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Page 3
A. taiwanense has a radiate leaf, so called because all the leaflets emerge from the same central point at the end of the leaf stem.
Male spathes have a tiny hole at the bottom so that pollinating insects can escape; female ones do not, forcing the hapless pollinator to bounce around inside the tube, assuring that any pollen they carry will be distributed amongst the female flowers.
The spathe can stand straight up or bend over to almost completely conceal the spadix. The top of the spathe tube often rolls over, forming ear-shaped protuberances. The spadix shape also varies notably, from a rounded club in A. sikokianum to A. thunbergii's long mouse-tail; in some, the tails twist back upon themselves to form a tangle. Others form delicate filigree brushes. There's nothing boring about Arisaema! Gowing Arisaema From Seed Female plants in good health produce fruit in a (usually) more or less cylindrical cluster, rather like a squat red-orange corn cob. The berries are attached to a receptacle, like a raspberry, which can vary in color from light cream or pink to dark purple. Berries also vary in shape from species to species. Each berry contains from one to ten cream or brown seeds. While you can plant the entire berry just as it comes off the cluster and get germination, the fruit contains germination inhibitors and you'll get better germination if you clean the seed. Plus, you can then space the seeds out properly to give each seedling some growing room. The berries contain calcium oxalate crystals, which can play havoc with your finger tips, so use rubber gloves to clean the seed; the disposable, thin, surgical type are just the thing. Macerate the fruit to loosen the pulp. I do this in a sieve, but have read that some prefer a small plastic zip-lock baggy. Pour the resulting mess into a container and add water. A lot of the pulp will float and you can skim it out. Repeat until you've removed as much of the skin and pulp as possible. |
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Arisaema spathes, while not as variable in shape or color as Amorphophallus, differ considerably in size, color and shape. In some, the spathe tip is extremely elongated. 
