Lowiaceae
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Lowiaceae is a botanical name for a family of flowering plants. Such a family has been recognized by relatively few taxonomists.
The APG II system, of 2003 (unchanged from the APG system, 1998), does recognize this family, and assigns it to the order Zingiberales in the clade commelinids in the monocots. The family consists of a single genus, Orchidantha.
This genus includes the plants in the formerly recognised genera Lowia, Protamomum and Wolfia. Actually, Orchidantha remains a poorly known genus, with up to about a dozen species, found from southern China to Borneo.
Orchidantha means "Orchid-flower", as one of the petals on the flowers is modified into a labellum, like the flowers of orchids. One species, Orchidantha inouei of Borneo, imitates the smell of dung in order to attract small Onthophagus dung beetles as pollinators.
External links :
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- Lowiaceae in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval. Version: 27th April 2006. http://delta-intkey.com.
- Lowiaceae in the Flora of China
- NCBI Taxonomy Browser
- links at CSDL
