AMOEPHOPHALLUS 



THE BULB BOOK 



AMORPHOPHALLUS 



spadix 2 to 2i ft. long. {III. Sort. 

 ser. V. 23.) 



A. oncophyUus.— A native of the 

 Andaman Islands, with a tuberous 

 root-stock about 10 ins. in diameter, 

 and a leaf-stalk 3 ft. high, blotched 

 with pale green. The leaf-blade is 

 about 3j ft. across, divided into 

 numerous lance - shaped segments. 

 The bell-shaped spathe is nearly a 

 foot long, coloured inside deep brown- 

 purple with yellow blotches. The 

 erect spadix is creamy yellow, and 

 the whole inflorescence emits a very 

 disagreeable odour. {Bot. Mag. t 

 7327.) 



A. Rivierl (Proteinophallus Rivieri). 

 — This is probably the best-known 

 species of the genus. It is a native 

 of Cochin - China, and has finely 

 divided leaves a yard or more across, 

 and borne on stalks about 3 ft. high, 

 marbled and blotched. The dark 

 brown cylindrical spadix is much 

 longer than the irregularly bell- 

 shaped rosy-green spathe, and is 

 generally produced from March to 

 May, before the leaves appear. 



A. Teutzi {Hydrosme Teutzi).- — A 

 native of W. Tropical Africa, with 

 solitary three-partite leaves cut into 

 branching finely cut segments. The 

 trifid spathe is green outside, purple- 

 brown inside, enclosing a shorter 

 spadix with a greenish cylindrical 

 appendix. {Gartevfl. t. 1142.) 



A. Titanum {Conophallus Titanum). 

 — A gigantic species from Sumatra, 

 having huge tubers (said to be 

 edible), and enormous leaves which 

 cover an area of 45 ft. in circumfer- 

 ence when fully developed. The 

 blackish - purple or green marbled 

 spadix attains a height of 5 ft., stand- 

 ing up in the centre of a bell-shaped 

 spathe nearly 3 ft. across. This is 

 pale green near the base within, but 

 otherwise bright blackish-purple ; the 

 outer surface being pale green, smooth 



but irregularly corrugated 



below, 

 above. 



This extraordinary plant flowered 

 for the first time in Europe in the 

 Royal Gardens, Kew, in June 1889, 

 ten years after it had been received 

 as a small seedling from the Botanic 

 Gardens at Florence, whither seeds 

 were sent by Dr Beccari. The Kew 



75 



Pia. 45. — Amorphophallus TUamum. (jij.) 



# 



plant had a' spadix 3 ft. 3 ins. high, 

 and 6 ins. in diameter ; the leaf-stalk 

 8 ft. high, and 9 ins. in diameter at 

 the base ; the spread of the leaf was 

 12 ft. ; and the tuber weighed in 

 March 1889, 57 lbs., and was 18 ins. in 

 diameter and 12 ins. deep. To show 

 the short duration of the inflorescence, 

 it may be mentioned that the spathe 

 began to unfold at 5 p.m., was fully 

 open by 6.30 p.m., began to shut at 

 8 P.M., and by 11 p.m. had closed 

 entirely. The stench was overpower- 

 ing, and was said to resemble that of 



