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Arisaema exappendiculatum

A tall species (60-120cm) with snakeskin-mottled stems bearing a leaf divided into a circular parasol of about 8, broad, wavy-edged leaflets. The "flower" held below is purple and white tightly wrapped around on emergence, to make what looks like a conical bud but unfurling a little to a purple and white striped tubular spathe which still hides the spadix appendix. The "invisibility" of the spadix is what gives the plant its mouthful of a name.

The striking foliage and rather distinctive flowers set this quietly attractive species apart.

It soon makes clumps by means of underground increase and by stolons that can pop up 40cm away. May. Garden soil, in half shade is idea but not a difficult plant. Nepal and Indian Himalayas.

Arisaema ghaticum

Arisaema ghaticum is a nice little species recently described, as a var. of sahyadricum, from south western India and now accorded species status. It is rare and endangered in the wild, these are horticultural propagations.

The flowers appear before the leaves unfurl and are borne close to the ground. They are narrow, medium-sized, basally pale, purple or brown spathes, striped diffusely with paler shades. From the mouth emerges a fat, downwards-curling pale spadix which ends with a little upward twist. The foliage appears later on 30-40cm tall, slender stems.

Although it is from Southern India and subtropical, there are some indications it could be reasonably hardy. It comes from higher altitudes than A. murrayi (which grows in the general area) and yet murrayi has survived continental winter temperatures and subsequently flowered like nothing had happened. For safety, you may prefer to keep it warm, or at least frost-free and almost dry (but not dried) in winter, starting it again in April.

Arisaema lichiangense

To most eyes this looks to be a fascinating green and brown candidissimum. In shape and size it resembles the white and pink forms of that species down to the lovely rose-scent of the flowers.

It differs in that it has white, brown and green spathes with green stripes set around a narrower deep green-bronze to chocolate spadix.

Cultivation is as for candidissimum (and its allies) and like those plants, it appears above ground late in the season. A splendid plant easily grown out in the garden and better there than being 'fussed' in a pot!

Arisaema peninsulae

Arisaema peninsulae has strong, mid-green foliage sub-divided into short, broad leaflets. In some forms of this plant the leaves can be lined, zoned or speckled with paler or darker shade of green.

The leaves are held below a short stem with a stout inflorescence of distinctly yellowish green (the colour of a lime in the process of ripening!) which is lined with white. The lid of the spathe is rolled back to reveal a shiny green interior.

The 'lid' of the spathe extends stiffly forward to cover the fat and stout, yellow spadix which has a noticeably expanded end. This is not quite the pestle shape of e.g. sikokianum, but it is more like a very large Bengal match-head.

Easy in the garden and fully hardy here under light woodland conditions, such as it grows in, in its native Japan.Flowers dependably in a well-drained, leafy loam.

Not common and we have not been able to offer this since 1999.

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Large view

Arisaema rhombiforme

Powerfully striped treacle-brown and white spathes. These are broadly inflated but narrow abruptly to a parallel-sided tube, the base of which is warm brown.

The spadix is slate grey. Very attractive for the superb contrast between the dark striped spathe and the translucent white 'window' stripes, which shine in bright light.

Readily grown and flowered in almost any well-drained garden soil which will grow Arisaema and capable of taking sunshine as well as enjoying half- or dappled shade.

Arisaema serratum mayebarae

(Arisaema mayebarae)

Arisaema serratum mayebarae is the Japanese expression of the widespread and variable A. serratum, from southern Kyushu. It has been regarded as a species, a subspecies and simply a variety, being submerged and resurrected according to botanical whim.

It is differentiated by flowering far earlier than the normal forms of serratum and by the spathe being much longer. In addition, the inflorescence is of a much deeper, more intense shade than typical serratum. Both the spathe and the spadix are selected from the same Gothic palette, in shades of deep and dark, rich red-purple, violet and near-black. The white striping of the typical form is minimal in mayebarae. The inflorescence opens before the foliage is fully expanded and thus it is highly visible. The divided foliage is borne below the "flowers" anyway.

It is a vigorous plant and can, in a very fertile soil, easily reach 100-120cm. Reports of it reaching 200cm I find a bit too much to believe.

Best out in the garden, in the "light woodland" conditions beloved of many Arisaema. Part shade, in a humus-rich, moist but well-drained soil.

Arisaema urashima

An elegant dwarf Japanese species which makes its good-sized spathe quite close to the ground. This is white speckled with purple-brown at the base, darkening to purple at the very "flared" mouth. The two regions being connected with lines of purple dots.

The spathe wraps around an elongated chocolate spadix that winds up and out of the spathe and finally makes its way down to the ground.

Thrives in the garden, in a light, leafy soil preferably in half-shade and hardy here.

Arisaema urashima Soshin

The colour variation and the selections of urashima in Japan are huge and many are still very scarce and expensive. There are a few albino forms also and Soshin is one of these. Soshin though sometimes called white is in fact the “cleanest” green form with the most white in it. It lacks reds and browns (anthocyanins) in the flower and even in the tubers and accordingly the tubers are a beautiful white too.

Soshin is both beautiful and also a good grower under conditions that suit the ordinary forms. It reliably makes extra bulblets every season. It is hard to understand why such a superb form is still rare in cultivation, though the bulblets of urashima do usually stay dormant for their first season, 'reforming' into a different shape underground before sprouting, with leaves, a year later.

Incidentally other 'true alba' forms with no colour at all, not even green, in the flower seem to be not stable and are poor growers.

Eucomis pole-evansii Bronze

This is a new form, only released in 2006. It is a variation which has occurred in cultivation but which has subsequently been propagated for the gardener.

The leaves are tinged brown whilst the normally greenish-white flower spike is also tinted bronze and the flowers themselves are verging on soft brown. On paper it may not sound impressive but 'in the flesh' it is a remarkable colour variation of the true species (not a hybrid).

Growth is as for the normal type in a well-drained, loam-based compost in a large pot or bedded out under glass. As they can be lifted and stored dry over winter it may be possible to grow this majestic species outside, as summer bedding, in the increasingly mild climate.

Habenaria radiata

The flying egret orchid of Japan is a superbly beautiful little hardy plant with slender growths and disproportionately large flowers of pure white, with fringed tepals which look just like their namesake, in flight.

They grow from TINY tubers, this is natural, it is the way they are but I need to stress their naturally small size, lest you are disappointed when you see them.

In the right conditions they are easy and propagate readily. They like a compost based on sphagnum moss (living is best) with some sand added or one consisting of coarse sand with some peat mixed in. The compost should be wet but must be VERY free-draining. They will sometimes do well in conditions which also suit some carnivorous plants.

Hymenocallis festalis

A horticultural cross of the Mexican H. narcissiflora with H. longipetala from Peru.

Large pure white, very strongly scented flowers are made in spikes on 45cm tall stems. Each bloom has lovely spiralling, recurved petals around a central cone.

An excellent cut flower and an easy and reliable pot subject with a delicious scent in the evening, to add to its obvious beauty.

Hymenocallis harrisiana

Nice bulbs of a lovely fragrant Mexican species with large white flowers in the summer. The petals are long, thin and twisted and give the flowers a spidery appearance quite unlike any other.

Easily grown in the conservatory, or out in the garden if lifted and dried in October for a warm dry winter rest.

Hymenocallis longipetala

(Elisena longipetala)

A phenomenal Peruvian bulb. Broad shining leaves and in early summer, an exotic-looking flower with an elongated trumpet surrounded by six long curling white petals.

Beautifully fragrant and not difficult in a conservatory, in a 20cm pot, dried off over the winter, top-dressed and started again in the spring.

Remusatia hookeriana

In the wild this grows on shady slopes, mossy rocks and a foot or so up tree trunks at the soil junction of trees.

It flowers late in spring but before the trees leaf-up. Sometimes flowers along with the newly developing leaves. The leaves are strongly coloured along the veins but underneath they are a mix of light and dark purple. Flowers are gently and pleasantly fragrant.

Best in a free-draining rich organic compost. Winter dormant and can be stored cool and dry after leaf fall in the autumn.

Naturally makes a small tuber which increases by the production of small tuberlets on the end of stolons, which in the wild would be wind-distributed. N. India to Sikkim.

Remusatia pumila

This has smaller leaves which cluster together, these have a red tinge to them on both the upper and lower surfaces (stronger coloured below) and as they are pale yellow-green when they first emerge so they produce something of a sympathetically-coloured tropical-rainbow effect. They certainly look very exotic and are quite excellent teamed with the other species for a patio plant.

The flower spathes in this species whilst not conspicuous and not unattractive are cream rather than yellow with a very elongated spathe extension.

Free-draining, rich, organic compost. Leaves off in autumn and once the tuber has matured, a dry cool winter dormant session gets the plant ready to growth again in spring.