Marantaceae
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 Maranta leuconeura
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Marantaceae is a botanical name for a family of flowering plants. Such a family has been widely recognized by taxonomists: it is sometimes called the "prayer-plant family".
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 family counts a few dozen genera, totalling hundreds of species, found in the tropical areas of the world except in Australia.
The most famous species in the family is arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea), a plant of the Caribbean, for its easily digestible starch. Several species of genus Calathea are grown as houseplants for their handsome ornamental leaves, patterned in various shades of green, white and pink.
[edit] External links
- Marantaceae in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval. Version: 27th April 2006. http://delta-intkey.com.
- Marantaceae in the Flora of North America
- Marantaceae in the Flora of China
- NCBI Taxonomy Browser
- links at CSDL
- Maranta (Leuconeura) Common names: Prayer plant, Rabbits tracks
- Prayer Plant (Maranta leuconeura)
- Prayer plant, Rabbit's tracks (Maranta leuconeura 'Kerchoviana')
