Giant-leaved arrow blade
| Giant-leaved arrow blade | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Giant-leaved arrow leaf ( Alocasia macrorrhizos ) |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Alocasia macrorrhizos | ||||||||||||
| ( L. ) G.Don |
The Riesenblättrige arrow sheet ( alocasia macrorrhizos ), also giant Taro or Alokasie called, is a plant art in the genus of alocasia ( alocasia ) from the family of Araceae (Araceae). In Spanish-speaking countries (e.g. Cuba , but there Malanga morada for Xanthosoma violaceum Schott ) this species is called Malanga .
description
Appearance and foliage leaf
The giant-leaved arrow leaf is a large, massive, evergreen, perennial herbaceous plant that reaches heights of growth of up to 4 meters. It contains a slightly white milky juice . The rhizomes are erect. It forms an upright, thick stem that is up to 1.5 meters long.
There are always several alternate leaves together, initially basal and in older plants at the end of the stem. The giant-leaved arrow-leaf has the largest non-compound leaves of all plants; the largest compound leaves are found in the palm species Raphia farinifera . The leaves are divided into leaf sheath, petiole and leaf blade. The lower third to half of the leaf stalk, which is up to 1.3 meters long, is the leaf sheath. The more or less upright, simple leaf blade is egg-shaped, arrow-shaped, obtuse triangular with a length of 1.2 meters and a width of 0.5 meters. Foliage leaves on young plants can be weakly shield-shaped (peltat). The leaf margin is smooth to slightly wavy. There are about nine first-order lateral nerves on each side of the main nerve.
Inflorescence and flower
The giant-leaved arrow-leaf is single-sexed ( monoecious ). In the leaf axils, two inflorescences are usually formed over membranous cataphylls. At the beginning there is an unleaved inflorescence shaft which barely protrudes above the cataphyll, and which later lengthen.
As usual with the arum family, the inflorescence consists of a single bract ( spathe ) and the piston (spadix). The 13 to 35 cm long spathe is narrowed from its base to one sixth of its length. The lower part of the spathe is green and egg-shaped. The upper part of the light yellow, elongated-lanceolate spathe with a length of 10.5 to 29 cm is hood-shaped after opening and bends back when it fades and wilts. The spadix is slightly shorter than the spathe. The female zone is conical-cylindrical with a length of 1 to 2 cm and a diameter of about 1.5 cm. The light green stamp has a diameter of about 3 mm. The seated scar is yellow and three to five lobed. The sterile zone is roughly the same size as the female zone and is white. The rhombic-hexagonal synandrodes have a diameter of about 2.5 mm. The male zone is whitish and cylindrical with a length of 3 to 7 cm and a diameter of about 2 cm. The male flowers are five to nine-fold and with a diameter of about 2 mm rhombic-hexagonal with a convex tip. The flowerless zone, which is at least half the length of the spadix, is yellowish and slowly tapers to a point.
Infructescence and fruit
When the fruit ripens, the spathe is green and elongated-ellipsoidal with a length of about 8 cm. With a length of about 12 mm and a diameter of about 8 mm, the ellipsoidal berries turn scarlet red when ripe.
Chromosome number
The number of chromosomes is 2n = 28.
ecology
Caterpillars of the butterfly species Cruria donowani (Lepidoptera: Agaristidae ) feed on the giant-leaved arrow blade .
use
The giant-leaved arrow leaf is used as food. Mainly the starchy rhizomes and parts of the shoot axes above ground are used. The rhizomes are cooked like potatoes . They contain many minerals, vitamins A, B and C. Plant parts can only be eaten cooked, because uncooked parts of the plant are very irritating to the mouth and esophagus.
Applied externally, the sap is said to be an effective antidote to the very painful swellings that can arise from contact with the tree-shaped nettle plant (Urticaceae) Dendrocnide gigas that can be found in the Pacific region .
Occasionally the giant-leaved arrow leaf is also used as an ornamental plant in tropical gardens and as a houseplant .
distribution
The original home of Alocasia macrorrhizos cannot be proven with certainty; it could be Indonesia , Malaysia , the Philippines , the Solomon Islands , New Guinea, or Queensland. As an important food plant, it was already distributed in large parts of tropical Asia in prehistoric times. Today the giant-leaved arrow leaf with varieties is common in tropical areas around the world, as a cultivated plant and wild. It prefers moist locations.
Systematics
The first publication of the Riesenblättrigen Pfeilblatt took place in 1753 by Carl von Linné in Species plantarum , 2, p. 965 under the name Arum macrorrhizon . The name Alocasia macrorrhizos , which is valid today , was given in 1839 by George Don junior in Robert Sweet : Hortus Britannicus , 3rd edition, p. 631 published.
There are many synonyms for Alocasia macrorrhizos (L.) G. Don : Arum macrorrhizon L. , Alocasia cordifolia (Bory) Cordemoy , Alocasia grandis N.E.Brown 1886 non Clémenceau 1868 , Alocasia indica (Lour.) Spach , Alocasia indica var. Diversifolia Engler , Alocasia indica var. heterophylla Engler , Alocasia indica var. metallica (Schott) Schott , Alocasia indica var. rubra (Hassk.) Engl. , Alocasia indica var. variegata (K.Koch & CDBouché) Engl. , Alocasia marginata N.E.Brown , Alocasia metallica Schott , Alocasia pallida K.Koch & CDBouché , Alocasia plumbea (K.Koch) Van Houtte , Alocasia uhinkii Engl. & K.Krause , Alocasia variegata K.Koch & CDBouché , Arum cordifolium Bory , Arum indicum Lour. , Arum mucronatum Lam. , Arum peregrinum L. , Caladium indicum (Lour.) K. Koch , Caladium macrorrhizon (L.) R.Br. , Caladium metallicum (Schott) Engl. , Caladium odoratum Loddiges 1820 non Ker Gawler 1822 , Caladium plumbeum K.Koch , Calla badian Blanco , Calla maxima Blanco , Colocasia boryi Kunth , Colocasia indica (Lour.) Kunth , Colocasia indica var. Rubra Hassk . , Colocasia macrorrhizos (L.) Schott , Colocasia mucronata (Lam.) Kunth , Colocasia peregrina (L.) Raf. , Colocasia rapiformis Kunth , Philodendron peregrinum (L.) Kunth , Philodendron punctatum Kunth .
literature
- Heng Li & Peter C. Boyce: Alocasia : Alocasia macrorrhizos on p. 77 - Online. , In: Wu Zheng-yi, Peter H. Raven, Deyuan Hong (Eds.): Flora of China . Volume 23: Acoraceae through Cyperaceae . Science Press / Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing / St. Louis 2010, ISBN 978-1-930723-99-3 (English). (Section Description, Distribution, Systematics and Use)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Alocasia macrorrhizos at Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
- ↑ caterpillar / plant. ( Memento of the original from December 30, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b Alocasia macrorrhizos in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA , ARS , National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
- ↑ Rafaël Govaerts (Ed.): Alocasia - World Checklist of Selected Plant Families of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Last accessed on June 15, 2018.
