Lasia spinosa

Lasia spinosa (L.) Thwaites , Enum. Pl. Zeyl. 336 1864. (Syn: Dracontium spinosum L.; Lasia aculeata Lour.; Lasia crassifolia Engl. ..; Lasia desciscens Schott; Lasia hermannii Schott; Lasia heterophylla (Roxb.) Schott; Lasia jenkinsii Schott; Lasia loureiroi Schott [Illegitimate]; Lasia roxburghii Griff.; Lasia zollingeri Schott; Pothos heterophyllus Roxb.; Pothos lasia Roxb.; Pothos spinosus (L.) Buch.-Ham. ex Wall.);

Trop. & Subtrop. Asia as per WCSP;

Assam; Bangladesh; Borneo; Cambodia; China South-Central; China Southeast; East
Himalaya; Hainan; India; Jawa; Laos; Malaya; Maluku; Myanmar; Nepal; New Guinea;
Sri Lanka; Sulawesi; Sumatera; Taiwan; Thailand; Tibet; Vietnam as per Catalogue of Life;

Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern ver 3.1 Year Assessed: 2010 Assessor/s: Gupta, A.K. Reviewer/s: Juffe Bignoli, D. & Allen, D.
Justification: This aquatic plant is native to temperate and tropical Asia from China to India to Viet Nam and Indonesia. It is common throughout its range in swamps, riverbanks, ditches, and moist places in tropical and subtropical forests. Although there is no detailed information about global population trend, it covers an extensive geographic range and seems to be common in a wide range of habitats. No major threats have been reported and the species is therefore listed as Least Concern. Conservation Actions: No conservation actions are in place.
(Attributions- IUCN and ZOO 2011 from India Biodiversity Portal)

A stout, spinous, aquatic or marsh herb root stock branched. Petiole long, prickly; leaf balde hastate, entire or pedately lobed and cut, nerves beneath prickly. Flower hermaphrodite, all fertile. Spathe long, narrow, fleshy, twisted; base convolute, deciduous. Spadix short, cylindric, dense-flowered. Perianth segments 4-6, obovate, tips incurved. Stamens 4-6, filaments short, flat. Ovary ovoid, 1-celled, ovule solitary. Fruit a cluster of six-sided, obpyramidal berries with warted or muricate tips. Comes out in damp, low laying areas.

(Attributions- Wild edible plants of Assam. by Sri Brahmananda Patiri and Sri Ananta Borah, published by the Director Forest Communication, Forest Department, Assam. Curated for upload by Pranjal Mahananda from India Biodiversity Portal)

Lasia spinosa_RKC04_180811:
Lasia spinosa (L.) Thwaites for you

Family: Araceae
Loc.: Pakke Tiger Reserve, Pakke, East Kameng (ca 500msl.)
Notes: Tender leaves are boiled and eaten by the local communities.

Adding my collection …The flower of Lasia spinosa

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Plant ID from Bangladesh SM 179 : 5 posts by 3 authors. Attachments (1)

Habit: Herb
Habitat Wild

Lasia spinosa (L.) Thwaites has very variable leaf-blades. Any probability?

The leaf in the middle is a Begonia. The early infructescence though, is from Lasia spinosa (Araceae) of which you can see parts of the lobed leaf blade on the right.

Nepali Names : मडुवा साग Maduwaa Saag / काँडे कर्कलो Kaande Karkalo

Lasia spinosa (L.) Thwaites from Assam 01 KD Dec 2019 : 2 posts by 2 authors. Attachments (3)

Attached images are Lasia spinosa (L.) Thwaites from Assam
Date :29.11..2019
Location: Assam
Family : Araceae
Genus & species : Lasia spinosa (L.) Thwaites
Habitat: Grows wild on muddy places
Habit : Herb

Nice find !! Last image I think points to why it is called ‘spinosa’ .

References:
Catalogue of Life The Plant List Ver.1.1 WCSP IPNI GBIF (High resolution specimens) Flora of China Annotated checklist of Flowering plants of Nepal India Biodiversity Portal Wikimedia Commons Useful Tropical Plants JIRCAS Flora Fauna Web
Ayurvedic Plants of Sri Lanka: Plants Details

Updated on June 7, 2025