4:36PM, Texas time, the spadix crashed straight down the front.
Amorphophallus titanum blooming - Live webcam
Sorry for the delay. Friday was rushed from beginning to end and I'm just getting caught up. I'l post in a little while.
RIP to Lois and Perry.....What fun watching them though! Thanks to those responsible for the live feeds!
Finally got the pictures uploaded to Flickr. The set contains more than just Lois. It's our entire trip to the Butterfly Center.
I was a bit disappointed that we didn't get to smell the bloom but at least we got to see it before falling. When we finally got there at 11:00AM I got the tickets. Earliest we could get in was the 4:45PM entry. Hit a few small, unique nurseries to kill some time (and find a few new plants!) while waiting to get back to the museum. When we finally reached Lois I asked Zac, the horticulturalist, if Nancy was available. She was somewhere downstairs and he couldn't get a signal on his phone to contact her. Was hoping to get a picture of us with Lois for ER Steve.
My belief after seeing the bloom in person is that it was moved into a conditioned air space too soon. The top of the spathe, being thinner, managed to continue its development albeit at a slower than normal rate. The thicker lower section could not match the development rate of the top and never opened. The top of the spathe appeared black because it never unfurled to allow light to penetrate it. This can be seen in the pictures. I'm glad that I finally got to see a titanum bloom in person but would have been happier to have seen it in full bloom.
Hope the link works. Let me know if it does not.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22006378@N00/sets/72157624473958677/
Steve S
RachelLF, the "crashes" are normal. It's the withering of the flower structure.
Thanks for the photos Steve.
Rachel, here's what happened. There are two types of aroid inflorescences, bisexual and unisexual. Amorphophallus titanum is unisexual (single sex flowers) as are those of Philodendron and quite a few other genera. What that means is the flowers have only male or female organs while the flowers of bisexual inflorescence possess both (Anthurium and others).
The spathe opens in progressive stage. Once a "tan line" begins to develop an observant grower will know the spathe is about to open. The tan line is exactly that, a line of lighter "skin" found at the point where the overlapping spathe wraps around the spadix. From that point you normally have about four days left but that can be variable.
On Thursday morning those of us that watched regularly saw the top of the spadix come out of the spathe but by later in the day the spathe had begun to unfurl and more of the spadix became visible. Nancy thought it was fully open and the left would be higher than the right side but I could see the left side had not completely unfurled so I told her not to panic. We traded email most of the day since this was her first time to see open as well.
By 5:00PM it was almost completely open but the left was still a bit higher than the right. I told her to get a flashlight and start checking the tuber inside the spathe to see if female flowers as well as sterile male flowers were beginning to open. They elected to cut a hole in the back of the spathe so they could photograph the flowers and sure enough around dark they could see them.
The sterile male flowers have only two purposes. They are where the pheromone is released. Many people were complaining the spathe was not "stinky" enough and Nancy was concerned. One of our scientists in touch with her and he explained the pheromone would not become intense until the female flowers were fully open. The second purposeis to provide food in the form of lipid protein to the visiting beetles.
Nancy is a very young plant and is right at the earliest age to be fertile. People were complaining the museum was not pollinating it to preserve the species but this plant is not in danger of extinciton, "yet". It is on a "watch" list and it is difficult to export them but they are not in danger of vanishing. They also did not understand she could be a young plant when her spadix was about 6 feet tall. She weighs only 20 pounds and is capable of growing to over 100 pounds. She has a lot of growing to do yet!
Sure enough, the next morning the spathe was fully opened (It was prettier when not fully open) and the meter on the wall indicating the strength of the smell with to between 7 and 8. This scent is released in "waves" so it constantly moving up and down during the day. At one point Zac got a gas mask when trying to check inside the spathe. They did a great job of regularly recording the temperatures in an attempt to find out where the warmest area would be. Once the temp rises and the pheromone is strong enough we know the female flowers are receptive. They are only receptive for aobut 12 hours, possible longer. If pollination does not occur then it will not happen.
The heat is caused by thermogenesis and is a chemical reaction inside the inflorescence as a result of Salicylic acid (aspirin). In nature that rising heat would have two purposes. One, it attracts insect pollinators since they can sense the heat via species adapters on their antenna. The second is to provide a nice warm place for the pollinating carrion beetle to nest and mate for the night. As they do that they spread pollen from other plants.
I've been told privately many times my posts are too technical and way too long. If I explain all of this we will be here for a little while so if anyone is interested please take 10 minutes to read Julius Boos' article on how aroids pollinate. All of this is explained. Julius and I wrote this together three years ago and we have updated it many times to keep the science up to date. If there are still things not well understood after you read it, I will gladly try to explain. Some things are just to complex to put into five sentences so for those I know will wish to complain, please just excuse my love for these plants and desire to make what is happening known.
http://www.exoticrainforest.com/Natural%20and%20artificial%20pollination%20in%20aroids.html
All of it is very slick on nature's part.
By the way, this inflorescence appeared to never produce the male flowers or pollen. They are leaving it on display right now so all the fluids pumped into the spadix can drain back into the tuber for dormancy. The tuber will not be watered while it stays underground. The next stage will be the emergence o new vegetative growth consisting of a single petiole with branches racheses (yep, that's the right spelling) at the top of the petiole. What you see that appears to be 'leaves" is one single divided leaf known as being compound.
One of the biggest comments being made on the Tweet forum was whether the plant had a corm or a tuber. All aroids that emerge from an underground starch storage unit emerge from a tuber. The differences are many but primarily the fact the roots extend from the top of a tuber while they extend from the bottom of a corm. A corm also produces a basal plate and aroids have no basal plate. To fit the scientific description they can only be tubers.
I understand that most growers don't give a "flying donut" about the differences or how how all of this works but I suspect a few do. I won't waste everyone's time with more on that subject. I do have a page on my site that explains the differences in stems, petioles, tubers, bulbs, corms, rhizomes and other forms of stems. it which is not difficult to find.
Steve
This message was edited Jul 28, 2010 7:33 AM
Thanks tommyr2006.
Steve, I was hoping you would educate me on this and you did. I will have to re-read all of this once again and let it sink in a bit more and view the link to your website as well.
I find all of this very interesting and I am one who likes to try and understand just how "stuff" like this works.
Thanks again.
Great explanation, Steve. None too technical for myself. That's the way I like it. What I read from the HMNS is that they will remove the tuber of Lois from the pot after the spadix completely wilts. They want to weigh it to get an idea of how much weight it lost during the process of producing the bloom. Then it will be dusted with sulphur and placed back in the pot to go through its dormancy.
Do they always dust the tubers with sulphur? I should probably do that with mine as well.
I believe it's to prevent fungus during dormancy/storage.
Right on Tommy! You can use sulphur or cinnamon. Some gardens use either. After the growing season on my own A titanum I remove them to inspect for any fungal rot and then dust it before repotting. I lost one two years ago because I failed to do so, ow it is on the "to do" list as soon as the vegetative stage drops.
One of the IAS scientists advised Dr. Nancy not to remove it until as much of the fluid as possible drained back into the tuber. I just checked minutes ago and the spadix is now almost flat so it is slowly going back or evaporating. It would be normal for part of the water to be lost during the production of an inflorescence.
I found several great articles on A titanum today that can be downloaded in PDF format. These break the process down into a simply understood idea so if any of you want them let me know and I'll post the links.
I believe the plan in Houston is to move the tuber back to the greenhouse this weekend. Dr. Nancy wrote about one hour ago about some other events which both of us will be attending but if you want to know the exact schedule I'll send her a note.
Steve
Steve, as you know your son Brandon and I have been trading lots of mail. Here's an idea: Give him an International Aroid Society membership for Christmas! Better yet, both of you just come be with us in Miami September 18 and 19. Lots of neat plants and good talks, some from folks that are popular on Dave's Garden (I ain't describing myself!). Rachel will be there, LariAnn will be there, Scott Wade will be there along with a bunch of botanists that are more than willing to explain aroids to anyone.
Our guest speaker on Saturday night will be Dr. Scott Mori from the New York Botanical Garden and he will do a presentation on preserving all the rare species most of us love! Fun time!
www.Aroid.org
I'm checking on your plants now! Sick him Brandon!
Steve
This message was edited Jul 28, 2010 8:03 PM
HAHAHAHA GREAT idea Steve! Yeah Dad, how about an early X-mas gift! LOL I wish we could go there for the show, I really do, but I dont think I will be able to make it. Sounds like a lot of fun!
I see I'm in trouble now! I'm bad about doing this stuff but that is my job as the secretary!
All of you are welcome, we'd love to meet all of you.
Steve
Just a thought here: If stevesivek can not make the Miami trip, then I must add that he and his family would be overwhelmed by making a trip to your place Steve in Siloam Springs, Arkansas.
I will be seeing you very soon. My plan fell through for being in Ar. this week but I should be there in the next week or two. I will yell at you before I head that way and after I get there.
I am looking forward to visiting you and your family once again and learing more about Aroids!
It will be fun to see you again Rachael! Let's see what happens with Steve and Brandon! At the very least I'll get them into my "rain forest". Besides, it is an easy direct flight from Houston to Miami!
Steve
By the way Steve, Brandon and everyone else. Dr. Nancy said today she plans to be at the IAS show in Miami. We'll all get a big table and pick her brain at lunch! You too Rachel!
Steve
You want to talk to Tom Croat then! We'll "fix you up". You still have to have lunch with us!
Steve
To all that are serious about Amorphophallus titanum!
I need to make a couple of corrections to some explanations made earlier in this thread. Most of what I know about A. titanum comes from a series of scientific articles I have read several times over the past few years. A few things now appear not to have been fully addressed in those articles.
Last night I got into a discussion with Dr. Wilbert Hetterscheid in the Netherlands in an effort to understand some information I have read that didn't seem to make sense. Wilbert is recognized as the world authority in this genus as well as related genera. I am posting several of his quotes as they were sent:
"A. titanum doesn't have a real floral chamber at first because it opens wide, without any constriction closing it off. The male flowers are thus fully exposed during the female phase of flowering (when stinking), only shortly after that phase, the spathe closes again and then a kind of floral chamber exists. It is close to that moment when the pollen is released and the male flowers are indeed below the constriction that develops and as such in the chamber."
He just explained the lower spathe does not initially form as a closed floral chamber. As a result of the constriction forming after the flowers are produced the restriction closes around the spadix and keeps the male flowers inside the female floral chamber, not above it as is normal in many other species including Philodendron. This is another very unique feature of Amorphophallus.
I was having trouble understand the explanation of some of these texts regarding the positioning of the sterile male flowers while also wondering why both the male zone and the female zone produced thermogenic heat. The sterile male zone is normally directly above the female flowers but below the pollen producing male flowers. That does not happen in this species and is also very unusual since the heat rise (thermogenesis) is normally produced inside the female chamber in order to bring the pollinating insect into the chamber. Amorphophallus titanum heat zones with both groups of flowers which is unusual.
This is Wilbert's explanation which now makes perfect sense to this old brain:
"Titanum has no sterile flowers. The appendix is in fact one giant collection
of sterile male flowers and that is why the heat development is found in
both the male zone and the appendix. I guess the chemicals also emanate from
those zones although there are reports of scent developed from the inside of
the spathe base. So in fact sterile male flowers, functional male flowers
and appendix are all expressions of one ontogeny, with different functions."
Hoping not to loose any more of you, ontogeny is simply the natural life cycle of any living organism. And this organism is one strange cookie!
If I lost you I'll gladly try to work it out.
By the way, the International Aroid Society has been talking to Wilbert in an effort to have a book written on the genus Amorphophallus so serious collectors can understand it better. I am in hopes that will soon be finalized since I want the text and would be willing to bet some of you will as well.
Steve
Hey yall, guess what I just purchased? An Amorph Titanum!!!!! It is a year old established plant and will be here next Wednesday!!!!! Im so excited!
Brandon,
Congrats! Have fun with it! My ceiling is only 8 feet so I am passing on that plant for now. I need a TALL greenhouse!
Always trying to one up the old man, huh??? ;)
Trying? LOL
Steve, I have a question of your last post. In Wilbert's explanation he refers to the appendix. Is he referring to the spadix?
Yes.
Thanks!
I've got a Titan Arum dormant I just received, I just potted it up and VERY LIGHTLY watered it in. I haven't watered since, how long should it be before I see something?
Mine sent out roots first. They seem to act as probes checking conditions.
As to timing, I checked about 2 weeks after planting and there wasn't any significant change/growth. A month after planting roots had spread out and a small shoot was emerging from the tuber. That was the last time I removed soil to check it.
A month later (2 months after planting) I had a shoot about 30 millimetres high (above soil surface).
Make sure you've planted it deep. I only planted mine twice the depth of the tuber height. As the tuber depleted and the leaf grew tall it became unstable. I had to support it with ropes. A few months ago I removed the ropes. The new tuber had developed to a size (and at a depth) able to support the leaf.
That will depend on how long the plant has already been dormant My plants normally stay down for about four months but there is no set length and one was once recorded at staying dormant for over 15 years! Don't panic.
There is a thought being used by some botanical gardens and I have already found it works well. These plants normally are not taken out of the soil in Sumatra. The forest is very humid year round so some of the scientific sorts I trade info with are now suggesting it remain in very fast draining soil (mostly peat with some sand and pumice or Perlite) but keep a humidity tray beneath it all the time. The idea is to try to duplicate the humidity in the forest as best possible.
Christopher Rogers who worked with the last bloom at UC Berkley just made that recommendation to Dr. Nancy at the Houston Museum of Natural History yesterday and copied his note to me. The idea is not to keep the soil damp but just to add as much humidity as possible. Christopher has also been advising Steve S who began this thread. He knows his stuff and also adds leaf litter to his own plants since that is the way they grow in Sumatra.
Since mine stay in my atrium year round they already receive lots of humidity, I just don't allow water to fall on the soil when dormant. Be sure and sprinkle the entire tuber with cinnamon or other anti-fungal before potting and it is very wise to check it thoroughly at the end of each cycle for any defects. Keep it evenly damp but don't soak it!
Steve
Excellent advice Tropic! Thanks very much for that reminder.
Plant the tuber around 6 inches (15 cm) deep at the current size. Make sure you use a much larger pot than you would expect it to need and fertilize it regularly. Some of the top experts recommend a 10-15-10 or higher. The center number should always be the highest.
Steve
I use an orchid fertilizer.
Gotcha!
I checked it yesterday and it has a shoot starting to pop up but no roots?
Thanks guys!
Hey Steve, got a question for ya!!!! I now have 4 different types of Amorphs including konjac, titanum, corrugatus and symonianus. My question is, do all of these require different watering needs and also do they all require the same amount of sunlight. If so how much sunlight should I give them and how often dhould I water them? They are all in well draining soil with perlite.
Thanks so much Steve for everything!!!!!
Brandon Sivek
Most prefer bright filtered light and enjoy being evenly damp, not soggy.
There are different ways to approach some of the more delicate ones and I would certainly consider Amorphophallus titanum on the delicate side. It is especially sensitive to fungal infection. Volume 19 of the International Aroid Society journal Aroideana had a very complete article (most of the issue) on this and related subjects. You can download that one (I believe) from the IAS website for a very small fee. www.Aroid.org
If not, we have back issues of the volume that you can buy. Drop me a Dmail and I'll try to help. As I recall, most of that issue was authored by Dr. Wilbert Hetterscheid, the top expert in the genus.
I would also recommend any of you that have an interest in this genus join the IAS discussion group Aroid l. Just go to the IAS site, look to the left of the page, and join. When you ask questions you'll almost certainly get great answers from scientists involved with the genus.
Aroid l is free to use and you don't need to join, but it would do you a world of good to do so! The info you have access to is well worth the $25 annual fee. Join here here: www.Aroid.org
Steve
I had my A. symonianus in a garden bed with A. paeoniifolius, A. prainii and A. bulbifer. They got early morning sun, good filtered sun through the day and shade late afternoon. But later the A. bulbifer started to show a bit of stress so I put a 50% shade cloth overhead. (So, tree canopy plus 50% shade cloth.) They all did well regardless.
The A. titanum is in a pot but also under trees getting good filtered sunlight, stronger late in the afternoon. It started showing signs of stress when it got hot. So I put a sheet of 'plastic tarpaulin' over it and it came good. Towards the end of summer (wet season) I removed the tarpaulin and it's still been going well right through winter.
I've mostly fertilised with liquid seaweed/fish, occasionally a sprinkling of DPM (densified poultry manure) and on the odd occasion a generic NPK 23:4:18 with added trace elements. They also got one sprinkling of Superphosphate during the season. I might add that a month or so back some birds started roosting in the tree above the A. titanum. Its leaflets are getting a lot of bird droppings on them. I suppose it all counts.
Mine were all on automatic irrigation, morning and evening, except the A. titanum. It was on automatic once every 3 days during summer (wet season) and now in winter (dry seson) once every 2 days. When it comes to A. paeoniifolius, in nature they often get totally submerged for days at a time during monsoonal flooding. They seem to thrive on it.
I am really enjoying this entire exchange guys. Can I recommend one of you begin a new thread just for this genus? On Aroid l the genus Amorphophallus is always popular so who knows how many people we can pull together on Dave's. This thread has been viewed more than 600 times!
Thanks for all the information everyone is providing! Since there are more than 170 species in the genus we can talk about these plants for long time!
Steve
Hey Steve, I was just outside looking at one of my EE and I cannot remember which type it is. It has narrower leaves and they are DARK green but very glossy. Also, they spathes I believe are very dark purple. Anyways, it has a bloom on it right now!!!!! Going to take some pics of it tomorrow and post them.