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Tacca chantrieri
Also called Cat's whiskers, Devil flower, Batflower
In Singapore: Black Bat Flower, Devil Flower, Cat's Whiskers (Cultivated in Singapore)
Tacca chantrieri, the black bat flower, is a tropical rhizomatous plant with unusual near-black flowers that have long whisker-like bracts. It grows best in warm, humid, shaded conditions similar to orchids.
Tacca chantrieri is a species of flowering plant in the yam family Dioscoreaceae. It was first described in 1901 by Édouard André. T. chantrieri is native to southeastern Asia. It is commonly known as the black bat flower due to its shape and coloring. The bat flower has unique pollination method in that it is mostly autonomous self pollinating. T. chantrieri prefers environments similar to its native region with tropical, moist conditions. The bat flower has been commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine. Its purported uses are wide in range from common ailments to more complex conditions such as cancer.
T. chantrieri flowers from April to July. The flowering parts of T. chantrieri should be left uncut, if cut the flower will quickly decline. T. chantrieri will begin its flowering process after at least two leaves have grown. It can bloom up to 8 times in one growing season. T. chantrieri has similar growing conditions to Orchids. T. chantrieri is a geophyte, which means it contains rhizomes. T. chantrieri's rhizomes prefer a moist, tropical, and densely nutrient based biome. It can be both an in ground plant and a house plant, it flourishes in low to medium lighted areas. These flowers are mostly free from pest and disease; however, gardeners should be careful of slugs and snails. If the plant is indoors it needs to have a simulated humidity with regular misting. The bat flower can be propagated by the rhizome, tuber division, and sometimes seeds.
T. chantrieri has many medicinal properties that have been used in Chinese medicine over history. These qualities lie in T. chantrieri's rhizomes or root stalks. Rhizomes in T. chantrieri contain a wide range of medicinal compounds such as saponins and diarylheptanoids. These medicinal extracts commonly treat ailments such as: high blood pressure, gastric ulcers, burns, hepatitis, and enteritis. These complex compounds are also used for the basis of many common pharmaceuticals. Taccalonolides E and A are microtubule stabilizers that are also derived from root extracts of T. chantrieri. These agents have anticancer properties due to its cytotoxic activity.
Tacca ampliplacenta · Tacca ankaranensis · Batplant · Polynesian arrowroot · Tacca palmata · Arrowroot
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Tacca chantrieri by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
