RE: [Aroid-l] Wild Titan's ?/YES



From : 	Skip Hanson <shanson@emc.com>
Reply-To : Discussion of aroids <aroid-l@gizmoworks.com>
Sent : Tuesday, August 22, 2006 9:22 PM
To : <aroid-l@gizmoworks.com>
Subject : [Aroid-l] Wild Titan's ?

Dear Skip and all other Amorphophallus "freaks" out there,

I am not able to resist once more stepping up to the plate as a bit of a 'shill' on behalf of the IAS!
Thanks for your question, Skip, it was well worth pondering! Yes, actually in the past quite a bit of information on this particular species has been published in several great articles in our yearly Journal the "Aroideana" mag. In past issues there have been WONDERFUL articles and discussions with photos of wild blooming A. titanums AND other giant species of Amorphophallus', together with discussions and photos on the probable/possible pollinators. The famous 'stench' produced at anthesis in the jungle makes certain that the pollinators are attracted from both near and far, and since these plants do not seem to be unusually uncommon in nature, pollination and fruiting did not seem uncommon. In fact there were photos of a huge infructesence in the wild! The distributors of ripe fruit and seed were reported to be giant horn-bill birds, they swallow the fruit whole, and re-gurgitate the seeds in perfect condition at quite a distance from the 'mother' plant. These articles are authored by such greats as our own 'King Phallus' AKA my friend Wilbert Hetterschied, the late Dr. Jim Symon, another by an Italian Lady-Doctor, etc. etc. Back-issues of these publications are still available at nominal cost from the IAS.
Dr. Attenborough was with Jim Simon and Wilbert on the quest for blooming Amorphophallus' in the wilds, and great images appear on the made-for-TV special named (I think!) "The wonderful life of plants'' or some-such, still available in video and book-form, well worth the price, so check it out. In her WONDERFUL book on Aroids, our own Deni Bown also tracks the elusive blooms of A. titanum, and provides great photos and info. on this icon of our world of aroids.
So---come on folks, join us as members of the IAS, and so support our ongoing research and interest into this wonderful world of plants, and so get your yearly 'doses' of Aroideanas and our monthly newsletters! Please consider joining us in Sept. in Miami, come meet some of the characters who make up the IAS and see live specimens of these giants and others, the growing legacy of the fantasticly tallented grower Craig Alan, the plants from seeds ex: the great Dr. Jim Simon, get to (maybe!) even touch a petiole the size of your thigh, and so experience that the name 'Amorphophallus' probably did NOT only originate from the spadix`s shape or lack thereof, etc.!!! Step right up, folks, right this way----!!!

Good Growing,

Julius Boos
WPB,
Florida

Aroiders,
Good morning. I was fortunate to be in New York when the Titan was blooming at the
Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. Great work you guys !
Seeing this amazing plant and hearing about Titans blooming all over of the world in captivity
made me wonder…are there any pictures of titans blooming in the wild ? How rare is this
event for wild Titan's.
Based on the discussions about the desperate search for pollen I can't imagine the odds
of two Titan's blooming close enough to each other and at the right time to facilitate natural
pollination.

Cheers,
Skip<<

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