Height:3 inches to 12 feet
Spread:6 inches to 15 feet
The voodoo lily (Amorphophallus species) is one of the more obscure oddities in the plant world. Almost 170 species are included in the genus. The tropical and subtropical plants grow from an underground tuber that stores food during their dormant periods. In many species, the mature tubers bear smaller tubers that produce new plants. A mature tuber starts its growth cycle in late winter to early spring by sending up a pink pointed flower spike that grows quickly. The spike contains a spathe (a colored leaflike bract) and a spadix (a structure containing separate male and female flowers). On the first day that the spike opens fully, the lower female flowers are receptive to the pollen. During this phase, an odor like rotting flesh is released to attract flies for pollination. The pollen isn't released until the second day, which is too late for the female flowers to be pollinated. Therefore, the pollen from one flower must be transferred to the stigmas on a different flower on those flowers' first day. The spike soon collapses, and the tuber rests briefly. The solitary leaf soon emerges, consisting of a strong stalk, often in a pattern reminiscent of snakeskin, and a large deeply lobed leaf. By late fall, the leaf yellows and withers, beginning its dormancy until flowering begins the cycle again. The species in the photo, Amorphophallus bulbifer, is one of the species grown in the showhouse at the Franklin Park Conservatory.
-- Dave Brigner Franklin Park Conservatory