Notes on Singaporean native Zingiberales II: revision of Marantaceae, with a new generic record and notes on naturalised and commonly cultivated exotic species

Abstract

An illustrated revision of Marantaceae in Singapore with an identification key and proposed national IUCN Red List assessments is presented here. In total three genera and four species are considered native to Singapore (Donax canniformis, Phrynium hirtum, Stachyphrynium parvum, and Stachyphrynium latifolium) representing 33 % of diversity currently known to occur in Peninsular Malaysia. Although the genus Phrynium Willdenow (1797: 1) was previously reported for Singapore based on the presence of P. villosulum, we show that this species is, contrary to previous accounts, not native but introduced. Newly reported Phrynium hirtum therefore represents a new native generic record for the country. We are changing the status of Schumannianthus benthamianus, previously considered native, to cultivated, as there are no historic or recent collections of this species. Non-native species commonly employed in Singapore streetscapes and parks are also briefly discussed and illustrated in this paper. Actoplanes ridleyi, Donax grandis, Donax parviflora, Maranta tonchat, Phrynium latifolium and Phrynium sumatranum are lectotypified and Maranta arundinacea Blanco (non L.) is neotypified.

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“…The second current day locality, BTNR is also known to have a history of plant introductions linked to plants collected from Peninsular Malaysia by E.J.H. Corner who worked at SBG from 1929 to 1945; many of these plants survive to date (Leong-Škorničková & Boyce, 2015;Niissalo et al, 2016;Niissalo & Choo, 2021;Choo et al, 2021). There are no historical records of introduction of Orania sylvicola from abroad.…”