Description
A fabulous hybrid between A. palaestinum and the FCC form of A. creticum. Despite their widely differing colouring, these are in fact two closely related species. The cross is a deliberate one, made in cultivation by Angelo Porcelli, in Italy, and regarded (rightly so) by him as “probably the best Arum I have ever grown”.
The colour of the spathe is totally unreal and unlike anything that already exists in the genus, in the wild anyway. It’s been called “fuchsia-coloured” but any adjectives just fall short of the reality as there is just not such a shade in any Arum species.
The plants are by far bigger than our biggest Arum species which is palaestinum and I suppose that this is predictable, though not inevitable, assuming hybrid vigour. The inflorescence (the ‘flower’) emits a scent which is halfway the two parents. A. palaestinum is almost fragrant (perhaps more accurately it verges on the edge of being pleasant) while the scent of creticum is sweetly funereal in nature. The scent of this new hybrid isn’t a stink, in the way of some Arum, but at the same time it’s not a sweet fragrance along the lines of roses or freesias either. The plant isn’t however grown for the (short-lived) scent, it is grown for its spectacular appearance. Everyone who has seen the photos has been impressed, but Angelo hadn’t released it prior to 2023, (apart from to a couple of friends), as it had taken him so many years to build a stock. We thus count ourselves very lucky to have just a few and it is likely to remain scarce for some time, as it is a bit slow to increase and make size, though it is not difficult to grow under conditions which would suit either parent.
Introduced to our lists September 2023
The photographs of this plant are copyright © Angelo Porcelli 2023, and are used here with his permission
