Anubias gigantea

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Anubias gigantea
Anubias gigantea-Jardin des Plantes de Paris.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Alismatales
Family: Araceae
Genus: Anubias
Species:
A. gigantea
Binomial name
Anubias gigantea

Anubias gigantea is an aquatic to riparian aroid species belonging to the genus Anubias , within the Araceae (the arum family). It was first mentioned by Auguste Chevalier in 1920, based on material that he had collected in Guinea, West Africa. [1] The formal description followed in 1939 by John Hutchinson. [2] It is closely related to A. afzelii, basically only differing from that species by the form of the leaf-blade, with mature growth appearing somewhat different than the juvenile plants. [3]

Contents

Synonyms

The following names are synonyms of A. gigantea: A. gigantea var. tripartita Chevalier, 1920 and A. hastifolia var. robusta Engler, 1915. [3]

Distribution

Anubias gigantea is known from West Africa, including the countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, and Togo. [3]

Description

Anubias gigantea has large arrow-shaped leaf blades that can be up to 30 cm (12 in) long and 14 cm (6 in) wide. The leaf stems are slightly shorter till up to 2.5 times longer than the blade. The leaves are set on a creeping and rooting rhizome that is 1–3 cm thick. The spathe is 3.5–8 centimetres (1.4–3.1 in) long and has a 14–60 centimetres (5.5–23.6 in) long peduncle. The spadix is up to 9 centimetres (3.5 in) long and slightly longer than the spathe, so that the tip slightly protrudes from it. The upper part is covered with male flowers, of which the 4-6 stamens are fused into synandria, with the thecae on its sides. The lower part of the spadix is covered with female flowers that are reduced to the ovary and stigma. [3]

Ecology

The plant is semi-aquatic and grows mostly on rocky places at the banks of rivers or in the riverbed. It flowers from February to April. [4]

Cultivation

This plant grows best when only partially submersed and not crowded by other plants and is most suited for the paludarium, but can also be used in larger aquariums, where it grows very slowly. It does not require much light. It prefers a temperature range of 22-26 °C. It can be propagated by dividing the rhizome, but seed-propagation is not difficult either. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Araceae</span> Family of flowering plants

The Araceae are a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants in which flowers are borne on a type of inflorescence called a spadix. The spadix is usually accompanied by, and sometimes partially enclosed in, a spathe. Also known as the arum family, members are often colloquially known as aroids. This family of 140 genera and about 4,075 known species is most diverse in the New World tropics, although also distributed in the Old World tropics and northern temperate regions.

<i>Monstera</i> Genus of flowering plants

Monstera is a genus of 59 species of flowering plants in the arum family, Araceae, native to tropical regions of the Americas.

<i>Anubias</i> Genus of flowering plants

Anubias is a genus of aquatic and semi-aquatic flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to tropical central and western Africa. They primarily grow in rivers and streams, but can also be found in marshes. They are characterized by broad, thick, dark leaves that come in many different forms. The genus was revised in 1979 and since then its nomenclature has been stable. Species can be determined by using mostly characteristics of the inflorescence. Because of the often shady places where the plants grow, the genus was named after the Egyptian god Anubis, the god of the afterlife. The genus was first described in 1857 by Heinrich Wilhelm Schott, with A. afzelii as its type species.

<i>Cryptocoryne beckettii</i> Species of aquatic plant

Cryptocoryne beckettii, also known as Beckett's water trumpet, is a plant species belonging to the Araceae genus Cryptocoryne.

<i>Anubias barteri</i> Species of aquatic plant

Anubias barteri is a West African species of Anubias, first described in 1860 by Heinrich Wilhelm Schott. It occurs in south-eastern Nigeria, Cameroon and on Bioko.

<i>Anubias barteri <span style="font-style:normal;">var.</span> nana</i> Variety of aquatic plant

Anubias barteri var. nana was first described by Adolf Engler in 1899 as A. nana. The species was reduced to varietal status in 1979.

Anubias gracilis is a plant that was first mentioned in 1920 by Chevalier and thereafter validly described by Hutchinson and Dalziel in 1936.

<i>Lagenandra</i> Genus of flowering plants

Lagenandra is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae. It is endemic to the Indian Subcontinent. The genus is similar to Cryptocoryne, but can be distinguished from it by its involute vernation. Cryptocoryne on the other hand exhibit convolute vernation.

<i>Arisaema flavum</i> Species of flowering plant

Arisaema flavum is a species of flowering plant widespread across north-eastern Africa and southern Asia. It is native to Ethiopia, Somalia, the Arabian Peninsula, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Assam, Himalayas, Tibet, Yunnan, and Sichuan. The species epithet flavum is Latin for yellow and indicates its flower colour.

<i>Thaumatophyllum bipinnatifidum</i> Species of epiphyte

Thaumatophyllum bipinnatifidum is a plant in the genus Thaumatophyllum, in the family Araceae. Previously it was classified in the genus Philodendron within subgenus Meconostigma. The commonly used names Philodendron bipinnatifidum and Philodendron selloanum are synonyms. This plant is native to South America, namely to Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, and Paraguay, but is also cultivated as a landscape plant in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate climates.

<i>Peltandra virginica</i> Species of aquatic plant

Peltandra virginica is a plant of the arum family known as green arrow arum and tuckahoe. It is widely distributed in wetlands in the eastern United States, as well as in Quebec, Ontario, and Cuba. It is common in central Florida including the Everglades and along the Gulf Coast. Its rhizomes are tolerant to low oxygen levels found in wetland soils. It can be found elsewhere in North America as an introduced species and often an invasive plant.

<i>Anubias afzelii</i> Species of aquatic plant

Anubias afzelii is a species belonging to the Aroid genus Anubias. It was first described scientifically by Heinrich Wilhelm Schott in 1857, based on material collected in Sierra Leone by Adam Afzelius, after whom the species was named. The genus Anubias was described simultaneously, with only A. afzellii belonging to it, which therefore is the type species of the genus. No other species currently placed in the genus Anubias was described earlier and A. afzelii was therefore the first species of this genus known to science.

<i>Anubias heterophylla</i> Species of aquatic plant

Anubias heterophylla is a species belonging to the Aroid genus Anubias. It was first described scientifically by Adolf Engler in 1879.

Anubias barteri var. angustifolia was first described by Adolf Engler in 1915 as A. lanceolata f. angustifolia. The species obtained varietal status within A. barteri in 1979.

<i>Anubias barteri <span style="font-style:normal;">var.</span> caladiifolia</i> Variety of aquatic plant

Anubias barteri var. caladiifolia was first described by Adolf Engler in 1915.

Anubias barteri var. glabra is a variety of A. barteri that was first described by N. E. Brown in 1901.

Anubias gilletii is a plant that was first described scientifically in 1901 by Émile Auguste Joseph De Wildeman and Th. Durand.

Anubias pynaertii is a species belonging to the Aroid genus Anubias. It was first described scientifically by Émile Auguste Joseph De Wildeman in 1910, based on material collected in Zaire by, among others, Léon Auguste Edouard Joseph Pynaert, after whom the species was named.

<i>Anubias hastifolia</i> Species of aquatic plant

Anubias hastifolia is a species belonging to the Aroid genus Anubias. It was first mentioned by Adolf Engler in 1889 and described scientifically by him in 1893.

Thaumatophyllum adamantinum is a plant in the genus Thaumatophyllum, in the family Araceae. It is native to South America, namely to Southeast Brazil, but is also cultivated as a houseplant in cooler climates.

References

  1. Chevalier, A. (1920). Exploration botanique de l'Afrique occidentale française: T. 1. Enumération des plantes récoltées avec une carte botanique, agricole et forestière (in French). Paris: Paul Lechevallier. p. 683. OCLC   489894088.
  2. Hutchinson, J. (1939). "Tropical African Plants: XVII". Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information (Royal Gardens, Kew). 1939 (5): 241–247 [246]. doi:10.2307/4111618. JSTOR   4111618.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Crusio, W. (1979). "A revision of Anubias Schott (Araceae). (Primitiae Africanae XII)". Mededelingen Landbouwhogeschool Wageningen. 79 (14): 1–48.
  4. Crusio WE (1987). "Die Gattung Anubias SCHOTT (Araceae)". Aqua Planta (in German). Sonderheft (1): 1–44.
  5. Christel Kasselmann (1995). Aquarienpflanzen (in German). Stuttgart, Germany: Eugen Ulmer. p. 472. ISBN   1-57524-091-2.