A. konjac's blooming

From: "Plantsman" plantsman at prodigy.net> on 2002.05.09 at 20:36:35(8743) I just wanted to make a few comments after visiting a friend's aroid and carnivorous plant gardens today. He'd called me yesterday to tell me that his A. konjac's were open and I'd better get there quick if I wanted to take pictures. I'd visited his gardens last summer and his A. konjac's were the largest I've seen yet. One massive bulb has probably divided itself and had three very large leaves almost five feet tall and wide with stems almost as big as my forearm. He's growing these in the ground here in Northeast Tennessee, about three miles from the VA border (Zone 6a). This plant has been reliably hardy with a mulch since it was set out three years ago and has survived 8?F temps. He also manages to grow a huge clump of Alocasia plumbeae (sp?) outdoors with a mulch and a variety of Arisaemas. +More When I pulled up in his driveway, the two towering spathes couldn't be missed. One was a little over four feet tall and the much larger one was over six feet tall. Beautiful, scary looking things! The flies were buzzing everywhere and with good reason. This was the first time that I'd smelled these and after having grown Typhonium guttatum (sp?) and Dracunculus vulgaris for a number of years, I couldn't see how anything could be much worse. Well, I was wrong. The konjacs smelled very similar to the Dracunculus but much louder! I had to hold my breath when taking pictures down the spathes of the flowering parts. Almost four hours later, I still catch myself thinking that I smell it. It must do something to your mind to cause olfactory hallucinations! Anyway, it was a most pleasant diversion for the lunch hour and I took several pictures. Several of his tropical Arisaemas were also blooming including a large clump of A. triparta and one of the fully-eared purple cobra lily types. Also in bloom were large quantities of Sarracenia (sp?) pitcher plants in multitude of colors in his raised bog gardens. He hybridizes them and you never what he'll come up with in new flower colors. David Sizemore Kingsport, TN "Where the Typhonium guttatums (Sauromatum) have been flowering for a week! "

From: "Erik Wiechers" h.wiechers at pl.hanze.nl> on 2002.05.10 at 15:09:39(8744) Hello David, great story. Are you going to share the pics you took ? I am very curious now about the size of the flowers. Greetz Erik +More ----- Original Message ----- To: "Multiple recipients of list AROID-L" Sent: Thursday, May 09, 2002 10:34 PM Subject: A. konjac's blooming I just wanted to make a few comments after visiting a friend's aroid and carnivorous plant gardens today. He'd called me yesterday to tell me that his A. konjac's were open and I'd better get there quick if I wanted to take pictures. I'd visited his gardens last summer and his A. konjac's were the largest I've seen yet. One massive bulb has probably divided itself and had three very large leaves almost five feet tall and wide with stems almost as big as my forearm. He's growing these in the ground here in Northeast Tennessee, about three miles from the VA border (Zone 6a). This plant has been reliably hardy with a mulch since it was set out three years ago and has survived 8?F temps. He also manages to grow a huge clump of Alocasia plumbeae (sp?) outdoors with a mulch and a variety of Arisaemas. When I pulled up in his driveway, the two towering spathes couldn't be missed. One was a little over four feet tall and the much larger one was over six feet tall. Beautiful, scary looking things! The flies were buzzing everywhere and with good reason. This was the first time that I'd smelled these and after having grown Typhonium guttatum (sp?) and Dracunculus vulgaris for a number of years, I couldn't see how anything could be much worse. Well, I was wrong. The konjacs smelled very similar to the Dracunculus but much louder! I had to hold my breath when taking pictures down the spathes of the flowering parts. Almost four hours later, I still catch myself thinking that I smell it. It must do something to your mind to cause olfactory hallucinations! Anyway, it was a most pleasant diversion for the lunch hour and I took several pictures. Several of his tropical Arisaemas were also blooming including a large clump of A. triparta and one of the fully-eared purple cobra lily types. Also in bloom were large quantities of Sarracenia (sp?) pitcher plants in multitude of colors in his raised bog gardens. He hybridizes them and you never what he'll come up with in new flower colors. David Sizemore Kingsport, TN "Where the Typhonium guttatums (Sauromatum) have been flowering for a week! "

From: Paul Tyerman ptyerman at ozemail.com.au> on 2002.05.10 at 15:11:31(8745) >flowering parts. Almost four hours later, I still catch myself >thinking that I smell it. It must do something to your mind to >cause olfactory hallucinations! Anyway, it was a most pleasant David, I've often wondered about this myself. It seems that unpleasant smells generated by rotting material (dead bodies, rotting vegetation etc) and pongy flowers (as opposed to unpleasant cleaning chemicals etc) hang around in your nose for a lot longer than pleasant smells that appear to be as "strong". I have often wondered if the nature of "dead thing" smell is actually generated by particles, and therefore when you smell them some of these particles lodge in your nasal passages and continue to give you the effect for a long time, whereas other smells do not contain as large a particle and therefore do not linger in your nasal passages for as long?' Does anyone know if this IS the case? Or is it just that we remember unpleasant smells better than the pleasant ones . It was interesting to see someone else note something I've observed and wondered about myself. Nice to have confirmation that it wasn't just my imagination (or if it was then you have the same type of imagination as well). Cheers. Paul Tyerman +More Canberra, Australia. USDA equivalent - Zone 8/9 mailto:ptyerman@ozemail.com.au Growing.... Galanthus, Erythroniums, Fritillarias, Cyclamen, Crocus, Cyrtanthus, Liliums, Hellebores, Aroids, Irises plus just about anything else that doesn't move!!!!!

From: "Mike Bordelon" Bordelon.Mike at NMNH.SI.EDU> on 2002.05.10 at 18:45:35(8747) The Smithsonian Institution has an osteoprep lab. Dead animals are brought in and placed in a room full of Dermestid beetles. The building has air filters to remove some of the odor. When the filters break down, Turkey buzzards can be seen circling overhead. I do search the skies when my Amorphs are flowering. I went in there a couple of times and the smells actually penetrates clothing. It stays in your clothing until they get washed. Odors are air born particles. Mike Bordelon +More Botany Greenhouse Smithsonian Institution 4210 Silver Hill Rd. Suitland, MD 20746 301-238-3130 >>> ptyerman@ozemail.com.au 05/10/02 11:11AM >>> >flowering parts. Almost four hours later, I still catch myself >thinking that I smell it. It must do something to your mind to >cause olfactory hallucinations! Anyway, it was a most pleasant David, I've often wondered about this myself. It seems that unpleasant smells generated by rotting material (dead bodies, rotting vegetation etc) and pongy flowers (as opposed to unpleasant cleaning chemicals etc) hang around in your nose for a lot longer than pleasant smells that appear to be as "strong". I have often wondered if the nature of "dead thing" smell is actually generated by particles, and therefore when you smell them some of these particles lodge in your nasal passages and continue to give you the effect for a long time, whereas other smells do not contain as large a particle and therefore do not linger in your nasal passages for as long?' Does anyone know if this IS the case? Or is it just that we remember unpleasant smells better than the pleasant ones . It was interesting to see someone else note something I've observed and wondered about myself. Nice to have confirmation that it wasn't just my imagination (or if it was then you have the same type of imagination as well). Cheers. Paul Tyerman Canberra, Australia. USDA equivalent - Zone 8/9 mailto:ptyerman@ozemail.com.au Growing.... Galanthus, Erythroniums, Fritillarias, Cyclamen, Crocus, Cyrtanthus, Liliums, Hellebores, Aroids, Irises plus just about anything else that doesn't move!!!!!

From: Durightmm at aol.com on 2002.05.10 at 18:47:33(8748) Much has been said about Amorph bulb sizes and weights etc. but little about the comparative size of the pedicle. As is known after the flower a single leaf emerges and while many are described there has been no data about corelations of leaf size to bulb size. In as much as A. titanum has a huge leaf all others while large are not always in proportion to the bulb size. What seems to be max size for A. Konjack for instance Any thoughts Joe

From: "Celeste Whitlow" politicalamazon at charter.net> on 2002.05.12 at 16:40:33(8758) So I suppose this means a line A. konjac "scratch-n-sniff" products as a fund-raiser for the IAS is out of the question? :-) --Celeste +More ----- Original Message ----- To: "Multiple recipients of list AROID-L" Sent: Friday, May 10, 2002 11:45 AM Subject: Re: A. konjac's blooming > The Smithsonian Institution has an osteoprep lab. Dead animals are brought in and placed in a room full of Dermestid beetles. The building has air filters to remove some of the odor. When the filters break down, Turkey buzzards can be seen circling overhead. I do search the skies when my Amorphs are flowering. > I went in there a couple of times and the smells actually penetrates clothing. It stays in your clothing until they get washed. Odors are air born particles. > > > Mike Bordelon > > Botany Greenhouse > Smithsonian Institution > 4210 Silver Hill Rd. > Suitland, MD 20746 > 301-238-3130 > > >>> ptyerman@ozemail.com.au 05/10/02 11:11AM >>> > >flowering parts. Almost four hours later, I still catch myself > >thinking that I smell it. It must do something to your mind to > >cause olfactory hallucinations! Anyway, it was a most pleasant > > David, > > I've often wondered about this myself. It seems that unpleasant smells > generated by rotting material (dead bodies, rotting vegetation etc) and > pongy flowers (as opposed to unpleasant cleaning chemicals etc) hang around > in your nose for a lot longer than pleasant smells that appear to be as > "strong". I have often wondered if the nature of "dead thing" smell is > actually generated by particles, and therefore when you smell them some of > these particles lodge in your nasal passages and continue to give you the > effect for a long time, whereas other smells do not contain as large a > particle and therefore do not linger in your nasal passages for as long?' > > Does anyone know if this IS the case? Or is it just that we remember > unpleasant smells better than the pleasant ones . > > It was interesting to see someone else note something I've observed and > wondered about myself. Nice to have confirmation that it wasn't just my > imagination (or if it was then you have the same type of imagination as > well). > > Cheers. > > Paul Tyerman > Canberra, Australia. USDA equivalent - Zone 8/9 > mailto:ptyerman@ozemail.com.au > > Growing.... Galanthus, Erythroniums, Fritillarias, Cyclamen, Crocus, > Cyrtanthus, Liliums, Hellebores, Aroids, Irises plus just about anything > else that doesn't move!!!!! > >

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