Dracontium gigas
| Dracontium gigas | |
|---|---|
| |
| Dracontium gigas in Sarapiquí, Costa Rica | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Alismatales |
| Family: | Araceae |
| Genus: | Dracontium |
| Species: | D. gigas
|
| Binomial name | |
| Dracontium gigas | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
|
Godwinia gigas Seem. | |
Dracontium gigas (syn. Godwinia gigas) is a herbaceous rainforest plant in the family Araceae, native to Costa Rica and Nicaragua.[1] It resembles the Old World species Amorphophallus titanum but has a spadix that is shorter than the spathe, and an inflorescence that reaches up to 85 cm (33 in) in height; the inflorescence gives off a disgusting carrion-like smell. The leaf can grow up to 3.5 m (11 ft) high (the record is 4.3 m (14 ft)[2]) and 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) wide.[3] While the petiole of A. titanum can be 30 cm (12 in) or more thick, that of D. gigas is only 5–9.5 cm thick.[4][5]
This species was discovered in 1869 by Berthold Seemann, in the mountains of the Chontales Department of Nicaragua.[6] It can also be found in Trinidad and Tobago.[7]
References
- ^ a b c "Dracontium gigas (Seem.) Engl". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
- ^ Daglish, Dr E. Fitch (1924). Marvels of Plant Life. London: Thornton Butterworth. p. 227.
- ^ Bown, Deni (2000). Aroids - Plants of the Arum Family (2nd ed.). Portland: Timber Press. pp. 242–243. ISBN 978-1-60469-201-3.
- ^ "Páginas de Especies: Dracontium gigas". sura.ots.ac.cr (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-07-02.
- ^ Zuchowski, Willow (2007). Tropical Plants of Costa Rica. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press. p. 354 (photo). ISBN 978-0-80144-588-0. OCLC 143608544.
- ^ Zhu, Guanghua (Winter 1994). "Lectotypification and Epitypification of Dracontium gigas (Seemann) Engler (Araceae)". Novon. 4 (4): 404–407. doi:10.2307/3391454. JSTOR 3391454.
- ^ Plowman, Timothy (April 1969). "Folk uses of new world aroids". Economic Botany. 23 (2): 97–122. Bibcode:1969EcBot..23...97P. doi:10.1007/bf02860613.