AMORPHOPHALLUS HENRYI

Species

PROTOLOGUE:Amorphophallus henryi N.E.Br., published in Journal of the Linnean Society, Botany 36: 181 (1903). The protologue is reproduced below.

SYNONYMS:

HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS: Amorphophallus niimurai Yamam. in J. Soc. Trop. Agric. 5: 349 (1933) Hydrosme niimurai (Yamam.) S.S.Ying in Mem. Coll. Agric. Natl. Taiwan Univ. 31(1): 31 (1991)

DISTRIBUTION: Taiwan

DISTRIBUTION NOTE: iNaturalist: Kaohsiung, Tainan, Taichung, Chiayi, Nantou, Pingtung, Yunlin

SPECIES DESCRIPTION:

Tuber depressed-globose, 3-11 cm in diam., 2-6 cm high, dark brown, seasonally producing several globose offset-tubers, these ca. 0.5-1.0 cm in diam. Leaf solitary; petiole smooth, 30-60 cm long, near the base ca. 1.0-2.0 cm in diam., mid- or dark green with several, more or less oval or irregular, whitish spots, with or without numerous small, white dots in between, surface dull or moderately glossy; lamina moderately or highly dissected, 30-100 cm in diam.; leaflets elliptic-ovate, elliptic or lanceolate, 4-26 cm long, 1.5-5.5 cm in diam., acuminate or long acuminate, upper side mid- or dark green, dull or glossy, margin at first reddish pink, later usually turning green or whitish, major veins strongly impressed, lower side pale green.

INFLORESCENCE:

Inflorescence solitary, short-peduncled; peduncle as petiole, 4-20 cm long, 0.8-1.5 cm in diam., lengthening in fruit; spathe campanulate, constricted between base and limb, broadly triangular-ovate, 9- 23 cm long, 8-22 cm in diam., acute or obtuse, base strongly convolute, thick-walled, outside glossy pale green, with or without a purplish flush, with or without a few small, paler spots, inside dark maroon, near the constriction dirty whitish or greenish purple, limb horizontal, irregularly wavy, outside pale green, with a variable, pinkish purplish hue, maroon near the margin, inside dark maroon, dull or glossy, near the margin greenish or pale purplish, venation strongly impressed, base within densely covered with large, irregular verrucae. Spadix sessile, longer than spathe, 20-46 cm long, male and female zone contiguous or separated by a short (ca. 0.5 cm), (paltly) sterile zone.

ECOLOGY:

Found in rocky places, 120-250 m alt

PROPAGATION:

Cuttings taken in early August at rooted a high of 100%. Using the number of tubers as a count, the net was actually 121.4%. This figure is greater than 100%, since many of the cuttings formed more than one tuber. The lowest percentages were at 14.6%, also in early August. Juniper Level Botanic Garden considers that most of the discrepancy in rooting percentages was either due to clonal differences or, more likely, due to poor cutting quality.

ETYMOLOGY:

Named in honor of Augustine Henry (1857–1930), an Irish physician and pioneering plant collector who botanized extensively in China and Taiwan while serving in the Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs Service. Henry amassed an enormous collection of Asian plants, including material from Taiwan, where Amorphophallus henryi is endemic. The Latinized epithet henryi means “of Henry.” The species is restricted to Taiwan

NOTES:

1. Compared to its closest relative, Amorphophallus kiusianus, Amorphophallus henryi has much longer and more slender styles, a larger stigma, a longer spadix relative to the spathe, a much broader and more strongly constricted spathe, and a much shorter peduncle. The entire inflorescence of Amorphophallus kiusianus is much more robust than in Amorphophallus henryi. Both species share the presence of hairs on the appendix, the red-margined leaflets and the blue berries.

2. Michael Pascall of Whyanbeel Arboretum in Far North Queensland reported that Amorphophallus henryi raised from seed received from Wilbert Hetterscheid in 1996 grew, flowered, and set seed within four years, although the tropical climate there may have helped.⁶

3. C.J. Addington described an Amorphophallus henryi that bloomed in a campus greenhouse in central California on May 25th, 2007 as short and dark purple and brown, with an odor like dog droppings.⁷

4. Writing from Raleigh, North Carolina (USDA zone 7b) on June 25th, 2009, Alan listed Amorphophallus henryi among the aroids he considered reasonably cold hardy. The aroids in his outdoor trial had been planted out for as long as six years or as little as three, and he cited the winter just past in judging them; which period applied to Amorphophallus henryi is not stated.⁸

CULTIVARS: