Date: 1 Sep 2025
Whats inside the Devils Tongue that smells like trouble?
Amorphophallus paeoniifolius (campanulatus) - Voodoo lily
👅 What's inside the Devils Tongue that smells like trouble?
👹 Amorphophallus plants - the Voodoo Lilies - are also known as Devil's tongue, Snake Palm, or Elephant Foot Yam, Corpse flower. This plant has a reputation as wicked as its name!
👹 Amorphophallus is the largest flower in the world and one of the most exotic bizarre flowers. Amorphophallus titanum is known for its massive size, its flower can reach heights of over 10 feet and blooms only once every few years.
👹 Why Corpse flower? Because of the smell that the flower omits, but for only a few hours - just long enough to summon its pollinators, the flies 🐱
After that, the air clears, leaving only the memory of the spectacle.
👹 The titan of the group, Amorphophallus titanum, can soar over 10 feet tall. But its cousin in this video, Amorphophallus paeoniifolius, is just as fascinating. It rises from a giant underground corm (which is actually edible in Asia), then sends up either one surreal flower or one umbrella-like leaf as big as a small tree.
👹 Season after season, it alternates between leaf and bloom, keeping its mysterious cycle alive. Hardy enough to rest through winter dormancy, it can even be grown in a pot at home.
🎥 Amorphophallus paeoniifolius (campanulatus) - Voodoo lily
🛒 Discover more of Amorphophallus - rare and enigmatic plants
📚 Learn more:
Different species of Amorphophallus
Amorphophallus bulbifer
Amorphophallus konjak
#Nature_Wonders #Shade_Garden #Container_Garden
🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals
Date: 17 Oct 2026
🎃 Fright Night in the Greenhouse
By Tatiana Anderson, Plant Expert, Top Tropicals
Smokey: Relax, Sunshine. That pitcher plant only eats insects.
Sunshine: Then what's that horrible smell? Something died?
Smokey: Worse. Something bloomed. Welcome to Halloween at Top Tropicals!
Long before anyone sold plastic skeletons or spray-on cobwebs, nature had Halloween covered. It grew flowers so dark they pass for black. It shaped blooms like bats and gave them whiskers. It built leaves that look like bones, flowers that open only after dark, pitchers that drown insects, and blossoms that smell like something left too long in the sun. None of it was meant to scare anyone. Every strange trick has a job to do. Here are some of our favorite botanical oddities, the stories behind them, and what it takes to grow each one.
The Dark Side
Beautiful, mysterious, and dressed for Halloween
True black is almost unknown in plants. What looks black is usually deep purple or red, with pigments that absorb most of the light. Our tour starts with four plants that wear black, burgundy, and chocolate better than most costumes.
🖤 Adeniums with Black Flowers - Desert Rose
Desert Rose (Adenium sp.) is an odd plant to begin with. Its fat, swollen trunk stores water and twists into a living sculpture as the plant ages. Our dark-flowered Adeniums bloom in deep burgundy, wine, and purple-black, often with a velvety sheen. They are not truly black, but some come close enough that visitors lean in to check. Color usually runs darkest in mild weather and lightens in summer heat. Every trunk grows into its own shape.
Growing tips: Adenium is a sun plant. It needs six or more hours of direct sun to bloom well. On an ordinary windowsill it survives but rarely flowers. In summer, keep it on a sunny patio in a pot with large drainage holes and a gritty, fast-draining mix. Water thoroughly in hot weather once the mix dries. When nights drop below 60°F, many Adeniums drop their leaves for their winter rest. Keep the plant nearly dry until spring, because wet roots in cool weather kill more Adeniums than anything else. Bring it in before nights fall below 50°F. Most stay 1 to 3 feet tall in containers. In hot desert climates, shade dark pots in the afternoon so the roots don't cook.
🐉 Anthurium Black Dragon
Most Anthuriums are sold for their red or pink blooms. Black Dragon (Anthurium sp.) is grown for its thick, upright, leathery leaves, which turn nearly black in bright filtered light and greenish-maroon in lower light. Move it and it changes color. Even the bloom is dark, a brown hood around a brown spike. That spike holds the real flowers, which are tiny, and once pollinated they can be followed by bright red berries. Each plant is grown from seed, so no two are exactly alike. Among ordinary green houseplants, it looks like their goth cousin.
Growing tips: This is one of the best indoor plants here. Bright indirect light keeps the leaves darkest. Use an airy mix of bark, perlite, and coir, water when the top inch dries, and never let it sit soggy. Its tough leaves handle average indoor humidity better than most Anthuriums, though it grows best above 50%. Expect 2 to 4 feet in a pot. Outdoors it suits shady spots in USDA zones 10-11. Elsewhere, bring it in before nights drop below 50°F.
Tacca Bat Head Lily - Black, White, and Green
If a plant could pass for a bat, this is it. Broad, wing-like bracts spread over a cluster of small flowers, and long threads hang below like whiskers, sometimes a foot or more. The black bat flower, Tacca chantrieri, has purple-black wings. The white bat flower, Tacca integrifolia, is a separate species with tall white wings standing up like rabbit ears. Green forms share the bat shape in a quieter color.
What are the whiskers for? Nobody is quite sure. Botanists once assumed they lured flies, but the black bat flower turns out to pollinate mostly itself. Your guests won't care. They'll just stare.
Growing tips: Tacca is not a beginner plant, and humidity is the reason. It wants warmth, shade to bright filtered light, and humidity of 50% or more. Dry indoor air browns the leaves fast. In USDA zones 10-11 it thrives in a shaded, sheltered bed. Elsewhere, grow it on a summer patio, then move it to a greenhouse, sunroom, or humidified room for winter, keeping it above 55°F. Use a mix that holds moisture but stays airy. Keep it evenly moist while growing and drier in winter, when some leaves may decline. Plants reach 2 to 3 feet; the white species often grows taller. In dry climates, plan on growing it indoors beside a humidifier.
🖤 Pseuderanthemum Chocolate Raspberry
Here the leaves are the show: glossy chocolate-purple splashed with raspberry pink and lighter tones, every leaf different. Their colors shift with leaf age, light, and season. And the flowers deserve attention too: spikes of deep mauve blooms sprinkled with pink, often from winter into spring and sometimes more than once a year. Next to lime-green foliage or white flowers, it seems almost unreal. In USDA zones 10-11 it makes a hedge that looks dipped in chocolate and berry jam.
Growing tips: This is an outdoor shrub in USDA zones 10-11 and a container plant elsewhere. Light controls the color. Bright light or part sun brings out the pink and purple, while deep shade turns it green and leggy. Give it afternoon shade in hot, dry climates. In the ground it can top 5 feet, but regular pinching keeps it bushy at 2 to 4 feet in a pot. Keep it moist, not waterlogged. It is frost-tender, so move it to your brightest window before nights fall below 45°F. It holds on indoors through winter and colors up again outside in summer.
👉 Get some Chocolate Raspberry
🌙 Creatures of the Night
Some beauties wait until the sun goes down
Night bloomers keep late hours because their pollinators do. Moths, and in some places bats, do their work after dark. Flowers built for them tend to be large, pale enough to show in moonlight, and strongly scented so they can be found from a distance.
The first three plants here bloom at night, though you'll grow the third mainly for its bones. The fourth keeps ordinary hours, but it belongs to the same family of jungle cacti. Their growing requirements overlap, so the main care points are covered together at the end of the section.
🔮Epiphyllum oxypetalum - Queen of the Night
Buds hang from the edges of the flat stems, then curve upward over a couple of weeks. On the big night, the flower opens after dark: white, many-petaled, close to a foot long, and fragrant enough to scent a patio. By morning it has collapsed. People throw parties for this plant, and a big specimen can open several flowers the same evening.
To be fair, it is not much to look at the rest of the year: a lanky tangle of flat green stems. You buy it for the night.
🔮Epiphyllum hookeri - Large-Fruiting Night-Blooming Cactus
This close cousin of the Queen has fast-growing, cascading stems that look lush even out of bloom. Its fragrant white flowers also open for a single night, with slimmer, more star-like petals. The bonus is fruit. Our seed-grown type is valued for large, edible fruit with mild, slightly sweet flesh. Every plant is a seedling, so size and flavor vary, and some are surprisingly good.
🔮Epiphyllum (Selenicereus) chrysocardium - Marniera Cactus
It looks like a giant fern, but there isn't a leaf on it. Those comb-like "fronds" are flattened cactus stems, cut nearly to the center and about 3 feet long. Hanging from a basket, they look like the ribcage of something large and green. Mature plants may produce huge white night flowers with a golden center; chrysocardium means "golden heart." Treat the flowers as a bonus. It is a close relative of dragon fruit.
Rhipsalis ramulosa - Red Cactus
This cactus lives in trees and has no spines at all. Flat, scalloped stems hang in long strands, green in shade and blushing red to deep violet in bright light. Tiny flowers are followed by little white berries along the stems, hence its other name, Red Mistletoe Cactus. A well-colored basket looks like a red-tinged curtain. You may also see it sold as Pseudorhipsalis or Kimnachia ramulosa. It is the easiest plant in this group and a fine first jungle cactus.
Growing Tips for Jungle Cacti
These four are jungle cacti. In the wild they grow on tree branches, so they need very different care from desert cacti.
Light: Bright filtered light. Morning sun is fine, but strong afternoon sun yellows or burns the stems, especially in hot, dry climates. With too little light, the Epiphyllums won't bloom and Rhipsalis stays green.
Mix and water: Use a loose, orchid-style mix of bark and perlite with some potting soil. Water thoroughly when the top of the mix dries. They need water more often than a desert cactus, but never let them stay soggy. Water less in winter. Average indoor humidity is fine. In dry climates, keep them out of hot wind.
Where to grow them: Outdoors year round in USDA zones 10-11, under trees or on a shaded porch. Elsewhere, summer them outside in shade and bring them in to a bright window before nights fall below 50°F. The Queen and hookeri sprawl several feet and need a large pot with stakes or a big basket. Chrysocardium and Rhipsalis trail about 3 feet, so hang them high.
Flowers and fruit: The Epiphyllums bloom on established plants, usually in summer and fall. Bright light, a slightly crowded pot, and a cooler, drier winter rest all help. Kept indoors year round, they grow but bloom less reliably. Once buds form, don't move the plant, or the buds may drop. Fruit on hookeri is a maybe. It takes a mature plant and pollination. Many growers move pollen between flowers at night with a small brush.
Red color on Rhipsalis: Bright light and cooler nights bring out the red. Increase light gradually so the stems blush without burning.
The Monster Garden
Strange shapes, bizarre flowers, and a little botanical madness
Now the greenhouse gets weird. Ahead are plants that vanish underground for months and return as one giant leaf; plants with prickles, skeleton leaves, and cobwebs; and a flower that smells like a dumpster in August. The first three are voodoo lilies, which grow from tubers and sleep through part of the year. An empty-looking pot in winter does not necessarily mean the plant is dead.
🗿 Amorphophallus bulbifer - Voodoo Lily
Each year the tuber sends up one leaf: a mottled stalk with an umbrella of leaflets, often around 3 feet tall. Here is the odd part. Small baby tubers form right on the leaf, and when it dies back in fall, they drop off and grow into new plants. A mature tuber may also bloom in spring before the leaf appears, with a pinkish flower. When it blooms, the odor can be sharply sulfurous and surprisingly strong, though usually brief. It is the easiest of the three to grow.
🗿 Amorphophallus konjac - Voodoo Lily
This one earns its monstrous reputation. In spring, a mature tuber sends up a maroon hood around a tall, nearly black spike, waist-high or more on big tubers. For a day or two it smells like rotting meat, on purpose. The odor draws flies and beetles that feed on dead animals. They crawl in, pick up pollen, and carry it to the next flower. Afterward comes a single leaf on a pale, snakeskin-spotted stalk, often 3 to 5 feet tall. The same tuber, processed, becomes konjac flour for shirataki noodles.
🗿 Anchomanes difformis - African Voodoo Lily
If konjac is a monster, this is its big brother from tropical Africa. It also makes a single leaf, but the stalk is covered in prickles and, in warm gardens, can top 6 feet, holding up a deeply divided blade several feet across. Visitors will check whether they've wandered into a dinosaur movie. The flower rises from the ground on its own prickly stalk, purplish and as bizarre as the leaf. Wear gloves when you handle it, because the prickles are real.
Growing Tips for Voodoo Lilies
These three live by two seasons, and each season needs the opposite care.
In leaf (spring and summer): Give them bright filtered light or part shade; konjac takes some sun. Use a rich, well-drained mix in a pot deep enough for the tuber to grow, and water generously.
Dormant (fall and winter): The leaf yellows and collapses in fall. The plant is dormant, not dead. Stop watering. Either leave the tuber dry in its pot or lift it and store it dry until a new shoot appears, then start watering again. Store Amorphophallus tubers cool but well above freezing, and keep Anchomanes warm. Wet soil during dormancy is what rots tubers. A tuber ordered this time of year may arrive dormant. Pot it dry, or store it until spring.
Climate: For reliable in-ground growing, reserve bulbifer and Anchomanes for frost-free sites in USDA zones 10-11. Konjac is hardier, but we recommend in-ground culture only in USDA zones 8-11 with excellent drainage; lift and store the dormant tuber dry where winters freeze hard or stay wet. Elsewhere, use pots and protect dormant tubers from freezing.
Indoors: Bulbifer and konjac make big seasonal foliage plants in a bright room. When a konjac flower spike appears, move it outside or to the garage for a couple of days. Anchomanes fits a pot while young, but each year's leaf tends to be bigger, and a mature plant needs a landscape bed or greenhouse.
💀 Philodendron tortum - Fern Leaf Skeleton Philodendron
Skeleton fingers. Each leaf is cut into long, narrow segments, so the plant looks like a cluster of green bones. Despite the name, it is a climbing Philodendron from the Brazilian Amazon. Unlike its neighbors in this section, it has no off season: no dormancy, no smelly bloom, no disappearing act.
Growing tips: This is a top indoor choice. Give it bright indirect light and a moss pole or plank to climb, since climbing plants make larger, more dramatic leaves. Indoors it can reach several feet. Use a chunky mix of bark, perlite, and potting soil, water when the top inch dries, and empty the saucer. Normal home humidity works, and 50% or more gives the best leaves. Keep it above 55°F and out of drafts. Outdoors in USDA zones 10-11 it climbs trees in the shade. Put it where its silhouette shows, against a plain wall or in a bright corner.
👉 Get the Skeleton Philodendron
🕸️ Tradescantia sillamontana - White Velvet, Cobweb Spiderwort
The cobwebs on this one never need dusting. Thick white wool covers the leaves and stems. It comes from dry, rocky hills in Mexico, where the fuzz helps shade the leaves and save water. Summer brings small magenta-pink flowers. It is the friendliest plant on the tour, happy in a sunny window with little fuss, and the only one here guests will want to pet.
Growing tips: Unlike most plants here, it wants sun: a sunny bed, rock garden, or pot outdoors, or your sunniest window indoors. In low light it stretches and loses its wool. It grows about a foot tall and spills over pot edges. Let the soil dry somewhat between waterings, and water the soil, not the hairy leaves. Frost kills the tops, but in mild-winter areas it often returns from the roots. In cold regions, bring it in. If it looks tired in late winter, cut it back, and it will grow fresh in spring.
🐸 Deadly Attractions
Looks can be deceiving, especially when dinner is involved
Our final two plants both lure insects. One really eats them, the other only lies to them so you need both!). And Sunshine's donut is safe: neither has any interest in pastry.
🐙 Stapelia gigantea - Zulu Giant Starfish Flower
Picture a hairy, pale yellow star with fine red lines, 10 inches or more across. Then comes the smell. The flower imitates a dead animal, and flies fall for it, crawling around and even laying eggs on the petals. Along the way, pollen sticks to their legs and rides to the next flower. The maggots find no meat. Stapelia is not carnivorous and digests nothing. It just uses flies as unpaid couriers. It is a cousin of the Desert Rose that opened this tour. The rest of the year it is a tidy clump of velvety green stems from southern Africa.
Growing tips: Grow it like a succulent: bright light, with afternoon shade where summers are very hot. Reddish stems mean stress. Use a fast-draining cactus mix, in terracotta if possible. In warm months, water when the mix is completely dry, and keep it nearly dry in winter; soggy soil rots the stems. Clumps spread a foot or more, with stems about 8 inches tall. Keep it above 45F. Strong light is the key to flowering, which usually happens in late summer and fall. When a bud swells like a small balloon, plan where it will bloom. Each flower lasts only a few days. If yours blooms near Halloween, set it by the front door, and you'll have the most authentic decoration on the street. It even brings its own flies.
Nepenthes alata - Tropical Pitcher Plant
Each pitcher is a hanging cup with a lid, grown from the tip of a leaf. Insects come for nectar on the slippery rim, lean in too far, and slide down into digestive fluid. The plant feeds on them to get nutrients its poor native soil lacks. Slender, green to red-flushed pitchers hang in rows from the basket, a working trap you can watch on your porch. You may see it sold as either N. alata or N. graciliflora; the two are often confused in the trade, and the care is the same.
Growing tips: It is forgiving for a pitcher plant, and a beginner can succeed by following a few rules. Hang it in bright filtered light. Pot it in long-fiber sphagnum moss with some perlite or bark, never garden soil or regular potting mix. Use rainwater, distilled, or reverse-osmosis water, because hard tap water slowly kills it. Keep the moss moist and the plant above about 50°F. Humidity of 50% or more keeps the pitchers coming; in dry air it may grow leaves without pitchers. Old pitchers brown and die off, which is normal. Vines reach several feet, and trimming encourages new pitchers. No need to feed it hamburger. It catches its own.
👽 Which Monster Is Yours?
For a bright room indoors: Anthurium Black Dragon, Philodendron tortum, Red Rhipsalis, or the pitcher plant.
For a sunny patio or windowsill: Desert Rose, Giant Starfish Flower, or Cobweb Spiderwort.
For a shady patio or tropical garden: the night-blooming cacti, Chocolate Raspberry, or the bat flowers.
For adventurous growers with room: the voodoo lilies.
🕷 Bring Home Something Beautifully Strange!
Nature never needed a costume store. It came up with black flowers, bat-winged blooms, bones made of cactus, pitchers that drown insects, and a starfish that smells like a crime scene, all to solve ordinary problems of light, water, and pollination. All plants in this newsletter are available at Top Tropicals Online Store. Pick the one that suits you, and check each plant's page for current sizes.
Plastic skeletons go back in the attic on November 1. These plants stay weird all year.
Fall shopping notes: Some plants may arrive dormant, leafless, or bare-root in fall; check each plant description and its specific care instructions. Dormant tubers, succulents, and actively growing tropical plants need very different watering. Protect shipments from cold and acclimate new arrivals gradually.
Pet safety: Desert Rose is toxic to cats and dogs. Philodendron and Anthurium can also cause painful mouth irritation if chewed. Keep these plants out of pets' reach.
📚 LEARN MORE:
📚 The strange tropical plant that eats bugs - and gardeners can't stop collecting
📚 The largest succulent flower in the world - Starfish Flower
📚 Philodendron tortum forgot who he is
📚 The flower smells like a dead rat, but gardeners can’t wait for it to bloom
📚 Rare Night-Blooming Cactus that Glows and Grows Large Edible Fruit
📚 Why This Giant Cactus Flower Only Opens While You Sleep
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🎥 Tacca Lily videos at Youtube
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🛒 SHOPPING LINKS:
Date: 6 Jul 2026
The flower that smells like a dead rat, but gardeners cant wait for it to bloom
Amorphophallus bulbifer
Amorphophallus bulbifer seeds
Amorphophallus bulbifer flower
Amorphophallus bulbifer bulbils
Amorphophallus bulbifer plant
🗿 The flower that smells like a dead rat, but gardeners can’t wait for it to bloom
Most people spend their lives trying to make their yards smell like a luxury perfume; then along comes Amorphophallus bulbifer, and suddenly collectors are counting down the days until a flower emerges that briefly smells like a crime scene.
Strange? Absolutely. But once you see this spectacular specimen in person, you’ll understand exactly why plant lovers are obsessed with it.
🐱 A stunning pink bloom with a brief (and smelly) purpose
Unlike its infamous, massive cousin - the Titan Corpse Flower - this particular variety is perfectly suited for home gardens. It actually produces one of the most elegant flowers in the entire genus: a soft pink to rosy-purple spathe with beautiful, chalice-like curves.
The odor factor: Yes, it relies on a brief, foul scent to attract natural fly pollinators. However, unlike the giant corpse flowers, this scent is much milder and usually completely dissipates within just a few hours after opening.
🐱 It mimics a miniature exotic tree
Once the flower finishes its brief show, the plant shifts gears and produces a single, spectacular leaf that catches everyone by surprise.
It looks nothing like an ordinary garden leaf. Instead, a beautifully mottled, snakeskin-patterned stem rises from the ground, resembling the trunk of an exotic palm. At the top, it unfurls a broad, umbrella-like canopy of finely divided leaflets. This dramatic, high-end tropical foliage lasts for months before the plant rests for the winter.
🐱 Clones in the air: It grows "babies" on its leaves
One of the most fascinating features of this species is hidden right in its botanical name.
The word bulbifer literally means "bulb-bearing." As the season progresses, tiny, potato-like bulbils develop right on top of the leaf where the branches intersect. When they mature and naturally drop to the soil, they root easily and grow into entirely new plants—making this one of the absolute easiest exotic species to propagate and share.
🐱 The brilliant post-bloom seed show
If your flower receives a visit from local pollinators, the show is far from over.
Over the following months, the bloom transforms into a striking, heavy stalk covered in berries that gradually shift from bright green to a brilliant, glowing scarlet red. This vibrant seed display lasts for months, acting as a stunning focal point while the underground tuber rests.
🐱 Surprisingly tough and easy to grow
Despite its alien appearance and dramatic lifecycle, this voodoo lily is incredibly forgiving and low-maintenance:
Light: Thrives in bright shade or filtered, dappled sunlight.
Soil: Prefers rich, loose, well-draining soil mixed with organic matter.
Water: Loves regular moisture during the summer growth spurt, but prefers to stay dry while dormant in the winter.
Voodoo Lily Growing Guide
- 🌸 Botanical Name: Amorphophallus bulbifer
- 🎨 Bloom Appearance: Elegant soft pink & rosy-purple
- 🌴 Foliage: Resembles a mottled, miniature tropical tree
- 👶 Special Trick: Grows miniature clones right on its leaves
With each passing season, the underground tuber grows larger and stores more energy, bringing it one step closer to an even more spectacular, conversation-starting bloom next spring.
🛒 Bring home this spectacular botanical curiosity today
📚 Learn more:
· Amorphophallus bulbifer in Plant Encyclopedia
· The biggest flower in the world - Amorphophallus
· Amorphophallus konjak: fun fact about Voodoo Lily
· Amorphophallus paeoniifolius: what's inside the Devils Tongue that smells like trouble?
· Different species of Amorphophallus
#Nature_Wonders #Shade_Garden #Container_Garden #Discover
🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals
Date: 7 Jun 2024
Different species of Amorphophallus
Amorphophallus titanum
Amorphophallus titanum
Amorphophallus peonifolius
Amorphophallus
Amorphophallus
Amorphophallus
Amorphophallus
Amorphophallus konjak
Family:Araceae
Voodoo Lily
Native to Thailand, Amorphophallus atroviridis is a small plant that typically grows to a height of 2-5 ft and prefers partial shade to semi-shade conditions. This plant has an ornamental foliage and blooms annually, displaying lovely pink or white/ off-white flowers.
This plant prefers regular to moderate water during its growth season but should be kept slightly dry during the winter months in colder regions. When it comes to plant care, it is best to grow this plant in a pot of average quality potting soil and water regularly. If you plan on cultivating this exotic plant in a cold region, it is best to bring the pot indoors during the cold season and keep it in a cool and well-ventilated place.
Amorphophallus atroviridis can be grown in USDA zones 9-11, and can be propagated by division or seed. To propagate by seed, it's best to sow the seeds in humus rich or seed starting mix and keep in warm and moist conditions for best results.
Overall, Amorphophallus atroviridis is a beautiful and unique plant that can bring a unique charm to any garden, balcony, or even a home. With beautiful pink or white/ off-white flowers and ornamental foliage, this easy to care for plant is sure to make a statement.
Family:Araceae
Voodoo Lily
Amorphophallus bulbifer, commonly known as Bulbiferous Voodoo Lily or Pink Voodoo Lily, is a tuberous, seasonally dormant perennial in the Araceae family, native to the Himalayan foothills and parts of India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Myanmar. It grows in moist, shaded forest habitats and produces a single large, umbrella-like leaf, divided into numerous leaflets and supported by a mottled, fleshy stalk, typically reaching two to four feet tall. A distinctive feature is the formation of small bulbils at the junctions of the leaf divisions, allowing the plant to reproduce vegetatively. The inflorescence, often appearing before the leaf, consists of a broad, pinkish to pale purple spathe surrounding a shorter, fleshy spadix. Like many Amorphophallus species, the flowers produce an unpleasant odor that attracts pollinating insects.
Amorphophallus bulbifer prefers partial to full shade, warm temperatures, and loose, humus-rich, well-drained soil. Regular moisture is beneficial during active growth, but watering should be reduced substantially when the foliage dies back and the tuber enters dormancy. The species is suitable for USDA Zones 9-11, with winter protection or dry storage of dormant tubers advisable in colder regions. It is especially valued by collectors for its unusual inflorescence, ornamental foliage, and easily propagated bulbils.
See detailed plant profile in new window: https://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/amorphophallus_bulbifer.htm
Family:Araceae
Voodoo Lily
Amorphophallus konjac (Voodoo Lily) is a small plant growing 2 to 5 ft tall. Its flower has unusual color is white and purple. The flower is pollinated by flies that find its odor of rotting meat attractive.
It grows a single, elongated stem called a corm and a single large leaf that wraps around it. The corm is the part of the plant that is used, as well as its tuber, which is commonly called the Konnyaku potato. It is one of the most exotic, bizarre flowers. The single leaf dormant in winter, then in spring the plant shoots out a highly distinctive bloom. The tubers of the plant, Konnyaku potatoes, are edible when cooked like a potato and are often dried and ground into a flour used in noodles and tofu. It is also used in traditional ethnomedical practices. It can be grown in USDA Zone 8-11.
See detailed plant profile in new window: https://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/amorphophallus_konjac.htm
Family:Araceae
Voodoo lily, Devils tongue, Snake Palm, Corpse flower, Elephant Foot Yam
Amorphophallus species are herbs with an underground storage organ. This is usually a tuber. One single leaf emerges from the tuber, consisting of a vertical petiole (stalk) and a horizontal leaf-blade. The latter is dissected into few or numerous small leaflets. Once plants are mature an inflorescence may develop. The inflorescence may replace the leaf in one season, or develop alongside it. From... more
| Amorphophallus sp. |  |
Amorphophallus konjac is one of the largest flowers, a perennial exotic Asian plant. It grows a single, elongated center called a corm and a single large leaf that wraps around it. The corm is the part of the plant that is used, as well as its tuber, which is commonly called the konnyaku potato. Amorphophallus konjac acts as a diet aid that has many benefits. Its ability to swell when mixed with water allows it to fill the stomach. It also moves through the digestive system very slowly, making the appetite feel satisfied for a longer period of time. This characteristic of Amorphophallus konjac is beneficial in treating obesity. It is one of the most exotic, bizarre flowers. Can be easily grown in a pot as a house plant. The single leaf dormant in winter, then in spring the plant shoots out a remarkable flower.
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Family:Araceae
Voodoo Lily
Amorphophallus symonianus, also known as the Voodoo Lily, is a small shrub native to Thailand. Its petioles can reach a height of 2 to 5 feet, with an olive-green speckled color. On top of the petioles is a green leaf at the bottom and a white off-white perianth at the top. Although the color may appear to be plain, the way in which the flower is arranged makes it quite an unusual sight.
When it comes to growing and caring for a Voodoo Lily, it can be done relatively easily with the right conditions and maintenance. It should be grown in USDA Zones 9-11, in an area with partial shade or semi-shade, and away from direct sunlight. Regular watering is also needed, though not too often as to cause root rot. The soil should be kept moist with moderate water, so as to provide ideal growth conditions.
For those living in colder regions and wanting to potentially cultivate their own Voodoo Lily, you can do this with ease in a pot. As long as it is placed in a warm and moderately light environment, then the plant should develop and thrive. Be sure to avoid direct sunlight and keep the plant in some shade instead. Additionally, it is important to water the plant regularly and provide it with a well-draining soil and enough nutrients to keep it healthy.
Overall, the Amorphophallus symonianus makes an interesting addition to any garden or potted setting and brightens up any space with its unique arrangement and beautiful off-white flowers. Although it requires the right level of care and maintenance, the Voodoo Lily can add life to any environment, be it fully outdoor or an indoor potted plant.
See detailed plant profile in new window: https://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/amorphophallus_symonianus.htm
Family:Araceae
Titan Arum
Titan Arum (Amorphophallus titanum), native to Sumatra, is a large plant that can reach a height of between 5-10 feet. It features an unusual color palette single flower of deep green on the outside, and dark burgundy red on the inside when in bloom. Its flowers have a vinous color, and the deeply furrowed texture adds to its uniqueness. After the flower dies back, a single leaf, which reaches the size of a small tree, grows from the underground corm.
This flowering plant is best grown in USDA Zones 9-11, although it can be grown in other zones with the right care. The best location for this plant is in the shade or in semi-shade, away from direct sunlight. Titan Arum plants should have regular access to water, although they don't tolerate a lot and too much water can lead to root rot. Moderate watering is the best way to ensure healthy growth and development.
When grown in a pot in colder climates, it is important to ensure the soil is well-draining. Winter dormancy is usually not necessary for these plants, but if temperatures do drop, the plant should be protected from any frost. It is also important to note that these plants need to be kept away from direct sunlight during summer, otherwise it may lead to burn.
Titan Arum makes for an excellent addition for your garden due to its exotic and unique looks. With the right care and maintenance, this plant can thrive and can provide a great statement piece.
Family:Araceae
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.
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Detailed plant profiles: 11 plants found