Homalomena

Homalomena is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae. Homalomena are native to tropical Asia and China. Many Homalomena have a strong smell of anise. The name derives apparently from a mistranslated Malayan vernacular name, translated as homalos, meaning flat, and mene = moon. The plants of this genus are clump-forming evergreen perennials with mainly heart-shaped or arrowheaded shaped leaves. The flowers are tiny and without petals, enclosed in a usually greenish spathe hidden by the leaves. Some authors have proposed splitting the genus and moving all the neotropical species of Homalomena to Adelonema.