Amischotolype Explained
Amischotolype is a genus of perennial monocotyledonous flowering plants in the Commelinaceae. It is found in Central Africa and from India through Southeast Asia to New Guinea,[1] with the great majority or species found in Asia.[2]
The name is derived from the Ancient Greek words αμισχος, meaning 'unstalked', and τολυπη, meaning 'tangle'. The genus is characterised by its rather compact inflorescences which are composed on two or more cincinni that pierce through the base of the leaf sheath, and also by its seeds that are embedded in red arils. Flowers are actinomorphic, and anthers release their pollen either through a pore at the tip or slits down the sides. They are typically encountered in forest understories. The closely related genus Porandra, which consists of three Asian species, is considered by Robert Faden, a leading authority on the family, to be "doubtfully distinct" from Amischotolype. Analysis of DNA sequences has shown that Amischotolype is most closely related to the genus Coleotrype, while these two are in turn most closely related to the genus Cyanotis plus its very close relative Belosynapsis. These four genera form a clade that is found only in the Old World, while all of its immediate ancestors are present only in the New World.
- Species[1]
- Amischotolype barbarossa Duist. - Myanmar, Thailand, Sumatra
- Amischotolype divaricata Duist. - Indochina, Sumatra
- Amischotolype dolichandra Duist. - Assam
- Amischotolype glabrata Hassk. - Himalayas, southern China, Tibet, Indochina, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, western Indonesia
- Amischotolype gracilis (Ridl.) I.M.Turner - Borneo, Malaya, Sumatra
- Amischotolype griffithii (C.B.Clarke) I.M.Turner - Malaya, Riau Islands
- Amischotolype hirsuta (Hallier f.) Duist. - Borneo, Sumatra
- Amischotolype hispida (A.Rich.) D.Y.Hong - Borneo, Sulawesi, Philippines, Maluku, New Guinea
- Amischotolype hookeri (Hassk.) H.Hara - Nepal, Bangladesh, Assam, Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh
- Amischotolype irritans (Ridl.) I.M.Turner - Thailand, Sumatra, Malaya
- Amischotolype laxiflora (Merr.) Faden - Borneo, Sulawesi
- Amischotolype leiocarpa (Hallier f.) Duist. - Borneo
- Amischotolype lobata Duist. - Borneo
- Amischotolype marginata (Blume) Hassk - Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines
- Amischotolype mollissima (Blume) Hassk - Java, Sumatra
- Amischotolype monosperma (C.B.Clarke) I.M.Turner - Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Borneo
- Amischotolype parvifructa Duist. - Cameron Highlands of Malaysia
- Amischotolype pedicellata Duist. - Borneo
- Amischotolype rostrata (Hassk.) Duist. - Java, Sumatra, Maluku
- Amischotolype sphagnorrhiza Cowley - Brunei, Sarawak
- Amischotolype strigosa Duist. - Sumatra
- Amischotolype tenuis (C.B.Clarke) R.S.Rao - Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic, Zaire
- Amischotolype welzeniana Duist. - Myanmar, Thailand
Notes and References
- http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=219137 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
- Duistermaat, H. (2012). A taxonomic revision of Amischotolype (Commelinaceae) in Asia. Gardens' Bulletin Singapore 64: 51-131.
