Sauromatum venosum

(Dryand. ex Aiton) Kunth 1841

2002


Sometimes a mature tuber doesn't want to bloom. Let's see what's inside...	...a quite well developed, but dried out inflorescence.

Two months later :"We forgive and we forget..."

The left tuber grown in the ground has achieved my personal record - 11 cm in diameter. The right one grew in a 15 cm pot and it produced many "children" (see above). Its diameter reduced to 6.5 cm. In the beginning of the year both of them were 8 cm in diameter.	In December, for my surprise it bloomed, always it did it in March. The inflorescence was the biggest I've ever seen, too. From the top of the tuber, it was 80 cm with peduncle.

2003


S. venosum has usually a solitary leaf, but in 2003 many my plants had 2.

In the end of summer some plants had even 3 leaves.

Starting from two tubers in 2000, this is the harvest of 2003.

2004


I planted them earlier to the ground, in the beginning of April. Usually I did it in the middle of May. They bloomed in June, in an interval of 5 days. The second tuber bloomed for the first time.
	I was told the inflorescence stinks terribly. The first tuber, which also bloomed in previous years, has no smell, I had it at home during the bloom not once. But the second one, when it bloomed, Could be smelt from a few meters. The part that stinks so much is the appendix and it attracts flies to enter inside. When I torn the spathe, there were about 20 flies inside. The inflorescences emit the smell only on sunny days, that's why the one blooming at home didn't stink.

2005


Stored in a dark cellar, without reach of light, the tubers sprouted their buds towards the South.

2006

In 2005 counting on a soft winter, I left all my tubers in the ground.
Unfortunately, that winter was one of the cruellest.
With Night temperatures -20°C all the tubers died.
I bought a new one, which bloomed in the middle of May.


3 leaves from one tuber during one season is a normal thing even if the tubers are dug out for winter.

	A plant cultivated in South Africa. Below an infructescence. photo (1-2) © Andrew Hankey, 2009


The IAS: Sauromatum venosum Krzysztof Kozminski: Sauromatum venosum Lester Kallus: Sauromatum venosum Tropicos: Sauromatum venosum
Alan Galloway: Sauromatum venosum CATE Araceae: Sauromatum venosum

page created on 2002-04-12
last updated on 2010-07-24