''Tacca ampliplacenta'' is a species of

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 ...

in the yam family

Dioscoreaceae Dioscoreaceae () is a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants, with about 715 known species in nine genera. The best-known member of the family is the yam (some species of ''Dioscorea''). The APG system (1998) and APG II system (2003) both ...

, which is endemic to Yunnan, China. It was discovered

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

, China. It was first described in 2008 by Ling Zhang and Qing-Jun Li.

Description

''T. ampliplacenta'' is a perennial herb with a cylindrical rhizome. It has mauve leaves at the apex. ''T. ampliplacenta'' differs from '' T. integrifolia'' by having involucral bracts which are roughly decussate and having the two inner bracts ovate oblong whereas ''T. integrifolias innermost bracts resemble rabbits' ears. It differs from '' T.chantrieri'' by having the seeds tightly connected to the flesh and difficult to separate from the flesh. There are five to ten radical pinnately nerved leaves. The red-wine coloured flower stalks are axillary. The inflorescence is an umbel with up to 25 flowers, which have four involucral bracts. The flowers are triangular and greenish purple when young. The buds are a black-purple. There are three petal like stigmas. It flowers from early July to late August and fruits the following year from June to July.

Distribution

It is found from the south west to the west of Yunnan Province in dense dank forest.

References

Tacca ampliplacenta Root vegetables Flora of China Plants described in 2008 {{dioscoreales-stub