Urospatha

Urospatha
Urospatha sagittifolia[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
Order: Alismatales
Family: Araceae
Subfamily: Lasioideae
Genus: Urospatha
Schott
Synonyms[2]
  • Urophyllum K.Koch 1857, illegitimate homonym, not Jack ex Wall. 1824
  • Urospathella G.S.Bunting

Urospatha is a genus of flowering plants in the Araceae family that consists of approximately 10 known species. They are found growing in South America and Central America[2] in swamps, wet savannahs, and brackish water. The leaves of the species in this genus are upward pointing and sagittate (arrow-shaped). The inflorescences are quite unique; the spathe is mottled and elongated with a spiral twist at the end. The seeds are distributed by water and have a texture similar to cork that allows them to float. They also quickly germinate in water.[3][4][5][6]

Selected species

  1. Urospatha angustiloba Engl. - northwestern Brazil
  2. Urospatha antisylleptica R.E.Schult. - Colombia
  3. Urospatha caudata (Poepp.) Schott - Peru, northwestern Brazil
  4. Urospatha edwallii Engl. - southeastern Brazil
  5. Urospatha friedrichsthalii Schott - Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama
  6. Urospatha loefgreniana Engl. - central + southern Brazil
  7. Urospatha meyeri Schott - Suriname
  8. Urospatha riedeliana Schott - northeastern Brazil
  9. Urospatha sagittifolia (Rudge) Schott - Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas
  10. Urospatha somnolenta R.E.Schult. - Colombia
  11. Urospatha wurdackii (G.S.Bunting) A.Hay - Colombia, Venezuela

References

  1. Schott (d. 1865) in Adolf Engler (d. 1930) - "Das Pflanzenreich" heft 48 (1911)
  2. 1 2 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  3. Govaerts, R. & Frodin, D.G. (2002). World Checklist and Bibliography of Araceae (and Acoraceae): 1-560. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  4. Forzza, R. C. 2010. Lista de espécies Flora do Brasil http://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br/2010. Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro
  5. Mayol, M., J. Bogner & P.C. Boyce. 1997. The Genera of Araceae i–xii, 1–370. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
  6. Bown, Demi (2000). Aroids: Plants of the Arum Family. Timber Press. ISBN 0-88192-485-7.
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