Amorphophallus

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Amorphophallus is a large genus of some 170 tropical tuberous herbaceous plants from the Arum family (Araceae).

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These are typical lowland plants, growing in the tropical and subtropical zones of the paleotropics, from West Africa to the Pacific Islands. None of them are found in the Americas. Most species are endemic. They grow preferably on disturbed grounds, such as secondary forests.

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These small to massive plants have a globose tuber. From top of this tuber, a single leaf issues, which can be up to 1 m long, followed, on maturity, by a single flower. This leaf consists of a vertical leaf stalk and a horizontal blade, which may consist of a number of small leaflets. The leaf lasts one growing season. The peduncle (= primary flower stalk) can be long or short.

Related Topics:
Tuber - Leaf

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As typical in the Arum family, these species develop an inflorescence consisting of an elongate or ovate spathe (a sheating bract) which usually envelops the spadix (a flower spike with a fleshy axis). The spathe can have different colors, but mostly brownish-purple of whitish-green. On the inside, they contain ridges or warts, functioning as insect traps.

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The plants are monoecious. The spadix has tiny flowers : female flowers, no more than a pistil, at the bottom, then male flowers, actually a group of stamens, and then a blank sterile area. This last part, called 'the appendix', consists of sterile flowers, called 'staminodes', and can be especially large. There is no corolla.

Related Topics:
Monoecious - Pistil - Corolla

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Once the spathe opens, pollination must happen the same day. The appendix emits a scent of decaying flesh, attracting insects. Yet a number of species gives off a pleasant odor. Through a number of ingenious insect traps, pollinating insects are kept inside the spathe to deposit pollen on the female flowers. These stay open only one day, while the male flowers are still closed. These open then the next day, but by then the female flowers are no longer receptive. The male flowers shower the trapped insects with pollen. Once the insects escape, they can then pollinate another flower.

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The pollinated flowers then develop a globose berry as a fruit. These can be red, orange-red, white, white-and-yellow, blue.

Related Topics:
Berry - Fruit

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The titan arum, the world's biggest inflorescence, belongs to this genus. It can reach a height of 2.5 m and a width of 1.5 m. A runner-up is Amorphophallus gigas, which is taller, but has a somewhat smaller flower. Amorphophallus konjac tubers are used to make konjaku, a Japanese thickening agent containing glucomannan.

Related Topics:
Titan arum - Inflorescence - Konjaku - Glucomannan

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Some species are called voodoo lily, as are some species of Sauromatum (also in the Araceae).

Related Topics:
Voodoo lily - Sauromatum

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The name 'Amorphophallus' is derived from the Greek words 'amorphos' and 'phallos', meaning 'malformed penis'.

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