Description:

• Perennial, usually monoecious herbs, terrestrial, rarely epiphytic or aquatic, erect or climbing, often with watery or milky sap, usually with bundles of calcium oxalate raphides
• Stems aerial, subterranean rhizomes or tubers or reduced
• Leaves 1-many, alternate, sometimes basal, simple or pinnately to palmately compound, persistent or deciduous; some reduced to scale leaves (cataphylls); petiole with membranous sheath at base; lamina variously lobed or simple, usually entire, variable in shape and size, sometimes with perforations or maculations; venation parallel, pinnate or palmate
• Inflorescence consisting of an unbranched fleshy axis (spadix) subtended by or enclosed within a large, often showy bract (spathe), but reduced and hidden in *Pistia; pedunculate, appearing before or contemporary with leaves
• Spathe tubular or convolute, of various colours, deciduous or persistent, sometimes only lower part persistent
• Spadix uniform with bisexual flowers or plants monoecious with female flowers at base, male flowers above, sterile flowers often present at base, middle or apex, apical portion sometimes forming a sterile appendix, often with unpleasant smell
• Flowers unisexual, regular, many, densely congested on spadix, small, sessile, bractless
• Perianth 0 or with 4 or 6(8) free to ± connate, often fleshy, inconspicuous segments
• Stamens (1)2-7; filaments free or connate; anthers free to connate, sessile or on slender, filiform filaments, opening by lateral or apical slits or terminal pores
• Staminodes absent or interspersed among female flowers
• Ovary superior or submersed in spadix, with 1-4 locules; locules with 1-many, anatropous to orthotropous ovules; placenta parietal, axile, basal or apical; style short or sometimes 0; stigma sessile, entire or lobed
• Fruit a berry or somewhat coriaceous and splitting, 1-many-seeded, often brightly coloured
• Seeds with or without endosperm

Classification Notes:

• All local representatives are placed in subfamily Aroideae

Nomenclature:

• Araceae
  • Brown: 32 (1897)
  • Roessler: 162 (1967)
  • Mayo: 1 (1985)
  • Nicolson: 17 (1987)
  • Mayo et al.: 80 (1997)

Distribution & Notes:

• Global: Subfamilies 9, genera 105, species ± 3 300, tropical and subtropical with a few temperate species, mostly occurring in the New World tropics
• Southern Africa: Genera 6, species 14
  • The family is economically important, as several species are cultivated for their edible tubers and many are handsome ornamentals, among them the arum lily

References:

• BROWN, N.E. 1897. Aroideae. Flora capensis 7
• MAYO, S.J. 1985. Araceae. Flora of tropical East Africa
• MAYO, S.J., BOGNER, J., BOYCE, P.C. 1997. The genera of Araceae. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
• NICOLSON, D.H. 1987. Araceae. Flora of Ceylon 6
• ROESSLER, H. 1967. Prodromus einer Flora von Südwestafrika 162

Resources:

• Key to Araceae genera

• Araceae genera: