1121

 Thalia geniculata L.

Synonym	:	Maranta geniculata (L.) Lamarck
Family	:	Marantaceae
Flowering and fruiting period	:	October to May
Distribution	:	Americas from S. Florida and Central Mexico to the province of Buenos Aires in Argentina and to S. Ecuador. In India this species is usually cultivated in gardens
Endemic/Exotic	:	Exotic
Uses	:	Ornamental
Key botanical characters:   Clump forming aquatic/marshy plants up to 2.2 m tall, erect. Leaves 4–7, disticous, sheathed, petiolate and pulvinate; sheaths adpressed to form a pseudostem, 44–80 cm. Petiole 10–30 cm, light green; pulvinus short, cylindrical, 1–3 cm, brownish.  Leaf blades 16–37 × 9–15 cm, ovate-lanceolate, adaxially light green, abaxially light green, tip acuminate. Inflorescence terminal in a long stalk; scape up to 1.4 m long, erect, light green with flowers on terminal lax zigzag pendulous spike. Flowers 2.5–3.5 cm long, more than 1 cm broad, sessile in a 2-valved spathe, in pairs, one forms the mirror image of the other. Fruit is a nut with a curved embryo embedded in perisperm.