Well, all Amorphs have the 3 branched leaf so if it did not have this feature then it is likely mislabeled. A leaf that looks like a giant horseshoe with the largest leaf blade being in the middle would sound like a Typhonium venosum. These leaves look a lot like some Arisaema, but these could not be mistaken. Good luck with an ID, but I'm guessing you can rule out Amorph or Dracontium (also the characteristic 3-branched leaf) :o) Dan

Typhonium venosum was it. Many thank you's. :)

Grrrnthumb- .. Im also in washington.. if you would like to have an amorphophallus .. I wouldnt mind sending you a bulb or two ..

Chris

I have heaps of Typhonium venosum red berries just about to start growing, if anyone want them. You must pay the postage though.

The description:-

A leaf that looks like a giant horseshoe with the largest leaf blade being in the middle could also be a dragon arum Dracunculus vulgaris.

Mine are up at the moment and have 11 leaf segments round the "horseshoe". Just to be difficult, so has Typhonium venosum.

The veins on the leaflets of Typhonium venosum are more in number and closer together than those of Dracunculus vulgaris and those of Dracunculus vulgaris often have lighter patches near the veins when they first grow and often the horseshoe is a bit more flattened out straighter.

Hi Rubbleshop, But a Dracunculus leaf looks nothing like a Typhonium in my opinion anyway....and it has multiple leaves rather than a single one so the plants could not be mistaken by grrrnthumb I wouldn't think. Are your seed of the common form or the one called 'Indian Giant'?? I have both but I wonder if I could try to induce a mutation in the germ line using various methods.....I throw away a huge number of my tubers every year futzing around trying to see if I can make a weird looking plant, but this spring I'm trying it using seed instead....maybe I'll get lucky, but I doubt it to be honest :o) Dan

Hi Bluebonsai101,

The Typhonium venosum are the type which has naturalised here in Devon, UK. They are very frost hardy!!!! I have no idea what type they are but there is a not very good photo of them in RHS and in front of the table of:-

http://www.celtlore.co.uk/garden/backgarden/better.jpg

Do they only put up 1 leaf? I only ever see them in big clumps so didn't realise!

Dracunculus and typhonium don't look very similar, but the description given at the start of the thread was so vague I still thought it coud be either.

Hi Dan,

Found a better photo of the typhonium I have berries from at the moment.

http://www.celtlore.co.uk/garden/backgarden/evenbetter.jpg

I don't know if that helps you identify which variety? I'm not sure it they are hardy to zone 6a, but they possibly are. About 25 years ago we had a very very cold winter (for here) and they survived outside OK, in fact this very same plant - yes the clump is that old! They definitely survive -10C and perhaps manage -15C. I doubt they take colder than that though.

It has been my experience that T. venosum puts up at least 2 leaf stalks, sometimes 3 or 4. The number of leaflets on a leaf is also variable, the bigger the leaf, the more leaflets.

Rubbleshop: You may have one or two massive tubers in your clump as well as hundreds of small offsets. They are also probably quite a good depth below surface.

I grow all mine in pots from a stock I have had for many years. Not sure if they are the giant form or not but they get pretty big. I'm not even sure if the giant form is some myth or reality. The link shows a 15' pot that was planted with 8 tubers. The leaf spread is over 6 ft.

Frost will kill the tubers and pots are vulnerable so I always tip mine out and store the tubers dry for the winter months.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:382824}}

Sorry for all the confusion with my poorly worded post. I guess I meant that they only produce one compound leaf per petiole, which is not true of Dracunculus of course. Typhonium often produce 3-5 petioles per year as pointed out, but each petiole produces only one leaf.

Typhonium venosum are totally hardy here in zone 6a as I have hundreds of these weeds out back!! We routinely see temps easily down to -10 to -15C each winter and this does not harm the tubers at all in my experience so in the UK I can imagine that the same clump would last forever!!

You have the common variety based on the petiole coloration. The only thing I do not like about these plants is that the petiole tends to flop over even if they are planted quite deep as in your pic. The influorescence is also rather uninspired in my opinion, but the petiole and huge leaf is fantastic!! The 'Indian Giant' absolutely exists. It is a far, far bigger plant in the shade. I must say that while the standard form loves full sun, the 'Indian Giant' hates full sun for me anyway. Also, the petiole on the 'Indian Giant' looks nothing at all like the normal variety. Also, the largest tuber I've ever had of the normal form is maybe 4 inches in diameter. The Indian Giant can get much, much larger than that! Also, it is my experience that the Indian Giant does not offset as rapidly, although it still produces a decent number of offsets each year. You can see pics of the two forms on the PDN web site. I got my Indian Giant both in a trade and from PDN....turns out I'm pretty sure they both came from the same orignal clone based on talking with people....oh well. Good growing :o) Dan

Hi Dan,

Many of the tubers in my clumps are on the surface. They seem to take our frosts (rarely get below -2C) without any soil covering even. They seem to work their own way up and grow on the surface again if I bury them.

If I replanted them each year so they stayed deeper, would they stand up better? Every hot sunny day they go floppy anyway, then recover again at night.

It seems every berry grows and they tubers make bulblets too.

Thanks for all the info. I can see how the Dracunculus could be similar to my poor description. It is definately one compound leaf per petiole though like Dan said.
Kind of embarrassing really. I actually have a tiny Typhonium v. hidden away behind a bunch of bigger foilage that I'd forgotten was there. Won't forget that again. Thanks guys. :)

Chris I'll send you an email.