What is "homalomena"

Homalomena is a genus of flowering plants within the family Araceae. Homalomena are primarily found in southern Asia and the southwestern Pacific, but there are a few species that are known to be indigenous to Latin America. Many Homalomena have a strong smell of anise. The name derives apparently from a mistranslated Malayan vernacular name, translated as homalos, meaning flat, and mene = moon.

The plants of this genus are clump-forming evergreen perennials with mainly heart-shaped or arrowheaded shaped leaves. The flowers are tiny and without petals, enclosed in a usually greenish spathe hidden by the leaves.

The Tamils knew of this plant for more than 3000 years. It is called merugu ( Tamil: மெருகு ) and it is used for several purposes including curing stomach disorders, piles, flem etc. Several oils like kumaraguru enney; merugulli enney, merugu pachai enneyetc. are prepared to cure various type of diseases.

Some authors have proposed splitting the genus and moving all the neotropical species of Homalomena to Adelonema. At the present time (August 2014), Tropicos, The Plant List, and the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families have opted not to accept this change.

1. Homalomena adiensis A.Hay - western New Guinea
2. Homalomena aeneifolia Alderw. - Sulawesi
3. Homalomena agens Kurniawan & P.C.Boyce - Kalimantan Timur
4. Homalomena ardua P.C.Boyce & S.Y.Wong - Sarawak
5. Homalomena argentea Ridl. - Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo
6. Homalomena aromatica (Spreng.) Schott - Yunnan, Assam, Bangladesh, Indochina
7. Homalomena asmae Baharuddin & P.C.Boyce - Perak
8. Homalomena asperifolia Alderw. - Sumatra
9. Homalomena atroviridis Engl. & K.Krause - Papua New Guinea
10. Homalomena atrox P.C.Boyce, S.Y.Wong & Fasih - Sarawak
11. Homalomena batoeensis Engl. - Sumatra
12. Homalomena bellula Schott - Java
13. Homalomena burkilliana Ridl. - Sumatra
14. Homalomena clandestina P.C.Boyce, S.Y.Wong & Fasih. - Sarawak
15. Homalomena cochinchinensis Engl. - Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Yunnan, Guangdong
16. Homalomena confusa Furtado - Peninsular Malaysia
17. Homalomena consobrina (Schott) Engl. - Thailand, Borneo, Sumatra
18. Homalomena cordata Schott - Java, Andaman and Nicobar Islands
19. Homalomena corneri Furtado - Jahore
20. Homalomena crinipes Engl. - Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador
21. Homalomena cristata Alderw. - Sumatra
22. Homalomena curtisii Ridl. - Perak
23. Homalomena curvata Engl. - Melaka
24. Homalomena davidiana A.Hay - New Guinea
25. Homalomena debilicrista Y.C.Hoe - Sarawak
26. Homalomena distans Ridl. - New Guinea
27. Homalomena doctersii Alderw. - Sumatra
28. Homalomena elegans Engl. - Sumatra
29. Homalomena elegantula A.Hay & Hersc. - Sumatra
30. Homalomena erythropus (Mart. ex Schott) Engl. - Costa Rica, northwestern Brazil
31. Homalomena expedita A.Hay & Hersc. - Sarawak
32. Homalomena gadutensis M.Hotta - Sumatra
33. Homalomena gaudichaudii Schott - New Guinea, Maluku, Philippines
34. Homalomena giamensis L.S.Tung, S.Y.Wong & P.C.Boyce - Sarawak
35. Homalomena gillii Furtado - Sabah
36. Homalomena griffithii (Schott) Hook.f. - Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Thailand, Vietnam, Borneo,Malaysia, Sumatra
37. Homalomena hainanensis H.Li - Hainan
38. Homalomena hammelii Croat & Grayum - Costa Rica
39. Homalomena hanneae P.C.Boyce, S.Y.Wong & Fasih. - Sarawak
40. Homalomena hastata M.Hotta - Sumatra
41. Homalomena havilandii Ridl. - Sabah, Sarawak
42. Homalomena hendersonii Furtado - Kelantan
43. Homalomena hooglandii A.Hay - New Guinea
44. Homalomena humilis (Jack) Hook.f. - Thailand, Malaysia, Borneo, Java, Sulawesi, Sumatra
45. Homalomena impudica Hersc. & A.Hay - Papua New Guinea
46. Homalomena insignis N.E.Br. - Borneo
47. Homalomena jacobsiana A.Hay - Papua New Guinea
48. Homalomena josefii P.C.Boyce & S.Y.Wong - Sarawak
49. Homalomena kalkmanii A.Hay - New Guinea
50. Homalomena kelungensis Hayata - Taiwan
51. Homalomena kiahii Furtado - Kelantan
52. Homalomena korthalsii Furtado - Borneo
53. Homalomena kualakohensis Zulhazman, P.C.Boyce & Mashhor - Peninsular Malaysia
54. Homalomena kvistii Croat - Valle del Cauca in Colombia
55. Homalomena lancea Ridl. - Sarawak
56. Homalomena lancifolia Hook.f. - Peninsular Malaysia, Thailand
57. Homalomena latifrons Engl. - Borneo, Java, Sumatra
58. Homalomena lauterbachii Engl. - New Guinea
59. Homalomena lindenii (Rodigas) Ridl. - New Guinea
60. Homalomena longipes Merr - Sumatra
61. Homalomena magna A.Hay - Papua New Guinea
62. Homalomena major Griff. - Peninsular Malaysia
63. Homalomena matangae Y.C.Hoe, S.Y.Wong & P.C.Boyce - Sarawak
64. Homalomena megalophylla M.Hotta - Sumatra
65. Homalomena melanesica A.Hay - Bismarck Archipelago, Solomon Islands
66. Homalomena metallica (N.E.Br.) Engl. - Borneo
67. Homalomena minor Griff. - Peninsular Malaysia
68. Homalomena minutissima M.Hotta - Brunei
69. Homalomena moffleriana Croat & Grayum - Chocó region of Colombia
70. Homalomena monandra M.Hotta - Sumatra
71. Homalomena montana Furtado - Peninsular Malaysia
72. Homalomena nigrescens (Schott) Engl. - Sumatra
73. Homalomena nutans Hook.f. - Kelantan, Nicobar Islands
74. Homalomena obovata Ridl. - Sumatra
75. Homalomena obscurifolia Alderw. - Borneo
76. Homalomena occulta (Lour.) Schott - Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Yunnan
77. Homalomena ovalifolia (Schott) Ridl. - Borneo
78. Homalomena ovata Engl. - Borneo
79. Homalomena padangensis M.Hotta - Sumatra
80. Homalomena palawanensis Engl. - Palawan
81. Homalomena peekelii Engl. - Bismarck Archipelago, Solomon Islands, New Guinea
82. Homalomena peltata Mast. - Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia
83. Homalomena pendula (Blume) Bakh.f. - Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Borneo, Java, Sumatra, Lesser Sunda Islands
84. Homalomena philippinensis Engl. - Philippines, Lan Yü Islands of Taiwan
85. Homalomena picturata (Linden & André) Regel - Costa Rica, Panama, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, the Guianas
86. Homalomena pineodora Sulaiman & P.C.Boyce - Perak
87. Homalomena pontederifolia Griff. ex Hook.f. - Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia
88. Homalomena producta A.Hay - New Guinea
89. Homalomena pseudogeniculata P.C.Boyce & S.Y.Wong - Brunei, Sarawak
90. Homalomena pulleana Engl. & K.Krause - western New Guinea
91. Homalomena punctulata Engl. - Brunei, Sarawak
92. Homalomena pyrospatha Bogner - Sumatra
93. Homalomena robusta Engl. & K.Krause - New Guinea
94. Homalomena rubescens (Roxb.) Kunth. - Sikkim, Bhutan, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Myanmar
95. Homalomena rusdii M.Hotta - Sumatra
96. Homalomena sarawakensis Ridl. - Sarawak
97. Homalomena saxorum (Schott) Engl. - Sumatra, Borneo
98. Homalomena schlechteri Engl. - New Guinea
99. Homalomena scortechinii Hook.f. - Peninsular Malaysia
100. Homalomena sengkenyang P.C.Boyce, S.Y.Wong & Fasih. - Sarawak
101. Homalomena silvatica Alderw. - Sumatra
102. Homalomena singaporensis Regel - Peninsular Malaysia
103. Homalomena soniae A.Hay - New Guinea
104. Homalomena speariae Bogner & Moffler - Colombia
105. Homalomena steenisiana A.Hay - Papua New Guinea
106. Homalomena stollei Engl. & K.Krause - New Guinea
107. Homalomena striatieopetiolata P.C.Boyce & S.Y.Wong - Sarawak
108. Homalomena subcordata Engl. - Sarawak
109. Homalomena symplocarpifolia P.C.Boyce, S.Y.Wong & Fasih. - Sarawak
110. Homalomena tenuispadix Engl. - New Guinea
111. Homalomena terajaensis S.Y.Wong & P.C.Boyce - Brunei
112. Homalomena treubii Engl. - Borneo
113. Homalomena truncata (Schott) Hook.f. - Myanmar, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia
114. Homalomena vagans P.C.Boyce - Brunei, Sarawak
115. Homalomena vietnamensis Bogner & V.D.Nguyen - Vietnam
116. Homalomena vittifolia Kurniawan & P.C.Boyce - Sulawesi
117. Homalomena vivens P.C.Boyce, S.Y.Wong & Fasih. - Sarawak
118. Homalomena wallichii Schott - Pulau Pinang in Malaysia
119. Homalomena wallisii Regel - Panama, Colombia, Venezuela
120. Homalomena wendlandii Schott - Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
121. Homalomena wongii S.Y.Wong & P.C.Boyce - Brunei
122. Homalomena zollingeri Schott - Java