''Bucephalandra'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of flowering plants in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

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 ...

. There are 30 species of ''Bucephalandra'' which have been discovered in Borneo and have been formally described by S.Y. Wong and P.C. Boyce. Most of the species are found in

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

. ''Bucephalandra'' are usually found growing as dense mats over stones or rocks in streams or rivers in moist tropical forest.Bown, Deni (2000). ''Aroids: Plants of the Arum Family''. Timber Press. .

Etymology

''Bucephalandra'' is derived from Greek words, βοῦς (''bous''; bull or cow), κεφαλή (''kephalē''; head) and ἀνήρ (''anēr''; man), referring to the shape of the single male (

staminate The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

) flowers.

Description

These rheophytic (very seldom facultative) herbs can be minute to rather large, about 2 cm to 60 cm tall. Their stems are creeping and rooting, with a few or many leaves. The leaves can be quite delicate or tough and their shapes can be elliptic, oblong, linear, oblanceolate or obovate. Most of the leaf surfaces are rather glossy and the colours of the leaf range from dark blue-green to green, often with white to yellow to red tinges or spots on the back of the leaves.

Inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

can be solitary or in pair to several. Spathes are mostly white with flush (a few of them are yellow) and shapes can be ellipsoid to lanceolate, narrowing to a point. The limbs (upper part of spathes) drop off during staminate

anthesis Anthesis is the period during which a flower is fully open and functional. It may also refer to the onset of that period. The onset of anthesis is spectacular in some species. In ''Banksia'' species, for example, anthesis involves the extension ...

, leaving the persistent funnel-shaped lower part of the spathe. Spadix consist of a few or no

pistillode Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils' ...

s at the base, pistillate zone, a few rows of scale-like motile

staminode In botany, a staminode is an often rudimentary, sterile or abortive stamen, which means that it does not produce pollen.Jackson, Benjamin, Daydon; ''A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their Derivation and Accent''; Published by Gerald Duckworth & Co. ...

s (interstice staminodes), staminate zone, and appendix.

Pistils Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...

are depressed globose or depressed trapezoidal in shape, 1-locular and with many ovules.

Stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s consist of short filaments with

thecae In biology, a theca (plural thecae) is a sheath or a covering. Botany In botany, the theca is related to plant's flower anatomy. The theca of an angiosperm consists of a pair of microsporangia that are adjacent to each other and share a comm ...

at the tip, dehiscing by a pore.

Pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...

s squeezed out from the theca pore like a droplet.

Fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

s are

berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...

with round to ellipsoidal shapes.

Anthesis and role of interstice staminodes

The scale-like motile staminodes sandwiched by pistillate and staminate flower zones are called interstice staminodes. These staminodes play a role in controlling pollinators' access to the pistillate flower zone and to protect the developing fruits. During pistillate anthesis, the spathe inflates to create a slit in the limb, stigmas become sticky and emit odour to attract pollinatros, and the interstice staminodes and thecae erect, allowing pollinators to access pistillate zone. When stigmas become non-receptive, the interstice staminodes begin to lower and seal off the lower spathe. During staminate athesis, the staminate flower thecae point upward and emit odour. Shortly after that, the limb splits away from the lower spathe, coincidentally pollen droplet extrudes from the tips of the theca horns. Once the fertilization is successful, the interstice staminodes become photosynthetic, thicken, and harden until the fruits are fully developed. The enlarged berries push the staminodes up and staminodes shed away. The fruits are exposed and quickly become gooey pulp embedded with seeds.

Seed dispersal of ''Bucephalandra''

The seeds of ''Bucephalandra'' are dispersed by splash-cup mechanism; water droplets splash into the funnel-shape lower spathe and this motion ejects the seeds. The seeds will then anchor on the mosses or tiny fissures on the surrounding rock.

Species

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Bucephalandra akantha ''Bucephalandra'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae. There are 30 species of ''Bucephalandra'' which have been discovered in Borneo and have been formally described by S.Y. Wong and P.C. Boyce. Most of the species are found i ...