Tacca Explained

The genus Tacca, which includes the batflowers and arrowroot, consists of flowering plants in the order Dioscoreales, native to tropical regions of South America, Africa, Australia, Southeast Asia, and various Oceanic islands. In older texts, the genus was treated in its own family Taccaceae, but the 2003 APG II system incorporates it into the family Dioscoreaceae.^[1] The APG III and APG IV systems continue to include Tacca in Dioscoreaceae.

Description

Many Tacca species have nearly black flowers, with conspicuous involucral bracts and bracteoles like whiskers.^[2] Engbert Drenth hypothesized that species of this genus attracted "carrion and dung flies" for pollination and that the fleshy seam of the seed might be attractive to ants and hence that ants might aid in seed dispersal.

Taxonomy

Earlier classifications placed the genus within the monogeneric family Taccaceae, which in turn was the sole family in the order Taccales. Dahlgren recognised the similarities to the genera within the Dioscoreales, and incorporated the family into that order.

Subdivision

There are at least 16 species,^[3]

• Tacca ampliplacenta L.Zhang & Q.J.Li - Yunnan
• Tacca ankaranensis Bard.-Vauc., 1997 - Madagascar
• Tacca bibracteata Drenth - Sarawak
• Tacca borneensis Ridl. - Borneo
• Tacca celebica Koord. - Sulawesi
• Tacca chantrieri André, 1901 - Indochina, Assam, Bangladesh, Tibet, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Hunan, Yunnan
• Tacca ebeltajae Drenth - Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands
• Tacca integrifolia Ker Gawl., 1812 - Tibet, Bhutan, Assam, Bangladesh, Indochina, India, Pakistan, Java, Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo
• Tacca leontopetaloides (L.) Kuntze, 1891 - widespread across tropical Africa, Madagascar, Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, Australia, and various islands of the Indian and Pacific Oceans
• Tacca maculata Seem., 1866 - Western Australia, Northern Territory, Fiji, Samoa
• Tacca palmata Blume - Indonesia, Indochina, Malaysia, Philippines, New Guinea
• Tacca palmatifida Baker - Sulawesi
• Tacca parkeri Seem. - South America
• Tacca plantaginea (Hance) Drenth, 1972 - Indochina, southern China
• Tacca reducta P.C.Boyce & S.Julia - Sarawak, Borneo, Malesia
• Tacca subflabellata P.P. Ling & C.T. Ting, 1982 - Yunnan

Synonyms:

• Tacca lanceolata Spruce - Brazil, Venezuela = Tacca parkeri Seem.^{[4] [5]}

Cultivation

Several species are cultivated as ornamental plants for their bold foliage and large flowers. The well-known T. chantrieri goes by the names of black batflower, bat-head lily, devil flower or cat's whiskers. Tacca integrifolia is known as the purple or white batflower. Other cultivated varieties include the arrowroot, T. leontopetaloides, and T. cristata aspera.^{[6] [7]}

Bibliography

• Book: Dahlgren . Rolf . Clifford . H. T. . [{{Google books|coXwAAAAMAAJ|plainurl=yes}} The monocotyledons: A comparative study ]. 1982 . London and New York . Academic Press .
• Germplasm Resources Information Network: Tacca
• Taccaceae in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards), The families of flowering plants
• Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan.

Notes and References

1. Caddick, L. R., P. Wilkin, P. J. Rudall, T. A. J. Hedderson & M. W. Chase. 2002. Yams reclassified: a recircumscription of Dioscoreaceae and Dioscoreales. Taxon 51(1): 103–114.
2. cite Q
3. http://www.catalogueoflife.org/annual-checklist/2017/browse/tree/id/8c91d06e7094579cfb8fea9f8f4b97b0 Catalogue of Life: 2017 Annual Checklist Tacca
4. http://www.catalogueoflife.org/annual-checklist/2017/details/species/id/24bb97b8eedf12a35bfff432ab11a23a/synonym/c17799acd941bd393e1e7c04ce9c7e82 Catalogue (2017)
5. http://www.tropicos.org/Name/31000014 Tropicos
6. Govaerts, R., Wilkin, P. & Saunders, R.M.K. (2007). World Checklist of Dioscoreales. Yams and their allies: 1-65. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
7. http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=132180 Flora of China, Vol. 24 Page 274, 蒟蒻薯属 ju ruo shu shu, Tacca J. R. Forster & G. Forster, Char. Gen. Pl. 35. 1775.