Amorphophallus bulbifer.
Family Araceae.
Commonly known as the Corpse Flower although it does not smell as bad as some other species.
A herb up to 1m high.
A single, umbrella-like leaf grows after the plant has flowered.
The smooth, fleshy stalk, up to 1 m long and 3 cm wide, is dark green mottled with pale areas.
The leaf blade, up to 40 or 50 cm across, is much divided into lobes up to 12 cm long.
There is a faint pink line on the leaflet margins.
The species name comes from the small bulbils on the leaves that can fall off and grow into new plants.
They are found at the leaf base, the forks and on the veins on the upper surface.
The single inflorescence, up to 70 cm high, consists of a protective spathe surrounding the many tiny
flowers packed onto the spadix.
The inflorescence stalk is similar to the petiole – dark green with pale mottling.
The oval spathe is a pale green outside mottled with pink or dark green spots.
The inner surface is pale pink above and darker pink to red at the base.
The spadix is pale pink with the male flowers above the shorter segment of female ones.
The sterile tip is about 7 cm long.
The fruit is a cluster of berries that ripen from green to red.
J.F.
