''Alocasia nycteris'', commonly known as the bat alocasia or the batwing alocasia, is a plant in the family

Araceae The Araceae are a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants in which flowers are borne on a type of inflorescence called a spadix. The spadix is usually accompanied by, and sometimes partially enclosed in, a spathe (or leaf-like bract). Also ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to island of

Panay Panay is the sixth-largest and fourth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of and has a total population of 4,542,926 as of 2020 census. Panay comprises 4.4 percent of the entire population of the country. The City o ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant.

Taxonomy and etymology

The species was first displayed to the public by the

aroid The Araceae are a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants in which flowers are borne on a type of inflorescence called a spadix. The spadix is usually accompanied by, and sometimes partially enclosed in, a spathe (or leaf-like bract). Also ...

hobbyist Antonio Advincula during a garden show of the Philippine Horticultural Society, Inc. (PHSI) in 2003. It was named ''Alocasia advincula'' by George C. Yao, the former president of PHSI in the August 2003 issue of the ''International Aroid Society Newsletter''. However this name is considered

invalid Invalid may refer to: * Patient, a sick person * one who is confined to home or bed because of illness, disability or injury (sometimes considered a politically incorrect term) * .invalid, a top-level Internet domain not intended for real use As t ...

in accordance to the

International Code of Botanical Nomenclature The ''International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' (ICN) is the set of rules and recommendations dealing with the formal botanical names that are given to plants, fungi and a few other groups of organisms, all those "trad ...

(ICBN), due to the absence of a cited

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

, a Latin diagnosis, and an indication of

taxonomic rank In biological classification, taxonomic rank is the relative level of a group of organisms (a taxon) in an ancestral or hereditary hierarchy. A common system consists of species, genus, family (biology), family, order (biology), order, class (b ...

. It was subsequently described again in 2007 by Melanie P. Medecilo, George C. Yao, and Domingo A. Madulid in the ''Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas.'' The species name "nycteris" is in reference to the

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...

genus ''

Nycteris ''Nycteris'' comprises a genus of bats commonly called slit-faced or hollow-faced bats. They are grouped in the family Nycteridae. The bats are found in East Malaysia, Indonesia, and many parts of Africa. Description They are small bats, from i ...

'', due to the shape of the leaves of the plant.

Description

''Alocasia nycteris'' grows to around tall. It has 2 to 4 leaves with papery

cataphyll In plant morphology, a cataphyll (sometimes also called a ''cataphyllum'' or cataphyll leafJackson, Benjamin, Daydon; A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their Derivation and Accent; Published by Gerald Duckworth & Co. London, 4th ed 1928) is a reduce ...

s at the base. The stems, which are erect or horizontal on the ground, are around long and in width. The leaf petioles are green with black-green stripes. They are around long and wide. The leaf blades are hastate (spearhead-shaped) to sagittate (arrow-shaped) and are not

peltate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...

. The leaves are dark glossy green on the upper surface, and a lighter green on the underside. The leaf surfaces are smooth in texture, but they become membranous when dry or wilted. They are around wide at the middle. The leaf margins are deeply undulated to sub-

pinnatifid Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common Anatomical terms of location#Axes, axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology (biology), morphology, in Crysta ...

. The front lobe of the leaf is widely triangular in shape and pointed at the tip. The rear lobes are around long and spread out from each other at an angle of around 85° to 95°. The overall shape of the rear lobes is reminiscent of outstretched bat wings, hence its common name. The flowers appear alone or in pairs. The

spathe In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

is light green at the base and pale yellow towards the tip. The spadix is shorter than the spathe. They develop into oblong berries that turn orange when ripe. The seeds are greenish-black and round, around in diameter.

Distribution and habitat

''Alocasia nycteris'' is

to the northwestern region of

Panay Island Panay is the sixth-largest and fourth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of and has a total population of 4,542,926 as of 2020 census. Panay comprises 4.4 percent of the entire population of the country. The City ...

in the

, from Nabas to

Ibajay Ibajay, officially the Municipality of Ibajay ( Aklanon: ''Banwa it Ibajay''; Hiligaynon: ''Banwa sang Ibajay''; tl, Bayan ng Ibajay), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Aklan, Philippines. During the creation of Aklan Province in 1 ...

Aklan Aklan, officially the Province of Aklan ( Akeanon: ''Probinsya it Akean'' k'ɣan hil, Kapuoran sang Aklan; tl, Lalawigan ng Aklan), is a province in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. Its capital is Kalibo. The province is situated ...

and

Antique An antique ( la, antiquus; 'old', 'ancient') is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely ...

. It grows in the lowlands at an elevation of

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

. It is common in shaded places along the roadsides, rocky areas, disturbed

secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. ...

rice field Wendel D. Ley Track and Holloway Field is a stadium in Houston, Texas. It is primarily used for track and field and soccer for the Rice University Owls. It is bounded by Main Street (southeast), University Boulevard (southwest), Reckling Par ...

s, and lowland forests.

Uses

''Alocasia nycteris'' has become a popular indoor or potted ornamental plant in both the domestic and international markets. It is easily propagated vegetatively, but plants are still being harvested from the wild. Though still common, Medecilo ''et al.'' has recommended that the plant be placed under protection to prevent rapid decline of the wild populations.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15314448

nycteris ''Nycteris'' comprises a genus of bats commonly called slit-faced or hollow-faced bats. They are grouped in the family Nycteridae. The bats are found in East Malaysia, Indonesia, and many parts of Africa. Description They are small bats, from i ...

Endemic flora of the Philippines Flora of the Visayas Garden plants of Asia House plants Plants described in 2007

Taxonomy and etymology

Description

Distribution and habitat

Uses

See also

References