Araceae

Dracontioides Engl.

First published in Pflanzenr., IV, 23C: 36 (1911)
This genus is accepted
The native range of this genus is E. Brazil.

Descriptions

CATE Araceae, 17 Dec 2011. araceae.e-monocot.org

Habitat
Tropical humid forest; helophytes in swamp forest, marshes, stream margins, open or shaded sites, in peat or sand.
General Description
HABIT : unarmed herbs, sometimes robust (to 2m), rhizome subterranean, erect, sparsely branched, sometimes bearing a few subterranean tubercles. LEAVES : several, ± erect. PETIOLE : long, smooth to roughened-verruculate, often transversely variegated, geniculate at apex, sheath less than half petiole length. BLADE : deeply sagittate to subtripartite, often with a few perforations of irregular size between primary lateral veins; basal ribs very well-developed, primary lateral veins mostly arising near petiole insertion, very long-arcuate towards apex of each division, running into margin, higher order venation reticulate. INFLORESCENCE : solitary, appearing with leaves. PEDUNCLE : shorter than petiole. SPATHE : marcescent, tube with convolute margins, longitudinally white-striped, blade strongly fornicate, usually obscuring mouth of tube, brown-purple. SPADIX : sessile to shortly stipitate, cylindric, obtuse, shorter than spathe tube, flowering sequence basipetal. FLOWERS : bisexual, perigoniate; tepals 4, fornicate, subtruncate. STAMENS : 4, strongly exserted from flower at anthesis, anthers longer than connective, connective slender, thecae ovate-elliptic, dehiscing by pore-like apical slit. POLLEN : monosulcate, ellipsoid-oblong, small (mean 23 µm.), exine subreticulate. GYNOECIUM : ovate-conoid, ovary 2-locular, ovules 1 per locule, anatropous, placenta axile, style attenuate, longer than tepals, stigma small, button-like. BERRY : obovoid, somewhat furrowed, 1-2-seeded, dark purplish-red. SEED : reniform, attenuate towards micropyle, testa strongly dentate-cristate, thick, hard, brown, embryo curved, endosperm present.
Distribution
E. Brazil.
Diagnostic
Helophytes with deep, erect, subterranean rhizome; petiole smooth to verruculate, geniculate at apex; leaf blade deeply sagittate to subtripartite; spadix hidden by spathe; flowers bisexual, perigoniate; seed reniform, strongly dentate-cristate. Differs from Urospatha in having a fornicate (arched forward and down) spathe, leaves often sparsely perforated, and endemism to Brazil (coastal Bahia and Espirito Santo).
[CATE]

Sources

  • CATE Araceae

    • Haigh, A., Clark, B., Reynolds, L., Mayo, S.J., Croat, T.B., Lay, L., Boyce, P.C., Mora, M., Bogner, J., Sellaro, M., Wong, S.Y., Kostelac, C., Grayum, M.H., Keating, R.C., Ruckert, G., Naylor, M.F. and Hay, A., CATE Araceae, 17 Dec 2011.
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0