Can anyone put a name to this plant?

[Omega]

After we moved into our new house each year we have a rather peculiar plant grow, there are a few of them dotted around the garden, in south facing back garden and in the north facing front. I can only liken the stem to a "twiglet" but a smooth one!!! Same colouring; they grow cone shape and gradually get thicker and are "juicy" full of water; the leaves are big and rubbery and the flower (just one per plant) is a fantastic site when in bloom. When the flower starts to wilt it gives off this horrendous smell of like rotting flesh - so we cut them down as the garden stinks!!!! Anyway this is what it looks like:


[attachmentid=1357][attachmentid=1358]


Can anyone name them for me please??

[smoo22]

Hi Omega,

Lucky you! That's a corpse flower (coz of the smell!) or titan arum.

Have a look at this! (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/06/0605_flowerbloom.html)

I am so-o-o jealous! Don't you dare dig them out - unless you send one to me!

[marieuk]

O no idea what it is called but its huge and is a lovely colour Love Muk xxxx

[Omega]

Hi smoo22 and thanks; altho it's not quite the same as the one you linked to; as that has a circular purple outer flower and a cream coloured upright..... it may be of the same family tho will have to check......if you want to pop down to Cambridgeshire sometime your welcome to dig one up for your garden tho as they keep coming up no matter how much we dig the garden ;) :hihi:

[tiomet]

Looks like this one?

http://www.kqed.org/topics/local/gallery2/...es/arum-345.jpg (http://www.kqed.org/topics/local/gallery2/images/arum-345.jpg)

that is the Arum Vulgaris or Voodoo Lily

http://www.paghat.com/voodoolily.html

[Annabel]

gosh, isnt that quite a rare and unusual 'flower' for your average back garden?

I wonder who planted it?

[smoo22]

Hi again

I am still so-o-o jealous..... when's the next train? :)

All the arum linked here are the same species - just different varieties; the one I had seen was a particularly mad giant example, I just remembered it coz it was so huge. Nearly all arum stink, some worse than others - but that's definitely what you've got, you lucky so-and-so! They will spread like lilies do, with the bulbs dividing- you can control it by simply digging up a lump of the rootbulb-ball after it has flowered (also if you remove the flowers, you will stop them producing such big offset bulbs - as well as avoiding the smell).

That flower is so cool!! Shame about the whiff.....You could almost be tempted to plant lumps at your NFHs door if it wasn't such a waste... :D

[tact77]

I know nothing about plants but looking at the picture I think you should nickname it 'bad breath' it looks like a big tongue.

[Omega]

Hi thanks Tiomet; thought you might be able to come to my rescue ;) That's exactly what the plant is; it's a pity I didn't have this info before I cut them down!!! Altho there is still a clump in the front garden will leave them this year to continue their cycle so that I can see the seeds etc as it looks very interesting.

We were very lucky when we moved into this house as they had plants I didn't think could survive the wind and wet weather we've had! Our front garden has massive Palm Tree's growing which gives us privacy, at the moment there are many flower stalks coming from them and are in full bloom, mind you they smell too; a very rich sweet smell that wafts around the cul-de-sac!!! It's lovely to watch the little "buzy bees" going about their daily work collecting pollen from them. They have grown so much that I look can see them from ourbedroom window! It's amazing just how many properties have palm trees in their gardens and how well they grow; these being north facing and the wet weather we have had recently we thought we might lose them; but no, they have produced these wonder stems of sweet smelling perfume!

In the back and front also we have; I believe it's called; a castor oil plant. This was also unknown to us; the leaves are palm shaped and in late winter, early spring it produces a stem with little balls of flowers on them, which turn black eventually.

I believe the people who lived here loved unusual plants; and they have left us the pleasure of watching them grow and mature into beautiful examples. We are so lucky!

This is just one of the palms that we see out of our lounge window [attachmentid=1361]

[phantos02]

Hmmm... exotic but stinky :sad:



Love your palm trees though :thumbs:

[tiomet]

Oh my they left you wonderful plants!

When you cut them down did you pull em out by the roots? If not they will grow up again and you will be overrun, in which case you can separate them and send em to friends (makes me wish I was staying in UK! I would be a really good friend! :blush: ).

Or even sell them on Ebay. But it would take a much more experienced gardener-botanist than me to tell you the best way of doing this.

Your palm is amazing! you are blessed with the legacy of the previous owners!

Great garden, I hope you get to enjoy it a lot.

You are lucky it is only the vulgrais by the way it is not the stinkiest of that family!

[smoo22]

That's it! Now I am coming down to steal your WHOLE garden!! :hihi: How lucky are you!!

[Omega]

Hi Tiomet

No, i have not dug the roots up as I do like to see them grow each year; I don't care how many there are in the garden, they are such a wonder site. Now I know what they are.....

Ok Smoo22, just for you, here is a picture of one of the palms I look at from my bedroom window :hihi:

[attachmentid=1362]

We have a total of 9 palm trees like these in the front garden all blossoming like this one too; and the other one with the yellow flower. It's surprising how many people remark on the house with the palms! Because we are in a cul-de-sac it takes people by surprise when they see them as the house is slightly hidden directly behind them!!! My hubby was sold on the house as soon as he saw these - never mind what the house was like!!!! At our other house there was a large palm tree at the top of the garden, and hubby built decking the width of the garden including the palm tree and then he built a lovely bench around the palm tree trunk where we used to sit at night......only one thing spoilt it for us and that was it meant we were facing back down the garden and looking at the ex NFH unsightly house and they could see us :cry: But no matter we have a lovely garden here and hubby is always working to make improvements on it......

So smoo22 don't forget if you were ever down this way just PM me and your welcome to dig one up and take it back to Scotland :hihi: :thumbs: ;) I'll keep nurturing them just in case you want one :hihi:

[smoo22]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Omega @ 20th June 2006 - 6:12 PM) 173264</div>
My hubby was sold on the house as soon as he saw these - never mind what the house was like!!!! [/b]

I totally understand that - I would be too! So, if you ever decide to move again..... (cue pathetic whimpering and whining noises and big puppy-dog eyes):)

Ma cherie, je suis in lu-u-urve... :notworthy:

[kittenheaven]

hi all
smoo 22 if you go get one get one for me 2 lol
thank you they are lovely
kittenheaven