Araceae
Sauromatum

Sauromatum giganteum (Engl.) Cusimano & Hett.

First published in Taxon 59: 445 (2010)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is S. Tibet to China. It is a tuberous geophyte and grows primarily in the temperate biome.

Descriptions

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

General Description
Underground part a rhizome, 5–8 × 2–5cm, producing numerous annual fusiform offsets. Petiole green, with or without numerous purple spots, 20–60cm; leaf blade ovate, cordate to hastate, 15–45 × 9–25cm, margin entire, apex acuminate. Inflorescence preceding or simultaneous with leaves; peduncle 13–17cm. Spathe convolute at base, erect, oblong-ovate, 4–8cm; limb erect or recurved, ovate, to 15cm, margin sinuous, apex acuminate. Spadix sessile or nearly so, slightly shorter than spathe, to 14cm; female zone cylindric, 1–1.5cm × ca. 8mm; ovary: basal part whitish, apical part purple, cylindric, apex truncate, 2-ovuled; stigma sessile, gray, disciform; sterile zone 2–3cm, 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 a stump; male zone ca. 2cm × 8mm; male flowers sessile; anthers ± cream-colored, with pinkish flushes, ovoid, opening by apical pore; appendix sessile, cylindric, to 6cm, ca. 5mm in diam. at base, base slightly attenuate, apex obtuse. Fruiting zone elongate, naked, ca. 5 × 3 cm; berries crowded, violet-purple, keeled, apex acute.
Phenology
Fl. Jul.
Habitat
Grasslands, field sides, streamsides, grassy slopes.
Vernacular
du jiao lian
[CATE]

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]

Uses

Use
Cultivated in Guangdong, Guangxi, Jilin, and Yunnan as a medicinal plant.
[CATE]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

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

  • 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.
    • 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 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

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images