Tacca
| Bat flowers | |
|---|---|
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| White Bat Flower (Tacca integrifolia) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Dioscoreales |
| Family: | Dioscoreaceae |
| Genus: |
Tacca J.R.Forst. & G.Forst. |
| Synonyms | |
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The genus Tacca, which includes the batflowers and arrowroot, consists of flowering plants in the order Dioscoreales, native to tropical regions of South America, Africa, Australia, Southeast Asia, and various oceanic islands. In older texts, the genus was treated in its own family Taccaceae, but the 2003 APG II system incorporates it into the family Dioscoreaceae. The APG III and APG IV systems continue to include Tacca in Dioscoreaceae.
Earlier classifications placed the genus within the monogeneric family Taccaceae, which in turn was the sole family in the order Taccales. Dahlgren recognised the similarities to the genera within the Dioscoreales, and incorporated the family into that order.
There are at least 16 species,
Several species are cultivated as ornamental plants for their bold foliage and large flowers. The well-known T. chantrieri goes by the names of black batflower, bat-head lily, devil flower or cat's whiskers. Tacca integrifolia is known as the purple or white batflower. Other cultivated varieties include the arrowroot, T. leontopetaloides, and T. cristata aspera.
Black bat flower, Tacca chantrieri, close-up of flower
Tacca cristata, flowering
Ankarana arrowroot, Tacca ankaranensis, flower
Polynesian arrowroot, Tacca leontopetaloides, mature plants
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Wikipedia