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Malayan Sword
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Malayan Sword
ative Photo: Dinesh Valke
Common name: Malayan Sword • Kannada: ನೀರ ಕೋವೆ neera kove • Malayalam: കരിന്പോള karinpeala • Marathi: वत्सनाभ vatsanabh • Tamil: Maravara tsjembu
Botanical name: Lagenandra ovata    Family: Araceae (Arum family)
Synonyms: Arisarum ovatum, Arum ovatum, Caladium ovatum, Cryptocoryne ovata

Malayan Sword is an perennial plant. It grows gregariously along seasonal and perennial streams and ditches in open and shady places, also at the edges of rice fields. It is usually seen submerged during the rains. It is mostly found in the coastal region. Leaves are elliptic, carried on long stiff stalks. The leaf surface is glossy and bright green. It is paler on the underside. Flowers are borne on a spadix which is enclosed in a spathe. Malayan Sword is restricted to the southwestern part of India and Sri Lanka. In India the species is distributed in Goa, Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Identification credit: Shrikant Ingalhalikar Photographed along Mattighatta Road, Karnataka.

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