Amorphophallus paeoniifolius.
The Elephant Yam is found in Queensland.
It is a deciduous plant up to 2.5 m tall.
Each year it produces a single flower followed by one or occasionally 2 leaves which then die
back leaving just a large underground corm.
The leaf looks like a small tree with the ‘trunk’ being a fleshy leaf stalk that is green with paler
green blotches and dark spots.
It can be up to 13 cm thick and the surface is uneven with small prickles or warts.
The leaf blade, up to 3 m across, is divided into hundreds of leaflets.
Leaflets, variously shaped and up to 35 cm long, are 3 lobed and the lobes are further divided.
The underside may be a paler green than the upper.
The inflorescence is up to 50 cm high and almost as wide.
It is on a stalk, similar to the petiole but paler.
It is sometimes only a few cms high and not easily seen.
The spathe, shaped like an upside down bell, is up to 40 cm high and 60 cm wide.
The upper part flares out into a wavy edge.
The outer surface is pale green or brown with pale blotches.
The inner surface is maroon to dark brown.
The spadix can be up to 70 cm high with a large purple swelling at the top that emits a smell like
rotting flesh that attracts pollinators.
The male flowers are below this and the female flowers are at the base.
The fruit are bright red berries.
J.F.
