
0.8 cm × 0.8–2 mm; male zone yellowish, pale pink, or creamcolored, 1–1.7 cm × 2.5–5 mm; male flowers 6–8-androus;
stamens connate into a synandrium, yellow; appendix reddish
purple, greenish white, or light yellow, cylindric in proximal
part but conic in distal part, 1.7–5.1 cm × 1.5–6 mm. Youngberry green. Fl. Jun–Aug, fr. Jul–Oct. 2n = 28.
Moist shaded places in forests and at forest margins, hillsides inlimestone areas; 800–1400 m. S Yunnan (Jinghong, Lancang, Mengla,
Simao) [N Bangladesh, NE India, N Myanmar, Nepal].

6. Colocasia fallax Schott, Bonplandia (Hannover) 7: 28. 1859.

75

假芋 jia yu
Colocasia heterochroma H. Li & Z. X. Wei; C. kerrii
Gagnepain; C. tibetensis J. T. Yin; C. yunnanensis C. L. Long &X. Z. Cai.
Herbs, small to somewhat robust, stoloniferous. Rhizome
erect, up to 7 × 1–1.5 cm; stolons pale green or pale purple,
erect or creeping, mostly simple, 5–60 cm × up to 6 mm,
internodes 0.5–1.5 cm, bearing ovoid or cylindric-ovoid tubercles to 3.5 cm in diam., or without tubercles. Leaves 3–8;
petiole green, sometimes with transverse purple lines, cylindric,
12–57 cm, sheathing for almost 1/2 length; leaf blade paler orslightly glaucous abaxially, green or with dark purple patches
between primary veins adaxially, cordate-peltate, ovate-cordate,or narrowly oblong-ovate, 8–36 × 3.3–29 cm, membranous,
apex apiculate; primary lateral veins 5–7. Inflorescences 1–5
together; peduncle green, cylindric, 4–23 cm, slender. Spathe
constricted or not between tube and limb; tube green, funnelform or subcylindric, 1.7–4.2 × 0.7–1.7 cm, margins convolute;
limb at anthesis proximally gaping, distally convolute, erect,
sometimes slightly reflexed after anthesis, orange-yellow,
golden yellow, or yellowish basally, violet apically, narrowly
lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, 5–11.2 × 2.7–4.8 cm, apex longacuminate. Spadix sessile, to 6.5 cm, shorter than spathe; female zone yellow, pale yellowish, or green, conic or cylindric,
1–2.6 cm × 4–6 mm, with 4–6 rows of whitish or yellow
staminodes at base; ovary green, speckled white, subglobose or
ovoid to oblong, ca. 1 mm, 1-loculed; placentae 3; stigma sessile or subsessile, disciform-capitate, or disciform at base andtapering distally into a linear point to 0.5 mm; sterile zone
present between female and male zones; male zone yellow,
cylindric, 1.1–4.6 cm × 3–6 mm; synandria golden yellow,
polygonal, 6–12-androus; distal sterile zone (between malezone and appendix) cream-colored, cylindric, 0.5–1.2 cm × 1–3
mm, with white hairs, hairs 10–15 mm at anthesis, disappearing
on drying; synandrodes broadly oblong to depressed ovate or
depressed obpyramidal, apex truncate or subtruncate; appendix
absent or yellowish, cylindric or narrowly conic, 2.5–4.5 cm ×
1–2.5 mm, scaly-rough, base distinctly constricted or not, apex
acute. Berry ripening yellow, ovoid, ca. 2 mm. Fl. Mar–Sep, fr.
Jul–Oct. 2n = 28.
Dense forests, humid forest margins, moist mossy rock faces inforests, valley scrub, moist shaded places along streams; 700–1400 m.
SE Xizang (Mêdog), S and W Yunnan [N Bangladesh, Bhutan, NE
India, Nepal, Thailand].

25. ALOCASIA (Schott) G. Don in Sweet, Hort. Brit., ed. 3, 631. 1839, nom. cons.,
not Necker ex Rafinesque (1837).
海芋属 hai yu shu
Li Heng (李恒 Li Hen); Peter C. Boyce
Colocasia sect. Alocasia Schott in Schott & Endlicher, Melet. Bot. 18. 1832; Ensolenanthe Schott; Panzhuyuia Z. Y. Zhu;
Schizocasia Schott ex Engler; Xenophya Schott.
Herbs, evergreen, rarely seasonally dormant, latex-bearing, medium sized to rarely arborescent and gigantic. Stem thick, often
hypogeal, sometimes stoloniferous and bulbiferous, epigeal stem usually erect and later decumbent, rather less often elongated andcreeping. Leaves few to several in terminal crown, less often scattered, sometimes each subtended by a cataphyll; petiole long[sometimes minutely asperous, minutely puberulent, or glandular], sheath relatively long; leaf blade sometimes pubescent abaxially,

ARACEAE

76

juvenile blade peltate, at maturity usually sagittate, less often ± hastate or cordate, but remaining peltate in some species, margin
entire or sinuate [or slightly to deeply pinnatifid]; posterior divisions ovate or triangular; basal ribs well developed, wax glands
present in axils of primary lateral veins and midrib; primary lateral veins pinnate, forming submarginal collective vein, 1 or 2 closely
adjacent marginal veins also present, secondary and tertiary lateral veins arising from primaries at a wide angle, then arching strongly
toward leaf margin, sometimes forming interprimary veins, higher order venation reticulate. Inflorescences 1 or 2 to many in eachfloral sympodium; peduncle usually shorter than petioles. Spathe persistent, erect, convolute, gaping only basally, strongly constricted between tube and blade, rarely not; tube with convolute margins, shorter than limb, ovoid or oblong, persistent and thensplitting irregularly in fruit; limb oblong, usually boat-shaped, rarely arching, at anthesis at first erect, then reflexing and later usually
deciduous. Spadix sessile, sometimes shortly stipitate, rarely obliquely adnate to spathe, shorter than spathe; female zone coniccylindric, short, separated from male by a much narrower zone of sterile flowers; male zone usually cylindric; appendix conic tocylindric, with irregular, labyrinthine network of fissures. Flowers unisexual, naked. Pistil ovoid or oblong, 1-loculed or partially 3or 4-loculed at apex; ovules 6–10, orthotropous, hemiorthotropous, hemianatropous, or anatropous; funicle short; placenta basal;
stylar region short; stigma depressed capitate, ± distinctly 3- or 4-lobed. Male flowers 3–12(–36)-androus; stamens connate into
obpyramidal, subhexagonal, truncate, rarely linear, synandria; thecae oblong to linear-oblong, lateral, dehiscing by apical pore;synandrodes shallow, obpyramidal, compressed, truncate. Fruit a reddish, ellipsoid or obconic-ellipsoid or subglobose odorless berry,
1–5-seeded; stigma remnants persistent. Seed subglobose to ellipsoid, rather large; testa thickish, smooth or scabrous; embryo
broadly conic, broadly cylindric, or elongate; endosperm copious.
About 80 species: tropical Asia and Malaysia; eight species in China.
The genus Alocasia is vegetatively similar to Colocasia but may be readily differentiated by the presence of wax glands present in axils of the
primary lateral veins and midrib on the abaxial surface of the leaf and by the mature fruit that are orange or red, odorless, and contain a few large
seeds, this in marked contrast to Colocasia in which the fruits are inconspicuously colored, smelly, and contain many tiny seeds in slimy mucilage. In
addition, the placentation is basal in Alocasia and parietal in Colocasia.
In respect to synflorescence architecture, Alocasia may be distinguished by the inflorescences that are generally paired, with each pair oriented ±tangential to the stem, whereas Colocasia has numerous inflorescences arising in a centrifugal sequence radial to the stem.
In China, Alocasia cucullata and A. macrorrhizos are never found away from human disturbance.

1a. Plants massive, pachycaul, at least 1 m tall.
2a. Sinus between posterior leaves naked ............................................................................................................. 4. A. macrorrhizos
2b. Sinus between posterior leaves peltate.
3a. Plants lacking stolons; spathe deep yellow ................................................................................................... 3. A. navicularis
3b. Plants with short stolons at base of main stems, these stolons with tubercles at tips; spathe greenish
white.
4a. Petiole to 150 cm; leaf blade ca. 130 × 100 cm; appendix conic, 3–5.5 × 1–2 cm ....................................... 1. A. odora
4b. Petiole 28–30 cm; leaf blade ca. 25 × 13 cm; appendix narrowly conic, ca. 1.1 × 0.3–0.4 cm ............. 2. A. hainanica
1b. Plants not as above, or if taller than 1 m then never massive.
5a. Plants always seasonally dormant; petiole green, leaf blade not peltate; plant producing long (up to 110 cm)
horizontal or spreading stolons tipped with tubercles; spathe purple-pink or whitish, not constricted ................. 6. A. hypnosa
5b. Plants rarely seasonally dormant, if so then petiole mottled, leaf blade peltate, and plant never withlong stolons; spathe green or white, constricted.
6a. Stems stoutly erect and basally much branched; leaf blade broadly ovate; only known from areas ofhuman disturbance ........................................................................................................................................... 5. A. cucullata
6b. Stems weakly erect to decumbent, not branching basally; leaf blade various but never broadly ovate;plants of natural forest.
7a. Petiole purple-brown to pink to green, strikingly obliquely mottled chocolate-brown; leaf blade
pendent; stigmas conspicuously lobed ..................................................................................................... 7. A. longiloba
7b. Petiole green; leaf blade spreading; stigmas not conspicuously lobed ................................................... 8. A. acuminata
1. Alocasia odora (Roxburgh) K. Koch, Index Seminum Hort.
Berol. 1854(App.): 5. 1854.
海芋 hai yu
Arum odorum Roxburgh, Fl. Ind., ed. 1832, 3: 499. 1832;
Alocasia commutata Schott; A. tonkinensis Engler; Arumodoratum Heynhold; Caladium odoratissimum K. Koch; C.
odoratum Ker Gawler (1822), not Loddiges (1820); Colocasia
odora (Roxburgh) Brongniart.
Pachycaul herbs, massive, to 2.5 m, evergreen, withslightly milky latex. Stem erect to decumbent, with short sto-lons terminating in tubercles arising from base. Leaves several
to rather many together, clustered at tips of stems of larger
plants; petiole up to 1.5 m, sheath membranous; leaf blade
peltate, cordate-sagittate or cordate-ovate, up to 130 × 100 cm,
basal margins undulate, apex shortly acuminate; primary lateralveins 9–12 on each side, interprimary veins forming welldefined interprimary collective veins. Inflorescences 2 or 3
together among leaf bases, subtended by membranous cataphylls; peduncle stout, ca. 35 cm, exceeding cataphylls at anthesis. Spathe 13–25 cm, constricted ca. 1/6 of way from base;proximal part green, ovoid; limb cowl-like at anthesis, later

ARACEAE

reflexed, then deliquescent, greenish white, broadly oblonglanceolate, 10–30 × 4–8 cm, membranous. Spadix shorter thanspathe, shortly stipitate; female zone 1–2 × ca. 1.5 cm; pistil
pale green, ca. 3 mm in diam.; stigma sessile, weakly 3-lobed,
lobes blunt, pale green; sterile zone equaling male zone, ivory,
very slightly narrowed corresponding to spathe constriction;synandrodes rhombic-hexagonal, ca. 2.5 mm in diam.; malezone whitish, cylindric, 3–5 × ca. 2 cm; synandria rhombichexagonal, convex-topped due to cap-forming synconnective,
ca. 1.5 mm in diam.; appendix white, narrowly conic, 3–5.5 ×
1–2 cm, equaling ca. 1/3 length of spadix, markedly thicker
than male zone at base, slowly tapering toward apex. Fruiting
spathe ca. 6 cm. Fruit ripening scarlet, globose, ca. 1 cm indiam.
Primary and secondary tropical rain forests, bamboo thickets,
riverbanks, swamps, also on limestone; below 1700 m. Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Taiwan,
Yunnan [Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, NE India (Assam), Japan(Ryukyu Islands), Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand].
Alocasia odora differs from A. macrorrhizos in having shortly
peltate leaves (vs. deeply cordate at the base with the lateral lobes
partially naked in the sinus in A. macrorrhizos).
The rhizomes are used for treating stomach aches, abdominal
pains, cholera, and hernias, and are used externally to treat abscesses
and snake and insect bites.

2. Alocasia hainanica N. E. Brown, J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 36: 183.
1903.
南海芋 nan hai yu
Alocasia hainanensis K. Krause.
Herbs, medium sized to rather small, evergreen. Stemshort, epigeal. Leaves few together; petiole 28–32 × ca. 1 cm,
slender, sheathing to ca. 1/2 length; leaf blade weakly peltate,ovate-sagittate, ca. 25 × 13 cm, thinly membranous, apex acute;posterior lobes ovate-oblong, 8–10 × ca. 5 cm; lateral veins 4 or
5 on each side. Inflorescences solitary; peduncle cylindric,slender, ca. 18 cm × 4–5 mm. Spathe ca. 6.5 cm, weakly constricted; tube narrowly ovoid, ca. 15 × 8 mm, glaucous; limb
erect, narrowly oblong, ca. 5 × 2 cm, apex long acuminate.
Spadix slightly shorter than spathe; female zone cylindric, 1–
1.2 cm; pistil ovoid; style short; stigma ± 3- or 4-lobed; sterilezone narrowly cylindric, 6–7 cm × ca. 2 mm; synandrodes
depressed, rhombic-hexagonal in outline, ca. 2 × 2.5 mm; malezone ca. 15 × 5 mm; synandria comprised of 6 stamens, rhombic-hexagonal, ca. 2 × 2 mm; appendix narrowly conic, ca. 1.1
× 0.3–0.4 cm, acute. Infructescence and fruit unknown. Fl. Nov.
Secondary forests in valleys. Hainan [N Vietnam].
Alocasia hainanica is very doubtfully distinct from A. odora andis apparently based on a depauperate form of that species. The Berlin
isotype is in better condition than the Kew holotype and shows clearly
the glaucous proximal spathe outside, which is typical of A. odora. The
spadix, while depauperate, fits well with that of A. odora. As with several other species of Araceae described from Hainan, field work is
required to verify its taxonomic status. The drawing that accompanies
the Berlin isotype is somewhat stylized, especially in the depiction of
the female zone.

77

In publishing Alocasia hainanensis, Krause appears to have been
unaware of Brown’s earlier publication; Krause’s and Brown’s names
are homotypic.

3. Alocasia navicularis (K. Koch & C. D. Bouché) K. Koch
& C. D. Bouché, Index Seminum Hort. Berol. 1855(App.): 2.
1855.
黄苞海芋 huang bao hai yu
Colocasia navicularis K. Koch & C. D. Bouché, Index
Seminum Hort. Berol. 1853: 13. 1853.
Pachycaul herbs, massive, to 1.5 m, evergreen, with milky
latex. Stem erect to decumbent. Leaves several together, clustered at tips of stems of larger plants; petiole up to 1.5 m, sheathmargins membranous; leaf blade peltate, cordate-ovate, ca. 130
× 120 cm, apex shortly acuminate; primary lateral veins 9–12
on each side. Inflorescences 2 or 3 together among leaf bases;
peduncle 40–45 cm, stout, much exceeding cataphylls at anthesis. Spathe 10–20 cm, constricted ca. 1/6 of way from base;proximal part green, ovoid; limb dark yellow, broadly oblonglanceolate, 18–15 × 4–8 cm, cowl-like at anthesis. Spadix
shorter than spathe, shortly stipitate; female zone 1–2 × ca. 1.5
cm; pistil mid-green, ca. 3 mm in diam.; stigma sessile, 3- or 4lobed, lobes blunt, pale green; sterile zone equaling male zone,
ivory, narrowed corresponding to spathe constriction; synandrodes whitish, stained purple, rhombic-hexagonal, ca. 2.5 mm
in diam.; male zone white, cylindric, 3–4 × ca. 1.5 cm; synandria rhombic-hexagonal, convex-topped due to cap-forming
synconnective, ca. 1.5 mm in diam.; appendix white, narrowly
conic, 3–4 × 1–2 cm, equaling ca. 1/3 length of spadix, ± same
thickness as male zone at base. Fruiting spathe ellipsoid, 5–11
cm. Fruit ripening dark red, ellipsoid, ca. 10 × 6 mm.
Moist evergreen lower-montane forests, sometimes on limestone.
S Yunnan [N Bangladesh, NE India (Assam), N Laos, N Myanmar,
Nepal, N Thailand, N Vietnam].

4. Alocasia macrorrhizos (Linnaeus) G. Don in Sweet, Hort.
Brit., ed. 3, 631. 1839 [“macrorhizon”].
热亚海芋 re ya hai yu
Arum macrorrhizon Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 965. 1753;
Alocasia cordifolia (Bory) Cordemoy; A. grandis N. E. Brown(1886), not Clémenceau (1868); A. indica (Loureiro) Spach; A.
indica var. diversifolia Engler; A. indica var. heterophylla
Engler; A. indica var. metallica (Schott) Schott; A. indica var.
rubra (Hasskarl) Engler; A. indica var. variegata (K. Koch &C. D. Bouché) Engler; A. marginata N. E. Brown; A. metallica
Schott; A. pallida K. Koch & C. D. Bouché; A. plumbea (K.
Koch) Van Houtte; A. uhinkii Engler & K. Krause; A. variegata
K. Koch & C. D. Bouché; Arum cordifolium Bory; A. indicum
Loureiro; A. mucronatum Lamarck; A. peregrinum Linnaeus;
Caladium indicum (Loureiro) K. Koch; C. macrorrhizon(Linnaeus) R. Brown; C. metallicum (Schott) Engler; C. odoratum Loddiges (1820), not Ker Gawler (1822); C. plumbeum K.
Koch; Calla badian Blanco; C. maxima Blanco; Colocasia
boryi Kunth; C. indica (Loureiro) Kunth; C. indica var. rubra
Hasskarl; C. macrorrhizos (Linnaeus) Schott; C. mucronata(Lamarck) Kunth; C. peregrina (Linnaeus) Rafinesque; C.
rapiformis Kunth; Philodendron peregrinum (Linnaeus) Kunth;P. punctatum Kunth.

78

ARACEAE

Pachycaul herbs, massive, to 4 m, evergreen, latex slightly
milky. Stem erect, to ca. 1.5 m, decumbent. Leaves several
together, clustered at tips of stems in larger plants; petiole to 1.3
m, sheathing in proximal 1/3–1/2; leaf blade light green on both
surfaces, ovate-sagittate, bluntly triangular, up to 120 × 50 cm,± erect, margin entire to very slightly sinuous; posterior lobes
1/3–1/2 length of anterior, somewhat rotund, often overlapping,naked in sinus in mature plants, weakly peltate in juveniles;
primary lateral veins ca. 9 on each side of anterior lobe, axillary
glands distinct, secondary venation not forming interprimarycollective veins. Inflorescences paired among leaf bases, subtended by membranous cataphylls; peduncle barely exceeding
cataphylls at anthesis. Spathe 13–35 cm, constricted ca. 1/6
from base; proximal spathe green, ovoid; limb cowl-like atanthesis, later reflexed, then deliquescent, pale yellow, broadly
oblong-lanceolate, 10.5–29 cm. Spadix slightly shorter thanspathe, shortly stipitate; female zone conic-cylindric, 1–2 × ca.
1.5 cm; pistil pale green, ca. 3 mm in diam.; stigma yellow,
sessile, 3–5-lobed; sterile zone slightly equaling female zone,
whitish; synandrodes rhombic-hexagonal, ca. 2.5 mm in diam.;
male zone whitish, cylindric, 3–7 × ca. 2 cm; synandria 5–9merous, rhombic-hexagonal, convex-topped, ca. 2 mm in diam.;
appendix yellowish, slightly tapering, at least 1/2 length of
spadix. Fruiting spathe green, oblong-ellipsoid, ca. 8 cm. Fruitripening scarlet, ellipsoid, ca. 12 × 8 mm.
Ditches and wet areas of farmlands and wastelands, never awayfrom human disturbance; sea-level to 800 m. S Fujian, Guangdong,
Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, S Sichuan, Taiwan, S Xizang, Yunnan [originally from tropical Asia; now pantropical].
It is not clear where, if anywhere, Alocasia macrorrhizos occurs
wild. It has evidently been prehistorically distributed widely in tropical
Asia as a subsistence crop and is now pantropical by introduction as an
ornamental.

5. Alocasia cucullata (Loureiro) G. Don in Sweet, Hort. Brit.,ed. 3, 631. 1839.
尖尾芋 jian wei yu
Arum cucullatum Loureiro, Fl. Cochinch. 2: 536. 1790;
Alocasia rugosa (Desfontaines) Schott; Caladium cucullatum(Loureiro) Persoon; C. rugosum Desfontaines; Colocasia
cochleata Miquel; C. cucullata (Loureiro) Schott; C. rugosa(Desfontaines) Kunth; Panzhuyuia omeiensis Z. Y. Zhu.
Herbs, clumping, small to medium sized, somewhat robust, to 1 m, evergreen. Stems erect, hypogeal, basally muchbranched. Leaves many together; petiole weakly D-shaped incross section, 25–30(–80) cm, sheath reaching to ca. 1/2 way,margins membranous; leaf blade broadly ovate-cordate, 10–40
× 7–28 cm, base shallowly cordate, apex acute; primary veins 4
on each side, radiating from petiole, arching, interprimary veins
not forming a collective vein. Inflorescences rarely produced,
usually solitary, sometimes paired, among leaf bases, subtended
by membranous cataphylls; peduncle 20–30 cm. Spathe green,
9–15 cm; proximal spathe 4–8 × ca. 2.5 cm; limb narrowly
cymbiform, 5–10 × 3–5 cm. Spadix 8–14 cm; female zone
cylindric, 1.5–2.5 cm × ca. 7 mm; sterile zone 2–3 cm × ca. 3
mm; male zone yellow, ca. 3.4 cm × 8 mm; appendix yellowish,
narrowly conic, ca. 3.5 cm × 5 mm. Fruit rarely produced, asubglobose berry, 6–8 mm in diam., ripening red. Fl. May.

Watersides, by fields, ?wild or cultivated; below 2000 m. Fujian,Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Sichuan, Taiwan, Yunnan[Bangladesh, NE India (Khasi Hills, Sikkim), Laos, Myanmar, Nepal,
Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam].
The plants are used externally for detoxifying viper bites and arealso used for treating abscesses, rheumatism, and arthritis. It is an important good-luck plant in Buddhist temples in Laos and Thailand.

6. Alocasia hypnosa J. T. Yin, Y. H. Wang & Z. F. Xu, Ann.
Bot. Fenn. 42: 395. 2005.
紫苞海芋 zi bao hai yu
Herbs, terrestrial or lithophytic, to 100 cm tall, seasonallydormant. Stem erect or a tuberlike rhizome; rhizome ca. 10 ×13.5 cm; stolons numerous per plant, pale green, simple,
trailing horizontally or pendent, 56–110 cm, internodes cylindric, ca. 5.5 × up to 1 cm, with light green cataphylls, tubercles produced terminally, to 4 × 3 cm. Leaves 3–6 together;petiole light greenish, glossy, terete, to 104 × 3–7.5 cm, sheathto 50 cm, membranous; leaf blade triangular-sagittate, to 82 ×
64 cm; basal lobes naked in sinus, membranous, glossy brightgreen; primary lateral veins 8 per side, conspicuous, interprimary veins forming a feeble collective vein. Inflorescences 2 or
3 together, appearing with leaves; peduncle pale green, cylindric, to 90 cm. Spathe to 28 cm, not constricted between basal
convolute part and limb; proximal spathe green, fusiform, ca.
6.5 × 3 cm; limb arched, erect at anthesis, later flopping forward, then deliquescent, purple-pink or whitish, oblong-lanceolate, to 24 × 20 cm. Spadix sessile, shorter than spathe; femalezone cylindric, ca. 1.5 × 2 cm; pistil oblong, ca. 5 mm; styleshort; stigma 3- or 4-lobed; sterile zone cylindric, ca. 5.5 × 1–
1.5 cm; synandrodes depressed oblong to depressed ovate, apex
truncate or concave; male zone white, cylindric, ca. 3.5 × 2 cm;synandria 5- or 6-merous, rhombic-hexagonal, truncate; appendix white, narrowly conic, to 16.5 × 2.5 cm. Fruiting spathe
ellipsoid, ca. 3 × 2.5 cm. Fruit ellipsoid, ca. 1.5 × 0.5 cm,
ripening scarlet.
Humid forest margins and exposed areas of forest regrowth inlimestone mountains; 900–1000 m. SW Yunnan (Menglian) [N Laos, N
Thailand].

7. Alocasia longiloba Miquel, Fl. Ned. Ind. 3: 207. 1856.
尖叶海芋 jian ye hai yu
Alocasia amabilis W. Bull; A. cochinchinensis Pierre ex
Engler & K. Krause; A. cuspidata Engler; A. lowii Hooker var.
veitchii (Lindley) Engler; A. veitchii (Lindley) Schott; Caladium veitchii Lindley.
Herbs, terrestrial, small to robust, to 150 cm tall, evergreen
or seasonally dormant. Stem rhizomatous, elongate, erect to decumbent, sometimes subtuberous, 8–60 × 2–8 cm. Leaves 1–3
together, subtended by lanceolate papery-membranous cataphylls; petiole terete, 30–120 cm, glabrous, sheathing in proximal 1/4, purple-brown to green, strikingly obliquely mottled
chocolate-brown; leaf blade pendent, green or flushed withpurple abaxially, dark green often with major venation graygreen adaxially, narrowly hastate-sagittate, 27–85 × 14–40 cm;
posterior lobes peltate for (5–)10–30% of their length, acute,anterior lobe with 4–8 primary lateral veins on each side, axillary glands conspicuous, interprimary collective veins weak. In-

ARACEAE

florescences solitary or paired; peduncle 8–18 cm, resembling
petioles, subtended by cataphylls. Spathe 7–17 cm, abruptly
constricted 1.5–3.5 cm from base; proximal spathe green,
ovoid; limb erect, later reflexing, pale green, lanceolate, canoeshaped, 5.5–7.5 cm. Spadix somewhat shorter than spathe, 6–13
cm, stipitate, stipe whitish, conic, ca. 5 mm; female zone 1–1.5
cm; pistil green, subglobose, 1.5–2 mm in diam.; stigma white,
subsessile or on a slender style to ca. 0.5 mm, 3- or 4-lobed;
sterile zone 7–10 mm, narrower than fertile zones; synandrodes
mostly rhombic-hexagonal, flat-topped; male zone ivory, subcylindric, tapered at base, 1.2–2.5 cm × 4.5–8 mm; synandria
4–6-merous, ± hexagonal, ca. 2 mm in diam.; appendix paleorange, 3.5–9 cm, subcylindric, tapering to a point. Fruiting
spathe glossy green, ovoid, 4–7 cm. Fruit ripening orange-red,globose-ellipsoid, ca. 1.5 × 0.75 cm. Fr. Aug–Oct.
Tropical forests, thickets; 100–1000 m. Guangdong, Hainan, S
Yunnan [Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, S Myanmar, Singapore,
Thailand, Vietnam].

8. Alocasia acuminata Schott, Bonplandia (Hannover) 7: 28.
1859.
越境海芋 yue jing hai yu
Herbs, terrestrial, small to medium sized, slightly robust,to 75 cm tall, evergreen. Stem rhizomatous, generally elongate,79

erect, later decumbent, 8–75 × 2–6 cm. Leaves to 5 together,subtended by lanceolate papery-membranous cataphylls; petiole
bright green, 15–80 cm, glabrous, sheathing in proximal 1/4;
leaf blade spreading, bright green, narrowly hastate-sagittate toovate-hastate, 15–60 × 8–20 cm; posterior lobes 1/4–1/3 lengthof anterior, peltate for 25–30% of their length, acute; anterior
lobe with 3–6 primary lateral veins on each side, axillary glands
hardly conspicuous, interprimary collective veins weakly defined. Inflorescences usually solitary; peduncle green, 9–20
cm, subtended by cataphylls. Spathe 7–10 cm, moderately constricted 1.5–2.5 cm from base; proximal spathe green, ovoid;
limb pale green, lanceolate, canoe-shaped, 5.5–7.5 cm. Spadix
subequaling spathe, 6–9.5 cm, sessile; female zone 1–1.5 cm;
pistil green, subglobose, 1.5–2 mm in diam.; stigma white, subsessile, very slightly lobed; sterile zone 7–10 mm, narrower
than fertile zones; synandrodes narrowly rhombic-hexagonal,
flat-topped; male zone ivory, subcylindric, 1.2–2.5 cm × 4.5–8mm; synandria 4–6-merous, ± hexagonal, ca. 2 mm in diam.;
appendix white, 2.5–3.5 cm, demarcated from male zone bya strong constriction, narrowly conic. Fruiting spathe green,
ovoid, 3–4 cm. Fruit ripening orange-red, globose-ellipsoid, ca.
0.75 cm in diam.
Everwet to seasonal perhumid evergreen forests, usually in deep
shade, less often on track sides; 600–1800 m. S Yunnan [Bangladesh,
NE India, N Laos, N Myanmar, Nepal, N Thailand, ?N Vietnam].

26. PISTIA Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 963. 1753.
大漂属 da piao shu
Li Heng (李恒 Li Hen); Peter C. Boyce
Apiospermum Klotzsch; Kodda-Pail Adanson.
Herbs, small, free-floating, evergreen, stoloniferous, acaulescent, with spreading feathery roots. Leaves several in a rosette,densely pubescent; petiole very short, almost absent; sheath ligulate, very short, very thin, scarious at base; leaf blade obovate-cuneate to obovate-oblong, somewhat spongy, apex rounded, truncate, or retuse; midrib absent, primary veins subparallel, all arising frombase, diverging slightly and running into margin near apex, strongly prominent abaxially, higher order venation reticulate. Inflorescence solitary, very small, much shorter than leaves; peduncle very short, pubescent. Spathe somewhat constricted centrally, pubescent outside, glabrous inside, proximal margins connate with each other and with ovary wall forming tube, free margins between tube
and blade folded between stigma and male organs forming a partition between a distal male partial chamber and a proximal female
one; limb erect, ovate, expanded, acute-acuminate. Spadix shorter than spathe, mostly adnate to spathe, only apical male zone free;female zone with single gynoecium at base and a thin, green, pouch-shaped flap just below spathe partition; male zone subtended bya thin, marginally lobed, green, annular flap, consisting of a basally naked spadix axis supporting a single whorl of 2–8 flowers,
naked axis sometimes extending slightly beyond. Flowers unisexual, naked. Gynoecium obliquely adnate to spadix axis; ovary
ovoid, 1-loculed; ovules numerous, orthotropous; placenta broad, apparently parietal, probably morphologically basal; stylar region
attenuate, bending inward toward male flowers; stigma disciform-subcapitate, small. Male flower a synandrium consisting of 2 connate stamens; thecae dehiscing by single apical slit. Fruit a thin-walled, utricular, several-seeded, ellipsoid berry, irregularly breaking
up and decaying to release seeds. Seed barrel-shaped, ± subtruncate and excavated at apex and base; testa thick, reticulate-alveolate,
thicker and with operculum at micropylar end; embryo obovoid to conic; endosperm copious.
One species: widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions, including China.

1. Pistia stratiotes Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 963. 1753.
大漂 da piaofeathery. Leaves in rosettes, 1.3–10 × 1.5–6 cm. Spathe white,
5–12 mm. Fl. May–Nov.

Apiospermum obcordatum Klotzsch, nom. illeg. superfl.;
Pistia obcordata Schleiden, nom. illeg. superfl.

Water fields, lakes, ponds. Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Taiwan,
Yunnan; cultivated in Anhui, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shandong,
Sichuan [tropical and subtropical regions worldwide].

Morphological characters are the same as those of thegenus. Plants aquatic, floating. Roots many, pendulous in water,

The plants are cultivated for animal feed and are used to treatswelling and urinary tract infections.