Amorphophallus

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Amorphophallus >


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Read about Amorphophallus in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture 

Amorphophallus (Greek-made name).Araceae. Giant aroids from the eastern tropics, grown as curiosities in hothouses.

Leaves ample; petioles smooth or warty and variously spotted; blade ample, 3-parted, the divisions pinnatifid: spadix long; spathe (or "flower") funnel-or bell-shaped at the base, springing from the great bulb-like tuber in advance of the Lvs., the latter usually pedately compound : differs from Arum and related genera by technical characters.

Amorphophalluses are propagated by offsets of the tubers. These offsets are miniature tubers which grow out of the parent tuber. They are taken off at the time of potting, placed in pots just large enough to accommodate them, in a soil composed of loam, leaf-mold and sand in about equal proportions and kept in a temperature of 65° to 70°. They are rarely, if ever, propagated by seeds in northern gardens, and for this reason, together with their disagreeable odor when in flower, they are not commonly grown. The flowers are like a huge calla except that the spathe and spadix are of a dark chocolate color. The odor is supposed to attract carrion-loving insects, which pollinate the flowers in their native home and bring about the production of seeds. Towards the end of March the plants should be taken from their winter quarters and placed on the stages of a moderately warm greenhouse and kept moist, where, if the tubers are strong enough, they will soon flower. The leaves begin to grow immediately after the flowering season. Toward the end of May, they should be planted out in the open ground, or they may be used in subtropical bedding. Plants should be lifted in the fall, before frost, and potted in any good, rich soil, and placed in a warm greenhouse to ripen off the leaves, after which they may be stored away under the greenhouse stages, or in any convenient place where the temperature does not fall below 50°, giving just sufficient moisture to keep the tubers from shriveling.

A. Afzelii, Hort. (Corynophallus Afzelii, Schott)-Hydrosme leopensis.—A. Eichleri, Hook. f. Spathe 2 in. across, purple and white: spadix 5 or 6 in. high, thick, brown: lf. single, much divided. W. Air.— A. Elliottii, Hook. Spathe short and broad, dull pink with pale green spots: Lvs. tripinnatifid, 18 in. broad. B.M. 7349.—A. Lacourii, Linden. (Pseudodracontium Lacourii, N. E. Br.). Petioles barred with yellow: blades much cut, green, spotted white. Cochin China. I.H. 25:316.—. A. leonensis. Lem. Spathe 6 in. long, pear-shaped, the tube bell-shaped, white, dilated into the dark purple limb which is striped and spotted with white; Lvs. about 1 ft. wide, tripinnatifid. B.M. 7768.—A. Leopoldianus, Nichols. (Hydrosme Leopoldiana, Mast.). Spathe reddish, long acuminate on one side, with undulate margins; spadix 2-3 ft., terete, recurved: lf. 2-3 ft. across. Congo.— A. nivosus. Lern., I.H 12:424 - Dracontium asperum.— A. oncophyllus. Prain. Spathe 6-7 in. long, the tuber broadly ovoid, white, striped and spotted, the limb brown-purple with yellow spots: Lvs. tripinnatifid. Andaman Arch. B.M. 7327.—A. Pràinii. Hook. f. Tuber 6-10 in. diam . not bulbiferous: Lvs. 3-5 ft. tall, the petiole green, mottled gray-white on red; Spathe-tube 2 in. long, pale green spotted while, the limb 6-8 in. across, yellow, purple-brown inside at base. Perak.—A. Réx, Prain. A larger plant than A. campanulatus, the tuber 1 ft. across: Lvs. 5-6 ft. tall, the petiole purplish, marked gray and green: spathe campanulate, 12-18 in. across, pale red-purple; spadix with an appendage 10-14 in. long. Java.—A. sativus, Blume. Petiole 2-3 ft. tall, rugose, rough, white marked, each division of the blade pinnate-parted, the costa thick, white. Molucca Isls.—A. Schweinfurthii. N. E. Br. Spathe broad, reddish brown. E. Air. —A. Titanum, Beccari. One of the most remarkable plants known. Tuber 5 ft. in circ.: lf.-stalk 10 ft.: lf.-blade 45 ft. in circ.: spathe 3 ft. in diam.; spadix 6 ft. high. Bloomed at Kew in 1890, the tuber dying thereafter. Sumatra.—A. variabilis, Blume. Lvs. pinnatisect: spathe erect, 5 in. long, white inside, spotted outside, the margin rosy. Java and Philippines. —A. virosus, N. E. Br. Spathe green externally, suffused with purple and spotted, internally lurid purple. Siam.


The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.


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