Monophyllaea horsfieldii
Appearance
Monophyllaea horsfieldii | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Lamiales |
Family: | Gesneriaceae |
Genus: | Monophyllaea |
Species: | M. horsfieldii
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Binomial name | |
Monophyllaea horsfieldii R.Br.
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Monophyllaea horsfieldii is an herbaceous lithophyte belonging to the family Gesneriaceae and found mostly on limestone outcropings in Borneo and peninsular Malaysia.
Description
[edit]The entire plant consists of a single cotyledon of Brobdingnagian proportions; the blade or lamina can be "over a metre" (over 40 inches) in length and about 30 inches (75 centimeters) wide, topping a massive hypocotyl of similar length. It grows new tissue at the joint of the blade and hypocotyl, while the oldest tissue at the edge gradually dies back.[1][2]