Rhaphidophora
Encyclopedia
Rhaphidophora is a genus in the family Araceae
, occurring from tropical Africa eastwards through Malesia
and Australasia
to the Western Pacific. The genus consists of approximately 100 species.
s number eight or more and are superposed on two (rarely 3) parietal placentas of the ovary
. The flowers produce many, ellipsoid, straight seed
s with a brittle and smooth outer coat (testa).
These are hemiepiphytes
, plants capable of beginning life as a seed and sending roots to the soil, or beginning as a terrestrial plant that climbs a tree and then sends roots back to the soil. In rare cases they are rheophytic (flood-resisting) terrestrial plants.
Their bast fibers have typically abundant , long and slender trichosclereid
s, merging with the fibers of the sclerenchyma. The blade of the leaf is torn, many hairs become apparent. The leaf stalks
bend abruptly at their top. The leaf margin is entire. The leaves are pinnatifid
to pinnatisect (cut with deep opposite lobing). The leaf venation is parallel (with veins running parallel for the length of the leaf), pinnate (one mid-vein with smaller veins branching off laterally) to reticulate (feather-veined).
have shown to possess activity against the malaria
l agent Plasmodium falciparum
. Polysyphorin and rhaphidecurperoxin showed the strongest antimalarial activity, while rhaphidecursinol A, rhaphidecursinol B, grandisin , and epigrandisin were less active. Rhaphidecursinol A and rhaphidecursinol B were determined to be neolignans
, a major class of phytoestrogens
, while rhaphidecurperoxin is a new benzoperoxide.
DNA
sequence data (trnL-F) has shown that Rhaphidophora and Epipremnum are paraphyletic , forming three informal groups with other genera of the paraphyletic tribe Monstereae. This may result in taxonomic changes in this genus. The genera Rhaphidophora, Epipremnum, and Monstera are poorly differentiated.
One cultivar Rhaphidophora excelsa `Exotica' has been recognized.
Epipremnum aureum
was once categorized in this genus.
Araceae
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 known as the Arum family, members are often colloquially...
, occurring from tropical Africa eastwards through Malesia
Malesia
Malesia is a biogeographical region straddling the boundaries of the Indomalaya ecozone and Australasia ecozone, and also a phytogeographical floristic region in the Paleotropical Kingdom.-Floristic province:...
and Australasia
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
to the Western Pacific. The genus consists of approximately 100 species.
Description
This is a genus of evergreen, robust, climbing plants. The flowers are bisexual, lacking a perigone. The spathe is shed after flowering. The ovuleOvule
Ovule means "small egg". In seed plants, the ovule is the structure that gives rise to and contains the female reproductive cells. It consists of three parts: The integument forming its outer layer, the nucellus , and the megaspore-derived female gametophyte in its center...
s number eight or more and are superposed on two (rarely 3) parietal placentas of the ovary
Ovary (plants)
In the flowering plants, an ovary is a part of the female reproductive organ of the flower or gynoecium. Specifically, it is the part of the pistil which holds the ovule and is located above or below or at the point of connection with the base of the petals and sepals...
. The flowers produce many, ellipsoid, straight seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s with a brittle and smooth outer coat (testa).
These are hemiepiphytes
Epiphyte
An epiphyte is a plant that grows upon another plant non-parasitically or sometimes upon some other object , derives its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and sometimes from debris accumulating around it, and is found in the temperate zone and in the...
, plants capable of beginning life as a seed and sending roots to the soil, or beginning as a terrestrial plant that climbs a tree and then sends roots back to the soil. In rare cases they are rheophytic (flood-resisting) terrestrial plants.
Their bast fibers have typically abundant , long and slender trichosclereid
Trichosclereid
Trichosclereids are hard needlelike branched cells found in some species of plants that serve the purpose of protecting the plant from herbivores. They usually are approximately 6 mm long, but in some species they grow to as long as 1 cm.-References:...
s, merging with the fibers of the sclerenchyma. The blade of the leaf is torn, many hairs become apparent. The leaf stalks
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
bend abruptly at their top. The leaf margin is entire. The leaves are pinnatifid
Pinnate
Pinnate is a term used to describe feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis in plant or animal structures, and comes from the Latin word pinna meaning "feather", "wing", or "fin". A similar term is pectinate, which refers to a comb-like arrangement of parts...
to pinnatisect (cut with deep opposite lobing). The leaf venation is parallel (with veins running parallel for the length of the leaf), pinnate (one mid-vein with smaller veins branching off laterally) to reticulate (feather-veined).
Medicinal use
Six compounds extracted from the dried leaves and stems of Rhaphidophora decursivaRhaphidophora decursiva
Rhaphidophora decursiva is a species of flowering plant in the Araceae family.-References:* Flora of China Editorial Committee, Addendum, 200?. Fl. China ,Checklist Addendum....
have shown to possess activity against the malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
l agent Plasmodium falciparum
Plasmodium falciparum
Plasmodium falciparum is a protozoan parasite, one of the species of Plasmodium that cause malaria in humans. It is transmitted by the female Anopheles mosquito. Malaria caused by this species is the most dangerous form of malaria, with the highest rates of complications and mortality...
. Polysyphorin and rhaphidecurperoxin showed the strongest antimalarial activity, while rhaphidecursinol A, rhaphidecursinol B, grandisin , and epigrandisin were less active. Rhaphidecursinol A and rhaphidecursinol B were determined to be neolignans
Lignan
The lignans are a group of chemical compounds found in plants. Lignans are one of the major classes of phytoestrogens, which are estrogen-like chemicals and also act as antioxidants. The other classes of phytoestrogens are the isoflavones and coumestans...
, a major class of phytoestrogens
Phytoestrogens
Phytoestrogens are plant-derived xenoestrogens functioning as the primary female sex hormone not generated within the endocrine system but consumed by eating phytoestrogonic plants...
, while rhaphidecurperoxin is a new benzoperoxide.
Heterotypic synonyms
- Raphidophora Hassk., Tijdschr. Natuurl. Gesch. Physiol. 9: 168 (1842), orth. var.
- Afrorhaphidophora Engl. in H.G.A.Engler & K.A.E.Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenfam., Nachtr. 3: 31 (1906).
Taxonomy
Research on the chloroplastChloroplast
Chloroplasts are organelles found in plant cells and other eukaryotic organisms that conduct photosynthesis. Chloroplasts capture light energy to conserve free energy in the form of ATP and reduce NADP to NADPH through a complex set of processes called photosynthesis.Chloroplasts are green...
DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
sequence data (trnL-F) has shown that Rhaphidophora and Epipremnum are paraphyletic , forming three informal groups with other genera of the paraphyletic tribe Monstereae. This may result in taxonomic changes in this genus. The genera Rhaphidophora, Epipremnum, and Monstera are poorly differentiated.
One cultivar Rhaphidophora excelsa `Exotica' has been recognized.
Selected species
- Rhaphidophora acuminata Merr., Philipp. J. Sci., C 10: 265 (1915).
- Rhaphidophora africana N.E.Br., Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1897: 286 (1897).
- Rhaphidophora angustata Schott, Ann. Mus. Bot. Lugduno-Batavi 1: 128 (1863).
- Rhaphidophora araea P.C.Boyce, Gard. Bull. Singapore 52: 116 (2000).
- Rhaphidophora australasica F.M.Bailey, Queensland Agric. J. 1: 453 (1897).
- Rhaphidophora balgooyi P.C.Boyce, Gard. Bull. Singapore 52: 118 (2000).
- Rhaphidophora banosensis P.C.Boyce, Gard. Bull. Singapore 52: 222 (2000 publ. 2001).
- Rhaphidophora beccarii (Engl.) Engl., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 1: 181 (1881).
- Rhaphidophora bonii Engl. & K.Krause in H.G.A.Engler, Pflanzenr., IV, 23B: 34 (1908).
- Rhaphidophora brevispathacea Engl. & K.Krause, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 54: 79 (1916).
- Rhaphidophora calophylla Schott, Prodr. Syst. Aroid.: 380 (1860).
- Rhaphidophora chevalieri Gagnep., Notul. Syst. (Paris) 9: 136 (1941).
- Rhaphidophora conica Engl., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 1: 181 (1881).
- Rhaphidophora conocephala Alderw., Bull. Jard. Bot. Buitenzorg, III, 1: 384 (1920).
- Rhaphidophora corneri P.C.Boyce, Gard. Bull. Singapore 51: 205 (1999).
- Rhaphidophora crassicaulis Engl. & K.Krause in H.G.A.Engler, Pflanzenr., IV, 23B: 52 (1908).
- Rhaphidophora crassifolia Hook.f., Fl. Brit. India 6: 543 (1893).
- Rhaphidophora cravenschoddeana P.C.Boyce, Gard. Bull. Singapore 53: 96 (2001).
- Rhaphidophora cretosa P.C.Boyce, Gard. Bull. Singapore 52: 228 (2000).
- Rhaphidophora cryptantha P.C.Boyce & C.M.Allen, Gard. Bull. Singapore 53: 99 (2001).
- Rhaphidophora cylindrosperma Engl. & K.Krause in H.G.A.Engler, Pflanzenr., IV, 23B: 28 (1908).
- Rhaphidophora dahlii Engl., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 25: 8 (1898).
- Rhaphidophora decursivaRhaphidophora decursivaRhaphidophora decursiva is a species of flowering plant in the Araceae family.-References:* Flora of China Editorial Committee, Addendum, 200?. Fl. China ,Checklist Addendum....
(Roxb.) Schott, Bonplandia (Hannover) 5: 45 (1857). - Rhaphidophora discolor Engl. & K.Krause, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 54: 80 (1916).
- Rhaphidophora dulongensis H.Li, Acta Bot. Yunnan., Suppl. 5: 7 (1992).
- Rhaphidophora elliptica Ridl., J. Straits Branch Roy. Asiat. Soc. 44: 186 (1905).
- Rhaphidophora elliptifolia Merr., J. Straits Branch Roy. Asiat. Soc., Spec. No.: 88 (1921).
- Rhaphidophora elmeri Engl. & K.Krause, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 44(101): 11 (1910).
- Rhaphidophora falcata Ridl., J. Straits Branch Roy. Asiat. Soc. 44: 198 (1905).
- Rhaphidophora floresensis P.C.Boyce, Gard. Bull. Singapore 52: 126 (2000).
- Rhaphidophora foraminiferaRhaphidophora foraminiferaRhaphidophora foraminifera is a species of flowering plant in the Araceae family....
(Engl.) Engl., Pflanzenr., IV, 23B: 45 (1908). - Rhaphidophora formosana Engl., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 25: 10 (1898).
- Rhaphidophora fortis P.C.Boyce, Gard. Bull. Singapore 53: 104 (2001).
- Rhaphidophora geniculata Engl., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 25: 7 (1898).
- Rhaphidophora glauca (Wall.) Schott, Bonplandia (Hannover) 5: 45 (1857).
- Rhaphidophora gorokensis P.C.Boyce, Gard. Bull. Singapore 53: 111 (2001).
- Rhaphidophora guamensis P.C.Boyce, Gard. Bull. Singapore 53: 112 (2001).
- Rhaphidophora hayi P.C.Boyce & Bogner, Gard. Bull. Singapore 52: 91 (2000).
- Rhaphidophora honkongensis Schott, Prodr. Syst. Aroid.: 378 (1860).
- Rhaphidophora hookeri Schott, Prodr. Syst. Aroid.: 381 (1860).
- Rhaphidophora intonsa P.C.Boyce, Gard. Bull. Singapore 53: 119 (2001).
- Rhaphidophora intrusa P.C.Boyce, Gard. Bull. Singapore 53: 120 (2001).
- Rhaphidophora jubata P.C.Boyce, Gard. Bull. Singapore 53: 124 (2001).
- Rhaphidophora kokodensis P.C.Boyce, Gard. Bull. Singapore 53: 127 (2001).
- Rhaphidophora korthalsii Schott, Ann. Mus. Bot. Lugduno-Batavi 1: 129 (1863).
- Rhaphidophora laichauensis Gagnep., Notul. Syst. (Paris) 9: 137 (1941).
- Rhaphidophora latevaginata M.Hotta, Acta Phytotax. Geobot. 22: 4 (1966).
- Rhaphidophora lobbii Schott, Prodr. Syst. Aroid.: 379 (1860).
- Rhaphidophora luchunensis H.Li, Acta Phytotax. Sin. 15(2): 103 (1977).
- Rhaphidophora maingayi Hook.f., Fl. Brit. India 6: 543 (1893).
- Rhaphidophora manipurensis Engl. & K.Krause, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 45: 659 (1911).
- Rhaphidophora megaphylla H.Li, Acta Phytotax. Sin. 15(2): 102 (1977).
- Rhaphidophora megasperma Engl., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 25: 8 (1898).
- Rhaphidophora megastigma Engl., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 1: 180 (1881).
- Rhaphidophora microspadix K.Krause, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 49: 92 (1912).
- Rhaphidophora mima P.C.Boyce, Gard. Bull. Singapore 53: 138 (2001).
- Rhaphidophora minor Hook.f., Fl. Brit. India 6: 544 (1893).
- Rhaphidophora moluccensis Engl. & K.Krause in H.G.A.Engler, Pflanzenr., IV, 23B: 36 (1908).
- Rhaphidophora montana (Blume) Schott, Ann. Mus. Bot. Lugduno-Batavi 1: 128 (1863).
- Rhaphidophora monticola K.Krause, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 44(101): 12 (1910).
- Rhaphidophora neoguineensis Engl. in K.M.Schumann & U.M.Hollrung, Fl. Kais. Wilh. Land: 19 (1889).
- Rhaphidophora nicolsonii P.C.Boyce, Gard. Bull. Singapore 51: 236 (1999).
- Rhaphidophora okapensis P.C.Boyce & Bogner, Gard. Bull. Singapore 52: 94 (2000).
- Rhaphidophora oligosperma Alderw., Bull. Jard. Bot. Buitenzorg, III, 4: 340 (1922).
- Rhaphidophora ovoidea A.Chev., J. Bot. (Morot) 22: 135 (1909).
- Rhaphidophora pachyphylla K.Krause, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 49: 92 (1912).
- Rhaphidophora parvifolia Alderw., Bull. Jard. Bot. Buitenzorg, III, 4: 338 (1922).
- Rhaphidophora peepla (Roxb.) Schott, Bonplandia (Hannover) 5: 45 (1857).
- Rhaphidophora peeploides Engl., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 25: 7 (1898).
- Rhaphidophora perkinsiae Engl., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 37: 115 (1905).
- Rhaphidophora pertusa (Roxb.) Schott, Bonplandia (Hannover) 5: 45 (1857).
- Rhaphidophora petrieana A.Hay, Telopea 5: 295 (1993).
- Rhaphidophora philippinensis Engl. & K.Krause in H.G.A.Engler, Pflanzenr., IV, 23B: 137 (1908).
- Rhaphidophora pilosa P.C.Boyce, Gard. Bull. Singapore 53: 151 (2001).
- Rhaphidophora puberula Engl., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 1: 180 (1881).
- Rhaphidophora sabit P.C.Boyce, Gard. Bull. Singapore 52: 161 (2000).
- Rhaphidophora sarasinorum Engl., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 37: 114 (1905).
- Rhaphidophora schlechteri K.Krause, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 49: 94 (1912).
- Rhaphidophora schottii Hook.f., Fl. Brit. India 6: 544 (1893).
- Rhaphidophora spathacea Schott, Ann. Mus. Bot. Lugduno-Batavi 1: 129 (1863).
- Rhaphidophora spuria (Schott) Nicolson, Allertonia 1: 348 (1978).
- Rhaphidophora stenophylla K.Krause, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 49: 94 (1912).
- Rhaphidophora stolleana Engl. & K.Krause, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 54: 79 (1916).
- Rhaphidophora sulcata Gagnep., Notul. Syst. (Paris) 9: 137 (1941).
- Rhaphidophora sylvestris (Blume) Engl. in A.L.P.de Candolle & A.C.P.de Candolle, Monogr. Phan. 2: 239 (1879).
- Rhaphidophora talamauana Alderw., Bull. Jard. Bot. Buitenzorg, III, 1: 384 (1920).
- Rhaphidophora tenuis Engl., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 1: 181 (1881).
- Rhaphidophora ternatensis Alderw., Bull. Jard. Bot. Buitenzorg, III, 4: 194 (1922).
- Rhaphidophora tetrasperma Hook.f., Fl. Brit. India 6: 548 (1893).
- Rhaphidophora teysmanniana Engl. & K.Krause in H.G.A.Engler, Pflanzenr., IV, 23B: 35 (1908).
- Rhaphidophora todayensis K.Krause, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 45: 658 (1911).
- Rhaphidophora tonkinensis Engl. & K.Krause in H.G.A.Engler, Pflanzenr., IV, 23B: 34 (1908).
- Rhaphidophora typha P.C.Boyce, Gard. Bull. Singapore 57: 211 (2005).
- Rhaphidophora ustulata P.C.Boyce, Gard. Bull. Singapore 52: 176 (2000).
- Rhaphidophora versteegii Engl. & K.Krause, Nova Guinea 8: 248 (1910).
- Rhaphidophora waria P.C.Boyce, Gard. Bull. Singapore 53: 174 (2001).
Epipremnum aureum
Epipremnum aureum
Epipremnum aureum, also known as the Pothos , Money Plant, Silver Vine, Centipede tongavine, Devil's Ivy and Solomon Islands' Ivy, is an aroid native to southeastern Asia and New Guinea...
was once categorized in this genus.
External links
- http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/home.do was used for this information
- more information can be found on: http://scratchpad.cate-araceae.org/ and http://www.cate-araceae.org/