Arisaema Species One

Arisaema species a-c are listed on this wiki page.


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Arisaema amurense Maxim. is a widespread and diverse species from Asia, China, and Korea. The name "amurense" encompasses a variety of synonyms and variants. Typically the flowers are green striped with white, or brownish green or even dull purplish green, again with white stripes. The flowers are held on short stalks below or mingling with the foliage. Here are two photos taken in September showing the fruit cones. The first shows early fruiting, the "berries" still green, with some of them turning orange. The second view shows the brilliant orange fruits fully exposed as the foliage has withered away. The dangling cluster of showy pinkish-red berries is Maianthemum racemosum, syn. Smilacina racemosa, or False Soloman's Seal, a native liliaceous plant here in North America. Photos by Mark McDonough taken September 2005.

Arisaema amurense, Mark McDonoughArisaema amurense, Mark McDonough

Tubers obtained from Chen nursery (China), photos by Giorgio Pozzi, April 2006. In the first photo the flower is in a corner of the garden (note the small new plant at the base during second year growth); the second is of a young plant flowering in cultivation. The third photo taken April 2007, also by Giorgio Pozzi, shows a clump growing in the garden.

Arisaema amurense, Giorgio PozziArisaema amurense, Giorgio PozziArisaema amurense, Giorgio Pozzi

Arisaema amurense ssp. angustatum was the name for tubers I obtained. Gusman writes in his book this name isn't correct and Kew does not recognize any subspecies or varieties. The plants are slightly different from typical Arisaema amurense specimens: the leaves are smaller and the same is for the plants, while the spathes are bigger and the spathe's tube is narrower, pale green colour with light white veins. Photo taken by Giorgio Pozzi, April 2007.

Arisaema amurense, Giorgio Pozzi

Arisaema asperatum N.E.Br. is a tall plant with a trifoliate red spotted leaf and a pale yellow spathe. The name is due to the rough stem. Photos by Giorgio Pozzi. Tubers obtained from Chen nursery as A.10 , April 2006. The second picture is of a variety with a reddish spathe from Chen nursery as A.134. The third photo shows a closeup of the spathe. The last photo taken May 2008 shows a green specimen. Note the stem covered with small hairs and in the background a common yellow spathe.

Arisaema asperatum, Giorgio PozziArisaema asperatum, Giorgio PozziArisaema asperatum, Giorgio PozziArisaema asperatum, Giorgio Pozzi

Arisaema barnesii C.E.C.Fisch. is a medium plant with a plain green leaf divided into 3 to 7 leaflets. The spathe, green with broad white stripes, displays at the leaf level. Photos by Giorgio Pozzi. In the first taken September 2006 the plants are growing in a pot; in the second taken July 2007 in the woods. The plants are taller than they were in the past year.

Arisaema barnesii in pot, Giorgio PozziArisaema barnesii in the wood, Giorgio Pozzi

Arisaema candidissimum W.W.Sm. is a wonderful species that offsets freely, sets seed and is beautiful besides! The flowers can vary from white to pink forms, are striped greenish and are open facing the viewer. They can be a bit hidden by the tripartite foliage, but a large patch does look glorious. It is very late to emerge and always gives one a bit of concern when it doesn't and then surprise when it does finally emerge. The first photograph was taken by Rob Hamilton. The next photo was taken by Giorgio Pozzi in June 2006 in a corner of the garden. At left is A. ciliatum, A. fargesii is right and Hosta is in the background. The third picture shows the seedpods ( fall 2009 ) and the fourth the seeds germinated on a paper towel in a Petri capsule 3 weeks after wetting and ready for planting, May 2008.

Arisaema candidissimum, Rob HamiltonArisaema candidissimum, Giorgio PozziArisaema candidissimum seedpods, Giorgio PozziArisaema candidissimum seeds, Giorgio Pozzi

Photos by Giorgio Pozzi, May 2006 of some of the color forms. The first is the red variety. After reading from an AEG member he saw a reddish spathe, I got some tubers from the UK. They came late during this spring and their buds were already growing. Two spathes were ruined at the spathe-limb apex, but their colour is very interesting. I hope the plants will set seeds soon and the new plants will keep this hue. The second is the pale-pink variety. This tuber came from Chen nursery as A.03. Note the purple spadix. The last three are of the white form taken a month earlier. The tubers came from Chen nursery (China). The spathe is white and the stripes are light-pink. The second picture of the three shows the unfolding of the leaves, then a close-up of the spathe, and the last shows the seeds just collected and cleaned, ready to be stored in cool conditions in the fridge till next Spring.

Arisaema candidissimum, red, Giorgio PozziArisaema candidissimum, pink, Giorgio PozziArisaema candidissimum, white, Giorgio PozziArisaema candidissimum, white, Giorgio PozziArisaema candidissimum, white, Giorgio PozziArisaema candidissimum seeds, Giorgio Pozzi

Photos of different forms seen in its habitat in Sichuan, by Oron Peri

Arisaema candidissimum in Sichuan, Oron PeriArisaema candidissimum, Oron PeriArisaema candidissimum, red, Oron Peri

The green form. Tubers are A.04 Var. from Chen nursery, a delicate spathe fading from light purple to light green. The plant is a little bigger than the white or pink form but the spathe is smaller. Gusman has set this as a different species: Arisaema lichiangense. Photos by Giorgio Pozzi, May 2006; the second picture shows a close-up of the spathe.

Arisaema candidissimum, Giorgio PozziArisaema candidissimum, Giorgio Pozzi

Arisaema ciliatum H.Li is native to W. Sichuan, NW. Yunnan, China. The first three pictures from Rob Hamilton show two colour forms of the type species and var. liubaense. The next was taken by Giorgio Pozzi May 2006. It illustrates the small cilia at the mouth's margins, the reason behind the species' name. Seed photo by David Pilling.

Arisaema ciliatum, Rob HamiltonArisaema ciliatum, Rob HamiltonArisaema ciliatum var. liubaense, Rob HamiltonArisaema ciliatum, Giorgio PozziArisaema ciliatum, David Pilling

Arisaema ciliatum var liubaense Gusman & Gouda (in 2023 included in the species) is a superb garden plant. It was collected near Liuba, in China's Sichuan province and is known to connoisseurs as CT369. It was finally published as a variety in 1999. It is stoloniferous, and grows to 100 cm. Photos by Paige Woodward.

Arisaema ciliatum var liubaense, Paige WoodwardArisaema ciliatum var liubaense, Paige Woodward

Arisaema concinnum Schott is native from Himalaya to China (NW. Yunnan). It has very different coloured spathes, from green to purple, is 60/80 cm tall and has a radiate leaf. Photos by Giorgio Pozzi taken May 2006. The first photo shows the green form and the second photo the purple form. The next photo shows a backview of a spathe with an intermediate colour between the two, and last a closeup of a spathe (note the long spathe limb).

Arisaema concinnum green, Giorgio PozziArisaema concinnum purple, Giorgio PozziArisaema concinnum, Giorgio PozziArisaema concinnum, Giorgio Pozzi

Arisaema consanguineum Schott is one of the 'workhorses' of the genus, lovely with its radiatisect leaf (think umbrella-like). It sets seed readily and also offsets. It is somewhat variable with emergence time, the strength of the stem, and the color of the inflorescence (greenish to purplish), but they are almost all nice, especially when planted in a group. Photos 1-4 were taken of plants grown in New Jersey, USA by Arnold Trachtenberg. Photo 5 of the infructescence was taken by Nhu Nguyen at the UC Botanical Garden. Photo 6 of seed by David Pilling.

Arisaema consanguineum, Arnold TrachtenbergArisaema consanguineum, Arnold TrachtenbergArisaema consanguineum, Arnold TrachtenbergArisaema consanguineum fruit, Arnold TrachtenbergArisaema consanguineum fruit, Nhu NguyenArisaema consanguineum seed, David Pilling

A form with double spathe and leaf projections. Photos by Arnold Trachtenberg

Arisaema consanguineum, Arnold TrachtenbergArisaema consanguineum, Arnold TrachtenbergArisaema consanguineum, Arnold TrachtenbergArisaema consanguineum, Arnold TrachtenbergArisaema consanguineum, Arnold Trachtenberg

Arisaema consanguineum 'Perfect Wave' shoot photo was taken by Arnold Trachtenberg.

Arisaema consanguineum 'Perfect Wave', Arnold Trachtenberg

Arisaema consanguineum ssp kelung-insulare (Hayata) Gusman is a native of Taiwan. It was grown and photographed by Rob Hamilton

Arisaema consanguineum ssp. kelung-insulare, Rob Hamilton

Arisaema cf. consanguineum is a nice form identified as close to this species from the UC Botanical Garden. It can reach nearly 2 meters (6 ft). Photos were taken by Nhu Nguyen.

Arisaema cf. consanguineum, Nhu NguyenArisaema cf. consanguineum, Nhu Nguyen

Arisaema costatum (Wall.) Mart. is a tall plant with a purple spathe and a trifoliolate leaf, flowering from April to May. The spadix is nearly 70 cm long. Grown and photographed by Giorgio Pozzi, April 2006. The first photo is the plant (80 cm tall), the second the "Snake", next the spathe, and finally the flowers in cultivation in the wood.

Arisaema costatum plant, Giorgio PozziArisaema costatum, the Snake, Giorgio PozziArisaema costatum spathe, Giorgio PozziArisaema costatum, Giorgio Pozzi

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Page last modified on March 18, 2023, at 12:58 PM