Amorphophallus titanum

Becc.

Titan arum

Araceae Edible: Tuber 629 iNaturalist observations

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Description

A plant which can grow to 6 m tall and spread to 5 m wide. The tuber is round and 65 cm across. It does not have side tubers. The leaves are single. There is a smooth dark green leaf stalk. It has pale green spots. The leaf can be 7 m across. The leaflets are pointed and 40 cm long by 13 cm wide. The flower stalk is 30-70 cm long. The bract around the flower is bell shaped and fluted. It can be 40-1.5 cm long and 1.5 m wide. The outer surface is pale green and the inside rich dark red. The flower is very large and has a very strong bad smell. The flower can be 1 m across and 2 m high.

Edible Uses

The tuber is edible.

Distribution

A tropical plant. It grows in Sumatra in Indonesia. It grows up to 1,200 m altitude. It prefers rich moist well drained soils. It is drought and frost tender. It is best with an alkaline pH. It suits hardiness zones 10-12.

Where It Grows

Asia, Australia, Indonesia*, SE Asia,

Cultivation

Plants can be grown from seed. They need to be sown fresh after removing the pulp of the berry. It can be grown from offsets of the tuber and by leaf cuttings.

Notes

There are about 170-200 Amorphophallus species.

Synonyms

Amorphophallus selebicus

References (8)

Bodkin, F., 1991, Encyclopedia Botanica. Cornstalk publishing, p 76
Brickell, C. (Ed.), 1999, The Royal Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants. Convent Garden Books. p 109
Bull. Soc. Tosc. Ortic. 4:46. 1879
Cundall, P., (ed.), 2004, Gardening Australia: flora: the gardener's bible. ABC Books. p 147
Llamas, K.A., 2003, Tropical Flowering Plants. Timber Press. p 79

Show all 8 references

Marinelli, J. (Ed), 2004, Plant. DK. p 166
Purseglove, J.W., 1972, Tropical Crops. Monocotyledons. Longmans p 59
Sukarya, D. G., (Ed.) 2013, 3,500 Plant Species of the Botanic Gardens of Indonesia. LIPI p 1063