Spathiphyllum is a genus of about 60 species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to tropical regions of the Americas and southeastern Asia. Certain species of Spathiphyllum are commonly known as spath or peace lilies.
They are evergreen herbaceous perennial plants with large leaves long and broad. The flowers are produced in a spadix, surrounded by a long, white, yellowish, or greenish spathe. The plant does not require large amounts of light or water to survive. It is most often grown as a houseplant. However, it can withstand the elements well enough to thrive when planted outdoors in hot and humid environments.
Description
Spathiphyllum is a genus of herbaceous evergreen plants with dark green foliage that can reach in height. Rosettes of glossy, dark green leaves emerge directly from a low-lying or underground creeping stem. All Spathiphyllum flowers on a given spadix mature at the same time, and produce pollen for up to four days. They often grow in colonies along waterways, and can be in places periodically inundated with water. Several sections of the genus have also been recognized. Massowia, which includes the widespread American S. cannifolium and the Pacific S. laeve and S. commutatum; Dysspathiphyllum containing only the Colombian S. humboldtii; and the larger sections Spathiphyllum and Amomophyllum.
- Spathiphyllum atrovirens
- Spathiphyllum bariense
- Spathiphyllum blandum
- Spathiphyllum brevirostre
- Spathiphyllum cannifolium
- Spathiphyllum cochlearispathum
- Spathiphyllum commutatum
- Spathiphyllum cuspidatum
- Spathiphyllum floribundum
- Spathiphyllum friedrichsthalii
- Spathiphyllum fulvovirens
- Spathiphyllum gardneri
- Spathiphyllum grandifolium
- Spathiphyllum jejunum
- Spathiphyllum juninense
- Spathiphyllum kalbreyeri
- Spathiphyllum kochii
- Spathiphyllum laeve
- Spathiphyllum lechlerianum
- Spathiphyllum maguirei
- Spathiphyllum mawarinumae
- Spathiphyllum monachinoi
- Spathiphyllum montanum
- Spathiphyllum neblinae
- Spathiphyllum ortgiesii
- Spathiphyllum patini
- Spathiphyllum perezii
- Spathiphyllum phryniifolium
- Spathiphyllum quindiuense
- Spathiphyllum silvicola
- Spathiphyllum solomonense
- Spathiphyllum wallisii
- Spathiphyllum wendlandii
Cultivated hybrids include:
- Spathiphyllum × clevelandii
Cultivation and uses
thumb|Spathiphyllum commutatum illustration showing dark foliage and contrasting white flowers.
Spathiphyllum are popular houseplants due to their attractive dark foliage and contrasting white flowers, easy care, and variety of cultivars available of different sizes.
The cultivar 'Mauna Loa' has won the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
At least one Spathiphyllum is used as food. The young spadix of S. matudae is pickled in vinegar, or cooked with eggs. but the peace lily, Spathiphyllum is only mildly toxic to humans and other animals when ingested. Like many Araceae, it contains calcium oxalate crystals, which can cause skin irritation, a burning sensation in the mouth, difficulty swallowing, and nausea, but it does not contain the toxins found in true lilies, which can cause acute kidney failure in cats and some other animals.
Diseases
Infection of peace lilies with Botrytis cinerea was first documented in Tokyo, Japan from 1989 to 1994. Myrothecium roridum has also been used to harden in vitro cultures of the plant. Alternaria alternata leaf rot was documented on peace lilies in Argentina in 2008.
History
Heinrich Wilhelm Schott formally described the genus Spathiphyllum – literally "leaf spathe" – in his and Stephan Endlicher's 1832 book Meletemata Botanica. It encompassed two species: S. lanceifolium (previously described as Dracontium lanceaefolium by Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin in 1790) and S. sagittaefolium.
See also
- Anthurium, similar looking genus of plants in same family
- List of plants known as lily
References
External links
- Germplasm Resources Information Network: Spathiphyllum species list