Bent alligator-flag

Description

Thalia geniculata, the bent alligator-flag, arrowroot, or fire-flag, is a plant species widespread across tropical Africa and much of the Americas. Thalia geniculata is native to a large region in Africa, from Senegal in the west to Sudan in the east, south to Zimbabwe and Angola. It is also considered native to Mexico, Central America, the West Indies, most of South America, as well as the southeastern United States (Puerto Rico, Florida, Louisiana, Alabama and southern Georgia). The larvae of Stolidoptera tachasara, Xylophanes hannemanni and Sphenarches anisodactylus have been recorded feeding on Thalia geniculata. Rosmarinic acid can be found in plants in the family Marantaceae such as Thalia geniculata. Thalia is a genus of six currently recognized species found in aquatic or marshy habitats, ranging in Africa from Senegal to Sudan to Zimbabwe, and in the Americas from Illinois to Argentina. Alligator-flag is a common name for plants in this genus. The generic name is in honor of Johannes Thal (1542–1583), a German doctor who wrote a Flora of the Harz Mountains. Semihardy in cultivation, it needs protection against frosts. It can be propagated by seed or division of the rootstock in the spring.