Arisaema 2012

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I was sowing some Arisaema from the Chris Chadwell seed share from Little Tibet, and it inspired me to start this topic. I'll start by posting some Arisaema photos from spring 2011.

I have several good purple-stemmed forms of the common Arisaema triphyllum (Jack-in-the-Pulpit). This species is so variable, that one can save some $$$ and enjoy the many variant forms of A. triphyllum, without the need to pay great sums for Asian Arisaema species (of course, the Asian species are remarkable too). Arisaema also show promiscuity in the garden also hybridize readily, so I start out with one such garden hybrid.

The following 4 photos show a self-sown plant with big bold leaves, obviously of the A. triphyllum type. The flowers are green on the outside, dark brownish and white striped inside.

A. triphyllum hybrid?

A. triphyllum hybrid? Views showing the mottled stems that are characteristic for some Asian species I grow.

The following two photos show A. amurense x tashiroi, a cross that occurred in my garden, producing robust plants intermediate to both species, robust bold growth from amurense, but with more leaflets showing the tashiroi influence, and striking mottled stems and leaf-sheaths, also from tashiroi.

The next 4 photos show two of the darkest purple-stemmed forms of A. triphyllum I have. The original plants came from my parent's property years ago, where the "jacks" occurred in all sorts of colors, from all green to near black, solid color to light - boldly striped, and everything inbetween. I don't pay much attention to the many named subspecies or varieties of A. triphyllum after seeing such wide variability in single populations. These plants seed around in the garden, with seedling variability continuing; I favor the darker flowered ones, and forms that show color on the outside of the hooded blooms, and ones with colored stems.

A. triphyllum, purple-stemmed form, clumping up nicely, lots of babies around the parent plant.

Yet another purple-stemmed A. triphyllum form, robust and with showy jacks.

Comments

Gene Mirro's picture

Gene Mirro (not verified)

Sun, 06/17/2012 - 10:02am

Arisaema consanguineum:

bulborum's picture

bulborum (not verified)

Wed, 06/20/2012 - 5:04am

Here Arisaema candidissimum starts flowering
grown from seeds , it took 4 years

Roland

Mark McDonough's picture

Mark McDonough

Sat, 09/29/2012 - 8:38pm

Hello Arisaema fans, I'm intrigued by all Arisaema, and all those that have been posted here are great to see and learn about. I have taken many photos during the 2012 year with intent of posting the photos, but available time proved too much of a challenge.  I hope to catch up over the fall and winter months.  But here's a timely one, the "fruit cones" on a rather remarkable hybrid (Arisaema triphyllum x tashiroi), a large robust plant with huge triphyllum-like leaves, but with a taller stem and the unique snake-like striped leaf-sheathes on the stem. I have recently harvested the "berries", sowing half of them, giving the other half to a friend and superb grower Marsha Russell.

The fruits were very squishy, just touch them and they popped with juice and spit out a few seeds.  My friend Marsha tells me that A. triphyllum has but one seed per "berry", whereas this one has up to 6 seeds per berry.  One can clean the seed, but be forwarned, you may want to wear gloves, as the berries seem to have an astringent that can lead to blistering or skin-layer shedding.  Personally, I prefer to sow whole-berry, scratched into the soil near the mother plant, and always gets lots of seedlings. In the photos below, this year I sowed a couple flats using whole berries, they should germinate in spring just fine.

Trond Hoy's picture

Trond Hoy

Sat, 09/29/2012 - 11:38pm

My plants usually don't set berries or if they do the berries quickly disappear :-\  I am sorry I have never seen seedlings in my garden either :( as any increase in my Arisaema population would be most welcome!

Toole's picture

Toole (not verified)

Tue, 10/02/2012 - 12:48am
McDonough wrote:

In the photos below, this year I sowed a couple flats using whole berries, they should germinate in spring just fine.

Hello Mark

'berry' informative pics --sorry about the pun ---i just couldn't help myself  ;D ;D
I'm intrigued by your 'flats'---they seem quite shallow or is it just the angle of the photo ?.

While most of the Arisaemas here are just breaking the surface in pots, troughs and the garden proper, this one is up and in full flower--grown from seed but label long gone --hopefully i'm correct in keying it out as A.amurense.

Cheers Dave.

Mark McDonough's picture

Mark McDonough

Thu, 10/04/2012 - 6:07am

Hi Dave, the peat flats are normal depth (several inches), it's just the angle of the photograph giving an illusion of being shallow.  The blue styrofoam flats are actually repurposed flats, more shallow than the peat flats, these are from packages of mushrooms that I buy from the grocery store, I poke drainage holes through the bottom with a pencil, they make pretty good flats for seed germination, and maybe will last longer than the peat flats which decompose in a year or so.

I agree with your ID of Arisaema amurense.  :)

Gene Mirro's picture

Gene Mirro (not verified)

Wed, 10/31/2012 - 1:50pm
Afloden wrote:

Gene,

That should be A. heterophyllum? Dracontium has the inflorescence below the leaves. I have many of them from several parts of the range, but no see whatsoever this year on Arisaema. Too much rain all spring.

After some googling, I think you are right.  The leaf form is very similar on the two species.

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