Biology:Typhonium venosum

From HandWiki

Voodoo lily
Flore des serres v13 079a.jpg
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
(unranked):
Monocots
Order:
Family:
Genus:
Species:
T. venosum
Binomial name
Typhonium venosum
(Dryand. ex Aiton) Hett. & P.C.Boyce
Synonyms

Arum venosum Dryand. ex Aiton
Sauromatum guttatum (Wall.) Schott
Sauromatum venosum (Dryand. ex Aiton) Kunth

Typhonium venosum (syn. Sauromatum venosum)[1] is a species of plant in the arum family, Araceae. It is native to Asia and Africa, where it grows in forests and riparian meadows.[1]

It is grown as an ornamental plant.[1] Its common names include voodoo lily and monarch of the East[2]

Description

This species grows from a tuber, producing an inflorescence with a yellowish spathe covered in large purple spots and a purple spadix. The green leaf appears after the inflorescence develops. It has 9 to 11 leaflets each up to 40 centimeters long borne on a tall petiole. The mature flowers emit an odor described as "putrid" and compared to rotting meat.[1] The odor is attractive to insects such as flies, which pollinate the plant.[1] Like some other aroids it is a thermogenic plant, generating its own heat.[3]

In cultivation

This is a readily cultivated plant, popular as an ornamental. The Missouri Botanical Garden suggests growing it far away from windows and walkways "where the brief but overpowering odor from the spadices will be found objectionable".[4]

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Sauromatum venosum. Plants of the World Online. Kew Science.
  2. Sauromatum venosum. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA Agricultural Research Service. 2020.
  3. Yoon, Carol Kaesuk (1 October 1996). "Heat of Lotus Attracts Insects And Scientists". https://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/01/science/heat-of-lotus-attracts-insects-and-scientists.html. 
  4. Sauromatum venosum. Missouri Botanical Garden.

References

External links

Wikidata ☰ {{{from}}} entry