Amorphophallus

Template:Taxobox begin Template:Taxobox image Template:Taxobox begin placement Template:Taxobox regnum entry Template:Taxobox divisio entry Template:Taxobox classis entry Template:Taxobox ordo entry Template:Taxobox familia entry Template:Taxobox genus entry Template:Taxobox end placement Template:Taxobox section subdivision See text Template:Taxobox end

Amorphophallus is a large genus of some 170 tropical tuberous herbaceous plants from the Arum family (Araceae).

These are typical lowland plants, growing in the tropical and subtropical zones of the paleotropics, from West Africa to the Pacific Islands. None is found in the Americas. Most species are endemic. They grow preferably on disturbed grounds, such as secondary forests.

These small to massive plants have a globose tuber. From top of this tuber, a single leaf issues, which can be up to 1 m long, followed, on maturity, by a single flower. This leaf consists of a vertical leaf stalk and a horizontal blade, which may consist of a number of small leaflets. The leaf lasts one growing season. The peduncle (= primary flower stalk) can be long or short.

As typical in the Arum family, these species develop an inflorescence consisting of an elongate or ovate spathe (a sheating bract) which usually envelops the spadix (a flower spike with a fleshy axis). The spathe can have different colors, but mostly brownish-purple of whitish-green. On the inside, they contain ridges or warts, functioning as insect traps.

The plants are monoecious. The spadix has tiny flowers : female flowers, no more than a pistil, at the bottom, then male flowers, actually a group of stamens, and then a blank sterile area. This last part, called 'the appendix', consists of sterile flowers, called 'staminodes', and can be especially large. There is no corolla.

Once the spathe opens, pollination must happen the same day. The appendix emits a scent of decaying flesh, attracting insects. Yet a number of species gives off a pleasant odor. Through a number of ingenious insect traps, pollinating insects are kept inside the spathe to deposit pollen on the female flowers. These stay open only one day, while the male flowers are still closed. These open then the next day, but then the female flowers are no longer receptive. The male flowers shower the trapped insects with pollen. Once the insects escape, they can then pollinate another flower.

The pollinated flowers then develop a globose berry as a fruit. These can be red, orange-red, white, white-and-yellow, blue.

The titan arum, the world's biggest inflorescence, belongs to this genus. It can reach a height of 2.5 m and a width of 1.5 m. A runner-up is Amorphophallus gigas, which is taller, but has a somewhat smaller flower. Amorphophallus konjac tubers are used to make konjaku, a Japanese thickening agent containing glucomannan.

Some species are called voodoo lily, as are some species of Sauromatum (also in the Araceae).

The name 'Amorphophallus' us derived from the Greek words 'amorphos' and 'phallos', meaning 'malformed penis'.

Species

Amorphophallus aberrans
Amorphophallus abyssinicus
Amorphophallus albispathus
Amorphophallus albus
Amorphophallus amygdaloides
Amorphophallus angolensis
Amorphophallus angulatus
Amorphophallus angustspathus
Amorphophallus ankarana
Amorphophallus annulifer
Amorphophallus antsingyensis
Amorphophallus aphyllus
Amorphophallus asper
Amorphophallus asterostigmatus
Amorphophallus atroviridis
Amorphophallus atrorubens
Amorphophallus atroviridis
Amorphophallus banaensis
Amorphophallus barthlottii
Amorphophallus baumannii
Amorphophallus beccarii
Amorphophallus becquaertii
Amorphophallus bonaccordensis
Amorphophallus borneensis
Amorphophallus boyceanus
Amorphophallus brachyphyllus
Amorphophallus brevispathus
Amorphophallus bufo
Amorphophallus bulbifer
Amorphophallus calabaricus
Amorphophallus camosus
Amorphophallus canaliculatus
Amorphophallus carneus
Amorphophallus chlorospathus
Amorphophallus cicatricifer
Amorphophallus cirrifer
Amorphophallus coaetaneus
Amorphophallus commutatus
Amorphophallus consimilis
Amorphophallus corrugatus
Amorphophallus costatus
Amorphophallus coudercii
Amorphophallus cruddasianus
Amorphophallus curvistylis
Amorphophallus dactylifer
Amorphophallus declinatus
Amorphophallus decus-silvae : West-Java Giant Amorphophallus
Amorphophallus discophorus
Amorphophyllus doryforus
Amorphophallus dracontioides
Amorphophallus dunnii
Amorphophallus dzuii
Amorphophilus eburneus
Amorphophilus echinatus
Amorphophallus eichleri
Amorphophallus elatus
Amorphophallus elegans
Amorphophallus elliottii
Amorphophallus erubescens
Amorphophallus excentricus
Amorphophallus forbesii
Amorphophallus galbra
Amorphophallus gallaensis
Amorphophallus gigas : Sumatra Giant Amorphophallus
Amorphophallus gliruroides
Amorphophallus glossophyllus
Amorphophallus goetzei
Amorphophallus gomboczianus
Amorphophallus gracilior
Amorphophallus gracilis
Amorphophallus haematospadix
Amorphophallus harmandii
Amorphophallus hayi
Amorphophallus henryi : Taiwan Amorphophallus
Amorphophallus hetterscheidii
Amorphophallus hewittii
Amorphophallus hildebrandtii
Amorphophallus hirsutus
Amorphophallus hirtus
Amorphophallus hohenackeri
Amorphophallus hottae
Amorphophallus impressus
Amorphophallus incophyllus
Amorphophallus incurvatus
Amorphophallus infundibuliformis
Amorphophallus interruptus
Amorphophallus johnsonii
Amorphophallus kachinensis
Amorphophallus kiusianus
Amorphophallus konjac : Devil's Tongue, Elephant Foot, Elephant-yam, Leopard Palm, Snake Palm, Umbrella Arum
Amorphophallus konkanensis
Amorphophallus koratensis
Amorphophallus krausei
Amorphophallus lambii
Amorphophallus lanuginosus
Amorphophallus laoticus
Amorphophallus lewallei
Amorphophallus linearis
Amorphophallus linguiformis
Amorphophallus loerzingii
Amorphophallus longicornus
Amorphophallus longiconnectivus
Amorphophallus longispathaceus
Amorphophallus longistylus
Amorphophallus longituberosus
Amorphophallus luzoniensis
Amorphophallus macrorhizus
Amorphophallus manta
Amorphophallus margaritifer
Amorphophallus margretii
Amorphophallus maximus
Amorphophallus maxwellii
Amorphophallus mekongensis
Amorphophallus mellii
Amorphophallus merrillii
Amorphophallus mildbraedii
Amorphophallus minor
Amorphophallus mossambicensis
Amorphophallus muelleri
Amorphophallus mysorensis
Amorphophallus nanus
Amorphophallus napalensis
Amorphophallus napiger
Amorphophallus nicolsonianus
Amorphophallus obovoideus
Amorphophallus obscurus
Amorphophallus ochroleucus
Amorphophallus odoratus
Amorphophallus oncophyllus
Amorphophallus operculatus
Amorphophallus opertus
Amorphophallus paeoniifolius : Whitespot Giant Arum, Elephant Yam
Amorphophallus palawanensis
Amorphophallus panomensis
Amorphophallus parvulus
Amorphophallus pendulus : Brunei Amorphophalus
Amorphophallus perakensis
Amorphophallus pilosus
Amorphophallus pingbiangensis
Amorphophallus plicatus
Amorphophallus polyanthus
Amorphophallus prainii
Amorphophallus preussii
Amorphophallus purpurascens
Amorphophallus pusillus
Amorphophallus putii
Amorphophallus pygmaeus
Amorphophallus rhizomatosus
Amorphophallus richardsii
Amorphophallus rostratus
Amorphophallus rugosus
Amorphophallus sagittarius
Amorphophallus salmoneus
Amorphophallus saraburiensis
Amorphophallus saururus
Amorphophallus scaber
Amorphophallus scutatus
Amorphophallus sizemorae
Amorphophallus sizemorae
Amorphophallus smithsonianus
Amorphophallus sparsiflorus
Amorphophallus spectabilis
Amorphophallus staudtii
Amorphophallus stipatus
Amorphophallus stuhlmannii
Amorphophallus subsymbiformis
Amorphophallus subpedatus
Amorphophallus sumawongii
Amorphophallus swynnertonii
Amorphophallus sylvaticus
Amorphophallus symonianus
Amorphophallus synandrifer
Amorphophallus taurostigma
Amorphophallus tenuispadix
Amorphophallus tenuistylis
Amorphophallus teuszii
Amorphophallus thaiensis
Amorphophallus tinekeae
Amorphophallus titanum : Titan Arum, Krubi (largest flower on earth)
Amorphophallus tonkinensis
Amorphophallus variabilis
Amorphophallus venustus
Amorphophallus verticillatus
Amorphophallus ximengensis
Amorphophallus yuloensis
Amorphophallus yunnanensis : Kerri's Giant Arum
Amorphophallus zengianus
Amorphophallus zenkeri

Reference

Hetterscheid, W.L.A. 1994. Preliminary taxonomy and morphology of Amorphophallus Blume ex Decaisne (Araceae). In: M.M. Serebreyanyi (ed.), Proc. Moscow Aroid Conference 1992: 35-48. Moscow.
Hetterscheid, W.L.A. & G.J.C.M. v. Vliet, 1996. Amorphophallus, giant from the forest. CITES/C&M, 2(4): 86-96.
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Amorphophallus, but Were Afraid to Stick Your Nose Into!!!!! by Wilbert Hetterscheid and Stephen Ittenbach - Aroideana 19 :7-129
Amorphophallus species with photos