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Cryptocoryne longicauda Engler |
Cryptocoryne longicauda ("with the long tail") was collected by
Odoardo Beccari in Sarawak and described by Engler in 1879. One year later, in 1880,
N.E.Brown described C. caudata from Sarawak with deep bullate leaves and much
later, 1920, Engler described C. johorensis from Johore (W.Malaysia) which are
all regarded now to be synonyms of this species (Jacobsen 1982, 1985). Beccari only made a
poor drawing of the inflorescence of C. longicauda, so the confusion is
understandable. Around 1970 this species was also collected from Sumatra, so the
distribution of this species is quite broad.
To make things completely crazy, around 1950 a new plant form Borneo was imported which
resembled C. longicauda. In the Dutch and German literature until 1970 a couple
of articles appeared on this species. This plant proved to be C.
fusca (Bastmeijer & Bouwmeester 1990).
Click on the picture to get the full image (ca. 50 kB) |
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A habitat of C. longicauda in Johore, W. Malaysia.
coll. NJ 85-32
photo Jacobsen |
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C. longicauda from Sarawak. Picture of the habitat
near Gua Sukat. Note the upright tail of the spathe.
coll. NJ 78-22
photo Jacobsen
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A ditch on a Durian plantage in southern Johore (W. Malaysia)
where C. longicauda grows as a weed.
coll. B 798 |
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For irrigation, the ditch is cleaned and hundreds of
plants are drying out on the bank.
coll. B 798
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Several leaf forms of C. longicauda collected in a
small area.
photo Jacobsen
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In cultivation the leaves are slight bullate. Adult plants
show a fine undulated margin of the leave.
coll. unknown, cult. B 208
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A closer look at the leave margin. The tissue is membranous
thin.This is only seen in C. longicauda.
coll. Bogner 1511, cult. B 390
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About one day after the spathe opens, the limb may bent down.
coll. unknown, cult W 21
photo van Wijngaarden
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Mostly the limb of the spathe forms a perfect
half sphere. There is a pronounced collar.
coll. Bogner 1511, cult. B 390
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Sometimes the limb opens more widely. The colour
of the limb is mostly dark red, but as seen here rather bright. From
Sumatra (Djambi).
coll. NJ 85-24, cult. B 524
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A rather dark limb of the spathe. Note the
irregular collar.
coll. Bogner1511, cult. B 390
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A length section of the upper part of the tube
and the collar.
coll. Bogner1511, cult. B 390
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An unopened bud of the inflorescence of C.
longicauda.
coll. unknown, cult. B 208
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Length section of the lower part of the tube,
the 'kettle'.
coll. Bogner 1511, cult. B 390
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Female flowers of C. longicauda. Note
the styles bend down, as normal after a few days.
coll. NJ 85-24, cult. B 524
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C. longicauda from Johore, Malaysia.
coll. Ridley 3721
herbarium Singapore
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Drawing of a cultivated C. longicauda (
de Wit, 1958, 1961 as C. johorensis). In that time C. fusca was
interpreted as C. longicauda.
drawing Ike Zewald
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The drawing of the type material of C.
caudata N.E.Brown from Sarawak (de Wit 1990), with closed limb of the spathe.
drawing Ike Zewald
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Distribution of C. longicauda in
Malaysia and Sumatra
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Distribution of C. longicauda in Borneo
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Cryptocoryne longicauda is quite easy to cultivate emerged under standard
conditions. Submersed the cultivation of this species is rather difficult on the long
term.
The inflorescence is rather unique. Only the tail reaches up to 20 cm! Plants with the deep
bullate leaves as seen in the type material for C. caudata are never seen again.
Perhaps it is a local form, variations of this kind are also seen in C. minima.
Cultivated plants of C. longicauda are rather common in the Western Europe.
Updated January 2002 |
Literature.
- Bastmeijer, J.D. & B.H. Bouwmeester, 1990. Cryptocoryne fusca, Het
Aquarium 60(10) : 267-272.
- Bastmeijer, J.D., 1993. Das Pflanzenportrat: Cryptocoryne fusca De Wit, Aqua-Planta 3-93 :
108-113.
- Beccari, O., 1882. Aracee della Malesia e della Papuasia raccolte da O.Beccari..Malesia 1 : 296-300, Plate 27-28. (Document service)
- Brown, N.E., 1880. On some new Aroideae, J.Linn.Soc.XVIII : 242-245, plate IV.
- Bruggen, H.W.E.van, 1958. Ervaringen met Cryptocoryne johorensis, Het Aquarium 28(9) :
206-207.
- Engler, A., 1879. Cryptocoryne Fischer. Bull.Soc.Tosc.Ortic. 4 : 301-302. (Document service)
- Engler, A., 1920. (Cryptocoryne in:) Das Pflanzenreich IV.23.F. Araceae -
Aroideae : 232-249, Leipzig (Document service)
- Jacobsen, N., 1982. Cryptocorynen,Cryptocorynen, Alfred Kernen Verlag, Stuttgart.
- Jacobsen, N., 1985. The Cryptocoryne (Araceae) of Borneo, Nord.J.Bot. 5 : 31-50.
- Jacobsen, N., 1986. Deterioration of the habitats of the Cryptocoryne species,
Symp.Bedreiging van het aquatisch milieu, Ludwigia, Wageningen : 33 (see the Document service).
- Merrill, E.D., 1921. A Bibliographic Enumeration of Bornean Plants, Journal of the Straits
Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society : 106-109.
- Paffrath, K., 1974. Cryptocoryne longicauda und Cryptocoryne tortilis, DATZ 27 : 90-92.
- Ridley, H.N., 1905. The Aroids of Borneo,J.Str.Br.Roy.As.Soc. 44 : 169-171.
- Ridley, H.N., 1925. Cryptocoryne,Fl. Malay Pen. 5 : 86-88.
- Schulze, J., 1971. Cryptocorynen aus Sarawak I-IV, DATZ 24 : 230-233, 267-270, 303-306,
336-339.
- Wit, H.C.D.de, 1958. Cryptocoryne johorensis Engler. Het Aquarium 28 : 204-206.
- Wit, H.C.D.de, 1961.Het genus Cryptocoryne (18), C. huegelii Schott, C.johorensis Engler.
Het Aquarium 32 : 26-28.
- Wit, H.C.D.de, 1990. Aquarienpflanzen, 2. Auflage,Ulmer, Stuttgart.
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