Orontium aquaticum

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

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

Familia: Araceae
Subfamilia: Orontioideae
Genus: Orontium
Species: Orontium aquaticum
Name

Orontium aquaticum L.
Synonyms

Homotypic
Aronia aquatica (L.) Baill., Hist. Pl. 13: 508 (1895).
Heterotypic
Pothos ovatus Walter, Fl. Carol.: 224 (1788).
Amidena undulata Raf., Autik. Bot.: 197 (1840).
Orontium angustifolium Raf., Autik. Bot.: 197 (1840).
Orontium vaginatum Raf., Autik. Bot.: 197 (1840), provisionally listed as a synonym.
Orontium aquaticum f. natans Glück, Beih. Bot. Centralbl. 39(2): 319 (1923).
Orontium aquaticum f. terrestre Glück, Beih. Bot. Centralbl. 39(2): 319 (1923).

Distribution
Native distribution areas:
References

Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species Plantarum. Tomus I: 324. Reference page.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2018. Orontium aquaticum in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Nov. 14. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2018. Orontium aquaticum. Published online. Accessed: Nov. 14 2018.
The Plant List 2013. Orontium aquaticum in The Plant List Version 1.1. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Nov. 14.
Tropicos.org 2018. Orontium aquaticum. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Nov. 14.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Orontium aquaticum in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 08-Apr-12.

Vernacular names
English: goldenclub
suomi: Kultapuikelo
svenska: Guldkolv

Orontium aquaticum /ɒˈrɒntiəm/, sometimes called golden-club,[1] floating arum, never-wets or tawkin,[2] is a species of flowering plants in the family Araceae. It is the single living species in the genus Orontium, which also contains several extinct species described from fossils.[3] O. aquaticum is endemic to the eastern United States[1] and is found growing in ponds, streams, and shallow lakes. It prefers an acidic environment. The leaves are pointed and oval with a water repellent surface. The inflorescence is most notable for having an extremely small almost indistinguishable sheath surrounding the spadix. Very early in the flowering this green sheath withers away leaving only the spadix.

The sheath was originally classified by Adolf Engler as a spathe due it being the last foliar piece before the spadix.[4] He also noted that species lacked a sympodial leaf. However, in a 1988 paper Thomas Ray argued that the structure was misidentified by Engler and was actually a sympodial leaf. According to Ray the spathe was missing and not the sympodial leaf. This interpretation was determined based on observations of morphological charactestics namely the appearance of a two-keeled bracteole and its positioning.[5] Despite this, the floral structure is still commonly identified in the literature as being a spathe.[6][7][8]

References

1. Orontium aquaticum Linnaeus, Flora of North America
The Royal Horticultural Society 2017, Orontium aquaticum (Golden club )
Bogner, J.; Johnson, K. R.; Kvacek, Z.; Upchurch, G. R. (2007). "New fossil leaves of Araceae from the Late Cretaceous and Paleogene of western North America" (PDF). Zitteliana. A (47): 133–147. ISSN 1612-412X.
A. Engler, (1887). Vergleichende Untersuchungen uber die morphologischen Verhaltnisse der Araceae. II. Theil Ueber Blattstellung und Sprossverhaltnisse der Araceae, Nova Acta der Ksl. Leop.-Carol.-Deutschen Akademie der Naturforscher 39: 158-231.
T.S. Ray, (1988). Survey of Shoot Organization in the Araceae, American Journal of Botany, Vol. 75, No. 1
Z. Nie, H. Sun, H. Li, and J. Wen, (2006) Intercontinental biogeography of subfamily Orontioideae (Symplocarpus, Lysichiton, and Orontium) of Araceae in eastern Asia and North America, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 40 (2006) 155–165
L.H. Klotz, (1992). On the biology of Orontium aquaticum L. (Araceae), golden club or floating arum, Aroideana 15, 25–33.

Simon J. Mayo, Josef Bogner, Peter C. Boyce: The Genera of Araceae. 1. published, Royal Botanic Gardens/ Kew Publishing, London 1997, ISBN 1-900347-22-9 (Full-text as PDF-file; Continental Printing, Belgium 1997).

Bibliography

Bown, Deni (2000). Aroids: Plants of the Arum Family [ILLUSTRATED]. Timber Press. ISBN 0-88192-485-7