Some taxonomists insist that A. fargesii is only a variety of the highly mutable A. franchetianum. Although Guy Gusman notes that these two differ only in a few characteristics, he maintains that they are distinct species. I, in my novitiate, agree with him.
While it is similar in leaf to A. franchetianum, A. fargesii leaflets are often tripartite, (divided only in the upper part), whereas those of A. franchetianum are completely separate. A. franchetianum leaflets have more pointed tips and are slightly less rounded. I have no practical experience with A. franchetianum, but all the images I've seen of this species indicate that both foliage and inflorescence are notably different from the plants I'm growing.
While it took my plants some years to bloom, they set about creating offsets in short order, so that one tuber is now a colony growing in about a foot (30 cm) of rotted woodchips over clay in woodland shade.
Emerging just after the leaves unfold, the inflorescence is held under the umbrella-like leaves, so you have to crane your neck a bit to get a good look at it, but the effort is well worthwhile.
The mottled cataphylls are quite decorative although they turn papery and fall off after the inflorescence fades.
Like A. candidissimum, A. fargesii is late to emerge, sometimes not showing a nose until well into June when it seems to spring from the ground almost overnight. The foliage remains a striking feature in the garden until frost, turning a nice golden yellow just before it dies away.
Two other features that distinguish this species from A. franchetianum are the spathe tip, which is shorter on my plants (and all images I've seen of A. fargesii) than A. franchetianum and the strongly recurved spathe mouth-margins of a. fargesii (they look like little ears from the back on this image), which I have not seen on images of A franchetianum.
The spadix is either male or female. Female plants produce large spikes of berries that mature bright orange. Each berry contains one to three good sized seeds.
Arisaema ringens
A. ringens, (Section Pedatisecta), is one of my seed success stories. These images were taken at Barry Yinger's Asiatica Nursery, where I first laid eyes on this species and instantly craved some for my own. Luckily, the next lot of AEG seed included A. ringens.
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