Bent alligator-flag facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bent alligator-flag
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Genus:	Thalia
Species:	geniculata
Synonyms
Maranta arundinacea Billb. ex Beurl. nom. illeg. Maranta flexuosa C.Presl Maranta geniculata (L.) Lam. Renealmia erecta (Vell.) D.Dietr. nom. illeg. Renealmia geniculata (L.) D.Dietr. Thalia altissima Klotzsch. nom. inval. Thalia angustifolia C.Wright ex Griseb. Thalia caerulea Ridl. Thalia dipetala Gagnep. Thalia divaricata Chapm. Thalia erecta Vell. Thalia schumanniana De Wild. Thalia trichocalyx Gagnep. Thalia welwitschii Ridl.

Thalia geniculata, the bent alligator-flag, arrowroot, or fire-flag, is a plant species widespread across tropical Africa and much of the Americas.

Thalia geniculata is native to a large region in Africa, from Senegal in the west to Sudan in the east, south to Zimbabwe and Angola. It is also considered native to Mexico, Central America, the West Indies, most of South America, as well as the southeastern United States (Puerto Rico, Florida, Louisiana, Alabama and southern Georgia).

Ecology

The larvae of Stolidoptera tachasara, Xylophanes hannemanni and Sphenarches anisodactylus have been recorded feeding on Thalia geniculata.

Chemistry

Rosmarinic acid can be found in plants in the family Marantaceae such as Thalia geniculata.

See also

In Spanish: Thalia geniculata para niños