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Black Bat Flower
Common name
for a
flowering plant with the botanical name Tacca chantrieri, and which is also
commonly known by a variety of other names, including
Bat
Flower, Cats Whiskers,
Devil Flower, Bat Head Lily, Bat Plant, Devil’s Tongue, Black Tacca, Jews Beard,
and Voodoo Flower. It is native to the tropical and subtropical areas of
Southeast Asia, including
Thailand,
Myanmar,
Malaysia, and
southern
China,
especially in
Yunnan
Province. Its
spectacular black flowers leave nothing to the imagination as to where this
plant gets its name, as the two bracts of each flower are shaped like the wings
of a
bat. In addition, the flowers have long cat-like whiskers, somewhat
reminiscent of the filaments of the
Spider Lily
(fig.).
The Black Bat Flower plant is listed in the yam family Dioscoreaceae (fig.),
and is known in Thai as
neraphusihthai.
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