Thalia geniculata
Plant species in Africa and the Americas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Thalia geniculata, the bent alligator-flag,[3] arrowroot,[4] or fire-flag,[4] is a plant species widespread across tropical Africa and much of the Americas.
| Thalia geniculata | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Zingiberales |
| Family: | Marantaceae |
| Genus: | Thalia |
| Species: | T. geniculata |
| Binomial name | |
| Thalia geniculata L., Sp. Pl., 2: 1193, 1753 | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
Thalia geniculata is native to a large region in Africa, from Senegal in the west to Sudan in the east, south to Zimbabwe and Angola. It is also considered native to Mexico, Central America, the West Indies, most of South America, as well as the southeastern United States (Puerto Rico, Florida, Louisiana, Alabama and southern Georgia).[2][5]
Ecology
The larvae of Stolidoptera tachasara, Xylophanes hannemanni and Sphenarches anisodactylus have been recorded feeding on Thalia geniculata. The Thalia geniculata was also use to investigate the sugar-feeding behavior of Anopheles quadrimaculatus by measuring the impact and its survival(7)[citation needed]
Chemistry
Rosmarinic acid can be found in plants in the family Marantaceae such as Thalia geniculata.[6]
