Skip to main content
This genus is accepted, and its native range is E. DR Congo to Ethiopia and Tanzania, Arabian Peninsula to Sakhalin and Malesia, Central & E. Canada to Mexico.

[CATE]

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

Habitat
Temperate, subtropical and upland tropical forest, more rarely savanna, lowland tropical forest (Sarawak), subdesert or montane grassland (up to 4500m alt.); geophytes, forest floor, rocky slopes, rarely in wet places, very rarely epiphytic.
Diagnostic
Geophytic herbs; leaves usually 1 to 2, blade compound, usually trisect, pedatisect or radiatisect, with reticulate fine venation; spadix with sterile terminal appendix of very variable shape and size; flowers unisexual, lacking perigone; male and female flowers usually appearing in separate inflorescences, sometimes both present in the same inflorescence. Differs from Pinellia in having the female zone free from the spathe, and lacking a transverse septum separating male and female zones.
Distribution
E. Zaïre to Ethiopia and Tanzania, Arabian Pen. to Sakhalin and Malesia, C. & E. Canada to Mexico.
General Description
HABIT : seasonally dormant or evergreen herbs, small to fairly large, stem usually a depressed-globose tuber producing tubercles or stolons, more rarely a branching, horizontal rhizome. LEAVES : 1-2, rarely 3, cataphylls often attractively mottled and spotted. PETIOLE : sheath usually rather long, imbricate to form a long, usually mottled pseudostem, margins either free or fused from base to apex and then with a fringed, ligulate mouth. BLADE : usually compound, trisect, radiatisect, pedatisect, very rarely simple and ovate, lobes 3-19 or sometimes more, usually lanceolate-elliptic, varying from linear to broadly ovate, elliptic or obovate, sometimes rhomboid, sessile or central leaflet often stalked, margin entire, serrate, erose or coarsely dentate; primary lateral veins of each lobe or division pinnate, forming submarginal collective vein, 1-2 conspicuous outer marginal veins also present, higher order venation reticulate. INFLORESCENCE : solitary, usually appearing with the leaves, sometimes before them, often subtended by conspicuous cataphylls, many species producing male and female inflorescences successively from the same tuber at different seasons (paradioecy). PEDUNCLE : very short to longer than petiole, rarely tuberculate in upper portion ( A. scortechinii), sometimes decurved in fruit. SPATHE : marcescent, usually unconstricted, rarely slightly constricted (e.g. A. flavum), lower part erect, convolute into cylindric, often longitudinally striped tube, tube mouth often with revolute to broadly or even grotesquely auriculate margins, blade usually strongly fornicate, sometimes erect, widely expanded to galeate, apex acute to long-acuminate, sometimes drawn into very long filiform, erect or drooping thread. SPADIX : free, unisexual or monoecious, female or monoecious spadices more robust and differing from male in appendix shape and presence of sterile organs, female zone densely flowered, usually conoid, male zone usually laxly flowered and contiguous with female in monoecious inflorescences, sterile terminal appendix erect, procurved or pendent, entirely hidden within spathe to very long-exserted, usually somewhat longer than spathe tube, stipitate or not, cylindric, clavate, rounded, rugose or apically echinate or drawn out into a sometimes very long thread, rarely lacking altogether ( A. exappendiculatum), often with a few subulate to filiform projections in basal part, more rarely entirely composed of long filiform projections. FLOWERS : unisexual, perigone absent. MALE FLOWER : 2-5-androus, filaments connate forming synandria, synandria ± distant from one another, sessile to long-stipitate, connective slender, usually inconspicuous, thecae shortly ovoid, dehiscing by short to long slit or pore, sometimes confluent into ± lunate or even circular compound thecae dehiscing by a single slit. POLLEN : very dry and powdery, inaperturate, spherical or subspheroidal, small (mean 22 µm., range 17-39 µm.), spinose. FEMALE FLOWER : ovary 1-locular, ovoid or oblong-ovoid, ovules 3-10, orthotropous, erect, funicle short, placenta basal, style short to attenuate, always narrower than ovary, stigma usually rather small, subhemispheric. BERRY : obovoid to obconic, rounded apically, rarely conical, usually few-seeded, bright red, rarely yellow, glossy. SEED : ovoid to globose, bearing a strophiole, testa hard, rough, light brown, embryo axile, endosperm copious.

[FTEA]

Araceae, S.J. Mayo. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1985

Morphology General Habit
Erect, seasonally dormant herbs with subglobose tubers (rarely rhizomatous in some Asian species)
Morphology Leaves
Leaves radical, 1–3, subtended by several cataphylls; petioles not pulvinate apically; sheaths long, often imbricate to form a pseudostem; blade compound, pedately to radiately divided to base into elliptic to obovate acuminate lobes; primary lateral veins of lobes usually forming inframarginal veins, finer venation reticulate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence erect, terminal, solitary, appearing with leaves Spathe convolute basally into a ± cylindric tube, upper part (limb) expanded, forward-curving or ± erect, acuminate, variously coloured or striped Spadix unisexual (paradioecious) or monoecious with basal pistillate part contiguous with central staminate part, always with terminal, sterile, smooth appendix of variable shape from clavate to filamentous, usually subcylindric in African species
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers unisexual, without perigon Staminate flowers ± distant, each with 2–5 stamens; filaments connate; anthers free to connate, dehiscing by pores or straight to lunate slits; connective slender Pistillate flowers congested; ovary unilocular; ovules 1–9; placentation basal; stigma sessile or on short conic style, capitate
sex Male
Staminate flowers ± distant, each with 2–5 stamens; filaments connate; anthers free to connate, dehiscing by pores or straight to lunate slits; connective slender
sex Female
Pistillate flowers congested; ovary unilocular; ovules 1–9; placentation basal; stigma sessile or on short conic style, capitate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Berries fleshy, glossy orange to scarlet, few-seeded, borne in cylindric to conic infructescence
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds subglobose; endosperm copious; embryo axile.

[FSOM]

M. Thulin et al. Flora of Somalia Vol. 1-4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS

Morphology General Habit
Erect herbs with subglobose tubers
Morphology Leaves
Leaves basal, 1–3, with long sheaths often imbricate to form a pseudostem; blade compound, pedately to radiately divided to the base into acuminate lobes
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence terminal, solitary, appearing with the leaves
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Spathe
Spathe forming a tube in lower part, upper part expanded into a limb
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spadix
Spadix unisexual or monoecious with basal pistillate part, central staminate part and sterile apical part
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Male flowers with 2–5 stamens; filaments united; anthers free to united, dehiscing by pores or slits Flowers unisexual, without perianth Female flowers with 1-celled ovary; stigma sessile or on short conical style
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Berries orange to red, few-seeded, in cylindrical to subglobose infructescence
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds subglobose, with endosperm.
Distribution
Some 200 species, the majority in subtropical and temperate East Asia, but also in tropical Asia, North and Central America and in the mountains of Africa and Arabia.

Native to:

Afghanistan, Alabama, Andaman Is., Arkansas, Assam, Bangladesh, Borneo, Burundi, Cambodia, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, East Himalaya, Ethiopia, Florida, Georgia, Hainan, Illinois, India, Indiana, Inner Mongolia, Iowa, Japan, Jawa, Kansas, Kentucky, Kenya, Khabarovsk, Korea, Kuril Is., Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Louisiana, Maine, Malaya, Manchuria, Manitoba, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southwest, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Myanmar, Myanmar, Nansei-shoto, Nebraska, Nepal, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oman, Ontario, Pakistan, Pennsylvania, Philippines, Primorye, Prince Edward I., Qinghai, Québec, Rhode I., Rwanda, Sakhalin, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Carolina, South Dakota, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Taiwan, Tanzania, Tennessee, Texas, Thailand, Tibet, Uganda, Vermont, Vietnam, Virginia, West Himalaya, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Xinjiang, Yemen, Zaïre

Arisaema Mart. appears in other Kew resources:

Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status
Malaysia 16076.010
18906.000
Meyer, F., Ethiopia 32058.000
Bally, P.R.O. [B13031], Ethiopia 32367.000
49821.000
49903.000
Naire, K.N. [TBGT 29359], India 63646.000
Naire, K.N. [TBGT 29360], India 63673.000
Verdcourt [3103], Kenya K000499343
Wallich, N. [Cat. no. 8927], Nepal K001131857
Gomez, W. [Cat. no. 8925], Myanmar K001131852
Wallich, N. [Cat. no. 8920], Nepal K001131843
Wallich, N. [Cat. no. 8927], Nepal K001131854
Blinkworth, R. [Cat. no. 8928], India K001131860
Wallich, N. [Cat. no. 8927], Nepal K001131855
Wallich, N. [Cat. no. 8927], Nepal K001131856
Wallich, N. [Cat. no. 8920], Nepal K001131842
Wallich, N. [Cat. no. 8915], Nepal K001131828
Wallich, N. [Cat. no. 8918], Nepal K001131837
De Silva, F. [Cat. no. 8924] K001131851
s.coll. [Cat. no. 8921] K001131845
s.coll. [Cat. no. 8921] K001131844
Wallich, N. [Cat. no. 8915], Nepal K001131830
Wallich, N. [Cat. no. 8926], Nepal K001131853
Wallich, N. [Cat. no. 8927], Nepal K001131859
Wallich, N. [Cat. no. 8927], Nepal K001131858
Wallich, N. [Cat. no. 8917], Nepal K001131832
Wallich, N. [Cat. no. 8915], Nepal K001131829
Wallich, N. [Cat. no. 8917], Nepal K001131836
Wallich, N. [Cat. no. 8920], Nepal K001131841
Blinkworth, R. [Cat. no. 8928], India K001131861
Wallich, N. [Cat. no. 8918], Nepal K001131833

First published in Flora 14(2): 459 (1831)

Accepted by

  • 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.
  • Govaerts, R. (1995). World Checklist of Seed Plants 1(1, 2): 1-483, 1-529. MIM, Deurne.

Literature

CATE Araceae

  • Mayo, S.J., Bogner, J. & Boyce, P.C. 1997. The genera of Araceae. 370 pp.
  • Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 2008. World Checklist of Selected Plant Families.

Flora of Somalia

  • Bull. 41: 261–278 (1986).
  • Flora Somalia, Vol 4, (1995) Author: by M. Thulin [updated by M. Thulin 2008]

Flora of Tropical East Africa

  • Engl. in E.P. 73 (IV. 23F): 149 (1920)
  • Mayo & Gilbert in K.B. (in prep.)
  • Robyns & Tournay in B.J.B.B. 25: 395 (1955)
  • in Flora 14:459 (1831)

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

Flora of Somalia
Flora of Somalia
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

Flora of Tropical East Africa
Flora of Tropical East 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 Selected Plant Families 2021. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
© Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone
The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2021. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
© Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

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