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Purple Stinky Flower ID Help

19 years ago

I stepped out my front door this morning and found this beautiful purple flower. The stench made my dog go crazy, since he hadn't notice it before, it makes me think the flower bloomed overnight.

My wife and I bought the house about three years ago and did not plant it. Also, we had our stoop retiled about a year ago and all the plants in that area were ripped out. So, it must have grown from a bulb that was buried right there???

The spathe is about 12". Any help with identification would be appreciated.

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Comments (5)

arumgrande
19 years ago
Hi Wfspath,
what about a species of the genus Arum?
Arum rupicola
http://aroid.org/genera/arum/rupicola/
Arum sintenisii
http://www.aroid.org/genera/arum/sintenisii/index.html
Arum elongatum
http://www.aroid.org/genera/arum/elongatum/index.html
Arum besserianum
http://aroid.org/genera/arum/besserianum/

They look like your picture, but I have no idea about their size.

Arum sintenisii
http://dscherberich.free.fr/arsintenisii4.html
looks mostly like yours!

Maybe you find more on the Arum site of I.A.S:
http://www.aroid.org/genera/arum/
Bye
hermann

Here is a link that might be useful: Arum sintenisii
wfspath
Original Author
19 years ago
Thank you very much for your help, I wouldn't have otherwise figured it out. Its a beautiful plant, but the odor is really bad. I might need to move it away from my front door.
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tindomul1of9
19 years ago
thats beautiful. Too bad it doesn't smell like raspberries. Where are you located?
wfspath
Original Author
19 years ago
I live in San Diego (Point Loma). We had record cold this January (as you know), it got down to 35 degrees on my home thermometer, which killed my heliconias and bananas. The average low in SD for January is 48, and we set an all time record with 5 consecutive nights below 40. I don't know anything about arums, is it possible the cold induced flowering?
Bryan Lampl
19 years ago
I think that you have Arum palaesitum.

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