Typhonium venosum
| Voodoo lily | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Monocots |
| Order: | Alismatales |
| Family: | Araceae |
| Genus: | Typhonium |
| Species: | T. venosum |
| Binomial name | |
| Typhonium venosum (Dryand. ex Aiton) Hett. & P.C.Boyce | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Arum venosum Dryand. ex Aiton | |
Typhonium venosum (Voodoo-lily or Arum cornutum (traders' name)), is an ornamental plant in the Araceae. This is species is an aroid, not a true lily.
Description
Typhonium venosum, probably better known under its synonym Sauromatum venosum, is a common shade-loving house or garden plant from temperate and tropical Africa and Asia. It grows to around 20 inches tall from an underground corm. A large T. venosum corm can spawn multiple new corms. Inflorescences emerge before their leaves. This plant is also known as the Voodoo Bulb because of its ability to flower from a corm without soil and water. An inflorescence has a purplish-brown-spotted, yellowish spathe and a purplish-brown spadix which emit a strong odor perceived as similar to cow manure, rotting flesh, or a dirty wet dog, depending on who smells the inflorescence. The odor lasts about 2 days, and attracts carrion-feeding insects, such as calliphorid flies and silphid beetles which can pollinate this plant.
References
- Hetterscheid, W. & P. C. Boyce. 2000. a reclassification of Sauromatum Schott and new species of Typhonium Schott (Araceae). Aroideana 23: 48–55.
- Pink, A. (2004). Gardening for the Million. Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.
External links
- (French) Sauromatum venosum