Molineria capitulata

Molineria capitulata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Hypoxidaceae
Genus:	Molineria
Species:	M. capitulata
Binomial name
Molineria capitulata (Lour.) Herb.
Synonyms
Curculigo capitulata Molineria capitata

Molineria Capitulata is a stout herb belong to the genus Molineria. It is also known as palm grass. It can be found widespread in the tropics and other warmer temperate places. The plant has yellower flowers and oblong, papery pleated leaves with very short stems. In China and India, the plant has traditional use as medicine to treat diseases such as hemorrhoids, asthma, and consumptive cough. In the Southeast Asia, the plant is also used as food wrapping and the fibres are used to make fishing nets, ropes and false hair. However, in recent years Molineria Capitulata are more often used as ornamental plants in gardens. In recent studies, M. Capitulata was also found to have potential in treating several chronic diseases due to its high antifungal, antioxidant, cytotoxic, thrombolytic, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic activities.

Description/Appearance

Molineria Capitulata is a tuberous evergreen herb with thick rhizomes and thin stolons. In adverse conditions, the rights may remain dormant for a long time.

The leaves are palm-like, which is why the plant is more known as palm grass. Usually, 4-7 leaves are held on 30–80 cm long stalks. Leaf blades are oblong-lance shape to sublong with pointed tips and surface pleated lengthwise. The leaves are usually 40–90 cm × 5–14 cm. The inflorescences are beuied amid the leaf bases and concealed by the leaves.

Flowering stems are 15–30 cm long with brown hair. Flower-racemes are around 2.5–5 cm, densely flowered with headlike to subovoid shape. The flower bracts are lanceolate, and around 1.5-2.5 cm in length. The bracts are usually brown, green in colour and are covered by hair.

Flowering stalks are around 7 mm long, carrying yellow flowers with blunt tips with hairy outer petals. In some places such as Bangladesh, each plant grows one flower most of the time and sometimes in groups of 2-3 flowers. But in some places, such as Nepal, each stem can carry a lot of flowers. Each flower usually has 6 petals that are oblong ovate in shapes and about 8 mm × 3.5–4 mm in length. The flowers are ginger-like and sweetly scented.

Stamens are 5–6 mm with filaments less than 1mm and linear anther about 5mm. The ovary is hairy with style longer than stamens. The stigma is almost petaloideo in shape and is subcapitate.

The berries of Molineria Capitulata are white, round with 4-5mm diameter. The fruit are sweet wen ripe. The seeds are black and are irregular in shapes. However, fruits are rarely seen in cultivated plants.

Other Scientific Names for Molineria Capitulata

• Curculigo capitulata (Lour.) Kuntze
• Curculigo fuziwarae Yamam.
• Curculigo glabra Merr.
• Curculigo recurvata W.T.Aiton
• Curculigo strobiliformis D.Fang & D.H.Qin
• Leucojum capitulatum Lour.
• Molineria hortensis Britton
• Molineria plicata Colla
• Molineria recurvata (W.T.Aiton) Herb.
• Molineria sulcata Kurz
• Tupistra esquirolii H.Lév. & Vaniot
• Veratrum mairei H.Lév.

Other Common Names

• Palm Grass
• Whale Back
• Weevil Lily

Taxonomy descriptions

Family description

The Molineria genus belongs to the family Hypoxidaceae. This family are traditionally used to treat diseases such as diabetes, blood loss and viral infections.

Genus description

The genus is distinguished by the long, flat leaves and star shaped yellow blooms. Plants belonging to this genus can be easily cut down by most weapons and tools. Plants from this genus often have short filaments and round anthers located at the back. The ovary is oblong to ovoid, sometimes elongated above into a solid beak. The fruits are usually berries and seeds are smooth or striate. The genus is found mostly throughout the rainforests.

Origin and Distribution

Molineria Capitulata is native to South Asia, in countries such as India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal through Southeast to Southern China, Taiwan, East Himalayas and Australia. It can also be found in tropical Africa. However, the plant has spread far across the tropics and can be found naturalized sometimes.

M. Capitulata was purposefully introduced as an ornamental plant and is widely grown in gardens. It is popular as a garden plant in lowlands and midlands of Sri Lanka. Although it is not abundant, but M. Capitulata can also be found in older gardens in Hawaii.

Habitats

Molineria Capitulata are usually found in forests, in shady places with moisture. Naturalized species can also be found along the stream banks and other wet habitat. It is usually found in places 800–2200 meters above sea level, but sometimes it can also be found as 300m. it can be found at elevation of 1000-1500m in Colombia.

Molineria Capitulata propagates by seeds and prefer temperature between 16 °C to 24 °C. The growth of the spices stops when the temperature is below 10 °C, but it can still be alive in very low temperature such as 0 °C for a short period of time before losing its aerial portion. It will revegetate in the spring.

The plant requires well drained soils rich in organic matter, slightly acidic in pH and kept damp but not stagnant.

Cultivation and planting advice

Usually cultivated in pots in organic loam. Drainage can be improved by incorporation of coarse sand and angri-perlite in the soil.

The species is easily cultivated as it tolerates different light conditions. It grows better in fertile loamy, moist and well-drained soil that is rich in organic matter.

Planting compost such as Active 8 can be mixed with existing soil in 1:1 ratio. The soil should be well mulched and the plant should be watered with Harvest once a week for the first six weeks of planting. When pruning, damaged or yellowed leaves should be removed.

Frequent watering is required in the summer and less watering in winter to enable the upper layer of the loam to dry out. Monthly fertilization with hydro-soluble product with 1/3 of micro-elements in the spring-summer period is required.

Uses

Ethnobotanical uses

Molineria Capitulata is mainly cultivated as ornamental plants in the modern society. The species was used to wrap fruits, vegetables and other food during transportation in Indonesia.

The papery texture of the leaves indicates the plant is rich in fibre. The fibres are ustilised in many ways by the Southeast Asian. For example, the fibers collected from the leaves can be used to make fishing nets and ropes. The Luha people from northern Thailand use fibres collected from the leaves as wrappings. Additionally, the hill people of Camarine in Luzon, Philippines also make false hair using these fibres. In this culture, the fibre can also be used as warps in toy looms for children.

The fruits of the species are edible, so they can be incorporated into everyday diet.

The leaves of the species can also be made into Leave Bandage.

Traditional medical uses

Molineria Capitulata has a long history of medical use in Southeast Asia. It is widely used in traditional Chinese and Indian medicine to treat severe chronic disease, rheumatic arthritis, nephritis, urinary tract infection, colic, asthma, jaundice, spermatorrhoea, consumptive cough, impotence, kidney asemia, hemorrhoids, diarrhea, and gonorrhea. It is also used in traditional Dai medicine to treat urinary tract infection, acute renal pelvis and phrenitis, nephritis-edema, cystitis, nephrolithiasis, hypertension and rheumatic arthritis. It can also be used in veterinary medicine and for land conservation. The rhizomes are used in traditional medicine for eye infection and gastric disorders.

Potential uses

The species has high antioxidant, cytotoxic, thrombolytic, anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities, indicating that the species has the potential to be used as treatment of several chronic diseases. Molineria Capitulata has a strong reduction capacity (absorbance if 1.87 at 400µg/mL), indicating strong antioxidant activity and reduction ability. The extract from the plant also displays inhibition of protein denaturation (500 µg/mL), indicating ability to prevent blood clotting.

The plant is also found to have high content in phenols (048.67 mg/g) and flavonoids (24 mg/g). Phenol is often used in skin care for its antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and antiaging activities. This high concentration of phenol may indicate a potential use of M. Capitulata extract in skin care. Flavonoids are often found in fruits, grains, and vegetable. It has anti-oxidation activity as it fights the free radicals in body and help body relax from the stressors.

A recent experiment also shows the roots of the species have antifungal activate against Fusarium oxysportium f. sp. Cubense (Foc) tropical race 4 (Foc TR4). This pathogen is the main cause of fusarium wailt in banana, meaning that extracts from Molineria Capitulata has the potential to treat infectious diseases in banana.

Furthermore, the essential oil extracted from the fruit of Molineria Capitulata are also found to have antibacterial and antifungal activities. This means more application of the plant can be found with more studies.

Ornamental uses

The species can be used in mass for boarders as soil cover at the base of large trees as they can accommodate with various shade conditions. Little maintenance is required, and the plan tolerate a range of temperatures.

Invasiveness

Molineria Capitulata has spread from Eastern Asia to worldwide as it has been introduced globally as an ornamental plant. The species has to potential to become a week and become a dominant species of an area.

The plant is great in vegetative propagation and can resprout from tuberous, underground stems, forming dense clumps and exclude other plants. It can also tolerate adverse conditions such as low temperature and shade, meaning that will cover any soil that is available. The plant may also propagate in undesirable areas, reducing taking over the habitats of nearby plants and reducing biodiversity. Thus Molineria Capitulata is considered a weedy plant and has a high risk of decreasing biodiversity.

However, the plant does not have any spines, burrs or spines and is not toxic. It used only for ornamental purposes. Despite being good at propagating, seeds are rarely produced, and a plant takes 4–10 years to reach maturity. These factors combine means the plant has a low risk of harming the biodiversity. Additionally, the plant is also eaten by browsing animals, meaning the population can be controlled.

Precention and Control

Molineria Capitulata is not classified as weeds or invasive species in most countries such as South Africa. Monitoring of naturalized population of the species is advised in Hawaii with probable consideration for phasing it out of the sale stock of endorsed nurseries.

Physical control

Removal of the plant by hands, though it may be difficult as its roots may extends to surrounding areas. Removing the plant may damage to roots of nearby species.

Reproduction method

There is little information on the reproductive methods of the plant, but it is thought to reproduce by seeds and propagations.

Through rare, but reproduction by seeds of the species occurs in draining organic loam with humid environment and temperature around 24 to 26 degrees Celsius. The seeds of Molineria Captulata have short viability, meaning that reproduction action should be taken as soon as they are ripe. Therefore, propagation is rare in cultivation because seeds are rarely produced. This reduces the risk of inadvertent dispersal.

Propagation occurs by division of rhizomes in mature clumps.

Related disease

Though the plants are rarely bothered by most disease, leaf spots and blights can occur on the leaves of Molineria Capitulata. This disease is caused by Curvularia Curculigini, identified by morphology. These symptoms were observed in Shenzhen Fair Lake Botanical Garden in 2018, where many round or irregular brown necrotic spots varied in sizes was observed throughout the leaves. In serious cases, leaves withered entirely. By testing the sample with pathogenicity tests, C. curculiginis was found to be the pathogen of such disease.

External links

• "Molineria capitulata". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).