Marantaceae

Marantaceae
Maranta leuconeura
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Monocots
(unranked):	Commelinids
Order:	Zingiberales
Family:	Marantaceae
Genera
Afrocalathea Ataenidia Calathea Cominsia Ctenanthe Donax Halopegia Haumania Hylaeanthe Hypselodelphys Ischnosiphon Koernickanthe Maranta Marantochloa Megaphrynium Monophrynium Monophyllanthe Monotagma Myrosma Phacelophrynium Phrynium Pleiostachya Sanblasia Saranthe Sarcophrynium Schumannianthus Stachyphrynium Stromanthe Thalia Thaumatococcus Trachyphrynium

The Marantaceae or arrowroot family is a family of flowering plants known for its large starchy rhizomes. It is sometimes called the prayer-plant family. Combined morphological and DNA phylogenetic analyses indicate the family originated in Africa, although this is not the center of its extant diversity.^[1]

Taxonomy

The APG II system, of 2003 (unchanged from the APG system, 1998), also recognizes this family, and assigns it to the order Zingiberales in the clade commelinids in the monocots. The Marantaceae are considered the most evolved family in this group due to the extreme reduction in both stamens and carpels.

The family consists of 30(-1) with about 350(-500+) species according to Flowering Plants of the World), found in the tropical areas of the world except in Australia. The biggest concentration is in the America, with seven genera in Africa, and six in Asia.

The plants usually have underground rhizomes or tubers. The leaves are arranged in two rows with the petioles having a sheathing base. The leaf blade is narrow or broad with pinnate veins running parallel to the midrib. The petiole may be winged, and swollen into a pulvinus at the base. The inflorescence is a spike or panicle, enclosed by spathe-like bracts. The flowers are small and often inconspicuous, irregular and bisexual usually with an outer three free sepals and an inner series of three petaloid-like segments, tube-like in appearance. The fruit is either fleshy or a loculicidal capsule.

Economic Uses

The most well known species in the family is arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea), a plant of the Caribbean, grown in parts of the Caribbean, Australasia, and Sub-Saharan Africa for its easily digestible starch. It is grown commercially in the West Indies and tropical Americas.

Several species of genus Calathea are grown as houseplants for their large ornamental leaves, which are variegated in shades of green, white and pink. Other genera grown for houseplants includes Stromanthe and Maranta.

Calathea discolor has tough, durable leaves used to make waterproof baskets, and in the Caribbean and Central America, the leaves of Calathea lutea are used for roofing. Two Mexican species - C. macrosepala and C. violacea - have flowers that are cooked and used as vegetables. C. allouia, from the West Indies is known as Sweet Corn Root and has an edible tuber.

Images

• 

  Prayer plant "praying"

• 

  Prayer plant not "praying"

See also

• List of foliage plant diseases (Maranthaceae)

References

1. ^ Andersson, L; Chase MW (March 2001). "Phylogeny and classification of Marantaceae". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society (Academic Press) 135 (3): 275–287. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2001.tb01097.x. 

External links

• Marantaceae in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval. Version: April 27, 2006.
• Marantaceae in the Flora of North America
• Marantaceae in the Flora of China
• NCBI Taxonomy Browser
• links at CSDL
• Overview of family and genera
• Kew neotropikey

• Ed., V.H. Heywood, Flowering Plants of the World, Oxford Univ. Press (1978)
• Lennart Andersson, The neotropical genera of Marantaceae. Circumscription and relationships, Nordic Journal of Botany, Volume 1 Issue 2, Pages 218 - 245 (2008)