AMORPHOPHALLUS BUFO
Photo by Alan Galloway
SYNONYMS:
HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS: N/A
HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS: Amorphophallus manta Hett. & Ittenbach in Blumea 39: 263 (1994)
ACCEPTED INFRASPECIFICS: N/A
DISTRIBUTION: Malaysia & Indonesia | Peninsular Malaysia & Sumatra | West Malaysia, Pahang, Johore, Selangor, Harau Valley
CLIMATE: N/A
ECOLOGY: Found in montane forests at ca. 1200 m
SPECIES DESCRIPTION:
Tuber hemispheric, about 3 inches across. Leaf about 4 feet tall, petiole fairly stout, mottled grey and green, lamina about 18 inches across, much divided lobes, ovate to lanceolate, cuspidate, decurrent, nerves numerous and fine.
INFLORESCENCE:
Inflorescence solitary, long peduncled; peduncle c. 27 cm long, c. 1.2 cm in diam., dark reddish brown with numerous, small, blackish green, elongate, short spots and scattered larger, elliptic, dirty whitish spots; spathe ovate, c. 14 cm long, c. 11 cm in diam., broadly acute, base strongly convolute, limb basally spreading, then suddenly bent forward and then curved back again, base outside dirty brownish green with numerous, small, punctiform, blackish green spots and a few, slightly larger, dirty white spots, inside dark purple, upwards with a creamy zone, limb outside at the centre as base but margins and top brownish purple with rounded, white spots, inside dark maroon with rounded, white spots, base within verrucate, warts conical. Spadix slightly longer than spathe, 16 cm long, sessile; female zone cylindric, c. 2.8 cm long, 1.5 cm in diam., flowers distant; male zone obconic, 3.5 cm long, diam. in upper part c. 2 cm, top constricted, flowers slightly distant, some of the upper flowers sterile; appendix shortly stipitate, conic, subacute, upper part slightly dorso-ventrally compressed, c. 10 cm long, c. 3 cm in diameter at the base, glossy dark purple, rugulose and with many, irregular, shallow depressions, stipe 4 mm long, yellowish white. Ovaries globose or depressed globose, 2 mm in diam., c. 1.7 mm high, (l-)2-3-locular, lower half dirty white, upper half purple; style very short to near absent, 0.1-0.3 mm long, c. 1 mm in diam.; stigma sessile, hemispheric, 1-1.4 mm in diam., c. 1 mm high, with 2 or 3 very shallow lobes, brownish grey. Maleflowers consisting of 3-5 stamens; stamens c. 2 mm long; filaments c. 1 mm long, connate, forming a cushion; anthers 1-1.7 mm in diam., c. 1 mm long, hemispheric, yellow, dark purple around the pores, pores apical, elongate. Pollen coarsely striate.
VARIEGATED FORMS: N/A
PROPAGATION:
As Amorphophallus manta: This species rooted quite well in Juniper Level Botanic Garden's only trial in late August at 61.5%.
ETYMOLOGY: The species epithet is believed to refer to the Amphibian genus Bufo (Latin for toad), which was historically often used in zoology or botany to denote something that is blotched, or warty, likely alluding to the lichenation (lichen-like mimicry) seen in the genus Amorphophallus or to the slimy appearance of the inflorescence and spathe
NOTES: N/A
CULTIVARS: N/A
HYBRIDS: N/A
REFERENCES:
Blumea 39: 263 (1994) -description of the synonym Amorphophallus manta
Hetterscheid, W.L.A. & Ittenbach, S. 1996. Everything you always wanted to know about Amorphophallus, but were afraid to stick your nose into!!!!! Aroideana 19: 7–131- description of both Amorphophallus bufo and its synonym Amorphophallus manta
Propagation of Amorphophallus by Leaf Petiole Cuttings — Juniper Level Botanic Garden
Additional photos by Wilbert Hetterscheid, Mary Sizemore, Suan Yoong, ChinHock Ooi and Folia SG