Lasia

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Monocots
Ordo: Alismatales

Familia: Araceae
Subfamilia: Lasioideae
Genus: Lasia
Species: L. concinna – L. spinosa
Name

Lasia Lour., 1790

Type Species: Lasia aculeata Lour.

Synonyms

Heterotypic
Lasius Hassk., Cat. Hort. Bot. Bogor. Alt.: 59 (1844).

References

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]

In Sri Lanka, Lasia spinosa is known as Kohila (කොහිල) and the leaves and rhizomes of the plant are used in Sri Lankan cuisine.[8]

Lasia concinna Alderw. - West Kalimantan
Lasia spinosa (L.) Thwaites - China (including Taiwan and Tibet), Indian Subcontinent, Indochina, Malaysia,, Indonesia, New Guinea

References

Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
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
Flora of China, Vol. 23 Page 16 刺芋属 ci yu shu, Lasia Loureiro, Fl. Cochinch. 1: 64, 81. 1790.
Alderwerelt van Rosenburgh, Cornelis Rugier Willem Karel van. 1920. Bulletin du Jardin Botanique de Buitenzorg 1: 379
Hay, A. (1990). Aroids of Papua New Guinea. Christensen Research Center
Bown, Demi (2000). Aroids: Plants of the Arum Family. Timber Press. ISBN 0-88192-485-7.
Hambali, G. G. and Sizemore, M. (1997). The rediscovery of Lasia concinna Alderw. (Araceae: Lasioideae) in West Kalimantan, Borneo. Aroideana 20: 37-39.
http://www.b4fn.org/resources/species-database/detail/lasia-spinosa/

Loureiro, J.de 1790. Fl. Cochinch.: 81

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2018. Lasia in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Nov. 10. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2018. Lasia. Published online. Accessed: Nov. 10 2018.
The Plant List 2013. Lasia in The Plant List Version 1.1. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Nov. 10.
Tropicos.org 2018. Lasia. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Nov. 10.