Aspidistra | |
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Aspidistra elatior | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Order: | Asparagales |
Family: | Asparagaceae |
Subfamily: | Nolinoideae |
Genus: | Aspidistra Ker Gawl. |
Synonyms [1] | |
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Aspidistra /ˌæspɪˈdɪstrə/ [2] is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Nolinoideae, native to eastern and southeastern Asia, particularly China and Vietnam. [1] [3] They grow in shade under trees and shrubs. Their leaves arise more or less directly from ground level, where their flowers also appear. The number of species known has increased considerably from the 1980s onwards, with around 100 accepted as of July 2013 [update] . Aspidistra elatior is common worldwide as a foliage house plant that is very tolerant of neglect. It and other species can also be grown in shade outside, where they are generally hardy to −5 °C (23 °F).
Species of Aspidistra are perennial herbaceous plants growing from rhizomes. The leaves are either solitary or are grouped in small "tufts" of two to four. They arise more or less directly from the rhizome, rather than being borne on stems. Each leaf has a long stalk (petiole) and a blade with many veins. The flowering stem (scape) is usually very short so that the flowers appear low down among the leaves. The fleshy flowers are bell-, urn- or cup-shaped. [4] They vary considerably in size and shape, although few are showy. The flowers of A. longipedunculata are yellow and, unusually for the genus, are borne on scapes up to 20 cm (8 in) high. A. grandiflora has spider-like flowers up to 12 cm (5 in) across. [5] The flower has a large stigma with a flattened top. The fruit is a berry, often with a single seed. [4]
The genus Aspidistra was named by the English botanist John Ker Gawler in 1822, as a blend of Greek ασπίς/ασπίδ- aspid-, meaning shield, and the name of the sister genus Tupistra . [6] The genus was at one time placed in a broadly defined Liliaceae, along with many other lilioid monocots. [4] It has also been placed in the families Convallariaceae [7] and Ruscaceae. [8] The APG III system of 2009 places it in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Nolinoideae. [9]
Aspidistra is a genus that was largely ignored by field botanists until the 1980s onwards, and there has been a rapid rise in the number of recognised species since then. [5] Some 8 to 10 species were known in the late 1970s; 30 new species were described from China in the 1980s. Subsequently, more new species were found in Vietnam. [10] The online Flora of China uses a narrow definition of species, producing a total of about 55, saying that the genus has "never been well studied". [4] In 2008, Tillich provided the key to the 93 species known at that time. [8]
Plants of the World Online currently includes: [11]
Species of Aspidistra are part of the ground flora, growing in forests and under shrubs, in areas of high rainfall, [5] from eastern India, Indochina and China through to Japan. [13] The largest number of species are found in Guangxi Province, China, with Vietnam occupying second place. Few species have a broad distribution, with many being endemic to China or Vietnam. [10]
It has long been said that slugs and snails pollinate Aspidistra flowers. [5] This has been described as a "myth". [10] Amphipods, small terrestrial crustaceans, are responsible for pollinating A. elatior in Japan. Amphipods have also been shown to pollinate species of Aspidistra introduced to Australia. Springtails and fungus gnats have also been suggested as pollinators. [10] The newly described Vietnamese species A. phanluongii is probably pollinated by flies of the genus Megaselia . [12]
Aspidistra elatior , the "cast-iron plant", is a popular houseplant, surviving shade, cool conditions and neglect. It is one of several species of Aspidistra that can be grown successfully outdoors in shade in temperate climates, where they will generally cope with temperatures down to −5 °C (23 °F), being killed by frosts of −5 to −10 °C (23 to 14 °F) or below. In addition to shade, aspidistras require an open, acidic and humus-rich soil. Species suggested for growing outdoors in the UK include A. diabuensis , A. elatior, A. lurida , A. typica , A. zongbyi and their cultivars. [5]
In Japan, leaves of A. elatior have traditionally been cut into pieces and used in bento and osechi boxes to keep each food separated. However, imitations called "baran" are commonly used now.[ citation needed ]
As a popular foliage houseplant, A. elatior became popular in late Victorian Britain and was so common that it became a "symbol of dull middle-class respectability". [6] As such, it was central to George Orwell's novel Keep the Aspidistra Flying , as a symbol of the need of the middle class to maintain respectability according to Gordon Comstock, the novel's protagonist. It was further immortalised in the 1938 song "The Biggest Aspidistra in the World", which, as sung by Gracie Fields, became a popular wartime classic. [14] An aspidistra is mentioned in the Wallace and Gromit short, "The Autochef", from the Cracking Contraptions series. In two Dorothy L. Sayers books from the mid-1930s, Busman's Honeymoon and The Nine Tailors , characters make disparaging remarks about aspidistras.
Aspidistras can withstand deep shade, neglect, dry soil, hot temperatures and polluted indoor air (from burning coal or natural gas) but are sensitive to bright sunlight. [15]
"Aspidistra" was the codename (inspired by the above song) of a very powerful British radio transmitter used for propaganda and deception purposes against Nazi Germany during World War II. [16]
The 1980s British television show The Adventure Game featured a moving aspidistra called the Rangdo of Arg, operated by Kenny Baker. [17] [18]
Bambusa is a large genus of clumping bamboos. Most species of Bambusa are rather large, with numerous branches emerging from the nodes, and one or two much larger than the rest. The branches can be as long as 11 m (35 ft).
Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the plant genus Carpinus in the family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
Arisaema is a large and diverse genus of the flowering plant family Araceae. The largest concentration of species is in China and Japan, with other species native to other parts of southern Asia as well as eastern and central Africa, Mexico and eastern North America. Asiatic species are often called cobra lilies, while western species are often called jack-in-the-pulpit; both names refer to the distinctive appearance of the flower, which consists of an erect central spadix rising from a spathe.
Tainia, commonly known as ribbon orchids or 带唇兰属 is a genus of about thirty species of evergreen, terrestrial orchids in the distributed from India, China, Japan, Southeast Asia to New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Queensland.
Machilus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lauraceae. It is found in temperate, subtropical, and tropical forest, occurring in China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Indochina, the Indian subcontinent, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. It is sometimes included in the genus Persea, and currently includes about 100 species.
Haplogroup O, also known as O-M175, is a human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup. It is primarily found among populations in Southeast Asia and East Asia. It also is found in various percentages of populations of the Russian Far East, South Asia, Central Asia, Caucasus, Crimea, Ukraine, Iran, Oceania, Madagascar and the Comoros. Haplogroup O is a primary descendant of haplogroup NO-M214.
Odontochilus is a small genus from the orchid family (Orchidaceae). These terrestrial, mycoparasitic orchids occur from China, Japan, the Himalayas, Southeast Asia, New Guinea and Melanesia. The genus is related to Gonatostylis, endemic to New Caledonia.
Phoebe is a genus of evergreen trees and shrubs belonging to the Laurel family, Lauraceae. There are 75 accepted species in the genus, distributed in tropical and subtropical Asia and New Guinea. 35 species occur in China, of which 27 are endemic. The first description of the genus was of the type species P. lanceolata made in 1836 by Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck in Systema Laurinarum, p. 98.
Rohdea is a genus of plants native to eastern Asia. It was long thought to contain only a single species, R. japonica, but recent studies have resulted in several other taxa being transferred into the genus.
Pseudotsuga sinensis is a species of conifer in the family Pinaceae. It is a tree up to 50 metres tall. It is found in China and Taiwan as well as in northernmost parts of Vietnam.
Opisthotropis is a genus of snakes in the family Colubridae. The genus is endemic to Southeast Asia and South China.
Gastrodia, commonly known as potato orchids, is a genus of terrestrial leafless orchids in the family Orchidaceae, about ninety of which have been described. Orchids in this genus have fleshy, upright stems and small to medium-sized resupinate flowers with narrow sepals and petals. They are native to Asia, Australia, New Zealand, central Africa, and various islands of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Hemipilia is a genus of plants in the family Orchidaceae. It is native to China, the Himalayas and Southeast Asia.
Ponerorchis is a genus of Asian terrestrial tuberous orchids. It is native to temperate Eurasia, from Poland to Japan, to the north of the Indian subcontinent and to northern Indochina.
Peliosanthes is a genus of flowering plants found in eastern Asia. In the APG III classification system, it is placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Nolinoideae.
Tupistra is a genus of about 20 species of flowering plants found in south Asia, from southern China to Sumatra and Ambon Island. In the APG III classification system, it is placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Nolinoideae.
Disporopsis is a genus of plants in the Asparagaceae. It is native to China, Indochina and the Philippines.
Heteropolygonatum is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Nolinoideae. It is native to China, Taiwan and Vietnam. The genus includes 12 accepted species.
Aspidistra campanulata is a species of flowering plant. A. campanulata grows in evergreen forests on very steep slopes of eroded limestone mountains in Vietnam. Its name is due to the bell shape of its perigone.
Hemiboea is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Gesneriaceae.