Biarum Explained

Biarum is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae. It is composed of plants that are native to the Middle East, southern Europe (Spain, Portugal, Italy, Balkans), and North Africa.^{[1] [2] [3] [4]} Biarum are often found growing in rock crevices and graveled soil composed largely of limestone.

The leaves of Biarum can be similar to grass or even oval. Their corms are spherical and the plants as a whole tend to be small. Many Biarum are quite similar in appearance to Arums. To flower Biarum required a dry rest period during summer. Their inflorescence tend to grow close to the ground and produce an extremely intense and unpleasant odor. The fruits produced tend to be camouflaged so as to resemble stones. It's not entirely known how they are dispersed, but one idea is that they have evolved to avoid seed dispersal since doing so in such inhospitable environments might not be conducive to its reproduction.^[5]

Species

1. Biarum aleppicum J.Thiébaut - Syria
2. Biarum angustatum (Hook.f.) N.E.Br. - Syria, Israel
3. Biarum auraniticum Mouterde - Syria
4. Biarum bovei Blume - Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Iraq, Iran
5. Biarum carduchorum (Schott) Engl. - Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Iraq, Iran
6. Biarum carratracense (Willk.) Font Quer - southern Spain
7. Biarum crispulum (Schott) Engl. - Turkey, Syria
8. Biarum davisii Turrill - Crete
9. Biarum dispar (Schott) Talavera - southern Spain, Sardinia, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Morocco
10. Biarum ditschianum Bogner & P.C.Boyce - Turkey, Kastellorizo Island in Greece
11. Biarum eximium (Schott & Kotschy) Engl. - Turkey, Jordan
12. Biarum fraasianum (Schott) Nyman - Greece
13. Biarum kotschyi (Schott) B.Mathew ex Riedl - Turkey
14. Biarum marmarisense (P.C.Boyce) P.C.Boyce - Turkey, Symi Island in Greece
15. Biarum mendax P.C.Boyce - southern Spain, Alto Alentejo Province in Portugal
16. Biarum olivieri Blume - Egypt, Israel
17. Biarum pyrami (Schott) Engl. - Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan
18. Biarum rhopalospadix K.Koch - Greece
19. Biarum straussii Engl. - Iran, Iraq
20. Biarum syriacum (Spreng.) Riedl - Turkey, Syria
21. Biarum tenuifolium (L.) Schott - Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Albania, Yugoslavia, Turkey

Notes and References

1. http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=21925 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. Boyce, P.C. (2008). A taxonomic revision of Biarum Araceae. Curtis's Botanical Magazine 209: 2-119.
4. http://luirig.altervista.org/flora/taxa/floraspecie.php?genere=Biarum Altervista Flora Italiana, Genere: Biarum
5. Bown, Deni (2000). Aroids: Plants of the Arum Family. Timber Press. .