A. atroviridis is one of the more ornamental species of this group of carrion imitating aroids, – medium size, pretty in and out of bloom. As such, it is very commonly encountered in ebay and specialty nurseries and have been grown commercially in Thailand for the horticulture trade. The latin name means dark green, - a referral to the dark velvety leaf with red margins, but there is actually some degree of variation as I also has one specimen with rather plain green leaves.
The inflorescence (its actually a collection of flowers, not a single flower)is pretty conventional for Thai Amorphophallus and is characterised by the very long sterile spadix. I did not notice any smell at all, although experience tells me it is emmitted only certain times of the day - I had noticed previously that variabilis smells only at night.
To really make a confirmed identification, one needs to cut up the flower and look at the parts below - well I can't bear to do it ....or perhaps I am just too plain lazy.
16 comments:
That flower(s) is simply amazing. I wouldn't want to dissect it either. Aren't plants just amazing.
Have you come across A gigas locally?
Isla - had it but is gone now. Sumatran Amorphophalluses are more difficult here.
Not into Amorphos but I must say this one nice leaves !!
Beautiful inflorescence. I have three species of Amorphophallus. You must have quite a few native species in your area. Right?
Tx Hon E.
and yes Prospero I have probably about 30 odd species, at least on paper. Some of them may never wake up from dormancy .... :)
Hi Hort Log, beautiful photos you have here!
I always like to stop by and see what you've found... of course, these plants are totally different from anything I can grow here, but it's amazing looking at them...
Thanks TC,
I am an admirer of your colletion and excellent photography. I do hope those S. American orchids can be grown here but so far my attempts always end in despair.
Hi Claude,
if you have a greenhouse, I suspect many Amorphophalluses can actually be grown better over there, especially those seasonal types requiring a drier resting period.
Stunning inflorescence photo of one of my favorite species. And the leaf-- I would not care if it never flowered!
Great blog.
leadpb - I like these type of velvety leaf Amorphos - am still searching for josefbogneri - if you know of any source, pls let me know !
cheers
Hort Log-
A. sizemoreae, A. pygmaeus and A. operculatus all have a similar dark green with pink margin motif; the latter two offset well.
Do you know Plant Delights Nursery in North Carolina? They offer a respectable number of A spp., many propagated from leaflet cuttings apparently.
Cheers,
I do have a supposed pygmaeus - to be frank I cannot tell the diff between it and this one.
btw do you know a good method to go about making tubers from cuttings ?
Basically you take a substantial enough leaflet-- not 1/3 of the leaf but a major "leaflet" of the 1/3-- and cut it as close to its 'base' as possible. Use a leaf that is firm and mature-- half way through the season or a little more. Trim back the tips to help reduce transpiration, insert in perlite, water and stand back. A plastic bag or terrarium helps, even in a humid climate.
A few may rot but those that persist for a matter of weeks are probably forming a new corm at the base. They may sprout new leaves and roots shortly (which means you have a plant) or can go dormant for a cycle before sprouting.
I don't know how many species have been tried or if there are some that won't work, but I've generated plants of A. gigas and A. albispathus this way. It would be good to see if it will work with the tropical arisaemas...
thanks !
well, if you are makig a list - I tried on A. bufo a few years ago - out of 5 or so cuttings, one of them managed to produce a tuber - but it expired the following season.
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