Anthurium andraeanum

Names

Common names for plants in the genus Anthurium include flamingo flower, tailflower, painter's palette, oilcloth flower, and laceleaf. Its name comes from the Greek words anthos, meaning flower, and oura, meaning a tail, referring to the spadix.

Description

It is a monocotyledonous perennial, preferring warm, shady and humid climates, such as tropical rainforests. Its most characteristic feature as an ornamental is its brightly colored spathe leaf, and the protruding inflorescence called the spadix.

It is a short erected plant with whole, cardioid or heart-shaped leaves, generally reflexed, cordate base, apex acuminate or cuspid, which are borne by a cylindrical petiole 30–40 cm long.

The spathe is cartilage-waxy, brightly coloured (red, pink) and 8–15 cm long, excluding the inflorescence (the spadix), which is 7–9 cm long, similar to a candle-holder, white or yellow in colour, is erected, and bears many small hermaphroditic flowers. These include a perianth with four segments and stamens with a compressed mesh. Flowering extends throughout the year.

The fruit is a fleshy berry.

Distribution

Native to Ecuador and southwestern Colombia, it is also naturalised in other parts of the world. It is found in the Caribbean and Réunion. It is grown as an ornamental plant in the form of many hybrids or horticultural varieties. It is commonly used to make bouquets.

Toxicity

The whole plant is toxic. It contains saponins and crystals of calcium oxalate, in fine needles, able to penetrate the mucous membranes and provokes painful irritations. It is toxic to all mammals: a mouth-worn fragment can cause severe irritation of the mouth and throat. Contact with a human causes erythema, blisters, and if ingested, salivation, difficulty in swallowing and vomiting.

Gallery

File:Anthurium andraeanum 2024.jpg File:Anthurium at lalbagh 7096.JPG File:Aanthurium.JPG File:Anthurium soft white-yercaud-salem-India.JPG File:ანთურიუმი Anthurium Hybr. Flamingoblume.JPG File:火鶴霹靂馬20190724201841.jpg|cv. 'Previa'

References

References

1. [http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=10633 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]
2. "RHS Plantfinder – ''Anthurium andraeanum''". Royal Horticultural Society.
3. [http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/poison/Anthusp.htm ''Anthurium'' spp.] {{Webarchive. link. (2013-10-03 Poisonous Plants of North Carolina. North Carolina State University.)
4. [https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=42558 ''Anthurium''.] ITIS.
5. Nadruz Coelho, M.A., Waechter, J.L. & Mayo, S.J. (2009). Revisão taxonômica das espécies de Anthurium (Araceae) seção Urospadix subseção Flavescentiviridia. Rodriguésia; Revista do Instituto de Biologia Vegetal, Jardim Botânico e Estaçao Biologica do Itatiaya 60: 799–864.
6. [http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=b575"Anthurium Andraeanum." Missouri Botanical Garden]
7. Collette VE, Jameson PE, Schwinn KE, Umaharan P, Davies KM (2004) Temporal and spatial expression of flavonoid biosynthetic genes in flowers of Anthurium andraeanum. Physiol Plant 122:297–304. doi:10.1111/j.1399-3054.2004.00402.x
8. 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.
9. Linden ex André, Ill. Hort. 24: 43 (1877).
10. Jacques Fournet, Flora illustrated the flowering of Guadeloupe and Martinique, Gondwana editions, CIRAD2002 Volume 1 ({{ISBN. 2-87614-489-1); Volume 2 ({{ISBN. 2-87614-492-1)