Arrowroot

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Arrowroot
Maranta arundinacea var. Variegatum, variegated-leaved variety.

Maranta arundinacea var. Variegatum , variegated-leaved variety.

Systematics
Class : Bedecktsamer (Magnoliopsida)
Monocots
Commelinids
Order : Gingery (Zingiberales)
Family : Arrowroot Family (Marantaceae)
Genre : Arrowroot
Scientific name
Maranta
L.

The genus of arrowroot ( Maranta ) belongs to the arrowroot family (Marantaceae). The 23 to 42 species are all common in the Neotropics (especially Brazil).

Origin of name

The derivation of the German generic name "arrowroot" is said to go back to the suitability of the ingredients of the plant roots as an antidote to the arrow poison used by Indians .

description

Maranta leuconeura leaves and inflorescences

Vegetative characteristics

Arrowroot species are perennial, herbaceous plants that grow upright to prostrate . Like other representatives of the arrowroot family, they have a rhizome ; In the crop Maranta arundinacea, this can contain up to 23 percent starch .

The conspicuous foliage leaves can be colored in green, brown and red tones and, in Maranta leuconeura , for example, also show clearly protruding red veins on the leaves. The up to twelve centimeters long smooth-edged leaves are oval, hairy on the surface and initially curled up. The leaves are divided into a petiole and a leaf blade, they all arise from the base of the plant. The leaf stalks have a joint pad at the base of the spread. This special device is an adaptation of the arrowroot to its natural location, the light-poor undergrowth in the tropical rainforest. It enables the leaf blade to be optimally aligned with the incident light during the course of the day.

Generative characteristics

The terminal inflorescences contain only two flowers each. The hermaphrodite flowers are zygomorphic and threefold. Some of the stamens are sterile, so the flowers have two staminodes . These are conspicuously formed like petals. The subordinate ovary is unicameral. The fruit contains only one seed.

Systematics and distribution

The genus Maranta was established by Carl von Linné . The botanical genus name Maranta honors the Italian botanist, doctor and writer Bartolomeo Maranta (1500–1571) , who lived in the 16th century . The arrowroots ( Maranta ) are the eponymous genus for the family of arrowroots, also called Marantengewächse, (Marantaceae).

The systematic division of individual species into the various genera of the Marantaceae family is controversial. In the scientific literature, therefore, species may be named multiple times in different genera, for example Maranta sanderiana , which is also known as Calathea sanderiana .

The arrowroot species occur primarily in the flora kingdom of the Neotropics (warm, humid tropics to subtropics in South and Central America) from southern Mexico to the Caribbean islands and Central America to South America. The tropical rainforests of Brazil are a clear focus of the distribution.

There are 23 to 42 types of Maranta :
Habit and leaves of Maranta depressa
Habit and leaves of Maranta lietzei
Habit of Maranta subterranea

For example, the following no longer belong to the genus Maranta :

Flower of the cultivar Maranta leuconeura 'Erythroneura'

use

Maranta arundinacea is the only species of the genusknownas a useful plant .

The South American people of the Arawaks used the cornstarch from the rhizome of this plant to pull poison from wounds, which had got into the wound by poisoned arrows.

The starch product obtained from this plant is sometimes sold under the English name Arrowroot and is easier to digest than wheat flour or its starch. Since this starch thickens at a slightly lower temperature (approx. 65 ° C) than flour or corn starch , arrowroot is often used for delicate sauces , puddings and glazes that are not allowed to cook. The arrowroot flour should be mixed in cold liquid before adding it to hot sauces etc.

In contrast to other commercial starch products such as potato starch or corn starch, which make thickened sauces cloudy to milky, arrowroot flour also preserves the original clarity of sauces and juices (making jellies). Arrowroot flour or arrowroot is absolutely odorless and tasteless. It thickens about twice as much as wheat flour.

Other representatives such as Maranta leuconeura are known as multi-leaf ornamental plants .

The crop plant Maranta arundinacea is also native to Florida , but is mainly cultivated in the West Indies ( Jamaica and St. Vincent ), in Australia , Southeast Asia and South Africa . Brazil and Thailand are also important growing countries . Maranta leuconeura is known in Europe as an ornamental plant in several varieties.

Well-known representatives

A well-known species of the genus Maranta is the crop plant Maranta arundinacea . It is grown commercially in different countries in the tropical latitudes to obtain starch from its roots.

Maranta leuconeura is best known as a variegated ornamental plant . This very demanding warm house plant was introduced in the 19th century and was often cultivated in flower windows earlier. Horticultural breeding produced three ornamental varieties that are still important today:

  • 'Erythroneura': Emerald green leaves, white and dark green spots, striking red colored lateral veins, blue-green underside
  • 'Kerchoveana': leaves large, emerald green, underside blue-green, spotted with red
  • 'Massangeana': leaves small, speckled brown, red underside.
  • 'Fascinator': Light green foliage with dark green spots and striking red colored leaf veins.

The Maranta cristata species is also used as an ornamental but less well known .

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Maranta . In: Meyers Konversations-Lexikon 1888, Volume 11, page 215
  2. ^ A b Maranta in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA , ARS , National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar Rafaël Govaerts (ed. ): Maranta. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved January 4, 2017.

literature

  • Alfred Byrd Graf: Tropica - Color Cyclopedia of Exotic Plants and Trees. Roehrs Company, New Jersey 1981 (second edition), ISBN 0-911266-16-X .
  • Fritz Encke: cold and warm house plants . 2nd Edition. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 1987, ISBN 3-8001-6191-5 .
  • Fritz Enke (Ed.): Parey's flower gardening. Description, culture and use of all ornamental horticultural plants. 2nd edition volume 1. Paul Parey, Berlin 1958.

Web links

Commons : Arrowroot ( Maranta )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files