Phrynium villosulum Miq., 1860

Niissalo, Matti A., Khew, Gillian S., Webb, Edward L. & Leong-Škorničková, Jana, 2016, Notes on Singaporean native Zingiberales II: revision of Marantaceae, with a new generic record and notes on naturalised and commonly cultivated exotic species, Phytotaxa 289 (3), pp. 201-224 : 214-215

5. Phrynium villosulum Miq.

Phrynium villosulum was listed as a native, presumed nationally extinct species in the checklist of the flora of Singapore ( Chong et al. 2009). We rediscovered this species along Taban Loop in Bukit Timah in spring 2015. However, a closer investigation of herbarium material at SING revealed that this species has only been collected at this same locality and only once in 1953 (Valley below Taban Circle, Bukit Timah, 6 October 1953, J. Sinclair, S.F. 40040). The collection has a note that reads: “probably planted by Corner”. This is in agreement with previous notes on species in Taban Loop. Leong-Škorničková & Boyce (2015) commented that there are several species in this area that are not otherwise native to Singapore, or areas nearby, but that correlate with regional collections by E.J.H. Corner. The living material was likely brought back by Corner’s field assistants Kiah and Md. Nur, who planted them on Bukit Timah, but when this was done remains unclear ( Leong-Škorničková & Boyce 2015). The only patch of P. villosulum we have seen shows no evidence of sexual regeneration and is morphologically an exact match to the two collections by E.J.H. Corner in 1936 from Gunung Panti, Johor, Peninsular Malaysia (S.F. 30957 and S.F. 30680). Based on this evidence, we consider this population to be introduced.

Phrynium villosulum is one of the most distinctive and attractive Southeast Asian Marantaceae with long petioles, giving the plant a height of 1.7–2.0 m. Each stem has 3 or 4 leaves, each with a lamina of 37–42 × 15–17 cm. The leaf blades are medium green and have 11–13 very dark green stripes that follow the secondary venation. The leaves are light green underneath, but the venation is also slightly visible on the lower surface. The inflorescence is placed unusually low on the stem for a Phrynium , emerging at ground level from the base of the leaves (2–3 cm above the rhizome) through the leaf sheaths. The inflorescence is caespitose, growing at a 45˚ angle. The flowers, opening 1–4 at a time, are small (ca. 1 cm across), with dull pink, slightly transparent petals and white staminodes.