Description
(syn. thunbergii urashima Kikkou Fu)
An elegant dwarf Japanese species (with naturally small tubers) which makes its good-sized spathe quite close to the ground. The wild form of this is variable and there are various Japanese cultivars of the species, some selected for their “flower” colour, some for their leaf patterns. The better known ones are Gin (silver) and Kikkou (turtle). This distinct Japanese cultivar was selected originally for having tortoiseshell-marked leaves and the name references the pattern on turtle shells. I have seen it said (and don’t dispute) that both Gin and Kikkou come 50% true from seed.
The “flowers” of Kikkou are paler than the typical, unselected, plant and they have wider, white stripes along the length of the spathe tube. The red-purple and white stripes on the flap and mouth of the spathe are beautifully contrasted and the spathe wraps around an elongated pink-purple spadix that winds up and out of the spathe and finally makes its way down to the ground.
Growth is exactly the same as for the typical form, from the naturally quite small tubers of this species. It will grow happily outside in a suitable garden spot but the small size of the plant makes it ideal for container cultivation under glass. Thrives in the garden, in a light, leafy soil preferably in half-shade and garden hardy here. It will grow outside in a pot also, but in pots, none of the Arisaema, this one included, will survive being frozen through.
Introduced to our lists March 2025
