15. Typhonium Schott, Wiener Z. Kunst 1829(3): 732 (1829).
By: Himanchal T. Magar & Mohan Siwakoti
Taxon Description
Perennial tuberous herbs. Leaves simple, entire, hastate, 3–5 lobed or pedatified, present at flowering, petiolate. Inflorescences pedunculate. Spathe with lower part persistent, swollen, margins overlapping, upper part deciduous, narrow. Spadix equaling or longer than spathe with 4 distinct sections from base: a female zone, an intermediate sterile zone, a male zone and an appendix. Spadix appendix terminal. Flowers unisexual, lacking perianth. Ovary 1-loculed with 1–2 basal ovules, stigma sessile, punctate. Stamens single or fused in pairs, anthers sessile, locules dehiscing by terminal pores. Berries ovoid, 1(–2) seeded. Seeds globose, albuminous; embryo axile.
Taxon Statistics
Worldwide 69 species: native range is Mongolia to Tropical Asia and Australasia. One species in Nepal.
1. Typhonium trilobatum (L.) Schott, Wiener Z. Kunst 3: 72 (1829).
Arum trilobatum L., Sp. Pl.: 965 (1753); Arum foetidum Salisb.; Dracunculus trilobatus (L.) Raf.
Perennial tuberous herbs up to 45 cm. Tubers sub-globose, 0.5–1 cm diam. Leaves simple, petioles 25–30 cm; leaf blade hastate to subtrisect, central lobe ovate, 7–8 X 2.5–3 cm, lateral lobes obliquely ovate, 4–4.5 X 1–1.5 cm, base sub-bilobed, apex acuminate. Peduncles green, 9–15 cm. Spathe rose-purple, ca. 2.5 cm; limb oblong-ovate-lanceolate, 11–15 X 5–7 cm, apex acuminate. Spadix shorter than spathe, ca. 15 cm, female zone slightly conic, 7–10 mm, sterile zone 2–3 cm, proximal half densely covered with staminodes, distal half naked, male zone rose-pink, 1.2–1.5 cm; appendix glossy purple or reddish, narrowly conic, 5–12 cm X 4–7 mm, apex acute or subacute.
Distribution: Nepal, E Himalaya, Assam-Burma, S Asia, E Asia and SE Asia.
Altitudinal range: 300–2500 m.
Ecology: Wet places and roadsides.
Flowering: August. Fruiting: August.
Morphological characters were described from two herbarium specimens deposited in KATH and one specimen deposited in E. One specimen deposited in TUCH under the name Typhonium diversifolium has a triangular leaf. However, Typhonium diversifolium (Sauromatum diversifolium) does not have a triangular leaf but has hastate or lobed leaf instead. Careful examination of that specimen with the nearest species of Typhonium in different published Floras revealed that the characters match highly with those of T. jinpingense, a species that is endemic to Yunnan (China). Therefore T. jinpingense is possibly a new addition to Nepal. However, further examination of freshly collected specimens is required to validate the true presence of T. jinpingense in Nepal.