Lasia

Scientific name

Lasia Lour.

Family

Araceae

Similar genera

Cyrtosperma, Urospatha

Native distribution

Asia

Species cultivated

Lasia spinosa (L.) Thwaites

Adventive distribution

none

Weed status

not weedy

Habit

emergentemergent:
(adj) (syn. emersed) with parts raised out of the water; extending up out of the water
creeping plant

Brief description

Perennial. Rhizomes long, up to 4 cm thick. Petiolepetiole:
(n) the stalk of a leaf
elongate, spiny, sheathed at base. Leaves in apicalapical:
(adj) of the apex
rosetterosette:
(n) a radiating cluster of leaves, usually close to the ground at the base of a plant
; leaf bladeblade:
(n) (syn. lamina) the flat, expanded part of a leaf, frond, or petal (excluding, e.g., the petiole)
large, sagittatesagittate:
(adj) shaped like an arrowhead
to pinnatifidpinnatifid:
(adj) (of leaves) deeply pinnately lobed half way or more, but not reaching the midrib
; major veins on abaxialabaxial:
(adj) the side facing away from the axis, as in the underside of a leaf
surface spiny, venationvenation:
(n) the arrangement of veins in a leaf
palmate to pinnatepinnate:
(adj) in the form of a feather; of, e.g., leaflets, lobes, or veins: arranged in two rows along an axis
. Inflorescenceinflorescence:
(n) the arrangement of flowers on the floral axis
a spadixspadix:
(n) a spike of small flowers borne on a thick, fleshy axis
enclosed in twisted spathespathe:
(n) a large bract or bracts subtending and often enclosing an inflorescence
, pedunclepeduncle:
(n) the stalk of a flower cluster or inflorescence
spiny. Flowers bisexualbisexual:
(adj) having both male and female sexual reproductive structures on one individual or in one flower
, completely covering spadixspadix:
(n) a spike of small flowers borne on a thick, fleshy axis
. Berries numerous, fleshy, warty. Dispersal by seed or stem fragments.

Natural habitat

swamps and shallow, still waters

Additional comments

The genus Lasia contains 14 accepted species, with only one cultivated in the pond plant industry. A genus relatively uncommon in the trade and not suitable for aquariums, it is most commonly found as a tropical pond plant in botanical gardens.