Re: Devil's Arum/ Dracunculus vulgaris

Yes, Anelle, they could be the same plant.  Arisaema are quite
variable when it comes to leaves...younger plants can have different
numbers and shapes to their leaves than mature plants.  Also, a
stressed Arisaema will often not flower or if it does, it will revert
to male flowering and make no seeds.  Arisaema can also go dormant
for a year or two if very stressed...the tubers survive but don't put
out leaves.  This genus has a lot of methods of survival when push
comes to shove.  About the only thing they can't survive is total
waterlogging (save for A. triphyllum, which will grow in bogs).

Sounds like your tuber put out an offset - many species will do this;
hence the space between the two stems you have.  If that is so, then
the offset probably is not mature enough to flower.

Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@hort.net
Editor:  Gardening in Shade
-----------------------------------------------
Current Article: Wild, Wonderful Aroids Part 5 - Pinellia
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/shade_gardening
------------------------------------------------
Complete Index of Articles by Category and Date
http://mtalt.hort.net/article-index.html
------------------------------------------------
All Suite101.com garden topics :
http://www.suite101.com/topics.cfm/635

----------
> From: Anelle Kloski <akloski@JPS.NET>
>
> I have an Arisaema draconitum planted in 1999.  I had lost track of
it,
> due I believed to  water line failure; summer watering is the only
thing
> which keeps non-native plants alive here.  But this year it is up,
> small, but it looks as if there are two separate stems of it, about
a
> foot apart.   The larger one has three leaves circling the top of
the
> stem (I know there is a botanical word for this arrangement, but I
cant
> think of it at the moment), and the smaller one has five leaves,
but
> they look the same.  Could this possibly be the same plant?
Possibly I
> just missed it last year, before it went dormant.  I have had
nothing so
> far but leaves.
>
> I have other plants which seem to show up only when they want to:
> oriental lilies come to mind. Maybe I am just missing them in the
> beautiful natural jumble which I am encouraging.  Could it be that
they
> only come up briefly in some years, and become more noticeable in
others?
>
> Anelle
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index