Lasia spinosa (Kohila) is a genus of flowering plants in the Araceae family, native to Asia and New Guinea. The genus contains only two known species, Lasia spinosa and Lasia concinna.[1][2][3] Lasia was believed to be a monotypic genus until 1997 when a wild population of Lasia concinna was discovered in a farmer's paddy field in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. The farmer had been growing them for their edible young leaves. This species of Lasia had been known of previously only from a single specimen at the Bogor Botanic Gardens,
Plant Morphology :
Growth Form: It is a large, spiny, marsh plant, up to 1.5 m tall.
Foliage: Its alternate, long- and spiky-stalked leaves have broad leaf blades that are arrow-shaped and 20-30 cm long when young. The leaves are divided into 4-8 pairs of lance-shaped lobes up to 4 cm wide when mature.
Flowers: Its flowers are borne on a yellow or brown, up to 4 cm long, flowering shoot that is enclosed by a 35-40 cm long, modified leaf (spathe) that is purplish on the outside and greenish inside.
Fruits: Its hard, rough surfaced fruits are borne on the axis of the inflorescence.
Habitat :
It grows along tidal rivers, and in open wet places, and swamp forests. It occurs locally in the Central Catchment Nature Reserve.
Associated Fauna :
Its flowers are pollinated by insects.
Cultivation :
It can be propagated by seed or division of the underground stem. Grows best in waterlogged soils that is rich in nutrients.
Ethnobotanical Uses :
Edible Plant Parts (Edible Leaves)
Food (Fruit & Vegetable: The peeled leaf stalks (to remove spines) are edible and utilised as a curry flavouring.)
Medicinal (The leaves are used for treating coughs, stomachaches, and other pains.)