''Dracontioides'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of flowering plants in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Araceae 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 (or leaf-like bract). Also ...

. It was long thought to contain only a single species until a second species was described in 2005. Both are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. The type species of the

is ''Dracontioides desciscens'', native to

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

s in eastern

. This species was originally classified by

Heinrich Wilhelm Schott Heinrich Wilhelm Schott (7 January 1794 – 5 March 1865) was an Austrian botanist. He is known for his extensive work on aroids ( Araceae). Biography Schott was born on 7 January 1794 in Brno, Moravia. He studied botany, agriculture and chemi ...

as belonging to

Urospatha ''Urospatha'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae that consists of 11 known species. They are found growing in South America and Central America in swamps, wet savannahs, and brackish water. The leaves of the species in this ge ...

, but it was subsequently reassigned to its own genus ''Dracontioides'' by

Adolf Engler Heinrich Gustav Adolf Engler (25 March 1844 – 10 October 1930) was a German botanist. He is notable for his work on plant taxonomy and phytogeography, such as ''Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien'' (''The Natural Plant Families''), edited with K ...

. The genus is closely related to both ''

'' and ''

Dracontium ''Dracontium'' is a genus of flowering plants similar to those of '' Amorphophallus''. Unlike ''Amorphophallus'' which is found in the Old World, this genus has a New World distribution and is native to South America, Central America, southern Me ...

''. The most notable feature of the species its glossy extremely sagittate leaves with oval fenestrations. The leaves are attached to 2 meter long stalks that are intern attached to a spongy

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and Shoot (botany), shoots from its Node (botany), nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from ...

. Additionally, the

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

produced has a smell of rotting meat. ;Species #'' Dracontioides desciscens'' (Schott) Engl. - Pernambuco, Bahia, Espírito Santo #'' Dracontioides salvianii'' E.G.Gonç. - BahiaGonçalves, Eduardo G. 2005. Aroideana 28: 28–30, f. 6–9

References

Lasioideae Araceae genera Endemic flora of Brazil Taxa named by Adolf Engler {{Araceae-stub