''Lasia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to Asia and New Guinea. The genus contains only two known species, '' Lasia spinosa'' and '' Lasia concinna''.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> ''Lasia'' was believed to be a monotypic genus until 1997 when a wild population of ''Lasia concinna'' was discovered in a farmer's

paddy field A paddy field is a flooded field (agriculture), field of arable land used for growing Aquatic plant, semiaquatic crops, most notably rice and taro. It originates from the Neolithic rice-farming cultures of the Yangtze River basin in sout ...

in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. The farmer had been growing them for their edible young leaves. This species of ''Lasia'' had been known of previously only from a single specimen at the Bogor Botanic Gardens, formally described in 1920. Prior to 1997, the specimen was believed to have been a

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

between '' Lasia spinosa'' and '' Cyrtosperma merkusii''. The subsequent discovery by Hambali and Sizemore led to the realization that it was in fact a distinct species.

Species

#'' Lasia concinna'' Alderw. – West Kalimantan (Borneo) #'' Lasia spinosa'' (L.) Thwaites – China (including Tibet), Taiwan, Indian Subcontinent, Indochina, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Guinea

Uses

In Sri Lanka, ''Lasia spinosa'' is known as ''kohila'' (කොහිල) and the leaves and rhizomes of the plant are used in Sri Lankan cuisine.

References

Lasioideae Araceae genera Taxa named by João de Loureiro {{Araceae-stub