Amorphophallus

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Monocots
Ordo: Alismatales

Familia: Araceae
Subfamilia: Aroideae
Tribus: Thomsonieae
Genus: Amorphophallus
Species: A. aberrans – A. abyssinicus – A. albispathus – A. albus – A. amygdaloides – A. angolensis – A. angulatus – A. angustispathus – A. ankarana – A. annulifer – A. antsingyensis – A. aphyllus – A. asper – A. asterostigmatus – A. atrorubens – A. atroviridis – A. barthlottii – A. baumannii – A. beccarii – A. becquaertii – A. bonaccordensis – A. borneensis – A. boyceanus – A. brachyphyllus – A. brevispathus – A. bufo – A. bulbifer – A. calabaricus – A. canaliculatus – A. carneus – A. chlorospathus – A. cicatricifer – A. cirrifer – A. coaetaneus – A. commutatus – A. consimilis – A. corrugatus – A. costatus – A. coudercii – A. cruddasianus – A. curvistylis – A. dactylifer – A. declinatus – A. decus-silvae – A. discophorus – A. dracontioides – A. dunnii – A. dzuii – A. eburneus – A. echinatus – A. eichleri – A. elatus – A. elegans – A. elliottii – A. excentricus – A. flotoi – A. forbesii – A. galbra – A. gallaensis – A. gigas – A. gliruroides – A. glossophyllus – A. goetzei – A. gomboczianus – A. gracilior – A. gracilis – A. haematospadix – A. harmandii – A. hayi – A. henryi – A. hetterscheidii – A. hewittii – A. hildebrandtii – A. hirsutus – A. hirtus – A. hohenackeri – A. hottae – A. impressus – A. incurvatus – A. infundibuliformis – A. interruptus – A. johnsonii – A. kachinensis – A. kienluongensis – A. kiusianus – A. konjac – A. konkanensis – A. koratensis – A. krausei – A. lacourii – A. lambii – A. lanuginosus – A. laoticus – A. lewallei – A. linearis – A. linguiformis – A. longicornus – A. longiconnectivus – A. longispathaceus – A. longistylus – A. longituberosus – A. luzoniensis – A. lyratus – A. macrorhizus – A. manta – A. margaritifer – A. margretae – A. maximus – A. maxwellii – A. mekongensis – A. merrillii – A. mildbraedii – A. minor – A. mossambicensis – A. muelleri – A. mullendersii – A. myosuroides – A. mysorensis – A. nanus – A. napalensis – A. napiger – A. nicolsonianus – A. obovoideus – A. obscurus – A. ochroleucus – A. opertus – A. paeoniifolius – A. palawanensis – A. parvulus – A. paucisectus – A. pendulus – A. perakensis – A. perrieri – A. pilosus – A. plicatus – A. polyanthus – A. prainii – A. preussii – A. purpurascens – A. pusillus – A. putii – A. pygmaeus – A. rhizomatosus – A. richardsiae – A. rostratus – A. rugosus – A. sagittarius – A. salmoneus – A. saraburiensis – A. saururus – A. scaber – A. scutatus – A. sizemorae – A. sizemorae – A. smithsonianus – A. sparsiflorus – A. spectabilis – A. staudtii – A. stipitatus – A. stuhlmannii – A. subsymbiformis – A. sumawongii – A. sylvaticus – A. symonianus – A. synandrifer – A. taurostigma – A. tenuispadix – A. tenuistylis – A. teuszii – A. tinekeae – A. titanum – A. tonkinensis – A. variabilis – A. venustus – A. verticillatus – A. yaoi – A. yuloensis – A. yunnanensis – A. zengianus – A. zenkeri

Name

Amorphophallus Blume ex Decne.

Type Species: Amorphophallus campanulatus Blume ex Decne.

Synonyms

Heterotypic
Thomsonia Wall., Pl. Asiat. Rar. 1: 83 (1830), nom. rej.
Pythion Mart., Flora 14: 459 (1831), nom. rej.
Candarum Schott in H.W.Schott & S.L.Endlicher, Melet. Bot.: 17 (1832), nom. illeg.
Pythonium Schott in H.W.Schott & S.L.Endlicher, Melet. Bot.: 17 (1832), nom. illeg.
Kunda Raf., Fl. Tellur. 2: 82 (1837).
Brachyspatha Schott, Syn. Aroid.: 35 (1856).
Conophallus Schott, Syn. Aroid.: 34 (1856).
Plesmonium Schott, Syn. Aroid.: 34 (1856).
Corynophallus Schott, Oesterr. Bot. Wochenbl. 7: 389 (1857).
Allopythion Schott, Gen. Aroid.: t. 24 (1858).
Hansalia Schott, Oesterr. Bot. Z. 8: 82 (1858).
Hydrosme Schott, Gen. Aroid.: t. 33 (1858).
Rhaphiophallus Schott, Gen. Aroid.: t. 27 (1858).
Synantherias Schott, Gen. Aroid.: t. 28 (1858).
Dunalia Montrouz., Actes Soc. Linn. Bordeaux 26: 576 (1866).
Proteinophallus Hook.f., Bot. Mag. 101: t. 6195 (1875).
Tapeinophallus Baill., Dict. Bot. 1(5): t. s.n. (1877).
Pseudodracontium N.E.Br., J. Bot. 20: 193 (1881).

References

Blume, C.L. 1834. Nouvelles Annales du Museum d'Histoire Naturelle 3: 366.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2021. Amorphophallus in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 Apr. 26. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2018. Amorphophallus. Published online. Accessed: Nov. 08 2018.
Tropicos.org 2018. Amorphophallus. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Nov. 08.

Vernacular names
suomi: Pökkövehkat
lietuvių: Amorfofalas
中文: 魔芋屬

Amorphophallus (from Ancient Greek amorphos, "without form, misshapen" + phallos, "penis", referring to the shape of the prominent spadix) is a large genus of some 200 tropical and subtropical tuberous herbaceous plants from the Arum family (Araceae), native to Asia, Africa, Australia and various oceanic islands.[1][2] A few species are edible as "famine foods" after careful preparation to remove irritating chemicals.[3] The genus includes the Titan arum (A. titanum) of, Indonesia, which has the largest inflorescence of any plant in the genus, and is also known as the 'corpse flower' for the pungent odour it produces during its flowering period, which can take up through seven years of growth before it occurs.[4]

History

The oldest systematic record of the plants was in 1692, when Van Rheede tot Drakenstein published descriptions of two plants. The name "Amorphophallus" was first mentioned in 1834 by the Dutch botanist Blume.[5] Between 1876 and 1911, Engler merged a number of other genera into Amorphophallus, with a final monograph published in 1911.[5]often referred to as purple aki.

Distribution

These are typical lowland plants, growing in the tropical and subtropical zones of the paleotropics, from West Africa through the Pacific Islands. None of them are found in the Americas, although a remarkably similar but not closely related genus, Dracontium, has evolved there. Most species are endemic. They grow preferentially on disturbed grounds, such as secondary forests.[6]
Description
Amorphophallus paeoniifolius, the elephant foot yam, a species cultivated in the tropical Indo-Pacific for their edible corms

These small to massive plants grow from a subterranean tuber. Amorphophallus tubers vary greatly from species to species, from the quite uniformly globose tuber of A. konjac to the elongated tubers of A. longituberosus and A. macrorhizus to the bizarre clustered rootstock of A. coaetaneus. From the top of this tuber a single leaf, which can be several meters across in larger species, is produced atop a trunk-like petiole followed, on maturity, by a single inflorescence. This leaf consists of a vertical leaf stalk and a horizontal blade, which may consist of a number of small leaflets. The leaf lasts one growing season. The peduncle (the primary flower stalk) can be long or short.

As is typical of the Arum family, these species develop an inflorescence consisting of an elongate or ovate spathe (a sheathing bract) which usually envelops the spadix (a flower spike with a fleshy axis). The spathe can have different colors, but mostly brownish-purple or whitish-green. On the inside, they contain ridges or warts, functioning as insect traps.

The plants are monoecious. The spadix has tiny flowers: female flowers, no more than a pistil, at the bottom, then male flowers, each with one stamen, and then a blank sterile area. This last part, called 'the appendix', consists of sterile flowers, called staminodes, and can be especially large. The flowers do not have corollas.

Mature female flowers are usually receptive for only 1 day. In many species, the inflorescence emits a scent of decaying flesh in order to attract insects, though a number of species give off a pleasant odor. Through a number of ingenious insect traps, pollinating insects that entered a spathe when female flowers were receptive remain inside the spathe for about 1 day while male flowers mature and release pollen. Pollen falls on these insects, and they carry pollen as they exit the spathe and can pollinate female flowers in another spathe. Amorphophallus species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) species including Palpifer sexnotatus and Palpifer sordida.

Pollinated flowers usually each develop into a globose berry, a fruit. The berries are red, orange-red, white, white and yellow, or blue, depending on the species.
Notable species

The species Amorphophallus titanum, 'corpse flower' or titan arum, has the world's largest unbranched inflorescence, with a height of up to 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) and a width of 1.5 metres (4.9 ft). .After an over 1.2 metres (3.9 ft)-tall flower opened at Chicago Botanical Gardens on September 29, 2015, thousands lined up to see and smell it. The floriculturalist described it as smelling "like roadkill, a barnyard, a dirty diaper, very strong, a little bit of mothball smell too". Native to the, Indonesian rainforest, it takes about 10 years to blossom. Dubbed "Alice", its bloom was broadcast via live webcam. It is one of two plants at the Botanical Garden, which kept open until 2 am on September 30 to accommodate visitors.[7]

A runner-up is Amorphophallus gigas, which is taller, but has a somewhat smaller inforescence.

Amorphophallus konjac tubers are used to make konnyaku (コンニャク), a Japanese thickening agent and edible jelly containing glucomannan.

Some species are called voodoo-lily, as are some species of Typhonium (also in the Araceae).[8][9]
Species

Amorphophallus aberrans
Amorphophallus abyssinicus
Amorphophallus abyssinicus subsp. abyssinicus
Amorphophallus abyssinicus subsp. akeassii
Amorphophallus abyssinicus subsp. unyikae
Amorphophallus albispathus
Amorphophallus albus
Amorphophallus amygdaloides
Amorphophallus angolensis
Amorphophallus angolensis subsp. angolensis
Amorphophallus angolensis subsp. maculatus
Amorphophallus angulatus
Amorphophallus angustispathus
Amorphophallus ankarana
Amorphophallus annulifer
Amorphophallus antsingyensis
Amorphophallus aphyllus
Amorphophallus ardii[10]
Amorphophallus asper
Amorphophallus asterostigmatus
Amorphophallus atrorubens
Amorphophallus atroviridis
Amorphophallus barthlottii
Amorphophallus baumannii
Amorphophallus beccarii
Amorphophallus becquaertii
Amorphophallus bonaccordensis
Amorphophallus borneensis
Amorphophallus boyceanus
Amorphophallus brachyphyllus
Amorphophallus brevispathus
Amorphophallus bufo
Amorphophallus bulbifer
Amorphophallus calabaricus
Amorphophallus calabaricus subsp. calabaricus
Amorphophallus calabaricus subsp. mayoi
Amorphophallus canaliculatus
Amorphophallus carneus
Amorphophallus chlorospathus
Amorphophallus cicatricifer
Amorphophallus cirrifer
Amorphophallus coaetaneus
Amorphophallus commutatus
Amorphophallus consimilis
Amorphophallus corrugatus
Amorphophallus costatus
Amorphophallus coudercii
Amorphophallus cruddasianus
Amorphophallus curvistylis
Amorphophallus dactylifer
Amorphophallus declinatus
Amorphophallus decus-silvae : West-Java giant amorphophallus
Amorphophallus discophorus
Amorphophallus dracontioides
Amorphophallus dunnii
Amorphophallus dzuii
Amorphophilus eburneus
Amorphophilus echinatus
Amorphophallus eichleri
Amorphophallus elatus
Amorphophallus elegans
Amorphophallus elliottii
Amorphophallus epsteinii
Amorphophallus excentricus
Amorphophallus forbesii
Amorphophallus galbra
Amorphophallus gallaensis
Amorphophallus gigas : Sumatra giant amorphophallus
Amorphophallus gliruroides
Amorphophallus glossophyllus
Amorphophallus goetzei
Amorphophallus gomboczianus
Amorphophallus gracilior
Amorphophallus gracilis
Amorphophallus haematospadix
Amorphophallus harmandii
Amorphophallus hayi
Amorphophallus henryi : Taiwan amorphophallus
Amorphophallus hetterscheidii
Amorphophallus hewittii
Amorphophallus hildebrandtii
Amorphophallus hirsutus
Amorphophallus hirtus
Amorphophallus hohenackeri
Amorphophallus hottae
Amorphophallus impressus
Amorphophallus incurvatus
Amorphophallus infundibuliformis
Amorphophallus interruptus
Amorphophallus johnsonii
Amorphophallus kachinensis
Amorphophallus kiusianus
Amorphophallus konjac : Devil's tongue, elephant foot, elephant-yam, leopard palm, snake palm, umbrella arum, voodoo lily
Amorphophallus konkanensis Hett., S.R.Yadav & K.S.Patil
Amorphophallus koratensis Gagnep.
Amorphophallus krausei Engl.
Amorphophallus kuznetsovii (Serebryanyi) Hett. & Claudel
Amorphophallus lacourii Linden & André
Amorphophallus lambii Mayo & Widjaja
Amorphophallus lanceolatus (Serebryanyi) Hett. & Claudel
Amorphophallus lanuginosus Hett.
Amorphophallus laoticus Hett.
Amorphophallus lewallei Malaisse & Bamps
Amorphophallus linearis Gagnep.
Amorphophallus linguiformis Hett.
Amorphophallus longicomus Hett. & Serebryanyi
Amorphophallus longiconnectivus Bogner
Amorphophallus longispathaceus Engl. & Gehrm.
Amorphophallus longistylus Kurz ex Hook.f.
Amorphophallus longituberosus (Engl.) Engl. & Gehrm.
Amorphophallus lunatus Hett. & Sizemore
Amorphophallus luzoniensis Merr.
Amorphophallus lyratus (Roxb.) Kunth
Amorphophallus macrophyllus (Gagnep. ex Serebryanyi) Hett. & Claudel
Amorphophallus macrorhizus Craib
Amorphophallus manta
Amorphophallus margaritifer
Amorphophallus margretae
Amorphophallus maximus
Amorphophallus maximus subsp. fischeri
Amorphophallus maximus subsp. maximus
Amorphophallus maxwellii
Amorphophallus mekongensis
Amorphophallus merrillii
Amorphophallus mildbraedii
Amorphophallus minimus
Amorphophallus minor
Amorphophallus mossambicensis
Amorphophallus muelleri
Amorphophallus mullendersii
Amorphophallus mysorensis
Amorphophallus nanus
Amorphophallus napalensis
Amorphophallus napiger
Amorphophallus nicolsonianus
Amorphophallus obovoideus
Amorphophallus obscurus
Amorphophallus ochroleucus
Amorphophallus opertus
Amorphophallus paeoniifolius : Whitespot giant arum, elephant yam
Amorphophallus palawanensis
Amorphophallus parvulus
Amorphophallus paucisectus
Amorphophallus pendulus : Brunei amorphophallus
Amorphophallus perakensis
Amorphophallus perrieri
Amorphophallus pilosus
Amorphophallus plicatus
Amorphophallus polyanthus
Amorphophallus prainii
Amorphophallus preussii
Amorphophallus purpurascens
Amorphophallus pusillus
Amorphophallus putii
Amorphophallus pygmaeus
Amorphophallus rhizomatosus
Amorphophallus richardsiae
Amorphophallus rostratus
Amorphophallus rugosus
Amorphophallus sagittarius
Amorphophallus salmoneus
Amorphophallus saraburiensis
Amorphophallus saururus
Amorphophallus scaber
Amorphophallus scutatus
Amorphophallus sizemorae
Amorphophallus smithsonianus
Amorphophallus sparsiflorus
Amorphophallus spectabilis
Amorphophallus staudtii
Amorphophallus stipitatus
Amorphophallus stuhlmannii
Amorphophallus subsymbiformis
Amorphophallus sumawongii
Amorphophallus sylvaticus
Amorphophallus symonianus
Amorphophallus synandrifer
Amorphophallus taurostigma
Amorphophallus tenuispadix
Amorphophallus tenuistylis
Amorphophallus teuszii
Amorphophallus tinekeae
Amorphophallus titanum : Titan arum, krubi (largest flower structure on earth)
Amorphophallus tonkinensis
Amorphophallus variabilis
Amorphophallus venustus
Amorphophallus verticillatus
Amorphophallus yuloensis
Amorphophallus yunnanensis : Kerri's giant arum
Amorphophallus zengianus
Amorphophallus zenkeri
Amorphophallus zenkeri subsp. mannii
Amorphophallus zenkeri subsp. zenkeri

References

Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
Sedayu, A., C. M. Eurlings, Gravendeel, B., & Hetterscheid, W. (2010). Morphological character evolution of Amorphophallus (Araceae) based on a combined phylogenetic analysis of trnL, rbcL and LEAFY second intron sequences. Botanical Studies, 51, 473–490.
"Robert L. Freedman, The famine foods database". Archived from the original on 2009-12-21. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
"Titan arum". Eden Project. 2018-02-04. Retrieved 2020-12-30.
Hetterscheid, W., & Ittenbach, S. (1990). Everything you always wanted to know about Amorphophallus but were afraid to stick your nose into! Aroideana, 19, 17-20.
Design, UBC Web. "Bulbs, White, House, Nursery". Amorphophallus Conjak | White House Nursery. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
"Thousands line up to see huge stinky flower" (video). Reuters Editors' Picks. Reuters. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015. "Chicago's floral celebrity is over four feet tall, incredibly rare, and smells like death"
"Voodoo Lily, Amorphophallus konjac". Master Gardener Program. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
"Pacific Bulb Society | Sauromatum". pacificbulbsociety.org. Retrieved 2018-01-18.

Yuzammi, Yuzammi (October 2020). "A new species of Amorphophallus (Araceae—Thomsoniaea) from Sulawesi,, Indonesia" (461): 295–300. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.461.4.6.

Hetterscheid, W.L.A. 1994. Preliminary taxonomy and morphology of Amorphophallus Blume ex Decaisne (Araceae). In: M.M. Serebreyanyi (ed.), Proc. Moscow Aroid Conference 1992: 35-48. Moscow.
Hetterscheid, W.L.A. & G.J.C.M. v. Vliet, 1996. Amorphophallus, giant from the forest. CITES/C&M, 2(4): 86-96.