Marantaceae
Marantochloa

Marantochloa purpurea (Ridl.) Milne-Redh.

First published in Bull. Soc. Roy. Bot. Belgique 83: 21 (1950)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Tropical Africa. It is a rhizomatous geophyte and grows primarily in the wet tropical biome.

Descriptions

Marantaceae, F. N. Hepper. Flora of West Tropical Africa 3:1. 1968

Morphology General Habit
A swamp forest herb 4-8 ft. high
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts
Bracts pale pink
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Petals and outer staminodes deep purple (pink in Congo and Uganda plants); with stamen appendage and inner staminode yellow
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruits scarlet.
[FWTA]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Marantaceae, E. Milne-Redhead. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1952

Morphology General Habit
Stems up to 3.0 m. high but often much less, branched.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves homo-tropic; sheathing part of petiole up to 42 cm. long; terete part below the calloused part up to 38 cm. long; calloused part up to 4.0 cm. long; leaf-blade strongly asymmetric, the acumen normally being to the right of the midrib as seen from above, ± ovate, up to 43 x 18 cm., often much smaller, sometimes pruinose or purplish below.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence lax, up to 45 cm. long, branched; rhachis and bracts pink; primary bract 2.5–4 cm. long, spreading, together with 2 two-flowered pedunculate cymules which it envelopes.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers pale pink or deep purple with two inner lobes of staminode bright yellow, about 1.8 cm. long; ovary shortly pilose.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule subglobose, about 8 mm. in diameter, pilose, bright red, the withered perianth persisting; seed as in Fig. 1/5A, brown, smooth with whitish aril.
Figures
Fig. 1/5 and 5A, p. 3, and Fig. 2.
Habitat
Clearings in rain-forest; 1110–1500 m.
Distribution
Sierra Leone to Angola, Belgian Congo and A.-E. Sudan T1 U2 U4
[FTEA]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of West Tropical Africa

    • Flora of West Tropical Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. 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 2024. 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