All Topics  
Aspidistra

 
Aspidistra

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Aspidistra
 
 
  Topics Aspidistra Topic Home

Aspidistra is a monocot genus.

ies of Aspidistra inhabit the floors of east Asian forests from eastern India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
, Indochina
Indochina

Indochina, or the Indochinese Peninsula, is a subregion in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly east of India, south of China.The word has French origins, Indochine, and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory to bordering countries....
, China
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
 and Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
. Aspidistra is a genus that has been ignored by field botanists until quite recently, and there has been a very rapid rise in the number of recognised species in recent years. Many books state that there are 8 to 10 species, which repeats the knowledge of the late 1970s.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Aspidistra'
Start a new discussion about 'Aspidistra'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Aspidistra is a monocot genus.

Ecology and diversity

Species of Aspidistra inhabit the floors of east Asian forests from eastern India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
, Indochina
Indochina

Indochina, or the Indochinese Peninsula, is a subregion in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly east of India, south of China.The word has French origins, Indochine, and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory to bordering countries....
, China
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
 and Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
. Aspidistra is a genus that has been ignored by field botanists until quite recently, and there has been a very rapid rise in the number of recognised species in recent years. Many books state that there are 8 to 10 species, which repeats the knowledge of the late 1970s. In the 1980s, 30 new species were described from China. Based on current knowledge, China has the most species with some 59, of which 54 are endemic. The biodiversity
Biodiversity

Biodiversity is the variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or for the entire Earth. Biodiversity is often used as a measure of the health of biological systems....
 'hotspot' of the genus seems to be Guangxi
Guangxi

This article is about a region of China. For the sociological concept, see Guanxi.Guangxi is a Zhuang people autonomous region of China of the People's Republic of China....
 Province, from where no less than 39 species have been recorded. New species are still being found, and the focus has shifted to Vietnam
Vietnam

Vietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by People's Republic of China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east....
, from where 28 new species have recently been described; it is known that there are many more Vietnamese species. Currently 93 Aspidistra species have been formally described, and it has been speculated that there may be 200 to 300 (Tillich 2008).

It has long been erroneously assumed that slug
Slug

Slug is a common non-scientific word, which is often applied to any gastropod Mollusca whatsoever that has a very reduced shell, a small internal shell, or no shell at all....
s and snail
Snail

The word snail is a common name for almost all members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled animal shells in the adult stage. When the word snail is used in a general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails....
s pollinate
Pollination

Pollination in flowering plants and gymnosperms is the process that transfers pollen, which contain the male gametes to where the female gamete are contained within the carpel; in gymnosperms the pollen is directly applied to the ovule itself....
 Aspidistra flowers. Research in Japan has shown that tiny terrestrial crustaceans called amphipods are responsible for pollinating Aspidistra elatior. Australian amphipods have also been shown to pollinate introduced Aspidistra sp. and collembolans
Springtail

Springtails form the largest of the three lineages of modern Hexapoda that are no longer considered insects . The three orders are sometimes grouped together in a class called Entognatha because they have internal mouthparts, but they do not appear to be more closely related to one another than to insects, which have external mouthparts....
 may also be implicated. Fungus gnat
Fungus gnat

Fungus gnats are small, dark, short-lived fly, of the families Sciaridae, Diadocidiidae, Ditomyiidae, Keroplatidae, Bolitophilidae and Mycetophilidae , sometimes placed in the Family Mycetophiloidea, whose larvae feed on plant roots or fungi and aid in the decomposition of organic matter....
s have also been suggested as possible pollinators.

Cultivation and uses

Aspidistra elatior
Aspidistra elatior

Aspidistra elatior is a rhizomatous perennial, native to Japan and widely cultivated as a houseplant....
 ("cast-iron plant") is a popular foliage houseplant, grown for its ability to survive neglect and very shady indoor conditions. In George Orwell
George Orwell

Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an England author. His work is marked by a profound consciousness of social injustice, an intense dislike of totalitarianism, and a passion for clarity in language....
's novel Keep the Aspidistra Flying
Keep the Aspidistra Flying

Keep the Aspidistra Flying, first published 1936, is a grimly comic novel by George Orwell. It is set in 1930s London. The main theme is the protagonist's romantic ambition to give up money and status, and the dismal life that results....
, the plant symbolizes the bourgeois way of living and the main character's rejection of it in favor of art and poetry. After neglecting it for several years and failing as an artist (all while attempting to kill the aspidistra that was part of the furnishings of his apartment), he gets his girlfriend pregnant and accepts his old job at an advertising agency, thus embracing his bourgeois essence. Several other species and cultivars are also in cultivation.

Species


  • Aspidistra acetabuliformis Y. Wan & C. C. Huang. Acta Phytotax. Sin., 25(5): 396 (1987). Distribution: China (Guangxi)
  • Aspidistra alata Tillich. Blumea 52 (2): 336 (2007). Distribution: Vietnam (Cao Bang)
  • Aspidistra alternativa D. Fang & L. Y. Yu. Acta Phytotax. Sin. 40(2): 161 (2002). Distribution: China (Guangxi)
  • Aspidistra arnautovii Tillich. Feddes Repert. 116(5-6): 314 (316, 335-336; fig. 1b-d). (2005). Distribution: Vietnam (Hai Phong)
  • Aspidistra atroviolacea Tillich. Feddes Repert. 116(5-6): 317 (335-336; fig. 1i). (2005). Distribution: Vietnam (Thua Thien)
  • Aspidistra attenuata Hayata. Ic. Pl. Formosan. 2. 145 (1912). Distribution: Taiwan
  • Aspidistra austrosinensis Y. Wan & C .C. Huang. Guihaia, 7(3): 221 (1987). Distribution: China (Guangxi)
  • Aspidistra bicolor Tillich. Feddes Repert. 116(5-6): 317 (335-337; figs. 1g, 2a-b). (2005). Distribution: Vietnam (Thai Nguyen)
  • Aspidistra bogneri Tillich. Feddes Repert. 116(5-6): 317 (-318, 335-336; fig. 1e-f). (2005). Distribution: Vietnam (Ninh Binh)
  • Aspidistra brachystyla L. V. Averyanov & H.-J. Tillich, Feddes Repertorium 119 (1 - 2): 37 (2008). Distribution: Vietnam
  • Aspidistra campanulata Tillich. Blumea 52 (2): 337 (2007). Vietnam (Tuyen Quang)
  • Aspidistra caespitosa C. P'ei. Contrib. Biol. Lab. Sc. Soc. China, Bot. Ser., 12. 101, fig. 4. (1939). Distribution: China (Sichuan)
  • Aspidistra carinata Y. Wan & X. H. Lu. Bull. Bot. Res., Harbin, 9(2): 97, fig. 1. (1989). Distribution: China (N Guangxi)
  • Aspidistra carnosa Tillich. Feddes Repert. 116(5-6): 318 (335, 338; fig. 3h). (2005). Distribution: Vietnam (Lam Dong)
  • Aspidistra cavicola D. Fang & K. C. Yen. Acta Phytotax. Sin., 31(2): 180, fig. 1. (1993). Distribution: China (NW Guangxi)
  • Aspidistra cerina G. Z. Li & S. C. Tang. Guihaia 22(4): 289, fig. 1. (2002). Distribution: China (Guangxi)
  • Aspidistra claviformis Y. Wan. Bull. Bot. Res. North-East. Forest. Inst., 4(4): 166 (1984). Distribution: China (W Guangxi)
  • Aspidistra connata Tillich. Feddes Repert. 116(5-6): 318 (-319, 335, 337; fig. 2c-d). (2005). Distribution: Vietnam (Gialai-Kontum)
  • Aspidistra cruciformis Y. Wan & X. H. Lu. Guihaia, 7(3): 217, fig. 1. (1987). Distribution: China (NW Guangxi)
  • Aspidistra cryptantha Tillich. Blumea 52 (2): 338 (2007). Vietnam (Cao Bang)
  • Aspidistra cyathiflora Y. Wan & C. C. Huang. Bull. Bot. Res., Harbin. 9(2): 100, fig. 3. (1989). Distribution: China (Guangxi)
  • Aspidistra daibuensis Hayata. Ic. Pl. Formosan. 9. 143 (1920). Distribution: Taiwan
  • Aspidistra dodecandra (Gagnep.) Tillich. Feddes Repert. 116(5-6): 323. (2005). Distribution: Indo-China
  • Aspidistra dolichanthera X. X. Chen. Guihaia, 2(2): 77, fig. 1. (1982). Distribution: China (SW Guangxi)
  • Aspidistra ebianensis K. Y. Lang & Z. Y. Zhu. Acta Phytotax. Sin., 37(5): 492, fig. 13. (1999). Distribution: China (Sichuan)
  • Aspidistra elatior
    Aspidistra elatior

    Aspidistra elatior is a rhizomatous perennial, native to Japan and widely cultivated as a houseplant....
     Blume. Tijdschr. 1. 76. t. 4. (1834). Distribution: Japan (Osumi Islands)
  • Aspidistra fasciaria G. Z. Li. Acta Phytotax. Sin., 37(5): 484, fig. 13. (1999). Distribution: China (?Guangxi)
  • Aspidistra fenghuangensis K. Y. Lang. Acta Phytotax. Sin., 37(5): 494, fig. 13. (1999). Distribution: China (W Hunan)
  • Aspidistra fimbriata F. T. Wang & K. Y. Lang. Acta Phytotax. Sin., 16(1): 76, fig. 1. (1978). Distribution: China (Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan)
  • Aspidistra flaviflora K. Y. Lang & Z. Y. Zhu. Acta Phytotax. Sin., 20(4): 485, fig. 1. (1982). Distribution: China (SC Sichuan)
  • Aspidistra foliosa Tillich. Feddes Repert. 116(5-6): 319 (335-336; fig. 1h). (2005). Distribution: Vietnam (Thua Thien)
  • Aspidistra fungilliformis Y. Wan. Bull. Bot. Res., Harbin. 4(4): 165, fig. 1. (1984). Distribution: China (W Guangxi)
  • Aspidistra geastrum Tillich. Feddes Repert. 116(5-6): 319 (-320, 335, 337; fig. 2e-f). (2005). Distribution: Vietnam (Thua Thien)
  • Aspidistra glandulosa (Gagnep.) Tillich. Feddes Repert. 116(5-6): 323. (2005). Distribution: Laos (La Khon)
  • Aspidistra grandiflora Tillich. Blumea 52 (2): 341 (2007). Vietnam (Hoa Binh)
  • Aspidistra guangxiensis S. C. Tang & Y. Liu. Novon 13(4): 480, fig. 1. (2003). Distribution: China (Guangxi)
  • Aspidistra hainanensis W. Y. Chun & F. C. How. Fl. Hainan., 4: 533 (1977). Distribution: China (S Guangdong, EC Guangxi, S Hainan)
  • Aspidistra hekouensis H. Li, C. L. Long & Bogner. Sendtnera 5: 15, fig. 1. (1998). Distribution: China (SE Yunnan)
  • Aspidistra huanjiangensis G. Z. Li & Y. G. Wei. Acta Phytotax. Sin. 41(4): 384, fig. 2. (2003). Distribution: China (Gunangxi)
  • Aspidistra insularis Tillich. Feddes Repert. 117(1-2): 145 (144; fig. 4). (2006). Distribution: Japan (Kuroshima Island)
  • Aspidistra larutensis W. J. de Wilde & A. Vogel. Folia Malaysiana 6(3-4): 126 (125-130; figs. 1-5). (2005). Distribution: Malaysia (Perak)
  • Aspidistra lateralis Tillich. Feddes Repert. 116(5-6): 320 (335, 338; fig. 3d). (2005). Distribution: Vietnam (Thua Thien)
  • Aspidistra leshanensis K. Y. Lang & Z. Y. Zhu. Acta Bot. Yunnanica, 6(4): 385, fig. 1. (1984). Distribution: China (SC Sichuan)
  • Aspidistra leyeensis Y. Wan & C. C. Huang. Guihaia, 7(3): 219, fig. 2. (1987). Distribution: China (NW Guangxi)
  • Aspidistra linearifolia Y. Wan & C. C. Huang. Guihaia, 7(3): 220, fig. 3. (1987). Distribution: China (W Guangxi)
  • Aspidistra lobata Tillich. Feddes Repert. 117(1-2): 141 (-142; fig. 2). (2006). Distribution: China (Sichuan)
  • Aspidistra locii Arnautov & Bogner. Willdenowia 34(1): 203 (-208; figs.). (2004). Distribution: Vietnam
  • Aspidistra longanensis Y. Wan. Acta Phytotax. Sin., 23(2): 151, fig. 1. (1985). Distribution: China (WC Guangxi)
  • Aspidistra longifolia Hook.f. Fl. Brit Ind. 6. 326. (1892). Distribution: India
  • Aspidistra longiloba G. Z. Li. Acta Phytotax. Sin., 26(2): 156, fig. 1. (1988). Distribution: China (Guangxi)
  • Aspidistra longipedunculata D. Fang. Guihaia, 2(2): 78, fig. 2. (1982). Distribution: China (SW Guangxi)
  • Aspidistra longipetala S. Z. Huang. Guihaia, 6(4): 273, fig. 1. (1986). Distribution: China (C Guangxi)
  • Aspidistra luodianensis D. D. Tao. Acta Phytotax. Geobot., 43(2): 121, fig. 1 (1992). Distribution: China (NW Guangxi, S Guizhou)
  • Aspidistra lurida Ker Gawl. Bot. Reg. 8. t. 628. (1822). Distribution: China (Guangdong, NC Guangxi, SC Guizhou)
  • Aspidistra lutea Tillich. Feddes Repert. 116(5-6): 320 (-321, 335-336, 338; figs. 1k, 3c). (2005). Distribution: Vietnam (Son La)
  • Aspidistra marasmioides Tillich. Feddes Repert. 116(5-6): 321 (335, 337; fig. 2h). (2005). Distribution: Vietnam (Hai Phong)
  • Aspidistra marginella D. Fang & L. Zeng. Acta Phytotax. Sin., 31(2): 182, fig. 1. (1993). Distribution: China (SW Guangxi)
  • Aspidistra minutiflora Stapf. Journ. Linn. Soc. 36. 113. (1903). Distribution: China (N Guangdong, Guangxi, ?Guizhou, Hainan, Hong Kong, SW Hunan)
  • Aspidistra molendinacea G. Z. Li & S. C. Tang. Guihaia 22(4): 290, fig. 3. (2002). Distribution: China (Guangzi)
  • Aspidistra muricata F. C. How ex K. Y. Lang. Acta Phytotax. Sin., 19(3): 383, fig. 1. (1981). Distribution: China (NC & W Guangxi)
  • Aspidistra mushaensis Hayata. Ic. Pl. Formosan. 9. 144 (1920). Distribution: Taiwan
  • Aspidistra nanchuanensis Tillich. Feddes Repert. 117(1-2): 139 (-141; fig. 1). (2006). Distribution: China (Sichuan)
  • Aspidistra nikolaii
    Aspidistra nikolaii

    Aspidistra nikolaii is a species of Aspidistra plant that was one of the new 21 species of plants and animals recently discovered in the Annamite Range of central Vietnam....
     L. V. Averyanov & H.-J. Tillich, Feddes Repertorium 119 (1 - 2): 37 (2008). Distribution: Vietnam (Annamite Mts.)
  • Aspidistra oblanceifolia F. T. Wang & K. Y. Lang. Acta Phytotax. Sin., 20(4): 487, fig. 2 (1982). Distribution: China (S Guizhou, W Hubei, Sichuan)
  • Aspidistra obliquipeltata D. Fang & L. Y. Yu. Acta Phytotax. Sin. 40(2): 162, fig. 1. (2002). Distribution: China (Guangxi)
  • Aspidistra oblongifolia F. T. Wang & K. Y. Lang. Acta Phytotax. Sin., 37(5): 476, fig. 13. (1999). Distribution: China (N Guangxi)
  • Aspidistra omeiensis Z. Y. Zhu & J. L. Zhang. Acta Phytotax. Sin., 19(3): 386, fig. 1. (1981). Distribution: China (Sichuan)
  • Aspidistra opaca Tillich. Feddes Repert. 116(5-6): 321 (335, 337-338; figs. 2g, 3a). (2005). Distribution: Vietnam (Khanh Hoa)
  • Aspidistra papillata G. Z. Li. Acta Phytotax. Sin. 41(4): 382, fig. 1. (2003). Distribution: China (Guangxi)
  • Aspidistra patentiloba Y. Wan & X. H. Lu. Bull. Bot. Res., Harbin. 9(2): 99, fig. 2. (1989). Distribution: China (C Guangxi)
  • Aspidistra petiolata Tillich. Feddes Repert. 116(5-6): 321 (-322, 335, 338; fig. 3b, e). (2005). Distribution: Vietnam (Thua Thien)
  • Aspidistra pileata D. Fang & L. Y. Yu. Acta Phytotax. Sin. 40(2): 159, fig. 1. (2002). Distribution: China (Guangxi)
  • Aspidistra punctata Lindl. Bot. Reg. 12. t. 977. (1826). Distribution: China (Guandong, Hong Kong)
  • Aspidistra quadripartita G. Z. Li & S. C. Tang. Guihaia 22(4): 289, fig. 2. (2002). Distribution: China (Guangxi)
  • Aspidistra recondita Tillich. Blumea 52 (2): 341 (2007). (Vietnam but location not known)
  • Aspidistra renatae Bräuchler. Blumea 50(3): 527 (-529; photos). (2005). Distribution: Vietnam (central)
  • Aspidistra retusa K. Y. Lang & S. Z. Huang. Acta Phytotax. Sin., 19(3): 379, fig. 1. (1981). Distribution: China (NE Guangxi)
  • Aspidistra saxicola Y.Wan. Guihaia, 4(2): 129, fig. 1. (1984). Distribution: China (WC Guangxi)
  • Aspidistra sichuanensis K. Y. Lang & Z. Y. Zhu. Acta Bot. Yunnanica, 6(4): 387, fig. 1. (1984). Distribution: China (Guangxi, Guizhou, W Hunan, Sichuan, Yunnan)
  • Aspidistra spinula S. Z. He. Acta Phytotax. Sin. 40(4): 377, fig. 1. (2002). Distribution: China (Guizhou)
  • Aspidistra stricta Tillich. Feddes Repert. 116(5-6): 322 (335, 338; fig. 3f-g). (2005). Distribution: Vietnam (Lam Dong)
  • Aspidistra subrotata Y. Wan & C. C. Huang. Guihaia, 7(3): 223, fig. 5. (1987). Distribution: China (S & W Guangxi), Vietnam (Thai Nguyen)
  • Aspidistra superba Tillich. Feddes Repert. 116(5-6): 323 (335, 338; fig. 3i,k). (2005). Distribution: Vietnam (Ninh Binh)
  • Aspidistra sutepensis K. Larsen. Dansk Bot. Ark. 20(1). 41, fig. 1. (1961). Distribution: Vietnam (Paypa)
  • Aspidistra tonkinensis (Gagnep.) F. T. Wang & K. Y. Lang. Acta Phytotax. Sin., 16(1): 77 (1978) & Fl. Reipubl. Popul. Sin., 15: 19 (1978). Distribution: China (NW Guangxi, S Guizhou, SE Yunnan), Vietnam
  • Aspidistra triloba F. T. Wang & K. Y. Lang. Acta Phytotax. Sin., 19(3): 380, fig. 1. (1981). Distribution: China (SC Hunan, W Jiangxi)
  • Aspidistra tubiflora Tillich. Feddes Repert. 117(1-2): 141 (143, 145; fig. 3). (2006). Distribution: China (Sichuan)
  • Aspidistra typica Baill. Bull. Soc. Linn. Paris, 2. 1129. (1894). Distribution: China (SW Guangxi, SE Yunnan), Vietnam
  • Aspidistra umbrosa Tillich. Blumea 52 (2): 342 341 (2007). (Vietnam but location not known)
  • Aspidistra urceolata F. T. Wang & K. Y. Lang. Acta Phytotax. Sin., 19(3): 381, fig. 1. (1981). Distribution: China (Guizhou)
  • Aspidistra xilinensis Y. Wan & X. H. Lu. Acta Phytotax. Sin., 25(5): 397, fig. 1. (1987). Distribution: China (NW Guangxi)
  • Aspidistra yingjiangensis
    Aspidistra yingjiangensis

    Aspidistra yingjiangensis is a species of Aspidistra that is in China. The plant's leaves are green with pale yellow spots that are narrowly Leaf shape and it has two or three bracts....
     L. J. Peng. Acta Bot. Yunnanica, 11(2): 173, fig. 1. (1989). Distribution: China (W Yunnan)
  • Aspidistra zongbayi K. Y. Lang & Z. Y. Zhu. Acta Phytotax. Sin., 20(4): 486, fig. 1. (1982). Distribution: China (Sichuan)


Notes:

  • A. longifolia from India and A. attenuata, A. daibuensis and A. mushaensis from Taiwan are poorly described in the literature.
  • A. kouytchensis = A. lurida.
  • A. bimoda = A. fungilliformis.


External links


(1999): Aspidistra - an annotated list of the species and cultivars