The Marantaceae are a family, the arrowroot family, of flowering plants consisting of 31 genera and around 530 species, defining it as one of the most species-rich families in its order. Species of this family are found in lowland tropical forests of Africa, Asia, and the Americas. The majority (80%) of the species are found in the American tropics, followed by Asian (11%) and African (9%) tropics. They are commonly called the prayer-plant family and are also known for their unique secondary pollination presentation.
Curcuma is a genus of plants in the family Zingiberaceae that contains such species as turmeric and Siam tulip. They are native to Southeast Asia, southern China, the Indian Subcontinent, New Guinea and northern Australia. Some species are reportedly naturalized in other warm parts of the world such as tropical Africa, Central America, Florida, and various islands of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans. Generally, most curcuma grows well in loose and sandy soil in shaded areas.
François Gagnepain was a French botanist. The standard botanical author abbreviation Gagnep. is applied to plants described by Gagnepain.
Antidesma is a genus of tropical plant in the family Phyllanthaceae formally described by Linnaeus in 1753. It is native to tropical Africa, S + E + SE Asia, Australia, and various oceanic islands. The greatest diversity occurs in Southeast Asia.
Bombax is a genus of mainly tropical trees in the mallow family. They are native to western Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and the subtropical regions of East Asia and northern Australia. It is distinguished from the genus Ceiba, which has whiter flowers.
Actephila is a genus of about 36 species of flowering plants in the family Phyllanthaceae native to Southeast Asia, China, the Himalayas, Papuasia and northern Australia. Plants in the genus Actephila are monoecious trees or shrubs with entire leaves that are usually arranged alternately along the branches, flowers arranged singly or in clusters in leaf axils usually with 5 sepals and petals.
Schumannianthus dichotomus, also known as 'cool mat', is a species of flowering plant first described by Roxburgh, with its current name after Gagnepain. The species belongs to the family Marantaceae and no subspecies are listed.
Sitalpati, also called sital pati and sittal pati, is a kind of mat which feels cold by nature. It is made from murta plants. It is usually used in Bangladesh. Mats with decorative designs are called nakshi pati.
Stemona is a genus of vines and subshrubs in the family Stemonaceae, described as a genus in 1790.
Tetrastigma is a genus of plants in the grape family, Vitaceae. The plants are lianas that climb with tendrils and have palmately compound leaves. Plants are dioecious, with separate male and female plants; female flowers are characterized by their four-lobed stigmas. The species are found in subtropical and tropical regions of Asia, Malaysia, and Australia, where they grow in primary rainforest, gallery forest and monsoon forest and moister woodland. Species of this genus are notable as being the sole hosts of parasitic plants in the family Rafflesiaceae, one of which, Rafflesia arnoldii, produces the largest single flower in the world. Tetrastigma is the donor species for horizontal gene transfer to Sapria and Rafflesia due to multiple gene theft events.
Xanthophyllum is a genus of about 109 species of trees and shrubs, of the plant family Polygalaceae;. The generic name is from the Greek meaning "yellow leaf", referring to how the leaves are often yellow when dry. In Borneo it is known as minyak berok in Malay or nyalin in the Iban language.
Entada is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, in the mimosoid clade of the subfamily Caesalpinioideae. It consists of some 30 species of trees, shrubs and tropical lianas. About 21 species are known from Africa, six from Asia, two from the American tropics and one with a pantropical distribution. They have compound leaves and produce exceptionally large seedpods of up to 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) long. Their seeds are buoyant and survive lengthy journeys via rivers and ocean currents, to eventually wash up on tropical beaches.
Glossocardia is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family. It is native to Asia and Australia.
Syringic acid is a naturally occurring phenolic compound and dimethoxybenzene that is commonly found as a plant metabolite.
Aframomum is a genus of flowering plants in the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. It is widespread across tropical Africa as well as on some islands of the Indian Ocean. It is represented by approximately 50 species. Its species are perennials and produce colorful flowers. Several aromatic species with essential oils present in fruits, seeds, leaves, stems, rhizomes, and other plant parts are either edible or used as medicine in Africa.
Clinogyne is a former genus of monocotyledonous plants, which have been moved to other genera. Its species included the following:
Juncus dichotomus is a monocot in the Juncaceae family of rushes. The plant is native to the Americas in temperate zones but has been introduced to other parts of the world. Juncus dichotomus often is found in very moist areas and where rainfall is a common occurrence. It is often most recognizable in the spring and summer months due to its conspicuous flowers and infructescence.
Paul Alfred Pételot (1885–1965) was a French botanist and entomologist, whose primary scholarly focus was on medicinal plants in Southeast Asia. Some sources list his date of death as 1940, but several herbaria specimens are recorded as being collected by him up until 1944 including Carex kucyniakii (1944), Teijsmanniodendron peteloti (1941), Amalocalyx microlobus (1941), Amalocalyx microlobus (1942), Trichosanthes kerrii (1944) and Siraitia siamensis (1944). In addition, he continued to author publications through the 1950s, though it is possible these are posthumous.
Pantadenia adenanthera is a shrub in the Euphorbiaceae family. It is found in parts of Southeast Asia. The species is used for its wood and edible fruit.
Petelotiella is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Urticaceae. It contains just one species, Petelotiella tonkinensis.
