Thomsonia
(named in honour of Dr. A. T. Thomson, author of "An Introduction to Botany"). SYN. Pythonium. ORD. Aroideae (Araceae). A genus including only a couple of species of stove, tuberous, perennial herbs, natives of the Himalaya and Khasya Mountains. Flowers monoecious, the males and females closely contiguous; spathe coriaceous, deciduous, oblong, boat-shaped, with an indistinct tube; spadix sessile, nearly equalling the spathe; peduncle elongated. Leaves long-petiolate, tripedatisect; segments pinnatipartite; pinnae oblong-lanceolate, acuminate. For culture, see Caladium. T. Hookeri (Hooker's). fl., female inflorescence rather shorter than the male; peduncle elongated, slender. l. seven-pedatisect; segments oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, cuneate-narrowed towards the base, distant, gradually becoming smaller; petiole elongated, slender, spotted. Tuber small. h. 2ft. Churra, 1840.
T. nepalensis (Nepaul). fl., spathe greenish, oblong-cymbiform, obtuse, coriaceous, thick; spadix green, the perfect male flowers purplish-yellow, the sterile ones yellow. l. trisected; middle segment pseudo-dichotomous, the partitions pinnati-partite, the segments alternate, oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, cuneate at base, decurrent; nerves of the lateral segments numerous, spreading; petioles reddish below, irregularly spotted and mottled with fuscous-green. Tuber large. h. 2ft. Nepaul, 1816.