A taxonomic revision of Araceae tribe Potheae (Pothos, Pothoidium and Pedicellarum) for Malesia, Australia and the tropical Western Pacific

Abstract

A taxonomic revision of Araceae tribe Potheae (Pothos, Pothoidium and Pedicellarum) for Malesia, Australia and the tropical Western Pacific. Telopea 9(3): 449–571. A regional revision of the three genera comprising tribe Potheae (Araceae: Pothoideae) is presented, largely as a precursor to the account for Flora Malesiana; 46 species are recognized (Pothos 44, Pothoidium 1, Pedicellarum 1) of which three Pothos (P. laurifolius, P. oliganthus and P. volans) are newly described, one (P. longus) is treated as insufficiently known and two (P. sanderianus, P. nitens) are treated as doubtful. Pothos latifolius L. is excluded from Araceae [= Piper sp.]. The following new synonymies are proposed: Pothos longipedunculatus Ridl. non Engl. = P. brevivaginatus; P. acuminatissimus = P. dolichophyllus; P. borneensis = P. insignis; P. scandens var. javanicus, P. macrophyllus and P. vrieseanus = P. junghuhnii; P. rumphii = P. tener; P. lorispathus = P. leptostachyus; P. kinabaluensis = P. longivaginatus; P. merrillii and P. ovatifolius var. simalurensis = P. ovatifolius; P. sumatranus, P. korthalsianus, P. inaequalis and P. jacobsonii = P. oxyphyllus. Relationships within Pothos and the taxonomic robustness of the satellite genera are discussed. Keys to the genera and species of Potheae and the subgenera and supergroups of Pothos for the region are provided. All species are illustrated. Contents