C.J.'s Amorphophallus Page

     The genus Amorphophallus is my favorite group of Aroids, and the group that got me started in collecting Aroids in the first place. I received my very first Aroid corm, a tiny Amorphophallus konjac, in the mail about five years ago, and I was hooked immediately. Now that baby is a full-grown adult and making its first bloom, and it has lots of company. My Aroid collection has grown from that one Amorphophallus to dozens of others.
     With nearly 200 species on the planet, Amorphophallus is a large and widespread genus of plants, but they all share certain characteristics. Most Amorphophallus are tropical plants, although many can tolerate an American winter just fine. By and large they are robust, fleshy plants that make a single, umbrella-shaped leaf every year on top of a round, starchy corm or tuber. Most send up their solitary leaf in the late spring, photosynthesize all summer to pump up the size of their corm, and then go completely dormant in the fall. Once the corm is large enough, it can bloom, and these blooms can be huge! The bloom of Amorphophallus titanum, for example, can reach 6 feet tall and bigger around than an adult can reach! Since most Amorphophallus are pollinated by flies, the odor they make is similar to dead animals and rotting flesh, although they can occasionally be more pleasant to the human nose.
     These three corms of Amorphophallus konjac, one of the hardiest and easiest species to grow, illustrate their average growth rate. The smallest one is a snapped-off “daughter” corm from an adult, and weighs only a few ounces. The middle one is a year old at about 1/4 pound, and the large one is a 2 year old at about a pound. While dormant, these corms can just sit dry on a shelf. The largest is still about two years away from blooming.

This two pound corm of an Amorphophallus paeoniifolius, the edible “Elephant Yam”, still has its old dead roots attached. This species usually makes “fuzzier” corms than the smooth ones of A. konjac. This individual is still a few years from full adulthood.

Click for a larger image... This is what my patio looks like in the summertime – a collection of potted Amorphophallus in various stages of growth, from babies to teenagers. The foliage of these guys is always very decorative and exotic looking.

By the time they are two years old, A. konjac plants are reaching some good size. This typical individual is about 2 feet tall, and will make a corm that weighs about a pound. Once the leaves die in the fall, I dig up the corms, clean them and store them dry inside.

This is my prize Amorphophallus right now. I grew this A. konjac from a tiny daughter corm to this full sized beast. At 4 feet tall, and with a 6 foot canopy spread, this is a great plant! When I finally dug this guy up in the fall, the corm was 9 inches across and weighed 8.8 pounds – the same as a healthy human baby! This is a blooming sized corm, and later that winter . . . .

the bloom began to show itself. Here is that big corm, with a developing flower shoot beginning to emerge. It’s still got a ways to go, but I can see it is a bud and not a leaf. In another few weeks it should lengthen into a tall, smelly, gorgeous bloom.
Stay tuned for the pictures!
If you click here, you can see a list of all the Amorphophallus I currently have.

C.J.'s Amorphophallus Page
The genus Amorphophallus is my favorite group of Aroids, and the group that got me started in collecting Aroids in the first place. I received my very first Aroid corm, a tiny Amorphophallus konjac, in the mail about five years ago, and I was hooked immediately. Now that baby is a full-grown adult and making its first bloom, and it has lots of company. My Aroid collection has grown from that one Amorphophallus to dozens of others. With nearly 200 species on the planet, Amorphophallus is a large and widespread genus of plants, but they all share certain characteristics. Most Amorphophallus are tropical plants, although many can tolerate an American winter just fine. By and large they are robust, fleshy plants that make a single, umbrella-shaped leaf every year on top of a round, starchy corm or tuber. Most send up their solitary leaf in the late spring, photosynthesize all summer to pump up the size of their corm, and then go completely dormant in the fall. Once the corm is large enough, it can bloom, and these blooms can be huge! The bloom of Amorphophallus titanum, for example, can reach 6 feet tall and bigger around than an adult can reach! Since most Amorphophallus are pollinated by flies, the odor they make is similar to dead animals and rotting flesh, although they can occasionally be more pleasant to the human nose.
	These three corms of Amorphophallus konjac, one of the hardiest and easiest species to grow, illustrate their average growth rate. The smallest one is a snapped-off “daughter” corm from an adult, and weighs only a few ounces. The middle one is a year old at about 1/4 pound, and the large one is a 2 year old at about a pound. While dormant, these corms can just sit dry on a shelf. The largest is still about two years away from blooming.
This two pound corm of an Amorphophallus paeoniifolius, the edible “Elephant Yam”, still has its old dead roots attached. This species usually makes “fuzzier” corms than the smooth ones of A. konjac. This individual is still a few years from full adulthood.
Click for a larger image...	This is what my patio looks like in the summertime – a collection of potted Amorphophallus in various stages of growth, from babies to teenagers. The foliage of these guys is always very decorative and exotic looking.
By the time they are two years old, A. konjac plants are reaching some good size. This typical individual is about 2 feet tall, and will make a corm that weighs about a pound. Once the leaves die in the fall, I dig up the corms, clean them and store them dry inside.
	This is my prize Amorphophallus right now. I grew this A. konjac from a tiny daughter corm to this full sized beast. At 4 feet tall, and with a 6 foot canopy spread, this is a great plant! When I finally dug this guy up in the fall, the corm was 9 inches across and weighed 8.8 pounds – the same as a healthy human baby! This is a blooming sized corm, and later that winter . . . .
the bloom began to show itself. Here is that big corm, with a developing flower shoot beginning to emerge. It’s still got a ways to go, but I can see it is a bud and not a leaf. In another few weeks it should lengthen into a tall, smelly, gorgeous bloom. Stay tuned for the pictures!
If you click here, you can see a list of all the Amorphophallus I currently have.