Aspidistra


Aspidistra is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Nolinoideae, native to eastern and southeastern Asia, particularly China and Vietnam. They grow in shade under trees and shrubs. Their leaves arise more or less directly from ground level, where their flowers also appear. The number of species known has increased considerably from the 1980s onwards, with around 100 accepted as of 2013. Aspidistra elatior is common worldwide as a foliage house plant that is very tolerant of neglect. It and other species can also be grown in shade outside, where they are generally hardy to.

Description

Species of Aspidistra are perennial herbaceous plants growing from rhizomes. The leaves are either solitary or are grouped in small "tufts" of two to four. They arise more or less directly from the rhizome, rather than being borne on stems. Each leaf has a long stalk and a blade with many veins. The flowering stem is usually very short so that the flowers appear low down among the leaves. The fleshy flowers are bell-, urn- or cup-shaped. They vary considerably in size and shape, although few are showy. The flowers of A. longipedunculata are yellow and, unusually for the genus, are borne on scapes up to high. A. grandiflora has spider-like flowers up to across. The flower has a large stigma with a flattened top. The fruit is a berry, often with a single seed.

Taxonomy

The genus Aspidistra was named by the English botanist John Ker Gawler in 1822, as a blend of Greek ασπίς/ασπίδ- aspid- and the genus name Tupistra. The genus was at one time placed in a broadly defined Liliaceae, along with many other lilioid monocots. It has also been placed in the families Convallariaceae and Ruscaceae. The APG III system of 2009 places it in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Nolinoideae.

Species

Aspidistra is a genus that was largely ignored by field botanists until the 1980s onwards, and there has been a very rapid rise in the number of recognised species since then. Some 8 to 10 species were known in the late 1970s; 30 new species were described from China in the 1980s. Subsequently more new species were found in Vietnam. The online Flora of China uses a narrow definition of species, producing a total of about 55, saying that the genus has "never been well studied". In 2008, Tillich provided a key to the 93 species known at that time.
, the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families accepted 101 species:
  1. Aspidistra acetabuliformis Y.Wan & C.C.Huang – China
  2. Aspidistra alata Tillich – Vietnam
  3. Aspidistra albiflora C.R.Lin
  4. Aspidistra alternativa D.Fang & L.Y.Yu – China
  5. Aspidistra arnautovii Tillich – Vietnam
  6. Aspidistra atroviolacea Tillich – Vietnam
  7. Aspidistra austrosinensis Y.Wan & C.C.Huang – China
  8. Aspidistra basalis Tillich
  9. Aspidistra bicolor Tillich – Vietnam
  10. Aspidistra bogneri Tillich – Vietnam
  11. Aspidistra brachystyla Aver. & Tillich – Vietnam
  12. Aspidistra caespitosa C.Pei – China
  13. Aspidistra campanulata Tillich – Vietnam
  14. Aspidistra carinata Y.Wan & X.H.Lu – China
  15. Aspidistra carnosa Tillich – Vietnam
  16. Aspidistra cavicola D.Fang & K.C.Yen – China
  17. Aspidistra cerina G.Z.Li & S.C.Tang – China
  18. Aspidistra chishuiensis S.Z.He & W.F.Xu
  19. Aspidistra claviformis Y.Wan – China
  20. Aspidistra coccigera Aver. & Tillich
  21. Aspidistra columellaris Tillich
  22. Aspidistra connata Tillich – Vietnam
  23. Aspidistra cruciformis Y.Wan & X.H.Lu – China
  24. Aspidistra cryptantha Tillich – Vietnam
  25. Aspidistra cyathiflora Y.Wan & C.C.Huang – China
  26. Aspidistra daibuensis Hayata – Taiwan
  27. Aspidistra dodecandra Tillich – Indo-China
  28. Aspidistra dolichanthera X.X.Chen – China
  29. Aspidistra ebianensis K.Y.Lang & Z.Y.Zhu – China
  30. Aspidistra elatior Blume – Japan
  31. Aspidistra erecta Yan Liu & C.I Peng
  32. Aspidistra fasciaria G.Z.Li – China
  33. Aspidistra fenghuangensis K.Y.Lang – China
  34. Aspidistra fimbriata F.T.Wang & K.Y.Lang – China
  35. Aspidistra flaviflora K.Y.Lang & Z.Y.Zhu – China
  36. Aspidistra foliosa Tillich – Vietnam
  37. Aspidistra fungilliformis Y.Wan – China
  38. Aspidistra geastrum Tillich – Vietnam
  39. Aspidistra glandulosa Tillich – Laos
  40. Aspidistra gracilis Tillich
  41. Aspidistra grandiflora Tillich – Vietnam
  42. Aspidistra guangxiensis S.C.Tang & Yan Liu – China
  43. Aspidistra hekouensis H.Li – China
  44. Aspidistra huanjiangensis G.Z.Li & Y.G.Wei – China
  45. Aspidistra insularis Tillich – Japan
  46. Aspidistra lateralis Tillich – Vietnam
  47. Aspidistra leshanensis K.Y.Lang & Z.Y.Zhu – China
  48. Aspidistra leyeensis Y.Wan & C.C.Huang – China
  49. Aspidistra liboensis S.Z.He & J.Y.Wu
  50. Aspidistra linearifolia Y.Wan & C.C.Huang – China
  51. Aspidistra lobata Tillich – China
  52. Aspidistra locii Arnautov & Bogner – Vietnam
  53. Aspidistra longanensis Y.Wan – China
  54. Aspidistra longifolia Hook.f. – India
  55. Aspidistra longiloba G.Z.Li – China
  56. Aspidistra longipedunculata D.Fang – China
  57. Aspidistra longipetala S.Z.Huang – China
  58. Aspidistra longituba Yan Liu & C.R.Lin
  59. Aspidistra luodianensis D.D.Tao – China
  60. Aspidistra lurida Ker Gawl. – China
  61. Aspidistra lutea Tillich – Vietnam
  62. Aspidistra marasmioides Tillich – Vietnam
  63. Aspidistra marginella D.Fang & L.Zeng – China
  64. Aspidistra minutiflora Stapf – China
  65. Aspidistra molendinacea G.Z.Li & S.C.Tang – China
  66. Aspidistra muricata F.C.How – China
  67. Aspidistra mushaensis Hayata – Taiwan
  68. Aspidistra nanchuanensis Tillich – China
  69. Aspidistra nikolaii Aver. & Tillich – Vietnam
  70. Aspidistra obconica C.R.Lin & Yan Liu
  71. Aspidistra oblanceifolia F.T.Wang & K.Y.Lang – China
  72. Aspidistra obliquipeltata D.Fang & L.Y.Yu – China
  73. Aspidistra oblongifolia F.T.Wang & K.Y.Lang – China
  74. Aspidistra omeiensis Z.Y.Zhu & J.L.Zhang – China
  75. Aspidistra opaca Tillich – Vietnam
  76. Aspidistra papillata G.Z.Li – China
  77. Aspidistra patentiloba Y.Wan & X.H.Lu – China
  78. Aspidistra petiolata Tillich – Vietnam
  79. Aspidistra pileata D.Fang & L.Y.Yu – China
  80. Aspidistra pingtangensis S.Z.He
  81. Aspidistra punctata Lindl. – China
  82. Aspidistra punctatoides Yan Liu & C.R.Lin
  83. Aspidistra q­ripartita G.Z.Li & S.C.Tang – China
  84. Aspidistra recondita Tillich – Vietnam
  85. Aspidistra renatae Bräuchler – Vietnam
  86. Aspidistra retusa K.Y.Lang & S.Z.Huang – China
  87. Aspidistra saxicola Y.Wan – China
  88. Aspidistra sichuanensis K.Y.Lang & Z.Y.Zhu – China
  89. Aspidistra spinula S.Z.He – China
  90. Aspidistra stricta Tillich – Vietnam
  91. Aspidistra subrotata Y.Wan & C.C.Huang – China, Vietnam
  92. Aspidistra superba Tillich – Vietnam
  93. Aspidistra sutepensis K.Larsen – Vietnam
  94. Aspidistra tonkinensis F.T.Wang & K.Y.Lang – China, Vietnam
  95. Aspidistra triloba F.T.Wang & K.Y.Lang – China
  96. Aspidistra tubiflora Tillich – China
  97. Aspidistra typica Baill. – China, Vietnam
  98. Aspidistra umbrosa Tillich – Vietnam
  99. Aspidistra urceolata F.T.Wang & K.Y.Lang – China
  100. Aspidistra xilinensis Y.Wan & X.H.Lu – China
  101. Aspidistra zongbayi K.Y.Lang & Z.Y.Zhu – China
Two species were published in 2013, but as of 2013 were not accepted by WCSP:
Species of Aspidistra are part of the ground flora, growing in forests and under shrubs, in areas of high rainfall, from eastern India, Indochina and China through to Japan. The largest number of species are found in Guangxi Province, China, with Vietnam occupying second place. Few species have a broad distribution, with many being endemic to China or Vietnam.
It has long been said that slugs and snails pollinate Aspidistra flowers. This has been described as a "myth". Amphipods, small terrestrial crustaceans, are responsible for pollinating A. elatior in Japan. Amphipods have also been shown to pollinate species of Aspidistra introduced to Australia. Springtails and fungus gnats have also been suggested as pollinators. The newly described Vietnamese species A. phanluongii is probably pollinated by flies of the genus Megaselia.

Cultivation and uses

Aspidistra elatior, the "cast-iron plant", is a popular houseplant, surviving shade, cool conditions and neglect. It is one of several species of Aspidistra that can be grown successfully outdoors in shade in temperate climates, where they will generally cope with temperatures down to, being killed by frosts of or below. In addition to shade, aspidistras require an open, acidic and humus-rich soil. Species suggested for growing outdoors in the UK include A. diabuensis, A. elatior, A. lurida, A. typica, A. zongbyi and their cultivars.
In Japan, leaves of A. elatior have traditionally been cut into pieces and used in bento and osechi boxes to keep each food separated. However, imitations called "baran" are commonly used now.

In popular culture

As a popular foliage houseplant, A. elatior became popular in late Victorian Britain, and was so commonplace that it became a "symbol of dull middle-class respectability". As such, it was central to George Orwell's novel Keep the Aspidistra Flying, as a symbol of the need of the middle class to maintain respectability—according to Gordon Comstock, the novel's protagonist. It was further immortalised in the 1938 song "The Biggest Aspidistra in the World", which as sung by Gracie Fields became a popular wartime classic.
Aspidistras can withstand deep shade, neglect, dry soil, hot temperatures and polluted in-door air but are sensitive to bright sunlight.
"Aspidistra" was the codename of a very powerful British radio transmitter used for propaganda and deception purposes against Nazi Germany during World War II.
The 1980's British television show The Adventure Game featured a moving aspidistra called the Rangdo of Arg, operated by Kenny Baker.