''Dracontium'' 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 ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s similar to those of ''

Amorphophallus ''Amorphophallus'' is a large genus of some 200 tropical and subtropical tuberous herbaceous plants from the arum family (Araceae), native to Asia, Africa, Australia and various oceanic islands. The genus includes the Titan arum (''A. titanum'') ...

''. Unlike ''Amorphophallus'' which is found in the Old World, this genus has a New World distribution and is native to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

, southern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, and the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> ''Dracontium'' species can be distinguished from related genera by their

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 ...

, which is smaller and

unisexual Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing either male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproduction is ...

. The plant has a large ''

caudex A caudex (: caudices) of a plant is a stem, but the term is also used to mean a rootstock and particularly a basal stem structure from which new growth arises.pages 456 and 695 In the strict sense of the term, meaning a stem, "caudex" is most ...

''like

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure that plants use as storage organs for nutrients, derived from stems or roots. Tubers help plants perennate (survive winter or dry months), provide energy and nutrients, and are a means of asexual reproduc ...

similar to that of ''

'', but rounder, and with no central and circular scar mark. When ''Dracontium'' plants begin to flower, the tuber swells and smoothens.Zhu, G. h. & T. B. Croat. 2004. Revision of ''Dracontium'' (Araceae). Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 91(4): 593–667

Species

More than 20 ''Dracontium'' species have been described: * ''

Dracontium amazonense ''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 Mex ...

'' G.H.Zhu & Croat - Venezuela, Peru, northwestern Brazil * ''

Dracontium angustispathum ''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 Mex ...

'' G.H.Zhu & Croat - Colombia, Peru * ''

Dracontium asperispathum ''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 Mex ...

'' G.H.Zhu & Croat - Colombia, Peru, Ecuador * ''

Dracontium asperum ''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 Mex ...

'' K. Koch - Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Trinidad, Windward Islands, Venezuela, Peru, northwestern Brazil, the Guianas * ''

Dracontium bogneri ''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 Mex ...

'' G.H.Zhu & Croat - Brazil * ''

Dracontium croatii ''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 Mex ...

'' G.H.Zhu - Carchi and Pichincha Provinces in Ecuador * ''

Dracontium dubium ''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 Mex ...

Kunth Carl Sigismund Kunth (18 June 1788 – 22 March 1850) was a German botanist. He was also known as Karl Sigismund Kunth or anglicized as Charles Sigismund Kunth. He was one of the early systematic botanists who focused on studying the plants of th ...

- Venezuela, Guyana * ''

Dracontium gigas ''Dracontium gigas'' is a herbaceous rainforest plant of the calla family (Araceae), native to Central America. It resembles the Old World species ''Amorphophallus titanum'' but has a spadix that is shorter than the spathe, and an inflorescence ...

'' ( Seem.)

Engl. Engl or Engl. may refer to: *England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more ...

- Nicaragua, Costa Rica * ''

Dracontium grandispathum ''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 Mex ...

'' G.H.Zhu & Croat - Ecuador * ''

Dracontium grayumianum ''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 Mex ...

'' G.H.Zhu & Croat - Panama, Colombia * '' Dracontium guianense'' G.H.Zhu & Croat - French Guiana * '' Dracontium iquitense'' E.C.Morgan & J.A.Sperling - Loreto region of eastern Peru * '' Dracontium longipes'' Engl. - Peru, Acre State of Brazil * '' Dracontium margaretae'' Bogner - Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay * '' Dracontium nivosum'' ( Lem.) G.H.Zhu - Pará, Maranhão * '' Dracontium peruvianum'' G.H.Zhu & Croat - Peru, northwestern Brazil * '' Dracontium pittieri'' Engl. - Costa Rica * '' Dracontium plowmanii'' G.H.Zhu & Croat - Peru * '' Dracontium polyphyllum'' L. - Pará, French Guiana, Suriname, Venezuela, Peru, Puerto Rico * '' Dracontium prancei'' G.H.Zhu & Croat - Amazonas and Roraima States of northwestern Brazil * '' Dracontium purdieanum'' ( Schott) Engl. - Colombia, Venezuela * '' Dracontium soconuscum'' Matuda - Chiapas, Costa Rica, Panama * ''

Dracontium spruceanum ''Dracontium spruceanum'' is a tropical, succulent flowering plant species of the Amazon rainforest understory. It has been found in the South American countries of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela, as well as in the Central Ameri ...

'' (Schott) G.H.Zhu - Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, northwestern Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Suriname * '' Dracontium ulei'' K.Krause - Acre State in western Brazil; Pando region of northern Bolivia

References

Araceae genera {{Araceae-stub