Peltandra virginica
Peltandra
arrow arum, green arrow-arum, peltandra, peltandre, t arrow arum, tuckahoe, u ttuckahoe, Virginia peltandra
arrow arum
vertical.
petiole green to purple-green, 38–98 cm;
blade medium green, not glaucous or slightly glaucous abaxially, 9–57 × (2.5–)5–15(–31) cm, larger on average and more variable in shape than in Peltandra sagittifolia;
lateral veins of 2 thicknesses.
appearing before flowers, several, clustered apically, erect;
petiole equal to or longer than blade;
blade green or glaucous light green, simple, not peltate, lanceolate to widely ovate, base hastate to sagittate, rarely cordate, apex acuminate to rounded or mucronate;
lateral veins parallel.
7–25 cm;
peduncle 20–56 cm;
spathe tube green outside, paler green within, closed; 1.5–3.5(–5.2) × 0.7–1.9 cm;
spathe blade green to green with white or yellow-green along margins, loosening only to slightly open to fully open at anthesis, (5.9–)8.5–21.4 × 0.5–2.3 cm, margins undulate;
spadix tapering apically, more than 1/2 to almost as long as spathe.
peduncle recurving in fruit, half ½ as long as to slightly longer than petiole, apex not swollen;
spathe tube green, enclosing base of spadix;
spathe blade green to white, opening slightly to fully at anthesis;
spadix cylindric.
pistillate flowers pale green to greenish white, ovaries 1-locular;
ovules 1–4; staminate portion of spadix white, cream white, or pale yellow;
sterile flowers between pistillate and staminate flowers;
sterile tip 0.5–2 cm.
unisexual, staminate and pistillate on same plant,, pistillate flowers covering basal portion of spadix,, staminate flowers apical, consisting of 4–5 connate stamens forming flat-topped synandrium;
sterile flowers proximal to and usually distal to staminate flowers;
perianth absent.
enclosed by spathe tube, rotting away to release fruits.
pea green to mottled green or very dark purple-green, 10–18 × 6–16 mm.
not embedded in spadix, red or green to dark purple-green.
1–2(–4), embedded in mucilage, 8–17 mm.
1–2(–4), mucilage present.
= 14.
= 112.
Peltandra virginica
Peltandra
Leaf shape is highly variable in Peltandra virginica, and different forms have been recognized taxonomically, both at the specific and infraspecific levels. Since Because leaf shape varies within populations and even within an individual clump of plants, P. virginica is treated here as a single taxon.
Populations of Peltandra virginica are most common along the Atlantic Coastal Plain, but its range appears to be actively expanding. Since 1978, the species was reported as new to the floras of Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, and introduced populations may persist in Oregon and California. Fruits and seeds of P. virginica are a food for wildlife, especially waterfowl, and their use by migratory birds is an important factor in the spread of this species.
The flowers of Peltandra virginica are pollinated by a chloropid fly, Elachiptera formosa (Diptera: Chloropidae), which uses the inflorescence as a mating site and a larval food source. Eggs are deposited within the inflorescence, and the emerging larvae feed on the rotting male portion of the spadix. The fruits are primarily dispersed by water, although animals also play a role.
Peltandra virginica may have been an important food plant for eastern Native Americans, especially in the mid-Atlantic coastal region from Pennsylvania to Virginia, where the plants are now common and grow in large, dense populations. Historical accounts mention use of the rhizomes as well as the leaves, fruits, and seeds as food.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Only one species of Peltandra, P. virginica, (with two subspecies), was recognized by W. H. Blackwell and K. P. Blackwell (1974), a treatment followed by some botanists. They synonymized P. luteospadix with P. sagittifolia, based primarily on their contention that no Peltandra species have red fruits, and called that taxon P. virginica subsp. luteospadix (Fernald) Blackwell & Blackwell. All of the specimens cited in their treatment of the genus are P. virginica.
The two species of Peltandra can be distinguished not only on reproductive charactersistics, but also on features of leaf venation. Fossil leaves congeneric with modern Peltandra are known from very late Paleocene through early Eocene deposits of North America. Peltandra is one of two genera of Araceae endemic to the flora area (the other is Orontium).
Species 2 (2 in the flora).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Lateral leaf veins of ± same thickness; spadix ±about 1/2 as long as spathe; spathe blade white; fruits red | P. sagittifolia |
1. Lateral leaf veins of 2 different thicknesses; spadix more than 1/2 to almost as long as spathe; spathe blade green to green with white or yellow-green along margins; fruits pea green to mottled green or dark purple-green | P. virginica |
- Local floras:
CA, 
OR, 
WA - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos,
Flora NW, 
Go Botany, 
IL Wildflowers, 
KS Wildflowers, 
LA Plants, 
MD Biodiversity, 
MI Flora, 
MN Wildflowers, 
MO Plants, 
PNW Herbaria 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
- Local floras: CA, OR, WA
- Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria
- WildflowerSearch
- iNaturalist (observations)
- USDA Plants Database
- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
