Triphyophyllum

Triphyophyllum
Climbing adult Triphyophyllum with hooked leaves
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Dioncophyllaceae
Genus: Triphyophyllum
Airy Shaw
Species:
T. peltatum
Binomial name
Triphyophyllum peltatum
Triphyophyllum is native to Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Sierra Leone[2]
Synonyms[2]
  • Dioncophyllum peltatum Hutch. & Dalziel

Triphyophyllum peltatum is a facultatively carnivorous,[3] up to 60 m (200 ft) tall vine[4] in the monotypic genus Triphyophyllum /ˌtrɪfioʊˈfɪləm/ in the family Dioncophyllaceae native to tropical western Africa, in Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Sierra Leone[5] where it grows in tropical rainforest.[4]

Description

Vegetative characteristics

It is a facultatively carnivorous, heterophyllous,[6] up to 60 m (200 ft) tall vine with glabrous, terete stems.[7] It has a three-stage lifecycle, each with a different shaped leaf, as indicated by its Greek name. In the first stage, T. peltatum forms a rosette of simple lanceolate Dracaena-like leaves about 18 cm (7.1 in) in length with undulate margins. At times when there is insufficient phosphorus in the soil[8][9] it develops long, slender, glandular, circinate leaves up to 35 cm (14 in) in length and bearing two sorts of glands, and resembling those of the related Drosophyllum, which capture insects; there being one to three of these leaves in each rosette.[10] In the plant's adult liana form it has short non-carnivorous leaves bearing a pair of "grappling hooks" [11] at their tips on a long twining stem which can become 50 metres (160 ft) in length and 10 centimetres (3.9 in) thick.[12][13] T. peltatum is the largest of all confirmed carnivorous plants in the world, but its carnivorous nature did not become known until 1979, over 50 years after the plant's scientific description.[6]

Generative characteristics

The axillary,[14][15] branched,[16] cymose, few-flowered[15] or many-flowered inflorescence bears up to 80 small, ephemeral,[16] fragrant,[14] white to pink,[16] bisexual, actinomorphic, pedicellate flowers.[15] The pedicel is up to 3 cm long. The flower has 5 triangular, 2 mm long sepals, and 5 obovate, 13 mm long petals.[15] The androecium consists of 10 stamens.[15][7] The style is very short.[7] The up to 4 cm wide, 1-seeded,[15] 4–5-valved capsule fruit[7][15] bears discoid, papery,[15] flat, winged, circular, pink to red,[14] 5–8[7](–10) cm wide seeds[17][14] with an up to 5.5 cm (2.2 in) long funiculus extending beyond the fruit.[15] Most of the seed's development occurs outside the fruit.[18] The seeds are wind-dispersed.[7][19]

Cytology

The chromosome count is 2n = 24,[7][15] 36.[15]

Taxonomy

Triphyophyllum peltatum was first described as Dioncophyllum peltatum Hutch. & Dalziel by John Hutchinson and John McEwan Dalziel in 1927.[2] It was moved to a new monotypic genus Triphyophyllum Airy Shaw as Triphyophyllum peltatum (Hutch. & Dalziel) Airy Shaw by Herbert Kenneth Airy Shaw in 1952.[5][2]

Etymology

The generic name Triphyophyllum is derived from triphyes meaning of threefold form,[20] and phyllum meaning leaf.[21] It refers to the three growth stages of the plant with three different types of leaves.[8] The specific epithet peltatum means shield-like[22] and refers to the discoid seeds,[19] which have a long stalk that extends the seed beyond the capsule fruit.[15]

Distribution and habitat

Triphyophyllum is found in Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Sierra Leone,[5] where it occurs in primary[7] and old secondary dry evergreen rainforests. The habitat has a 6–7 month dry season. The acid, nutrient-poor soil is shallow.[6]

Conservation

It is a rare and endangered species,[8] classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List.[1] Its population is declining, primarily due to habitat destruction from logging and mining.[1]

Cultivation

Triphyophylum peltatum is difficult to cultivate.[8][23] It is cultivated in several botanical gardens: Würzburg, Hannover,[24] Abidjan, Bonn, Cambridge University and Würzburg, and is exceedingly rare in private collections.

Uses

Triphyophyllum peltatum is traditionally used in folk medicine in the treatment of elephantiasis[15][7] and malaria.[7] It produces many pharmaceutically active secondary metabolites, some of which have been found to have strong antiplasmodial activity. Some metabolites were found to have antitumoral and anti-multiple myeloma activity.[8] The stems are used as tying material.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b c Cheek, M.; Hooper, O.; Couch, C. (2025). "Triphyophyllum peltatum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2025 e.T85731562A85731586. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2025-2.RLTS.T85731562A85731586.en. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d "Triphyophyllum peltatum (Hutch. & Dalziel) Airy Shaw". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
  3. ^ Walker, C. (2023). "Triggered by phosphorous deficiency". Nature Plants. 9 (6): 853.
  4. ^ a b Cross, A.; Krueger, T. (26 November 2020). "Save me, Seymour! The increasingly dire plight of Darwin's "Most wonderful plants in the world."". Natural History of Ecological Restoration. Restoration Ecology Lab, Ecological Health Network, & Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c "Triphyophyllum Airy Shaw". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
  6. ^ a b c Green, S.; Green, T. L.; Heslop-Harrison, Y. (1979). "Seasonal heterophylly and leaf gland features in Triphyophyllum (Dioncophyllaceae), a new carnivorous plant genus". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 78 (2): 99–116.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Porembski, S.; Barthlott, W. (2003). "Dioncophyllaceae". In Kubitzki, K.; Bayer, C. (eds.). Flowering Plants · Dicotyledons. The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants. Vol. 5. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer.
  8. ^ a b c d e Winkelmann, Traud; Bringmann, Gerhard; Herwig, Anne; Hedrich, Rainer (2023). "Carnivory on demand: phosphorus deficiency induces glandular leaves in the African liana Triphyophyllum peltatum". New Phytologist. 239 (3): 1140–1152. doi:10.1111/nph.18960. ISSN 0028-646X. PMID 37191044. confirmation of phosphorus starvation to be essential and sufficient
  9. ^ Simons, Paul (17 April 2024). "Plantwatch: why does a rainforest vine turn into a part-time carnivore?". The Guardian.
  10. ^ "Triphyophyllum peltatum - Redfern Natural History". www.redfernnaturalhistory.com. Archived from the original on 2017-03-19.
  11. ^ "Image of Triphyophyllum leaves". Archived from the original on 2018-02-16.
  12. ^ George Cheer (1992). A GUIDE TO CARNIVOROUS PLANTS OF THE WORLD. Pymble, New South Wales, Aust.: Angus and Robertson. p. 122.
  13. ^ Slack, Adrian (1980). Carnivorous Plants. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. p. 231-232 (Appendix 2). ISBN 9781899296132.
  14. ^ a b c d Slack, A. (2000). Carnivorous Plants. MIT Press. pp. 231–232.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Fibres. Niederlande: Prota Foundation. 2012. pp. 438–440.
  16. ^ a b c "Triphyophyllum, das Hakenblatt". Gesellschaft Für Fleischfressende Pflanzen. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
  17. ^ Schmid-Hollinger, R. "Triphyophyllum peltatum ("Hakenblatt")". Retrieved March 30, 2025.
  18. ^ John Hutchinson and J. M. Dalziel (1928). "Tropical African Plants II". KEW BULLETIN: 31–32. (Under the name Dioncophyllum peltatum)
  19. ^ a b Stach, G.; Timmann, L. (11 February 2006). "Species: Triphyophyllum peltatum (Hutchinson & Dalziel) Airy Shaw, {1952}". Die Karnivoren-Datenbank. Retrieved March 30, 2025.
  20. ^ The Alkaloids: Chemistry and Biology. Niederlande: Academic Press. 2024. p. 14.
  21. ^ "-phyllum". Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
  22. ^ "Pelargonium peltatum (L) L'Hér". PlantZAfrica. South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). Retrieved March 29, 2025.
  23. ^ Bringmann, Gerhard; Schlauer, Jan; Wolf, Kristina; Rischer, Heiko; Buschbom, Uwe; Kreiner, Andreas; Thiele, Friedrich; Duschek, Martin; Assi, Laurent Ake (1999-03-01). "Cultivation of Triphyophyllum peltatum (Dioncophyllaceae), the part-time carnivorous plant". Carnivorous Plant Newsletter. 28 (1): 7–13. doi:10.55360/cpn281.gb418.
  24. ^ "Mangel weckt den Appetit auf Fleisch". Universität Würzburg (Press release) (in German). 16 May 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2025.
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