WorldFloraDB - Remusatia vivipara

Characteristics

Seasonally dormant, rupicolous or epiphytic herb.. Tuber subglobose, 2–4 cm. in diameter, covered in brown fibrous cataphyll remnants.. Bulbils ovoid, 0.4–0.5 cm. long, green, covered in numerous tightly-overlapping glume-like scales with aristate recurved tips, borne in clusters at nodes of several erect aerial copper-coloured sympodial axes, each about 20 cm. long, arising from tuber and bearing small brown scale leaves.. Leaves 1–2, often solitary, petiole green, terete, 30–40 cm. long; blade broadly peltate, ovate-cordate, 20–30 cm. long, 14–19 cm. broad, or larger, bright green, acute-acuminate, base with parabolic sinus ± 3 cm. long.. Inflorescence rarely seen, subtended by several broadly oblong cataphylls.. Peduncle 9–12 cm. long.. Spathe 7–11 cm. long; tube ovoid, 2–3 cm. long, green, strongly constricted at apex; limb subcircular to broadly spathulate, 6–8 cm. long, 5–6.5 cm. broad, creamy yellow, reflexed at maturity.. Spadix 3–4.5 cm. long; staminate part clavate, creamy white, 0.7–1.3 cm. long, 0.5 cm. in diameter; intermediate sterile part conic, ± 1.1 cm. long, 0.2 cm. in diameter; pistillate part subcylindric, green, ± 1.8 cm. long, 0.8 cm. in diameter.. Fig. 11.

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Tuber depressed globose, 2-4 × 3.5-5 cm; stolons erect, simple, stout; bulbils ellipsoid, 0.5-2.5 mm, stout; bristles to 1.5 mm, stout. Cataphylls 4 or more, brownish, broad, concealing peduncle, ca. 15 × 3 cm. Petiole 19-42 cm, proximal 1/4 sheathing; leaf blade glossy on both sides, pale green abaxially, green adaxially, oblong-ovate or lanceolate, 11-33 × 7-19.5 cm, sinus 1.5-3 cm; intramarginal vein indistinct. Flowering before leaves develop. Peduncle 6-12 cm. Spathe tube green outside, 3-5 × 1.3-2 cm; limb initially erect, later reflexed, yellow inside, obovate, 5.3-11.5 × 2.5-9 cm, narrowed to base, apex acute, apiculate. Spadix: female zone 1.7-2 cm × 7-9 mm, with 3 or 4 whorls of sterile ovaries at apex and 1 or 2 whorls at base; sterile zone 1.1-2.5 cm, slender, tapering distally; male zone yellowish, clavate, cylindric, 1.5-2.2 cm × 4-7 mm. Fl. Apr-Sep. 2n = 28, 42.

Lithophytic herb; corm subhemispherical, to c. 5 cm diam.; stolons erect, unbranched, to c. 30 cm long, bearing numerous clusters of ovoid hooked bulbils. Leaves 1–several together; petiole to c. 50 cm long, sheathing in lower c. ¼; blade broadly ovatosagittate, peltate, shining bright green, ±pendent, to c. 40 cm long; secondary venation not forming interprimary collective veins. Inflorescence seldom found (in Australia), mostly solitary or 2 together in series, produced before leaves; spathe c. 11 cm long, constricted; lower spathe narrowly ovoid, green; spathe limb broadly spathulate, yellow; spadix reaching c. 1/2 length of spathe limb; male zone clavate.

A herb which forms tubers. These are 2-4 cm across. It grows to about 30-50 cm high. It keeps growing from year to year. The leaves have long stalks. These can be 30-50 cm long. The leaves are simple and 21-40 cm long by 15-18 cm wide. The leaves are almost round and taper to the tip. The leaves can be purple underneath. The bract around the flower is pinkish. The flower is a spike. This is about 17 cm long.

Flowers appearing rarely and during leafless stage

Bulbiliferous shoot leafless and brown.

Spathe greenish cream coloured

Spadix whitish

Life form

perennial

Growth form

herb

Growth support

epiphyte

Foliage retention

deciduous

Sexuality

-

Pollination

-

Spread

-

Mature width (meter)

-

Mature height (meter)

0.6 - 0.9

Root system

-

Rooting depth (meter)

-

Root diameter (meter)

-

Flower color

Blooming months

Jan	Feb	Mar
Apr	May	Jun
Jul	Aug	Sep
Oct	Nov	Dec

Fruit color

-

Fruiting months

-

Nitrogen fixer

-

Photosynthetic pathway

-

Environment

A tropical plant. It grows in humid tropical and subtropical places. In Nepal it grows between 1000-2600 m altitude. It grows in moist, shady places. It usually grows on trees. Coffs Harbour Botanical Gardens. In Yunnan.

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Lithophytic in rainforest, or terrestrial among boulders,near creek beds or on forest floor, often in sandy soils.

Epiphytic on trees by streams and associated with fern roots, or in moist cracks in rocks

Light
Soil humidity	-
Soil texture	-
Soil acidity	-
Soil nutriment	-
Hardiness (USDA)

Usage

The young leaves are cooked as a vegetable. The tubers are also cooked as a vegetable. (They need to be boiled often in a change of water to get rid of irritating crystals otherwise they are poisonous. ) They are often cooked for a long time. They are also dried and stored.

Uses	medicinal poison
Edible	leaves roots tubers
Therapeutic use	Alexipharmic (unspecified), Itch (unspecified)
Human toxicity	-
Animal toxicity	-

Cultivation

Plants are grown from seed or by splitting the rhizome. It can be grown by bulbils of the shoots.

Mode	seedlings
Germination duration (days)	-
Germination temperacture (C°)	-
Germination luminosity	-
Germination treatment	-
Minimum temperature (C°)	-
Optimum temperature (C°)	-
Size	-
Vigor	-
Productivity	-

Images

Distribution

Identifiers

LSID	urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:88433-1
WFO ID	wfo-0000295504
COL ID	4RRLD
BDTFX ID	-
INPN ID	807504
Wikipedia (EN)	Link
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Arum viviparum Remusatia formosana Remusatia vivipara Colocasia vivipara Remusatia bulbifera Caladium viviparum Caladium viviparum

WorldFloraDB 2024

Remusatia vivipara (Roxb.) Schott

Species

Angiosperms > Alismatales > Araceae > Remusatia