PlantaeDB Logo
Login Sign-up

Genus Tacca in Family Dioscoreaceae

In botanical taxonomy, a genus (plural genera) is a rank used to group closely related species within a family. In the hierarchy, genus sits below family and above species.

Genera are defined by shared morphological, anatomical, and genetic characteristics (for example, features of flowers, fruits, seeds, or leaves) that indicate a close evolutionary relationship among the species they contain.

Each genus can include one or more species. Examples include Rosa (roses) and Solanum (nightshades, including tomato and eggplant).

Do you wish to read more about plant taxonomy? Click here!

Genus Description

Suggest a correction!

Tacca (J.R. & G. Forster) is the sole genus of Taccaceae, placed in the order Dioscoreales (APG, 2016). About fourteen species are accepted (POWO, 2024), ranging from tropical African rainforests to the Malesian archipelago, New Guinea and the Pacific islands. The type species is Tacca leontopetaloides (G.Forst.) J.R. & G. Forster (Dahlgren et al., 1985).

Plants are perennial herbs with tuberous rhizomes. Leaves are basal, large and either entire or palmately lobed, on long petioles. Inflorescences are solitary on erect scapes surpassing leaf height, each bearing a pair of conspicuous, filiform bracts forming a bat‑wing outline. The flower has six tepals basally fused into a short tube, often dark maroon to black; the ovary is inferior, trilocular with axile placentation, and the fruit is a fleshy berry with several black seeds.

Species richness peaks in Southeast Asia, especially on Borneo, Sumatra and New Guinea, where several narrow endemics occur; a few taxa extend to tropical Africa and the Pacific islands. Most species inhabit lowland to lower‑montane rainforest, often on limestone or in swamps, from sea level to about 1 500 m. The disjunct range reflects both ancient vicariance and later long‑distance dispersal.

Pollination has been studied in several species and is effected by small dipterans attracted to the carrion‑like scent of the inflorescence; a detailed investigation of Tacca chantrieri documented such flies as the primary pollinators (Ackerman et al., 2021). The fleshy berries are presumed bird‑dispersed, and many species reproduce vegetatively through fragmentation of the tuberous rhizome.

Taxonomically, Tacca is the sole genus of Taccaceae (APG, 2016). Molecular phylogenies place Taccaceae within Dioscoreales, though some analyses suggest a broader placement within Dioscoreaceae (Chase et al., 2016). No formal subgeneric names are widely recognized, and modern treatments generally avoid subgeneric classification. Alternative circumscriptions merging Taccaceae with Dioscoreaceae have been proposed (e.g., Dahlgren et al., 1985), yet current consensus follows POWO (2024).

The genus is best known horticulturally for the exotic “bat‑flower” of Tacca chantrieri and Tacca integrifolia, which are cultivated worldwide as ornamental greenhouse plants. A few species, notably Tacca leontopetaloides, produce starchy tubers that are locally harvested, but the genus provides no major timber or invasive species.

Several species are threatened by habitat loss, but comprehensive IUCN assessments remain incomplete, highlighting data gaps. Continued habitat protection, ex situ cultivation, and refined phylogenies are needed to secure their future.

Pick a Species to see its components: