Typhonium trilobatum

Names and Synonyms

Scientific Names

Accepted name

Synonyms

• Desmesia orixensis
• Dracunculus trilobatus
• Typhonium orixense
• Typhonium trilobatum var. gesminum
• Typhonium triste
• Arum trilobatum
• Arum pumilum
• Arisaema pumilum
• Arum auriculatum
• Typhonium trilobatum var. fulvus
• Typhonium siamense

Sources: Wikidata, Catalogue of Life

Taxonomical Classification

This plant belongs to the kingdom Plantae and is classified under the phylum Streptophyta and the class Equisetopsida. Within the subclass Magnoliidae and the order Alismatalees, it is further organized into the family Araceae. Finally, it is categorized under the genus Typhonium as the species Typhonium trilobatum.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Distribution

This plant exhibits a diverse geographical distribution spanning across several distinct regions. In West Tropical Africa, it can be found specifically within the Ivory Coast. Its presence in Asia is notable, particularly across various parts of China including the South-Central, Southeast, and Hainan regions. Additionally, the species extends into the Indian Subcontinent, where it is located in Assam. Together, these locations highlight the widespread nature of its natural habitat.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Botanical Identification

Life history

The life history of Typhonium trilobatum is characterized by its specialized survival strategies, primarily functioning as a geophyte and a cryptophyte. As a geophyte, the plant ensures its persistence through unfavorable environmental conditions by storing essential nutrients and moisture within underground organs, such as tubers or rhizomes, which remain protected beneath the soil surface. This reliance on subterranean storage allows the plant to remain dormant during dry or stressful periods and rapidly re-emerge when favorable moisture and temperature conditions return. Furthermore, its classification as a cryptophyte highlights its life cycle strategy of protecting its perennating buds underground, shielding them from external stressors like herbivory or extreme climatic shifts. This combination of traits facilitates a perennial existence, enabling the plant to navigate seasonal fluctuations and maintain a stable presence within its ecological niche through periodic regrowth from its protected underground structures.

Life form :

geophyte

Life form :

cryptophyte

Morphology

The morphology of Typhonium trilobatum is characterized by its growth form as a non-woody herb that typically reaches a maximum plant height of 0.4 m. This species functions as a self-supporting plant rather than a climber and operates as an independent organism, lacking any parasitic tendencies. In terms of its habitat and ecological positioning, the plant is primarily terrestrial, though it can exist within a spectrum of moisture levels ranging from semiaquatic to aquatic environments. It is not an epiphyte, maintaining a strictly terrestrial lifestyle throughout its development.

Aquatic :

terrestrial

Climber :

self-supporting

Epiphyte :

terrestrial

Growth form :

herb

Parasite :

independent

Plant height max:

0.4 m

Woodiness :

non-woody

Sources: Global Inventory of Floras and Traits (GIFT)

Chemicals

Typhonium trilobatum has 2 reported phytochemicals identified across 0 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported chemicals include linoleic acid, palmitic acid.

linoleic acid

1. Journal of ethnopharmacology

palmitic acid

1. Journal of ethnopharmacology

Conditions

Typhonium trilobatum has 4 reported investigations on conditions identified across 0 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported conditions include Brugia malayi, Wuchereria bancrofti, lymphatic filariasis, parasitic infections.

Brugia malayi

1. Journal of ethnopharmacology

Wuchereria bancrofti

1. Journal of ethnopharmacology

Lymphatic filariasis

1. Journal of ethnopharmacology

Parasitic infections

1. Journal of ethnopharmacology

Preparations

Typhonium trilobatum has 2 reported preparations identified across 0 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported preparations include Different extracts of the T. trilobatum tubers, methanolic tuber extract.

Different extracts of the t. trilobatum tubers

1. Journal of ethnopharmacology

Methanolic tuber extract

1. Journal of ethnopharmacology