Amorphophallus
(from amorphos, deformed, and phallos, a mace; alluding to the inflorescence). SYN. Pythion. Including Proteinophallus. ORD. Aroideae (Araceae). A very remarkable genus, closely allied to Arum, but distinguished therefrom by "their spreading, not convolute, spathes; by their anthers opening by pores, not by longitudinal slits; by the numerous cells to the ovary; and by the solitary, erect ovules, those of Arum being horizontal." A soil consisting of two-thirds good rich loam, with the additional third of sweet manure, thoroughly rotted, suits them well. Other essentials are plenty of pot room, a genial atmosphere, and a temperature ranging from 55deg. to 65deg., or even 70deg. They require to be kept dry, and warm in winter, as nothing is more fatal to them than cold or damp. Beneath a shelf or stage in the stove is an excellent spot for them, or they may be stored in sand, and kept free from frost. They are difficult to increase; the corms of most of them are of great size, and rarely make offsets. Efforts should consequently be made to induce the plants to seed whenever practicable. All the species are strikingly effective in sub-tropical bedding. For fertilising and growth of seedlings, see Arum.
A. campanulatus (bell-shaped).* Similar to A. Rivieri, but the flowers are brown, red, and black, and the scape is neither so stout nor so tall. h. 2ft. India, 1817. SYN. Arum campanulatum.
A. grandis (large). fl., spathe green, white inside; spadix purplish. h. 3ft. Java, 1865. Stove species.
A. Lacourii (Lacour's).* l. pedatisect, the ultimate segments lanceolate, yellow-spotted; petioles transversely mottled with yellow markings. Cochin China, 1879. Greenhouse. The correct name of this species is Pseudodracontium Lacourii.
A. nivosus. See Dracontium asperum.
A. Rivieri (Rivier's).* fl., spadix, spathe, and scape, reaching 3ft. or more in height, appearing before the leave; scape stout and strong, of a deep green colour, speckled or dotted with rose; spadix projecting, deep red; spathe of a rosy-green colour. March to May. l. solitary, decompound, 40in. to 50in. across, on tall marbled petioles. Cochin China. This is, perhaps, the most useful species of the genus. SYN. Proteinophallus Rivieri. A. Titanum (Titan's).* fl., spadix 5ft. high, black purple; spathe nearly 3ft. in diameter, campanulate in shape, with patent and deeply toothed edges. The deeper portion of the interior is pale greenish, but the limb is of a bright black purple hue; the outside is pale green, smooth in the lower portion, but thickly corrugated and crisp above; scape about 1 1/2ft. long, green, marked with small whitish orbicular spots. l. the divided blade covers an area of 45ft. in circumference. West Sumatra, 1878. As will be seen from the above, this extraordinary plant is of gigantic proportions, and, in size of the flowers, eclipsing nearly all others in the vegetable kingdom. SYN. Conophallus Titanum.