''Homalomena'' 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 ...

. ''Homalomena'' are native to tropical Asia and China. Many ''Homalomena'' have a strong smell of

anise Anise (; '), also called aniseed or rarely anix, is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to the eastern Mediterranean region and Southwest Asia. The flavor and aroma of its seeds have similarities with some other spices and herbs, ...

. The name derives apparently from a mistranslated Malayan vernacular name, translated as , meaning flat, and ''mene'' = moon. The plants of this genus are clump-forming evergreen perennials with mainly heart-shaped or arrowheaded shaped leaves. The flowers are tiny and without petals, enclosed in a usually greenish

spathe In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also look ...

hidden by the leaves. Some authors have proposed splitting the genus and moving all the

neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In biogeogra ...

species of ''Homalomena'' to ''

Adelonema ''Adelonema'' is a genus of plants in the family Araceae. Species , Plants of the World Online accepted these species: * '' Adelonema allenii'' * '' Adelonema crinipes'' * '' Adelonema erythropus'' * '' Adelonema hammelii'' * '' Adelonema ...

.''

Selected species

* ''

Homalomena expedita ''Homalomena expedita'' is a species of flowering plant in the arum family 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 acc ...

'' A.Hay & Hersc. –

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

(

Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...

) * ''

Homalomena philippinensis ''Homalomena philippinensis'' is a species of flowering plants in the family Araceae. It is native to the Philippines and Orchid Island in Taiwan. The plant has large heart-shaped leaves that grow up to around tall from an underground corm. It ...

'' Engl. – Philippines, Taiwan (

Lanyu Island Orchid Island, known as Pongso no Tao by the indigenous inhabitants, is a volcanic island located off the southeastern coast of Taiwan, the island and the nearby are governed by Taiwan as in Taitung County, which is one of the county's two ...

)

References

External links

Asiatica plant catalogue
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2233221 Araceae genera Plants described in 1832 Taxa named by Heinrich Wilhelm Schott

Selected species

See also

References

External links