Homalomena


Homalomena is a genus of flowering plants within the family Araceae. Homalomena are primarily found in southern Asia and the southwestern Pacific, but there are a few species that are known to be indigenous to Latin America. Many Homalomena have a strong smell of anise. The name derives apparently from a mistranslated Malayan vernacular name, translated as homalos, meaning flat, and mene = moon.
The plants of this genus are clump-forming evergreen perennials with mainly heart-shaped or arrowheaded shaped leaves. The flowers are tiny and without petals, enclosed in a usually greenish spathe hidden by the leaves.
The Tamils knew of this plant for more than 3000 years. It is called merugu and it is used for several purposes including curing stomach disorders, piles, flem etc. Several oils like kumaraguru enney; merugulli enney, merugu pachai enney etc. are prepared to cure various type of diseases.
Some authors have proposed splitting the genus and moving all the neotropical species of Homalomena to Adelonema. At the present time, Tropicos, The Plant List, and the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families have opted not to accept this change.
;Species
  1. Homalomena adiensis A.Hay - western New Guinea
  2. Homalomena aeneifolia Alderw. - Sulawesi
  3. Homalomena agens Kurniawan & P.C.Boyce - Kalimantan Timur
  4. Homalomena ardua P.C.Boyce & S.Y.Wong - Sarawak
  5. Homalomena argentea Ridl. - Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo
  6. Homalomena aromatica Schott - Yunnan, Assam, Bangladesh, Indochina
  7. Homalomena asmae Baharuddin & P.C.Boyce - Perak
  8. Homalomena asperifolia Alderw. - Sumatra
  9. Homalomena atroviridis Engl. & K.Krause - Papua New Guinea
  10. Homalomena atrox P.C.Boyce, S.Y.Wong & Fasih - Sarawak
  11. Homalomena batoeensis Engl. - Sumatra
  12. Homalomena bellula Schott - Java
  13. Homalomena burkilliana Ridl. - Sumatra
  14. Homalomena clandestina P.C.Boyce, S.Y.Wong & Fasih. - Sarawak
  15. Homalomena cochinchinensis Engl. - Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Yunnan, Guangdong
  16. Homalomena confusa Furtado - Peninsular Malaysia
  17. Homalomena consobrina Engl. - Thailand, Borneo, Sumatra
  18. Homalomena cordata Schott - Java, Andaman and Nicobar Islands
  19. Homalomena corneri Furtado - Jahore
  20. Homalomena crinipes Engl. - Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador
  21. Homalomena cristata Alderw. - Sumatra
  22. Homalomena curtisii Ridl. - Perak
  23. Homalomena curvata Engl. - Melaka
  24. Homalomena davidiana A.Hay - New Guinea
  25. Homalomena debilicrista Y.C.Hoe - Sarawak
  26. Homalomena distans Ridl. - New Guinea
  27. Homalomena doctersii Alderw. - Sumatra
  28. Homalomena elegans Engl. - Sumatra
  29. Homalomena elegantula A.Hay & Hersc. - Sumatra
  30. Homalomena erythropus Engl. - Costa Rica, northwestern Brazil
  31. Homalomena expedita A.Hay & Hersc. - Sarawak
  32. Homalomena gadutensis M.Hotta - Sumatra
  33. Homalomena gaudichaudii Schott - New Guinea, Maluku, Philippines
  34. Homalomena giamensis L.S.Tung, S.Y.Wong & P.C.Boyce - Sarawak
  35. Homalomena gillii Furtado - Sabah
  36. Homalomena griffithii Hook.f. - Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Thailand, Vietnam, Borneo,Malaysia, Sumatra
  37. Homalomena hainanensis H.Li - Hainan
  38. Homalomena hammelii Croat & Grayum - Costa Rica
  39. Homalomena hanneae P.C.Boyce, S.Y.Wong & Fasih. - Sarawak
  40. Homalomena hastata M.Hotta - Sumatra
  41. Homalomena havilandii Ridl. - Sabah, Sarawak
  42. Homalomena hendersonii Furtado - Kelantan
  43. Homalomena hooglandii A.Hay - New Guinea
  44. Homalomena humilis Hook.f. - Thailand, Malaysia, Borneo, Java, Sulawesi, Sumatra
  45. Homalomena impudica Hersc. & A.Hay - Papua New Guinea
  46. Homalomena insignis N.E.Br. - Borneo
  47. Homalomena jacobsiana A.Hay - Papua New Guinea
  48. Homalomena josefii P.C.Boyce & S.Y.Wong - Sarawak
  49. Homalomena kalkmanii A.Hay - New Guinea
  50. Homalomena kelungensis Hayata - Taiwan
  51. Homalomena kiahii Furtado - Kelantan
  52. Homalomena korthalsii Furtado - Borneo
  53. Homalomena kualakohensis Zulhazman, P.C.Boyce & Mashhor - Peninsular Malaysia
  54. Homalomena kvistii Croat - Valle del Cauca in Colombia
  55. Homalomena lancea Ridl. - Sarawak
  56. Homalomena lancifolia Hook.f. - Peninsular Malaysia, Thailand
  57. Homalomena latifrons Engl. - Borneo, Java, Sumatra
  58. Homalomena lauterbachii Engl. - New Guinea
  59. Homalomena lindenii Ridl. - New Guinea
  60. Homalomena longipes Merr - Sumatra
  61. Homalomena magna A.Hay - Papua New Guinea
  62. Homalomena major Griff. - Peninsular Malaysia
  63. Homalomena matangae Y.C.Hoe, S.Y.Wong & P.C.Boyce - Sarawak
  64. Homalomena megalophylla M.Hotta - Sumatra
  65. Homalomena melanesica A.Hay - Bismarck Archipelago, Solomon Islands
  66. Homalomena metallica Engl. - Borneo
  67. Homalomena minor Griff. - Peninsular Malaysia
  68. Homalomena minutissima M.Hotta - Brunei
  69. Homalomena moffleriana Croat & Grayum - Chocó region of Colombia
  70. Homalomena monandra M.Hotta - Sumatra
  71. Homalomena montana Furtado - Peninsular Malaysia
  72. Homalomena nigrescens Engl. - Sumatra
  73. Homalomena nutans Hook.f. - Kelantan, Nicobar Islands
  74. Homalomena obovata Ridl. - Sumatra
  75. Homalomena obscurifolia Alderw. - Borneo
  76. Homalomena occulta Schott - Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Yunnan
  77. Homalomena ovalifolia Ridl. - Borneo
  78. Homalomena ovata Engl. - Borneo
  79. Homalomena padangensis M.Hotta - Sumatra
  80. Homalomena palawanensis Engl. - Palawan
  81. Homalomena peekelii Engl. - Bismarck Archipelago, Solomon Islands, New Guinea
  82. Homalomena peltata Mast. - Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia
  83. Homalomena pendula Bakh.f. - Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Borneo, Java, Sumatra, Lesser Sunda Islands
  84. Homalomena philippinensis Engl. - Philippines, Lan Yü Islands of Taiwan
  85. Homalomena picturata Regel - Costa Rica, Panama, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, the Guianas
  86. Homalomena pineodora Sulaiman & P.C.Boyce - Perak
  87. Homalomena pontederifolia Griff. ex Hook.f. - Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia
  88. Homalomena producta A.Hay - New Guinea
  89. Homalomena pseudogeniculata P.C.Boyce & S.Y.Wong - Brunei, Sarawak
  90. Homalomena pulleana Engl. & K.Krause - western New Guinea
  91. Homalomena punctulata Engl. - Brunei, Sarawak
  92. Homalomena pyrospatha Bogner - Sumatra
  93. Homalomena robusta Engl. & K.Krause - New Guinea
  94. Homalomena rubescens Kunth. - Sikkim, Bhutan, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Myanmar
  95. Homalomena rusdii M.Hotta - Sumatra
  96. Homalomena sarawakensis Ridl. - Sarawak
  97. Homalomena saxorum Engl. - Sumatra, Borneo
  98. Homalomena schlechteri Engl. - New Guinea
  99. Homalomena scortechinii Hook.f. - Peninsular Malaysia
  100. Homalomena sengkenyang P.C.Boyce, S.Y.Wong & Fasih. - Sarawak
  101. Homalomena silvatica Alderw. - Sumatra
  102. Homalomena singaporensis Regel - Peninsular Malaysia
  103. Homalomena soniae A.Hay - New Guinea
  104. Homalomena speariae Bogner & Moffler - Colombia
  105. Homalomena steenisiana A.Hay - Papua New Guinea
  106. Homalomena stollei Engl. & K.Krause - New Guinea
  107. Homalomena striatieopetiolata P.C.Boyce & S.Y.Wong - Sarawak
  108. Homalomena subcordata Engl. - Sarawak
  109. Homalomena symplocarpifolia P.C.Boyce, S.Y.Wong & Fasih. - Sarawak
  110. Homalomena tenuispadix Engl. - New Guinea
  111. Homalomena terajaensis S.Y.Wong & P.C.Boyce - Brunei
  112. Homalomena treubii Engl. - Borneo
  113. Homalomena truncata Hook.f. - Myanmar, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia
  114. Homalomena vagans P.C.Boyce - Brunei, Sarawak
  115. Homalomena vietnamensis Bogner & V.D.Nguyen - Vietnam
  116. Homalomena vittifolia Kurniawan & P.C.Boyce - Sulawesi
  117. Homalomena vivens P.C.Boyce, S.Y.Wong & Fasih. - Sarawak
  118. Homalomena wallichii Schott - Pulau Pinang in Malaysia
  119. Homalomena wallisii Regel - Panama, Colombia, Venezuela
  120. Homalomena wendlandii Schott - Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
  121. Homalomena wongii S.Y.Wong & P.C.Boyce - Brunei
  122. Homalomena zollingeri Schott - Java