Urospatha Explained

Urospatha is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae that consists of 11 known species. They are found growing in South America and Central America^[1] in swamps, wet savannahs, and brackish water. The leaves of the species in this genus are upward pointing and sagittate (arrow-shaped). The inflorescences are quite unique; the spathe is mottled and elongated with a spiral twist at the end. The seeds are distributed by water and have a texture similar to cork that allows them to float. They also quickly germinate in water.^{[2] [3] [4] [5]}

Selected species

1. Urospatha angustiloba Engl. - northwestern Brazil
2. Urospatha antisylleptica R.E.Schult. - Colombia
3. Urospatha caudata (Poepp.) Schott - Peru, northwestern Brazil
4. Urospatha edwallii Engl. - southeastern Brazil
5. Urospatha friedrichsthalii Schott - Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama
6. Urospatha loefgreniana Engl. - central + southern Brazil
7. Urospatha meyeri Schott - Suriname
8. Urospatha riedeliana Schott - northeastern Brazil
9. Urospatha sagittifolia (Rudge) Schott - Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas
10. Urospatha somnolenta R.E.Schult. - Colombia
11. Urospatha wurdackii (G.S.Bunting) A.Hay - Colombia, Venezuela

Notes and References

1. http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=211197 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. Forzza, R. C. 2010. Lista de espécies Flora do Brasil http://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br/2010. Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro
4. Mayol, M., J. Bogner & P.C. Boyce. 1997. The Genera of Araceae i–xii, 1–370. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
5. Bown, Demi (2000). Aroids: Plants of the Arum Family. Timber Press. .