Anchomanes difformis (Anchomanes)

Anchomanes difformis (formerly known as Amorphophallus difformis) is one of the world's most unusual aroids, distantly related to Amorphophallus. Native to the tropical forests of West Africa, including Benin, this remarkable species grows from a thick, slowly growing horizontal tuber that creeps just beneath the soil surface, often branching with age. In mature specimens, the tuber may reach up to 30 inches long and 10 inches across.

Each growing season, the tuber produces a single spectacular compound leaf supported by a stout, snake-patterned stalk covered with dark spots and distinctive rose-like prickles. Although it resembles a small tree, the entire structure is actually one highly divided leaf. The foliage typically reaches about **30 inches tall**, has an elongated bi-lobed, bat-like shape, and often develops natural fenestrations (window-like holes), making it one of the most striking ornamental aroids in cultivation.

Mature plants may occasionally begin the season by producing a tall flower spike before the leaf emerges, although flowering does not occur every year. Like other members of the aroid family, the bloom consists of a spathe surrounding a central spadix and may produce a short-lived unpleasant odor that attracts its natural pollinators - flies and beetles. Flowers may self-pollinate, eventually producing clusters of white berries that ripen to an attractive violet-purple. Seeds typically require several months to germinate, usually sprouting the following spring.

The plant enters complete winter dormancy, during which the tuber should be kept cool (but never cold) and only occasionally watered to prevent excessive drying. With the return of warm weather, it resumes active growth and appreciates abundant moisture, rich well-drained soil, high humidity, and bright filtered light with protection from strong direct sun, reflecting its jungle origins. During the growing season, generous watering encourages vigorous growth.

In frost-free climates such as much of Florida, established plants can simply be planted in the ground, where they require little attention beyond regular watering during active growth, although they perform equally well in containers. Indigenous communities throughout West Africa have traditionally used the plant for a variety of medicinal purposes. Like many aroids, however, it contains calcium oxalate crystals and should be grown as an ornamental rather than consumed.

The Benin form of this species entered cultivation through an ethnobotanist working in the jungles of Benin, along the west coast of Africa. Indigenous communities there have traditionally used the plant for a variety of medicinal purposes.