Three new records of Aroids (Araceae) for Bangladesh

Hosne Ara,Md Abul Hassan

doi:10.3329/bjpt.v13i2.581

Abstract

Three aroid species, namely Colocasia gigantea (Blume) Hook. f., Epipremnum pinnatum (L.) Engl. and Scindapsus perakensis Hook. f. under the family Araceae are recorded for the first time for Bangladesh. An updated nomenclature including important synonyms, illustrated descriptions, flowering and fruiting times, specimens examined, ecology, geographical distribution, occurrance within Bangladesh and uses for each species have also been provided. Key words: Colocasia gigantea, Epipremnum pinnatum, Scindapsus perakensis, New records, Araceae, Bangladesh DOI: 10.3329/bjpt.v13i2.581 Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon. 13(2): 83-91, 2006 (December)

Highlights

Araceae is a family of about 110 genera and 2500 species (Croat 1979) distributed mostly in the tropics and subtropics of both the hemispheres
Recent publications indicate that about 65 species of the family Araceae have so far been identified in Bangladesh (Ara 2001, Ara and Hassan 2005 a,b, Ara et al 2004, 2005 a,b)
Field collections from Rangamati, Khagrachari, Bandarban, Sylhet and Maulvi Bazar districts indicate that three species of the family, namely Colocasia gigantea (Blume) Hook. f., Epipremnum pinnatum (L.) Engl. and Scindapsus perakensis Hook. f. were not reported from the territory of Bangladesh by many previous workers, for example, Hooker (1893), Prain (1903), Heinig (1925), Calder et al (1926), Sinclair (1955), Rao and Verma (1976), Huq and Khan (1984), Nicolson (1987), Karthikeyan et al (1989), Khan et al (1994), Noltie (1994), Mia and Khan (1995), Rahman and Uddin (1997), Uddin et al (1998), Uddin and Rahman (1999), Rashid et al (2000), Ara (2001), Khan and Huq (2001) and Rahman (2004a, 2004b)

Summary

Introduction

Araceae is a family of about 110 genera and 2500 species (Croat 1979) distributed mostly in the tropics and subtropics of both the hemispheres. Recent publications indicate that about 65 species of the family Araceae have so far been identified in Bangladesh (Ara 2001, Ara and Hassan 2005 a,b, Ara et al 2004, 2005 a,b).

Results

Conclusion