Lasia

For the insect genus, see Lasia (fly).

Lasia
Lasia spinosa
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Alismatales
Family: Araceae
Subfamily: Lasioideae
Genus: Lasia
Lour.
Synonyms[1]

Lasius Hassk.

Lasia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to Asia and New Guinea. The genus contains only two known species, Lasia spinosa and Lasia concinna.[1][2][3] Lasia was believed to be a monotypic genus until 1997 when a wild population of Lasia concinna was discovered in a farmer's paddy field in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. The farmer had been growing them for their edible young leaves. This species of Lasia had been known of previously only from a single specimen at the Bogor Botanic Gardens, formally described in 1920.[4] Prior to 1997, the specimen was believed to have been a hybrid between Lasia spinosa and Cyrtosperma merkusii.[5] The subsequent discovery by Hambali and Sizemore led to the realization that it was in fact a distinct species.[6][7]

  1. ^ a b Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. ^ Govaerts, R. & Frodin, D.G. (2002). World Checklist and Bibliography of Araceae (and Acoraceae): 1–560. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
  3. ^ Flora of China, Vol. 23 Page 16 刺芋属 ci yu shu, Lasia Loureiro, Fl. Cochinch. 1: 64, 81. 1790.
  4. ^ Alderwerelt van Rosenburgh, Cornelis Rugier Willem Karel van. 1920. Bulletin du Jardin Botanique de Buitenzorg 1: 379
  5. ^ Hay, A. (1990). Aroids of Papua New Guinea. Christensen Research Center
  6. ^ Bown, Demi (2000). Aroids: Plants of the Arum Family. Timber Press. ISBN 0-88192-485-7.
  7. ^ Hambali, G. G. and Sizemore, M. (1997). The rediscovery of Lasia concinna Alderw. (Araceae: Lasioideae) in West Kalimantan, Borneo. Aroideana 20: 37-39.