Interesting Facts
- One of the most durable of plants , this popular houseplant is quite able to survive neglect and very poor light conditions.
Common Names
Common Names in English:
Barroom Plant, Cast Iron Plant, Cast-Iron Plant, Iron Plant
Description
Genus Aspidistra
Herbs perennial
, rhizomatous
. Rhizome creeping
, elongate
; nodes dense. Leaves solitary or 2--4-tufted, basal, erect
, long petiolate
; leaf blade
many veined. Scape usually very short, with 2--8 scales
, 1(or 2) -flowered. Flowers bisexual
, terminal
, generally embraced by 1 or 2 bracts at perianth base
. Perianth campanulate
, urceolate
, or cupular, fleshy
, apically (4--) 6--8(--10) -lobed. Stamens as many as and opposite perianth lobes
, usually inserted
in proximal
part of perianth tube
; filaments
very short or absent; anthers
dorsifixed
. Ovary 3- or 4-loculed; ovules several per locule. Style short, sometimes articulate
; stigma usually peltate or mushroom-shaped, large, entire or lobed
at margin
. Fruit a berry, globose
to ovoid-ellipsoid, usually 1-seeded.
About 55 species: China, India, Japan, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam; 49 species (46 endemic, one introduced
) in China.
Aspidistra has never been well studied so, for the convenience of later criticisms, we use the narrowest species concept in this treatment. Further studies are needed in order
to understand the precise species variation and to establish an adequate species concept in the genus.[1]
Physical Description
Habit: Clumping
Flowers: Bloom Period: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December. • Flower Color: Brown • Flower Conspicuous: Inconspicuous
Foliage: Leathery, glossy • Foliage Shape: Lance-shaped • Normal foliage color: Green • Underside foliage: Green • Juvenile foliage: Green • Mature foliage: Green • New foliage: Green • Spring foliage: Green • Summer foliage: Green • Fall foliage: Green • Winter foliage: Green
Size/Age/Growth
Growth Rate: Slow Growing • Size: Slow growing to 2 ft . tall, 2 to 3 ft. wide.
Landscaping
Care: Follow a regular watering schedule during the first growing season to establish a deep, extensive root system . Watering can be reduced after establishment. Feed with a general purpose fertilizer before new growth begins in spring .
Biology
Growth
Culture: Space 24-36" apart.
Soil: Minimum pH: 4.5 • Maximum pH: 5.5
Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Shade
Moisture: Drought Tolerance: High • Water Requirements: Once established needs only occasional water.
Temperature: Heat Zones: High: 12 (>210 days) Low:4 (>14 to 30 days) (map) • Cold Hardiness: 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b, 11. (map)
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Plantae
()
- Haeckel, 1866
- Plants
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
()
- Cavalier-Smith, 1981
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
()
- Sinnott, 1935 Ex Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Vascular Plants
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
()
- Infraphylum:
Radiatopses
()
- Kenrick & Crane, 1997
- Class:
Liliopsida
()
- Scopoli, 1760
- Subclass:
Liliidae
()
- Takhtajan, 1967
- Superorder:
Lilianae
()
- Takhtajan, 1967
- Order:
Asparagales
()
- Bromhead, 1838
- Suborder:
Asparagineae
()
-
- Family:
Convallariaceae
()
- Horaninow, 1834
- Subfamily:
Rubioideae
()
- Tribe:
Aspidistreae
()
- Genus:
Aspidistra
()
- Ker-Gawler, 1822
- Specific epithet:
elatior
- Blume
- Botanical name: - Aspidistra elatior Blume
- Specific epithet:
elatior
- Blume
- Genus:
Aspidistra
(
- Tribe:
Aspidistreae
(
- Subfamily:
Rubioideae
(
- Family:
Convallariaceae
(
- Suborder:
Asparagineae
(
- Order:
Asparagales
(
- Superorder:
Lilianae
(
- Subclass:
Liliidae
(
- Class:
Liliopsida
(
- Infraphylum:
Radiatopses
(
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
(
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
(
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
(
- Kingdom:
Plantae
(
Notes
Publishing author
: Blume Publication
: Hoev. and De vriese, Tijdschr. i. (1834) 76. t. 4
An accepted name
in the RHS Horticultural Database.
Similar Species
Members of the genus Aspidistra
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 125 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:
A. acetabuliformis · A. akebono · A. alata · A. alternativa · A. arnautovii catbaensis · A. arnautovii subsp. catbaensis · A. atroviolacea · A. attenuata · A. austrosinensis · A. bicolor · A. bogneri · A. caespitosa · A. caespitosa 'Jade Ribbons' (Cast Iron Plant) · A. campanulata · A. carinata · A. carnosa · A. cavicola · A. cerina · A. 'China Moon' (Cast Iron Plant) · A. 'China Star' · A. 'China Sun' · A. claviformis · A. connata · A. cruciformis · A. cryptantha · A. cyathiflora · A. daibuensis · A. dodecandra · A. dolichanthera · A. ebianensis · A. elatior (Cast Iron Plant) · A. elatior 'Akebono' · A. elatior 'Amanogawa' · A. elatior 'Asahi' (Cast Iron Plant) · A. elatior 'Goldfeather' (Cast Iron Plant) · A. elatior 'Hoshi-zora' · A. elatior 'Hoshi Zora' (Cast Iron Plant) · A. elatior 'Milky Way' (Cast Iron Plant) · A. elatior 'Morning Frost' (Cast Iron Plant) · A. elatior 'Okame' (Striped Cast Iron Plant) · A. elatior Blume 'Punctata' · A. elatior 'Snow Cap' (Cast Iron Plant) · A. elatior 'Stars and Stripes' (Cast Iron Plant) · A. elatior 'To Ryu Mon' (Cast Iron Plant) · A. elatior var. attenuata · A. elatior 'Variegata' (Variegated Cast Iron Plant) · A. elatior 'Variegata Exotica' · A. fasciaria · A. fenghuangensis · A. fimbriata · A. flaviflora · A. foliosa · A. fungilliformis · A. geastrum · A. glandulosa · A. grandiflora · A. guangxiensis · A. hainanensis · A. hekouensis · A. huanjiangensis · A. insularis · A. larutensis · A. lateralis · A. leshanensis · A. leyeensis · A. linearifolia · A. linearifolia 'Leopard' (Aspidistra) · A. lobata · A. locii · A. longanensis · A. longifolia · A. longiloba · A. longipedunculata · A. longipetala · A. luodianensis · A. lurida · A. lurida 'Amanogawa' (Cast Iron Plant) · A. lurida 'Fuji-no-mine' · A. lurida 'Ginga' (Cast Iron Plant) · A. lurida 'Irish Mist' · A. lurida 'Suisho' (Cast Iron Plant) · A. lutea · A. marginella · A. minutiflora · A. molendinacea · A. muricata · A. mushaensis · A. nanchuanensis · A. oblanceifolia · A. obliquipeltata · A. oblongifolia · A. omeiensis · A. opaca · A. papillata · A. patentiloba (Aspidistra) · A. petiolata · A. pileata · A. punctata · A. quadripartita · A. recondita
More Info
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Further Reading
- A handbook of systematic botany / by Dr. E. Warming with a revision of the fungi by Dr. E. Knoblauch, tr. and ed. by M. C. Potter. New York: Macmillan & Co., 1895. ENG url p. 314.
- Acta Soc. pro Fauna et Flora Fennica. Helsinki, Societas. ENG url p. 69.
- Addisonia: colored illustrations and popular descriptions of plants. New York: New York Botanical Garden, 1916-[1964]. ENG url p. 53, p. 65.
- Allgemeine botanische Zeitschrift für Systematik, Floristik, Pflanzengeographie etc. Karlsruhe: J.J. Reiff, 1895-1928. GER url p. 14.
- An introduction to the embryology of angiosperms. New York, McGraw-Hill, 1950. ENG url p. 141.
- Annales de l'Institut colonial de Marseille. Marseille: Institut colonial de Marseille, -1906. FRE url p. 618.
- Atti della Societtaliana di scienze naturali. Milano: 1860-1895. ITA url p. 336.
- Berichte der Deutschen Botanischen Gesellschaft. Berlin: Gebrder Borntrger, 1883-1987. GER url p. 106, p. 226, p. 330.
- Berichte der Schweizerischen Botanischen Gesellschaft = Bulletin de la Socit botanique Suisse. [Zrich]: Die Gesellschaft, 1891-1981. FRE url p. 13.
- Biologisches Zentralblatt. Leipzig [etc.]VEB Georg Thieme [etc.] GER url p. 706.
- Botanisches Zentralblatt; referierendes Organ für das Gesamtgebiet der Botanik. Jena [etc.]G. Fischer [etc.] GER url p. 115, p. 190, p. 197, p. 387, p. 43.
- Bulletin de l'Académie Royale des Sciences, des Lettres et des Beaux-Arts de Belgique. Bruxelles. url p. 203.
- Catalogue of scientific papers, 1800-1900. Compiled by the Royal Society of London. London, C.J. Clay and Sons, 1867-1902 [etc.] Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1914-25. ENG url p. 292.
- Comprehensive index to the Flora of Guatemala / Terua P. Williams. [Chicago]: Field Museum of Natural History, 1977. ENG url p. 21.
- Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des s©ances de l'Acad©mie des sciences. Paris: publi©s avec le concours du Centre national de la recherche scientifique par MM. les secr©taires perp©tuels: -1965. FRE url p. 1246.
- Die Gartenwelt. Berlin: G. Schmidt, [1897- GER url p. 141, p. 564, p. 623, p. 90.
- Dr. L. Rabenhorst's Kryptogamen-Flora von Deutschland, Oesterreich und der Schweiz Leipzig: E. Kummer, 1884-1966. GER url p. 206.
- Entomologische Zeitung. [Stettin: Entomologischer Verein zu Stettin, 1840-1911]. GER url p. 78.
- Flora balearica, étude phytogéographique sur les íles Baléares, par Herman Knoche. [Montpellier, France, Imp. Roumégous et Déhan]1921-1923. FRE url p. 48.
- Flora of Guatemala / Paul C. Standley and Julian A. Steyermark. Chicago: Chicago Natural History Museum, 1952. ENG url p. 61.
- Flore analytique & descriptive des provinces de Namur et de Luxembourg (plantes indigènes et cultivées) Accompagnée d'une carte botanique, des étymologies des noms, des propriétés des plantes, etc. Ouvrage illustré de 341 figures. Namur, Ad. Wesmael-Charlier, 1902. FRE url p. 110.
- Flore des serres et des jardins de l'Europe, ou Descriptions et figures des plantes les plus rares et les plus meritantes / rdige par M. Ch. Lemaire, M. Schweidweller, M. L. van Houtte. Gand: Louis van Houtte, 1845-1880. FRE url p. 97.
- Gartenflora. Erlangen: F. Enke, 1852-1940. GER url p. 24, p. 242, p. 282, p. 410, p. 603.
- Gray's Botanical text-book. [New York: American Book Company, c1879.] ENG url p. 127.
- Hamburger Garten- und Blumenzeitung. Hamburg: R. Kittler, 1852-1890. GER url p. 232, p. 235, p. 289, p. 290, p. 292, p. 294, p. 295, p. 531.
- Handbuch der systematischen botanik, mit besonderer berücksichtigung der arzneipflanzen. Bd. 1. Leipzig, H. Haessel, 1879. GER url p. 1162, p. 409.
- House plants / by Robert Van Tress. Chicago:Field Museum of Natural History, 1937. ENG url p. 16.
- Illustrierte Garten-Zeitung. Stuttgart, E. Schweizerbart. GER url p. 181, p. 66.
- International catalogue of scientific literature. London: Published for the International Council by the Royal Society of London, 1902-1919. ENG url p. 140, p. 443, p. 665.
- Jahresbericht der Königl. Schwedischen Akademie der Wissenschaften über die Fortschritte der Botanik Breslau:Konigl. Schwedischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1838-1847. GER url p. 75.
- Jahresbericht über die Fortschritte auf dem Gesamtgebiete der Agrikultur-Chemie. Berlin: Julius Springer, 1866-1919. GER url p. 120.
- Journal de la Société nationale d'horticulture de France. Paris: Au siége de la Société, 1886-1927. FRE url p. 295.
- Judd, W.S., Campbell, C.S., Kellog, E.A. and Donoghue, M.J. (2002): Plant Systematics: a phylogenetic approach, Sinauer, Sunderland, Mass.
- Just's botanischer jahresbericht. Systematisch geordnetes repertorium der botanischen literatur aller länder. Berlin, Gebr. Borntraeger, 1874-98; GER url p. 1028, p. 105, p. 1065, p. 319, p. 385, p. 439, p. 454, p. 470, p. 511, p. 519, p. 551, p. 551, p. 552, p. 561, p. 565, p. 645, p. 70, p. 863, p. 892, p. 906, p. 957, p. 96.
- L'Horticulteur franais de mil huit cent cinquante et un: journal des amateurs et des intrts horticoles. Paris: Bureau du journal, 1851-1872. FRE url p. 275.
- L'Illustration horticole; journal international populaire de l'horticulture dans toutes ses branches. Ghent; FRE url p. 183, p. 203.
- Le Jardin. Paris: Librairie horticole du Jardin, 1887-1921. FRE url p. 35.
- Monografia delle cocciniglie italiane. Opera postuma. Ed. curata e accresciuta di un'appendice dal prof. F. Silvestri. Portici, Stab. tip. E. Della Torre, 1920. ITA url p. 225.
- Naturwissenschaftliche Rundschau: wöchentliche Berichte über die Fortschritte auf dem Gesammtgebiete der Naturwissenschaften. Braunschweig: Druck und verlag von Friedrich Vieweg und Sohn, 1886- GER url p. 270, p. 467, p. 517, p. 576, p. 666.
- Naturwissenschaftliche Wochenschrift. Jena [etc.]G. Fischer [etc.] GER url p. 110, p. 112, p. 302, p. 477.
- Photosynthesis and related processes, by Eugene I. Rabinowitch New York, N.Y., Interscience Publishers, inc., 1945- ENG url p. 1727, p. 1730, p. 1732, p. 1987, p. 1991, p. 384, p. 386, p. 422.
- Prof. Dr. Thom's Flora von Deutschland, sterreich und der Schweiz, in Wort und Bild, fr Schule und Haus; mit Tafeln von Walter Mller. Gera-Untermhaus: F.E. Khler, 1886-1934. GER url p. 60.
- Rheinisches Jahrbuch für Gartenkunde und Botanik. Bonn: E. Strauss, 1883-1884. GER url p. 228, p. 229.
- Sitzungsberichte der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Klasse. Wien: K.-K. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei in Kommission bei A. Hölder, GER url p. 1237, p. 1238, p. 127.
- Sylloge fungorum omnium hucusque cognitorum. Digessit P. A. Saccardo. Patavii, sumptibus auctoris, 1882-1931. LAT url p. 145.
- The Floral world and garden guide. London, Groombridge and Sons, 1858-1880. ENG url p. 208.
- The Journal of horticulture, cottage gardener and country gentlemen. London: George W. Johnson and Robert Hogg, 1861-1877. ENG url p. 49.
- The Journal of the College of Science, Imperial University of Tokyo, Japan = Tokyo Teikoku Daigaku kiyo. Rika. Tokyo, Japan: The University, 1898-1925. ENG url p. 324, p. 339, p. 340, p. 358, p. 438, p. 9.
- The Journal of the Quekett Microscopical Club. [London: Quekett Microscopical Club, 1868]-1966. ENG url p. 364.
- The biology of flowering plants, by Macgregor Skene New York, The Macmillan Company, 1924. ENG url p. 502, p. 72.
- The international bibliography of electron microscopy. New York[1959-1962] ENG url p. 338.
- The mutation theory; experiments and observations on the origin of species in the vegetable kingdom, by Hugo de Vries tr. by Prof. J. B. Farmer and A. D. Darbishire Chicago, Open Court Publishing Company; [etc., etc.]1909-10. ENG url p. 258, p. 260, p. 268, p. 675.
- The weekly florists' review. Chicago: Florists' Pub. Co., 1897-1912. ENG url p. 1000, p. 110, p. 218, p. 288, p. 310, p. 580, p. 628, p. 642, p. 754, p. 810, p. 850, p. 890.
Notes
Contributors
- Bisby FA, Roskov YR, Orrell TM, Nicolson D, Paglinawan LE, Bailly N, Kirk PM, Bourgoin T, van Hertum J, eds (2008). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2008 Annual Checklist Taxonomic Classification. CD-ROM; Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed November 12, 2007. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 8 providers.
- World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
Data Sources
Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 12, 2007:
- GBIF-Spain, JardÃn Botánico de Córdoba: Herbarium COA
- National Herbarium of New South Wales, NSW herbarium collection
- The Swedish Museum of Natural History
- , Herbarium of Oskarshamn
- UK National Biodiversity Network, Botanical Society of the British Isles - Vascular Plants Database
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 1671806
- Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Kew-275646
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 15382167
- Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:531586-1
- International Plant Names Index (IPNI) ID: 531586-1
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 646652
Footnotes
- Liang Song-jun, Minoru N. Tamura "Aspidistra". in Flora of China Vol. 24 Page 240. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
Curator for this page: David Constantine. Date last reviewed: 12/30/1899
