Montrichardia arborescens
| Yautia madera | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Monocots |
| Order: | Arales |
| Family: | Araceae |
| Genus: | Montrichardia |
| Species: | M. arborescens |
| Binomial name | |
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Montrichardia arborescens (Schott) |
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| Synonyms | |
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Montrichardia arborescens, yautia madera, or moco-moco, is a tropical plant grows along river banks, swamps, or creeks to a maximum height of 9'. They consist of arrow shaped leaves that are food sources for animal species. The plant produces inflorescences which then leave a fruit of Montrichardia arborescens which is edible and can be cooked. Its fruiting spadices produces large infructescences, which contain about 80 edible yellow fruits.
Montrichardia arborescens is most commonly found in South America in areas of the Caribbean and Mesoamerica including Puerto Rico, Panama, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, and more.Montrichardia arborescens is native to the tropical Americas and the West Indies.
Montrichardia arborescens is a perennial helophytic shrub that grows most commonly in a bay, mangrove habitat. They most suitably grow along the banks of rivers, creeks and in swamps. They also grow in salt water, brackish water, and fresh water.M. arborescens usually live a short viable life and can not withstand low temperatures. They grow best with full sun or in partial shade and can withstand most types of soil. As with many Araceae they basically need lots of water but they do have some drought tolerance. This species is often cultivated in or besides ponds because they form unusual and impressive stands. The geophytic tropical Araceae are seldom cultivated in gardens because they require more constant care.
The plant usually stems to 3m, and is often swollen at base. It can grow up to 25 cm in diameter and sometimes with short prickles. Leaf stalks can grow up to 30 cm long, and the blades can range 10–30 cm with a distinct triangular outline except for lobes at base. The spadix of Montrichardia arborescens is cylindrical or ellipsoid that forms at maturity. Seeds of M. arboresecens usually float to shore and germinate.
Flowers of M. arborescens, consist of a spadix (typical to the family Araceae) which is a type of spike inflorescence having small flowers borne on a fleshy stem. The spadix of contains uni-sexual flowers without a perianth. The pistillate flowers are located in the base portion of the inflorescence, and the staminate flowers are located in the apical portion. In the zone between male flowers and female flowers there are also vestigial flowers. In a study done by M. Weber and H. Halbritter to examine M. arborescens pollen, their findings indicated that there is rapid pollen tube formation. The ultra structure of the pollen protoplast was characterized by many mitochondria, ER strands, dictyosomes, and microtubules. It seemed that they need quick germination since the wall is missing and thus a protective coating around the easily damaged pollen protoplast is absent. Further studies are needed to clarify how the pollen wall and pollen tube are formed. The representative molecular barcode of Montrichardia arborescens can be found at the Encyclopedia of life page.
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