''Stachyphrynium placentarium'' is a species of plant in the family

Marantaceae The Marantaceae are a family, the arrowroot family, or the prayer plant 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. Kennedy, H. (2000). “Diversif ...

. Its

basionym In the scientific name of organisms, basionym or basyonym means the original name on which a new name is based; the author citation of the new name should include the authors of the basionym in parentheses. The term "basionym" is used in both botan ...

was ''Phyllodes placentaria'' Lour.de Loureiro J (1790) ''Fl. Cochinch.'' 1: 13. and was subsequently long placed as various species in the genus ''

Phrynium ''Phrynium'' is a genus of flowering plants native to China, India, Southeast Asia, New Guinea and Melanesia Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from New Guinea in the west to the Fiji Isla ...

''. The species is widespread throughout Asia, with records from Bhutan, southern China, India,

Indo-China Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to th ...

and Indonesia; no subspecies are listed in the

Catalogue of Life The Catalogue of Life (CoL) is an online database that provides an index of known species of animals, plants, fungi, and microorganisms. It was created in 2001 as a partnership between the global Species 2000 and the American Integrated Taxono ...

. The leaves of this species, ''lá dong'', are notably used throughout

Việt Nam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

as a wrapping for food items: especially ''

bánh chưng ''Bánh chưng'' or ''banh chung'' is a traditional Vietnamese dish which is made from glutinous rice, mung beans, pork, and other ingredients. According to legend, its origin traces back to Lang Liêu, a prince of the last king of the Sixth ...

'' (the glutinous rice cake consumed at

Tết Tết (, ), short for (; ), is the most important celebration in Vietnamese culture. Tết celebrates the arrival of spring based on the Vietnamese calendar and usually falls on January or February in the Gregorian calendar. is not to be co ...

) and ''

bánh tẻ ''Bánh tẻ'' (literally "rice cakes" in Vietnamese; also called ''bánh răng bừa'') is a variety of small steamed rice cake in Vietnamese cuisine. It is a traditional variety of ''bánh'' from the Red River Delta region of northern Vietna ...

''. Species in the similar genus ''Phrynium'', including '' P. pubinerve'' (''dong gân lông'') may also be used for this purpose.

Uses

''S. placentarium'' leaves are used for food wrapping in Việt Nam: Nguyen lieu banh chung.jpg, ''bánh chưng'' Banh te My Duc.png, ''bánh tẻ'' Bánh bột lọc.jpg, ''bánh bột lọc''

References

Clausager K, Borchsenius F (2003) In: ''Kew Bull.'' 58: 672

External links

* Marantaceae Flora of China Flora of tropical Asia {{Zingiberales-stub